da spicy bet： It only seems like yesterday when Arsenal fans were excited about the prospect of Denis Suarez joining the club. Two months later, and it’s hard to identify what all the hype was about.
da dobrowin： The Barcelona loanee has only featured six times for the Gunners since his much-anticipated move from the Catalan giants, and during his time in north London Suarez has yet to start a game for Unai Emery’s side and has only played over an hour of Premier League football.
It was originally planned that Suarez would join the Gunners permanently in the summer for a reported fee of £18 million as a ready-made replacement for Juventus-bound Aaron Ramsey, however, it is now emerging that the Spaniard will be shipped back to Barca at the end of the season.
According to the Sun, Emery and the Arsenal board are shifting summer interests to alternative options to replace Emery, with PSG midfielder Christopher Nkunku heavily linked with a move to the Emirates in the transfer window.
The news will come as no surprise to Gunner fans, who have been far from impressed with Suarez’s involvement in the first-team since his arrival, but how has the Barcelona midfielder, who has enjoyed success under Emery, failed to make the grade at Arsenal?
A shift in preferred personnel seems to be the big reason why Suarez has not seen minutes in north London. Although the former Manchester City academy star can play a multitude of positions, it appears Emery sees him as a central midfielder in Arsenal’s system, and with the recent return of Granit Xhaka and Ramsey getting a run in the first-team, this leaves little room for the 25-year-old playmaker to break into the starting XI.
With Xhaka and Ramsey impressing and Lucas Torreira and Matteo Guendouzi already waiting in the wings, why did Emery even bring in Suarez when there are glaring holes in the Arsenal team that needed addressing?
Emery and the Arsenal transfer board are eager to fill out the Ramsey shaped hole that will be left when the Welshman makes the move to Turin this summer, and although replacing this void is of importance, it is something that didn’t need solving whilst the player is still at the club.
Instead of trying to bring in an extra centre-back or find a short-term replacement for Hector Bellerin, Emery and co decided to find the solution for a problem that can be solved in a few months time, and this incompetence has not only cost Arsenal financially but added numbers to a position that didn’t need adding.
The Suarez signing reflects an arrogance amongst the Arsenal transfer committee, and the Spaniard’s failing as a player at the club should serve as a lesson to those who make these decisions that it’s about strengthening in the right areas, not the bloated areas.
Arsenal fans, will Suarez redeem himself at the club?