There was a new twist to the Arsenal transfer rumour linking us with a move for the 22-year old Portugal international William Carvalho earlier this week. It said that the defensive midfielder was waiting to see whether the Gunners would make it through to the group stage of the Champions League before deciding whether to come to north London.
With his current Portuguese employers Sporting Club already in the draw, Carvalho did not want to miss out this season, apparently. Assuming that Arsene Wenger really is keen on signing him, the narrow win over Besiktas should leave the way clear for us, except that there is now another complication according to a report in The Independent.
The usually reliable paper claims that Carvalho has been a long term target of Man United and they are now preparing to go for him after injury concerns put them off a move for the Juventus star Arturo Vidal. If this is true it could force the transfer fee back up after the Portuguese club apparently dropped it earlier this week. Unless, of course, the player sticks to his guns and refuses to join a club with no European football this season.
As we have seen with Angel Di Maria this week, however, money can often speak volumes.