Did Arsenal Miss Out on a Gem by Not Signing Moussa Diaby?
This summer, Bayer Leverkusen’s Moussa Diaby was on the market, and Arsenal was among the clubs that had previously shown interest in the talented winger. However, despite having the opportunity to make a move, the Gunners did not make a serious effort to secure his signature. Although the Gunners really don’t need a marquee signing for them to sell more Arsenal tickets, you could be sure that the massive popularity of the French international would certainly have given us a big boost in shirt sales if nothing more.
Instead, fellow Premier League side Aston Villa took advantage of the situation, breaking their club record by acquiring Diaby for a staggering £51.9 million.
The Frenchman’s career trajectory is clearly heading upwards, and not signing him could potentially come back to haunt Arsenal. Diaby is a gifted winger with immense potential, and his decision to join Aston Villa indicates that he is eager to continue his development in the Premier League.
There are two possible reasons behind the London club’s decision not to pursue the Bayer Leverkusen man. Firstly, manager Mikel Arteta might believe that he already has enough firepower in the ranks, with players like Kai Havertz, Leo Trossard, Reiss Nelson and Emile Smith Rowe capable of providing good back up for Gabriel Martinelli and Bukayo Saka.
Alternatively, the Gunners might be planning to strengthen their attacking options later in the window, possibly after allowing some players to leave the club.
Regardless of the reasons, there is no denying that a promising talent slipped through Arsenal’s fingers. Only time will tell if they made the right choice in not trying harder to sign Diaby. His performances at Aston Villa will be closely watched by Arsenal fans, and they will be left to wonder what could have been.
In football, transfer decisions can have long-lasting consequences, and failing to secure a player of Diaby’s caliber could prove to be a missed opportunity for the North London side. As the season progresses, Arsenal’s attacking options will be put to the test, and the impact of not signing the 24-year-old will become clearer.
For now, the club’s faithful must focus on the squad they have and work with the players at their disposal. Whether they made the right choice or not will only be evident with time.
As fans anxiously await the outcome, they can only hope that Arsenal’s decision-makers have a plan in place to bolster the team and continue striving for success in the Premier League.
No
Nope
No we need a striker!
We need a player like Benardo Silva, one who can create, defend and score not just an attacker.
The gaffer obsession is Raphinha, but I think Marquinhos is not doing that badly and deserves a bite at the cherry.
I think Bernardo is a great example – he’s an attacking midfielder that fully adapted to how guardiola wanted him to play. Gundogan is similar except he was always a good defensive as well as offensive midfielder, didn’t really have to change his game like Bernardo did.
I think odegaard is so liked by arteta not because he’s the most incredible attacking midfielder, but because he also does the pressing and defensive work relatively well. I think he’s going to ask havertz, ESR and Vieira to add that defensive mindset to their games, so we can get as much attacking talent on the pitch as possible without losing defensive stability – I don’t know that any of them are ready for that yet, which is why I think we need to have partey and rice together in our best starting lineup. I’d really like to see Saka included in that group because I have always thought he has that potential to play centrally, and he’s also well capable of being defensive solid, but i don’t see it happening now.
I don’t like simply copying guardiola, but this is absolutely the way forward for attacking midfielders imo.
We can’t buy all the players.