Mata to Arsenal in the summer of 2019 by Neil Watson
Amid interest from Arsenal to sign Juan Mata as a replacement for the outgoing Cesc Fabregas the deal looks like it may finally come to fruition 7 years later than originally forecast….
I saw a post this morning on talksport, from that bloke that does a show with Jason Cundy, that Juan Mata might leaving United in the summer and joining Arsenal on a free to be reunited with Unai whom he played under at Valencia.
In the summer on 2011 when Fabregas left for Barcelona it was more than a rumour that Mata was on his way to Arsenal for 17.5 million as a replacement for Fabregas who left for Barca for 40 million. At the same time we were also in advanced talks with Gary Cahill….Both players ended up at Chelsea and the rest is history.
If ever there was a player that would have worked perfectly at Arsenal its Mata and despite it now being in the twilight years of his career, I think he will still bring something creatively to our team and add a different attacking option.
I know you’ll be guessing this is about to turn into an article all slagging off how indecisive our previous management was but it’s not, although the temptation to do so was enormous!
Unai and our new management regime are active and not afraid to make mistakes. Unai is a half full guy, not half empty, he backs the upside. Whatever you do in life if your boss gives off an air of positivity it rubs off on you. It’s why managers like Venables and Harry Redknapp made things happen because of their positivity. But that positivity can only carry you a certain distance, it’s an important piece of a big puzzle.
I should imagine many other managers wouldn’t have looked twice at Lichtsteiner yet his fight and commitment is something our squad has lacked for years. I think Unai admires that in players, as do I.
We are all aware our unbeaten run can’t continue forever but it does tell you how our team has developed a siege mentally. Two years ago we would have lost a soft game and then beaten a top flight team with a flourish. That’s utterly pointless. Beat the soft team and don’t lose to the top team. That’s six points by taking taking two off your opposition.
Unai’s run will come to an end but how our team has been transformed is quite amazing and I imagine most fans can see why we would welcome Mata into the fold and what he could bring to our team. I believe Unai’s manner is playing a huge part in making players want to join Arsenal.
In that the spuds have huffed and puffed and achieved zero we have lost our crown as Kings of North London but we are most certainly on our way back!
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Neil Watson