IMAGINE BENZEMA ….. by Uche
Hello folks. Another game, another trophy. That is two trophies in our last three games! This is becoming predictable. I am bored of winning all these trophies already! Lol. Let us all have a bit of fun and enjoy this success while it lasts because while we are all very excited about the new season, winning the league will be far from easy. Chelsea, Man City and Manchester United are all gearing up in big ways especially with the later bidding 100 million dollars for Bayern Munich’s Thomas Muller and promising him gazillions in wages every other week. So it is with the giddy excitement of a five year old in a candy store that I welcomed the rumour that Arsenal have had their bid of 40 million pounds accepted for Karim Benzema. Emphasis on ‘rumour’ albeit a very different kind because this isn’t coming from the Metro.
Normally, I don’t do rumors in my articles. It is really annoying to get all excited and then come crashing down days or weeks later when all the supposed done deals get undone by other clubs. Paolo Dybala was a done deal until he made a detour and landed in Torino to sign for Juventus. Arturo Vidal was a done deal but his medical was conducted in Bayern Munich’s medical facility. So why am I writing about Benzema? Well, for this one time, can I at least dream – while our opponents are making the big headlines with confirmed bids and signings? I need this. We all do. Every once in a while an insider comes around who is privy to big football signing information before it is announced. A couple of seasons ago, that guy was a certain @agent Jim. Today, he has been replaced by one @Futbol_Agent. It was only recently that I started following @Futbol_Agent and he got a few deals right. So you can imagine me falling for his every word like some teenage girl trolling Zach Efron.
This doesn’t make his tweets gospel but it does bring a glimmer of hope to Gunners in particular, who cannot even get reliable crumbs of transfer information from our boss Arsene Wenger. So when @Futbol_Agent tweeted yesterday night that we have had a 40 million pound bid for Benzema accepted, I was elated for sure. Who wouldn’t be? Benitez plans to play Bale as striker so this all adds up. @Futbol_Agent also tweeted we had lodged a 32 million pound bid for Julian Draxler. I don’t even want to get into the Draxler news because our pursuit of him has been as elusive as the wind and rumor has it that Juve want him too. So that one is far from a sure thing but it is still exciting and much better than waking up to nothing but Flamini’s impending exit and Jack Wilshere’s new found abs.
So it is okay to dream and dream I will. Imagine that Karim Benzema signs for Arsenal… Surely, he is not as clinical as Sergio Aguero or Robert Lewandowski but he edges Giroud in many ways. Their stats are similar in terms of goals scored and assists made. We have been through all of that already in this blog. But what Benzema brings that Giroud cannot is crazy pace, mobility, good positioning within the 18 yard box and a Walcott–like ability to beat the offside trap and run behind defences. Benzema is also a champion’s league winner and a striker who scores all kinds of goals. Did I also say that he is a very good dribbler and playmaker? Oh yes he is. Simply put, with Benzema up front, our attack will be a lot more dangerous with crazy movement and speed. Arsenal plays its best football when we have a mobile front man. Walcott gave us a glimpse of that in our last two games against West Brom and Aston Villa (FA cup) in which we scored a total of eight goals, after failing to score in games leading up to that with Giroud in front. So I will very happily have Benzema at Arsenal. With him, we will collectively score more goals.
For all of those fans who think he is not much of an improvement on what we currently have, I totally disagree. Never mind that he does not score as many goals as his big name demands but who has ever outshined or outscored Christiano Ronaldo in the same team? It is almost as if Ronaldo is the only person allowed to score all the goals, take all the free kicks and all the penalties. The guy is ruining Gareth Bale’s brilliant career already. Everybody works for Ronaldo and the guy sucks up all the oxygen in the room so much so that you never realize how much contribution the other players are making. When Ronaldo was in Manchester United, he also made Wayne Rooney and Carlos Tevez look average. He does that to everybody he plays with, so I have a good feeling that if and when Benzema signs with us, he will shine brighter just like Sanchez has. Imagine a front three of Sanchez, Benzema and Walcott with Mesut Ozil and Santi Cazorla behind them? If you can permit yourself to dream just this one time, you will feel what I am feeling this Monday morning. If we end up not signing him, well, we have been here before. But until then, I choose to dream. Peace.
Uche Edochie
Lagos – Nigeria