If this is true and it ends up with Arsenal missing out on the transfer of the France international Karim Benzema from Real Madrid, then it will be absolutely unforgivable penny pinching on the part of Arsenal Football Club or the manager.
I really do not see why Arsene Wenger would bother about the transfer fee if he was really keen on signing this top class centre forward, especially if the comments of Lord Harris recently suggesting that the Frenchman could spend pretty much whatever he wanted to are correct or even close to the truth.
But John Cross of The Mirror is reporting that the refusal of the Gunners to meet Real Madrid’s asking price is a major reason why the deal has not been done yet and may not be done unless the Spanish La Liga club softens it’s stance at the end of the transfer window. This reporter is fairly well connected and usually in the know about the goings on behind the scenes at the Emirates, so I am inclined to believe him.
The report also claims that Wenger is not nearly as desperate to get this transfer done as the rest of us and is not panicking at all about the West Ham game. He did not even blast the under performing players, apparently, but is just keen to study what went wrong calmly and put it right. Should we be worried or will the boss get us back on track quickly?