Let’s face it Arsenal fans, we have had to endure some tough transfer windows over the last decade or so. Whether it was because we lost one of the best players in the side to a Premier League or European rival or because we failed with a transfer bid or perhaps ended up signing an over the hill Swedish midfielder with a bad back when we badly needed a striker, there have been some stinkers.
Sometimes, however, it turns out that missing a transfer target would have been better than completing the signing (I am thinking of Kim Kallstrom again although there have been a fair few). So I do not think there will be too many Arsenal fans crying into their beer over two of the latest bits of Arsenal transfer news in the football press this week.
You can see both on the Arsenal page of The Mirror‘s football website and while we have all heard and regretted the stories of Arsene Wenger missing out on the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, these two titbits reveal how we also missed out on the considerable talents of Joey Barton and Sergi Samper.
According to Barton he was on Wenger’s transfer radar while playing for Newcastle but the interest was terminated after Barton got Gervinho sent off on his Arsenal debut. He might not have made us a better side but there would certainly have been more aggression and fight in the squad, although perhaps too much fighting among ourselves to be honest.
The we have the Spanish midfielder Samper revealing that when he was made aware of interest from Arsenal he did not even deign to listen to Wenger because he was determined to make it big with Barcelona. That player is now struggling to get much game time with relegation bound La Liga minnows Granada, so who lost out on that one?
If Arsenal do not make any signing this month it may be frustrating, but maybe it is better to sign nobody eh Gooners?
Bob.