IN an ideal world, Arsenal would probably prefer to avoid trying to do business in the awkward January transfer window.
However, this is not an ideal world. While Unai Emery has made an impressive start to his time as Arsenal’s head coach, his team remain outside of the top four and his squad appears increasingly stretched. Reinforcements are required—but budgetary issues remain.
One of the names doing the rounds is Barcelona’s creative midfielder Denis Suarez. This is the first transfer window in which Emery will have a full involvement, and it’s fair to say that Suarez would appear to be his pick: the two were together at Sevilla, where they won the Europa League in 2015.
Barcelona midfielder Denis Suarez has agreed to join Arsenal after holding talks with Unai Emery. [Sport] pic.twitter.com/1y1X0bhva9
— AFTV (@AFTVMedia) January 8, 2019
It’s natural that Emery might look to bring in a player who already knows and understands his methods—especially at the halfway point in the season, when time for acclimatisation is scarce. Crucially, Suarez has also spent time in England, having undergone much of his football education at Manchester City’s academy.
However, there is a stumbling block—or rather, there are 20 million stumbling blocks. That’s the fee, in Euros, that Barcelona apparently require for a player who has played only a handful of minutes in La Liga this season. Arsenal are not flush with cash, and that would be a fee comparable to the one paid for the likes of Bernd Leno and Lucas Torreira, who have swiftly established themselves as starters. If Arsenal are to drop €20m on a player right now, he needs to have an immediate impact. He probably needs to be a first-team regular.
Suarez feels like more of a squad player. Ultimately, with the exception of his working relationship with Emery, it’s not clear what he brings that Arsenal do not already have. Barcelona have tended to use him as a central playmaker, but Emery has spoken of him as someone who can play on “left and right wings”.
Sky in Italy: Arsenal close to deal for Barcelona midfielder Denis Suarez. Roma and AC Milan also interested. Unai Emery knows Suarez from his time at Sevilla
— Kaveh Solhekol (@SkyKaveh) January 4, 2019
However, he is not a traditional winger. Like Alex Iwobi and Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Suarez is always inclined to drift infield towards the number 10 spot. There is an obvious benefit to that: he fits the Emery model, in that his tendency to pull into central areas can create space for overlapping full-backs and wing-backs. However, his goal and assist productivity is no better than either of Arsenal’s current options.
Arsenal really require a wide forward with a point of difference. They may have recently lost Mkhitaryan to injury, but it’s long-term absentee Danny Welbeck who’s absence is being most keenly felt. Welbeck offered real pace and threat in behind, as well as considerable goalscoring nous. in that respect, the links to Belgian winger Yannick Carrasco seem more appropriate.
Suarez is obviously a player of some pedigree—you don’t end up at Barcelona without having a certain level of quality. It may be that Emery and the rest of Arenal’s recruitment team recognise that there may be considerable upside to the deal. At 25, it’s possible he could blossom under the tutelage of a coach who clearly has faith in him.
According to reports, Denis Suárez is keen to join Arsenal. He’s only 25, has worked for Emery before, can play both centrally & out wide, doesn’t cause a fuss when he’s not in the XI & is relatively cheap. Also, look at Alcácer when he left Barcelona. The talent is still there.
— Patrick Timmons (@PatrickTimmons1) January 8, 2019
However, it would be a gamble. Bringing Suarez in would not only come at considerable financial expense, but it would also take up a spot in the squad potentially earmarked for promising loanee Reiss Nelson. It would be a nightmare if Arsenal ended up blocking Nelson’s path to the first team and seeing him being tempted with offers from abroad like Chelsea’s Callum Hudson-Odoi.
A loan move would give Arsenal the opportunity to assess Suarez at close quarters before making any major financial commitment. In an ideal situation Arsenal would negotiate a pre-fixed price. That way, Suarez would provide cover and competition, and if he exceeded expectations they could trigger the clause and make the deal permanent. Barcelona will understandably be keen to extract whatever value they can from the player, but Arsenal should stand firm.
This is a deal where Arsenal should be trying to drive a hard bargain. Barcelona clearly do not need Suarez. But the truth is, Arsenal don’t desperately need him either.
