Football fortunes change so quickly these days that clubs go from crisis to pre-eminence in the space of a few months. Only last summer there was serious speculation that Manchester United would sign either Cristiano Ronaldo or Gareth Bale.
All of a sudden the idea of the Manchester club getting either seems very far-fetched. Depending on who you believe Manchester United are currently somewhere between transition and terminal decline.
Then there is Arsenal, who have turned their fortunes around over the last year. It appears that the financial constraints that they were under, from the construction of their stadium, have now eased noticeably. With the stadium built and largely paid for Arsenal can now motor forward in the transfer market.
Soon we might ask which club has the bigger draw for incoming players. Manchester United has traditionally been the glamour club that can sign almost anyone but Arsenal are catching up fast.
The case of Ilkay Gundogan could be very interesting in this respect. Both clubs have been heavily linked with the player and recent speculation has suggested that his current club, Borussia Dortmund, may be braced to lose him. The Express recently reported:
The club admit that Gundogan’s future is also still up in the air with a new contract yet to be agreed.
Watzke (Dortmund CEO) said:”It is our absolute desire that besides Robert Lewandowski no other regular player leaves the club.
“Only in the case of Ilkay Gundogan, we do not yet know how it will turn out.
If the brilliant midfielder does decide to go to Arsenal over Manchester United we could be seeing a seismic shift in the balance of power. With Gundogan Arsenal could certainly be expected to go on to lift the title this season. Arsenal don’t really require another attacking midfielder – they have a wealth of them. Meanwhile, Manchester United are desperate for a creator in the middle, but don’t seem to be able to sign one.
If Gundogan goes to Arsenal it will be great news for The Gunners but could spell further trouble for Manchester United.
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