Neymar was recently spotted sitting next to Frank Warren, the founder of Queensberry promotion at a Boxing event in Saudi Arabia. The lifelong Arsenal supporter urged The Brazilian megastar to join Arsenal, saying, “We need you”.
The former Barcelona and Paris Saint Germain forward moved to Al-Hilal in Saudi last summer. After making just five appearances for the Saudi club, he got injured during international duty. The Brazilian landed awkwardly during the 2-0 loss against Uruguay and tore his cruciate ligament. Neymar is back in training now. Even though he has been out for a year his team hasn’t slacked off. Al Hilal won the league last season by going unbeaten, winning thirty-one games and drawing just three. After Frank Warren’s public appeal, Let’s see if there is any reason for Mikel Arteta’s team to sign the Brazilian at thirty-two years of age.
Neymar at Arsenal?
The Brazilian is one of, if not the most gifted attacker of the last decade. His performances for Barcelona and Paris Saint Germain are a testament to his greatness. He has played for some of the best teams of the generation and knows what it takes to win big titles. I would say that his best performances came for his national team. He is the top scorer for Brazil, above Pele, Ronaldo, and everyone else. Even though Neymar can still produce at a high level, playing in England will be extremely challenging.
Arteta knows his best eleven and playing the thirty-two-year-old injury-prone Neymar over younger players like Gabriel Martinelli and Leandro Trossard will only hamper their development. I don’t think that this hypothetical move would benefit either Arsenal or Neymar. If Neymar was at the peak of his powers, or if this was five years ago, then it would have been a different story.
The only thing that Arsenal need is for their players to be fit. There is nothing wrong with the squad, and the roles that are unfilled at the club, I don’t think that Neymar would be interested in any of them. His playstyle is very different from what Mikel Arteta wants from his players and to be honest, there is no need to sign someone who is going to take huge wages, is at the twilight of his career, and has a very poor injury record.
Where would he play?
You can make an argument about Neymar playing as the False 9 but I don’t think that he still has the gas tank for it. He earns £1.64 million per week currently. Even if he takes a fifty percent pay cut, he will still be paid triple more than any other Arsenal player. I don’t see this happening. Not to forget the fact that Arteta wants every single player in the team to defend. Neymar is not going to do that.
There are numerous stylistic differences between Neymar and Arteta. Neymar thrives in disorganization and chaos. Neymar likes to get the ball in the midfield and then dribble through players or play a quick one-two to get past the opposition Mids. Arteta is the complete opposite of this, he has a structured team, where every player knows what the next move is going to be. They defend as a team, something that Neymar, Messi, and Mbappe never did. Arteta likes to take fewer risks in possession whereas with Neymar it is not the case.
After Frank Warren said he was going to come, Neymar played it off coolly. I don’t think there’s any reason for Neymar to come to the premier league, let alone Arsenal. If Neymar comes to Arsenal, will it be better? Yes, he is one of the very few players who can win you games on their own. He has that magic, but the money involved, change in defensive schemes, and experimenting with different lineups will only drag the team back. Arsenal are one of the best teams in the world when healthy. They don’t need Neymar. They need some good luck.
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