When I first heard the rumour in the Express, that Unai Emery was holding talks with Manchester United midfielder Marouane Fellaini, I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
I thought I’d been subjected to the most audacious and belated April fools prank.
United? Mourinho? Arsenal? Fellaini? It didn’t make sense. The 30-year-old is without question a durable and committed performer but he isn’t top drawer or the much needed creative midfielder fans had been craving.
It’s a bit like trying to put formula 1 tires on a bicycle and preying it makes it to its intended destination. As you can gather, I’m not exactly a fan. I didn’t understand it when David Moyes drafted him into the Manchester United side and understood it even less, when he remained there, especially under Jose Mourinho.
Are we to believe that Marouane Fellaini is the answer to Arsenal’s midfield and defensive issues?. So, what’s the attraction? Well, the price is enticing, Fellaini will not incur a fee and could arrive as a free agent if Unai Emery is contemplating a move.
Chris Bascombe of The Telegraph said of the Belgium “He looks like an out-of-control dog,” whilst dissecting his work in a United shirt. This was in 2014, a year when Spanish paper AS failed to even give him a rating for his abject performance, whereas, his teammates were all given a score of some sort.
Fellaini divides opinion, even during his spell at Everton, where no one could see what all the fuss was about, even less so since his move to Old Trafford. The pin-up for aspiring trainee barbers has failed to prove himself one way or the other and seems to be anonymous in the majority of games.
Only his wild, shaggy looks distinguish him from his colleagues and provides the necessary evidence that he was actually on the pitch. Arsenal boss, Emery, has a difficult task on his hands to combine existing, rising talent, limited resources and the need for new additions, so, Fellaini could offer him an option.
Yet, it’s all very underwhelming, a host of names have been mentioned as possible incoming Arsenal recruits, hardly any of which are known to Gunners supporters but one suspects that even the unknown may be preferable to the known failings of Fellaini.
Perhaps Emery is about to unleash his master plan and surprise us all with the most unbelievable combination of talents that work sublimely once assembled together. Perhaps, in our eagerness to acquire someone of obvious talent from the Worlds elite, Fellaini is an overlooked treasure.
In general, he is perceived, by many, as a player that has never shown his worth and maybe our opinion has been sullied by his all too often, hidden genius, onboard a six-foot frame crowned with chaotic hair. Arsenal are about to confirm the signings of one or two players this week. I hope that Fellaini isn’t one of them.
