Arsenal dodged a bullet by not signing former Chelsea ace

Arsenal fans have had the ignominy of having to witness their team develop a keenness of falling to the sword of particular players. Under Arsene Wenger, a certain Chelsea striker has troubled the Gunners more than any other striker, his 15 goals in 15 games bearing the appearance of a cop with a perfect case record.

Well, Wenger had in mind to do something about that not repeating itself. Recently, he has admitted to having spurned the chance to sign that Ivorian back when he was with Le Mans in the Ligue 2. And, based on what the lad went onto become on the other side of London, every footballer bearing the slightest strings of his ability to sting was going to be brought to the right side of London.

Four years ago, that happened to be Anderlecht’s wonderkid, Romelu Lukaku.

The big Belgian kid, barely 18 at the time, had been praised as the next bright thing in Europe and that was no hype as his records even as a teenager were speaking volumes. He was top scorer in the Belgian League for Anderlecht to win their 30^th League title, and notched up 20 goals in all competitions the following year though Les Mauves et Blancs relinquished the Championship crown to Genk via the playoffs.

So it was inevitable, some big bounty hunters were going to get stuck in a duel for ‘Luk’. Arsenal’s massive scout network meant Wenger would not be in the dark about this new talent but despite the optimistic reports that the young gun would become a Gunner, perhaps he bought into the Drogba reincarnation tag and got his club a good £17m by saying goodbye to them.

Lukaku made a total of 15 appearances for Chelsea in the three seasons he was listed as their player, including missing the penalty that cost them the UEFA Super Cup in 2012. He has been on two loan spells, with a good personal season at West Brom scoring 17 league goals. The loan spell at Everton before signing for them permanently was also impressive, even arousing the desire of some Gooners to have Wenger move again for him as he was obviously not in Mourinho’s plans.

But having seen his struggles this season, you wouldn’t find many fans with their words still held in their plates. Sure his dip may be a consequence of Martinez’s second season syndrome but then there is enough seen already to give the suggestion he may not have been the explosive gem the Belgian League made him appear at first.

Wenger has an attacking team that really doesn’t struggle for goals and Olivier Giroud, though about eight-years-older than he, is finally getting the love he deserves. Then there is Danny Welbeck who is still adjusting to his new surroundings and Alexis Sanchez who has paid back much of the £33m spent over the summer. Chuba Akpom is patiently waiting in the wings for his time and there is huge faith that he will be a long serving free shooting Gunner when he comes of age.

Lukaku may yet become a star in time, but there are certainly no regrets for now that he was an opportunity missed. If anything, he might have been an utter miscalculation coughing up all of £28m on him alone.

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— Arsenal (@Arsenal) March 25, 2015