The World Cup looms large on not only every football fixture schedule, but every player and manager.
International football may have taken a backwards step in terms of priority for fans and players alike, but the World Cup is a festival of football that ignites passions unlike anything else. It has no peers, and the 2018 tournament in Russia promises to be memorable for many reasons.
Players in the last few months have had the competition in the back of their mind every time they take to the field in the colours of their club. Players have said this is the case in the past, and appearing at a World Cup will be the pinnacle for many players, so attempting to avoid injuries that curtail their World Cup dream could have impacted their performance.
Regardless, these professionals will hopefully have done all they can to book their ticket on their respective nation’s squad flight. They may be wary of injury, but they also had to maintain form and remain in contention for selection.
Managers will be looking at the World Cup for very different reasons.
The season will have ended and weaknesses that have to be remedied will be first and foremost in their minds. The World Cup is the biggest shop window in football, and this is where the thoughts of players and managers unite.
Players will be looking to put themselves in the shop window – and Managers will be looking for those who do so with the most panache.
Unai Emery and his back room staff will be very conscious of what he needs to address, and his experience will also have given him the heads up that this international competition will ramp up any prices of a player who dazzles on this large stage.
Emery must act quickly if he is looking to do business for a player who is doing the business for his country. One match where they look like a world beater and not only will the player know they can ask for more than before their performance, but their agent will have left them 50 voicemails telling their client to hold out for the best offer.
It will spark a bidding war, and the selling club and the agent will have dollar signs spinning in their eyes.
Arsenal’s recruitment team has no excuse to stand on ceremony. They know that to acquire targets, we must be decisive and move early to get what we need. We now have the added bonus of Raul Sanllehi to aid our transfer endeavours, and the man from Catalunya could well be the secret weapon we need to make sure our own armour chinks are welded over in the most effective manner.
The World Cup is going to unearth some real talent, it happens every time. Players that were previously loosely monitored then show the largest audience that they indeed have the minerals to make it at the top. That they have what it takes to make the difference at our clubs.
With our defence needing major reinvention and our midfield lacking balance at times, all and sundry can see where we will need to invest, and Sanllehi will have a very small window to make it happen before the bidding war starts.
Up The Arsenal 