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Did Arsenal Miss Out on Geoffrey Kondogbia?

By Josh Sippie

By LauraHale (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
By LauraHale (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons /
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In our latest installment of “Did Arsenal Miss Out,” we look at the man who I dubbed the only believable Arsenal transfer rumor, Geoffrey Kondogbia. Kondogbia, formerly of the AS Monaco squad that effectively dismantled Arsenal and knocked them out of the UEFA Champions League, has opted to sign with Inter Milan as opposed to Arsenal.

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However, it appears that Arsenal were barely even in the running. Geoffrey Kondogbia was on the way to sign with AC Milan when he supposedly disappeared and reappeared proudly holding an Inter Milan shirt, talking about how it was a dream come true (via the Express).

I have often spoke of the Arsene Wenger affect and how it can be a deciding factor in luring players to Arsenal. It appears the same applies with Roberto Mancini, who was the deciding factor in luring Geoffrey Kondogbia to his club.

So here comes the question: Did Arsenal miss out on Geoffrey Kondogbia?

This is another one that cannot be answered with a straightforward yes or no. As a player, yes they did miss out. He is 22-years old and he would have been an excellent depth option for Arsenal that could have grown into so much more. He is an aerial threat, a deep-lying midfielder and a physical player. Those are three things that Arsenal rather need in a player.

But for the price of 28 million pounds, did we miss out? Not entirely. That is over half of what Arsenal are allowed to spend this summer. There is still the possibility that it would have been proven to be worth it, but on the surface, I would say that Geoffrey Kondogbia will be better off at Inter Milan.

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At Inter Milan, Geoffrey Kondogbia can get more first-team action whereas at Arsenal he would have found the midfield clustered and nearly impregnable. Sure, he would have found time as a squad rotation player but that probably is not enough for a hot commodity like Kondogbia.

And so the search continues for an Arsenal midfielder. The jury is still out on if Arsene Wenger is looking for one and it is even still out on if Arsenal really need another one. They are still linked to guys like Julian Draxler and other youth options that can provide depth now and potential stardom later but no moves are that close to materializing.

Stay tuned, Gooners, we are almost to the transfer window.

Next: So what does Petr Cech mean to our other keepers?

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