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Arsenal Pursuit Of Chicharito Follows Common Theme
By Josh Sippie
Arsenal are rumored to be after Javier Hernandez, which follows a theme that we have seen Arsene Wenger pursuing before. It would make sense if he signed.
Arsenal are reportedly weighing up a potential bid for former Manchester United striker Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez. The Mexican striker was a favorite under Sir Alex Ferguson’s reign. However, since the dynamic duo of David Moyes and Louis van Gaal have done their best to destroy what Fergie built, players have been taking flight.
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One such player is Chicharito. With Ferguson gone, Chicharito immediately fell out of favor and was sent on loan to Real Madrid, where he scored a respectable nine goals and fours assists in just under 1,000 minutes of play. United welcomed him back for a short period after the loan before the blundering Dutchman let Chicharito escape to Bayer Leverkusen, telling Hernandez that he “only had a 1% chance of playing in [his] position” (via IBT).
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Aside from how rude that is, let’s take a minute to remark at how daft it is as well. Chicharito scored 59 goals in 157 appearances for United. That is a really good return for a young striker. He then went on to Real Madrid where, in just one year of acclimation and play time, he netted nine times.
So, van Gaal, seeing the attack that he had, allowed a proven striker to skedaddle because he was deemed not good enough. Now, In Germany, playing for Bayer Leverkusen, Chicharito has 18 goals, just three less than Manchester United has mustered as an entire team. I don’t know if this needs to be said, but clearly Louis van Gaal was wrong again.
Chicharito is not the first person to feel the brunt of van Gaal’s stone-headedness. Guys like Franck Ribery, Robin van Persie, Angel Di Maria and more have all had run-ins with this guy. So too, has Danny Welbeck. Welbeck was said to not be on the same level as one Radamel Falcao, who Welbeck went on to outperform. Now, Falcao is at Chelsea, United can’t score and Arsenal is ahead of United.
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Arsenal’s pursuit of Javier Hernandez makes complete and total sense. It would work just like Danny Welbeck. Both were products of Sir Alex Ferguson’s era. Ferguson and Wenger were not so different. They valued the same things in a club. Things that Louis van Gaal does not value. Therefore it makes sense that Wenger is waiting with a net to catch any of Ferguson’s products that slip away. Welbeck was one such product whom Fergie thought very highly of. Chicharito is another.
Hernandez has already proven his ability to score in the Premier League. He has scored wherever he goes. He has the speed and versatility to play striker or a wide position, much like Danny Welbeck. For those reasons, the move would make sense from a practicality standpoint.
And then there is the added measure of spite. Chicharito is obviously a bit disenchanted with United and if given the chance, he would surely love to stick it to them for being dead wrong about him. If he is netting like crazy in Germany, imagine how well he could do fighting with even more zeal for United’s rival, Arsenal.
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Not only that, but it would give Wenger another toy to spite his long-time rivals with. Unlike United, Arsenal do not have a problem scoring. They have a fantastic attack already. Although it can get a bit thin at times. Chicharito would find time and when he did, he would be a piece of an offense that is clicking on all cylinders.
It’s a long shot to think that Leverkusen would let Chicharito go. It’s also a stretch to think that Wenger would fight too hard to get him. But it does make sense why Wenger would be interested.