Arsenal: Ahmed Musa Puts Himself Against The Odds

Arsenal is not in the market for much of anything, and Ahmed Musa is not helping his cause by expressing his interest in a move to North London.

Ahmed Musa is having himself a season. He has helped CSKA Moscow rise to the top of the table. Featuring in every one of their matches (18 as of Saturday), Musa has nabbed himself six goals and two assists.

The captain of the Nigerian international team was the subject of Leicester City’s interest, as the Foxes lodged a bid in the £18.7m range (via Goal.com), only to have it turned down. According to the DailyPost Nigeria, the offer was turned down strictly because Moscow’s president Yevgeny Giner insisted that Musa was not for sale. He was simply too important a piece in securing the title.

But that isn’t going to stop Musa from speaking up about the prospect of coming to England. “I would be happy if I was wanted by Arsenal. I have supported the team since the age of six. Nwankwo Kanu has been my idol since childhood. It will be fantastic to play for Arsenal.”

Musa is taking a page out of the “never worked before” handbook. He is not the first to ask Arsenal to come get him. William Carvalho, Serge Aurier and Moussa Sissoko all made very similar mistakes, as none of them currently suit up in the red and white.

It’s probably another stigma that Arsene Wenger has. “They want us to sign them? It must be a trap.”

However, for Ahmed Musa, an exception may be worth making. As a man who idled Kanu, Musa is following in the former Super Eagles’s captain’s footsteps by leading the current Nigerian squad. While Kanu mustered 12 goals in 87 appearances for Nigeria, Musa has already netted 11 in just 57 appearances.

Not only that, but at the age of 23, he has plenty of time to develop into exactly what Arsene Wenger wants.

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It would also be nice to have someone else at Arsenal that loves the club through and through. That added dose of inspiration can go a long way towards helping a player reach his full potential.

Not even that is the most appealing piece of a potential move for Musa, however. Musa is incredibly versatile. He plays any forward-lying position with equal efficiency. Although playing on the left, he can branch out to play centrally or wide right as well. Given Arsenal’s fluctuating crop of wingers, there is always room for more.

But wait, there’s more. Musa is also a very tough man to dispossess. He has superior dribbling abilities and, on average, is only dispossessed 1.2 times per appearance. That is Joel Campbell good.

It is looking increasingly likely that Musa will be leaving the frigid Russian air behind this summer. His release clause still sits at £22m but even president Giner seems resolved to let him slip away in the summer.

Next: Arsenal Becoming The Vultures Of Barcelona

Will Arsenal be there to swoop him up or will he continue the trend of players that long for, but never achieve, Arsenal?

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