Arsenal: Edinson Cavani The Biggest Missed Chance

Arsenal were once strongly tied to Edinson Cavani, but that time has passed. Is this arguably the biggest chance Wenger has missed?

You can never really tell how far certain transfer rumors actually go. Did the team make an offer? Did the player actually want to leave? What was the price? What was the hold up? There are all kinds of things to consider.

However, Arsenal was linked with Edinson Cavani for nearly two years. There has to be the assumption that there was something there. Cavani was stuck behind Zlatan and there were numerous direct quotes from the Uruguayan voicing his displeasure.

Basically, there was room for Arsenal to move in and filch him from Paris. But they would have had to have been ruthless. That’s a word I have been using a lot lately in relation to Arsenal’s transfer links and there’s a reason why. It’s something they rarely ever are.

Here we find ourselves at the end of a disappointing season where arguably the biggest problem was not having a consistent striker. Giroud carried himself incredibly well in the first half but went four months without scoring in the second half. What happens if Giroud strings that success all season? Arsenal win the title.

I’m going to do something I try to avoid doing because of the pain it causes – look into the past.

It’s the summer before the 2014/15 season and Arsenal need a striker. Badly. However, Arsene Wenger is refereeing a charity event in Rome. Fair enough.

There are two big options that are in everyone’s eye – Edinson Cavani and Falcao. Wenger goes for neither. He goes for Danny Welbeck.

Now, disclaimer, I like Welbeck and what he brings to the fray. But he isn’t the striker Arsenal need. At least not yet.

Arsenal could have signed Cavani. I firmly believe that. It would have shattered their transfer record, but sometimes you have to take extreme measures for the sake of the team. Cavani was not happy at PSG and the longer we waited, the closer he got to Zlatan leaving. Meaning he would have what he needed, at last.

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That was the time to go in, wedge yourself into Cavani’s corner and talk business. Maybe it did happen, who knows, but I tend to think it didn’t. Cavani is a clinical finisher and one of the better strikers out there. In the past two years, playing in Zlatan’s shadow on the left wing, Cavani has scored 37 goals in just 54 Ligue 1 starts. Think about that.

But we got Welbeck. Now again, credit where it’s due, Welbeck has his perks. But he isn’t the proven finisher Cavani is.

So we have to wonder, was Wenger’s greatest miss Edinson Cavani?

We’ve all heard stories about Wenger missing out on Zlatan, Messi, Ronaldo, and every other superstar that kicks a ball. But that was from a young age. Missing out on Cavani doomed Arsenal to live at the whims of Giroud for two more years, up until where we find ourselves today. Two crucial years where Arsenal was missing that one key piece.

And where do we find ourselves today? Still looking for a striker that can score consistently. Among Alvaro Morata, Arek Milik and whoever else you think Arsenal may be interested in, no one stacks up to what Cavani could have been given two years at the Emirates.

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Now it’s too late. Zlatan is gone and Cavani is happily PSG’s front man. And Arsenal still have nobody outside of Giroud. What was my point in recounting all of this? Don’t let it happen again! Price should not be a hang up. If you see a player that will make this team better, get him.

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