Arsenal: Tottenham Hotspur literally cannot “win” race to Nabil Fekir

Arsenal are always going to be a more attractive destination than Tottenham Hotspur, no matter what. And Nabil Fekir’s decision isn’t going to change anything.

Arsenal have been ticketed as the prime contenders to land Nabil Fekir for months now, going all the way back to last summer. When they landed Alexandre Lacazette, it was icing on the Fekir cake. The two had such a strong partnership at Lyon that it only made sense that Fekir would want to reconnect.

Then there was Fekir’s father speaking up and saying that if his son leaves Lyon, it could only be to Arsenal.

Not Tottenham Hotspur. So now that Tottenham Hotspur have “entered into the race” to sign Fekir, I am not worried at all. And there is one big reason why.

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Even if Tottenham end up signing Fekir ahead of Arsenal, it won’t have anything to do with “winning a race.” The red side of North London can get Fekir if they want him. That is incredibly obvious.

The big question they have to answer is if they do want him. Fekir is taking the footballing world by storm and could probably have his pick of the footballing world. But certain teams aren’t in a place to offer him what he wants – guaranteed first team minutes.

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Arsenal already have Mesut Ozil and Henrikh Mkhitaryan to play creative attacking roles and, as I covered in a previous article, that does leave space for one more creative attacker if that’s the way this formation is headed. Emil Forsberg and Fekir are both of that mold.

But the stipulation there is that Jack Wilshere leaves, which is, as of yet, no guarantee. The Gunners may be spending like crazy on this attack, but that stops eventually, and I could foresee a future where they accept the attack that they have and run with it.

That does not constitute “losing the race” to Fekir or Tottenham “winning the race.” It constitutes what a team needs and what they don’t. If the Gunners go after Fekir, they will get him. If they don’t, then it’s not a race.

The only reason I felt inclined to point this out is because of the strong link to Fekir and Tottenham’s sudden interest. Given that the only thing Spurs’ fans ever seem to celebrate is one-upping Arsenal (they don’t celebrate much), “winning the race” to a “target” of ours would constitute more gloating that doesn’t need to exist.

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That said, I do hope we go after Fekir. It may be overkill in the creation department, but I’m more than okay with that.