Arsenal: Max Meyer resolution woefully anticlimactic

Arsenal weren’t the only top-tier team in on the young German Max Meyer. But now that he is nearing Crystal Palace, we can’t help but scratch our heads.

Arsenal looked to be the perfect landing spot for Max Meyer. Everything about the move made perfect sense. For starters, he was coming from the Bundesliga, which has been the hot spot for the Gunners’ summer shopping needs.

Secondly, he was coming from FC Schalke, whom the Gunners already did similar business with last summer, when they landed Sead Kolasinac on a free, the same deal that Meyer would have been facing if he came to the club.

And, oh yeah, he would have been free. His contract had expired, he was a free agent, and it all lined up financially.

With Jack Wilshere and Santi Cazorla leaving, both of whom played a similar, deep pivot style in the midfield, another of that sort would have been welcomed. Lucas Torreira suits the role fine, but the part that he lacks that Wilshere and Cazorla had was creativity. Torreira is primarily, like N’Golo Kante, a ball winner.

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He has skills besides that, but creativity has yet to be established as one of them.

Meyer had that. Meaning he would have been the perfect compliment to Torreira, given that both are 22-years-old, both have similar abilities, but they also have enough differences to make a strong pairing.

The link hit a snag when it was reported that Meyer was looking for a massive contract, as well as a massive signing-on fee. This supposedly knocked away the interest of Liverpool and, in the end, did the same with Arsenal. Many questioned his motive, and if he wasn’t just in this for the money, rather than for playing the sport itself.

While we don’t want to get into that too much, we will fast forward to the resolution. Max Meyer will be joining Crystal Palace.

The man wanted to play in England. He had the opportunity to join a top tier club and learn from the best, among the best, but he, instead, opted for Crystal Palace. Maybe that comes down to a guarantee of playing time, which makes sense, but it also kind of doesn’t.

It’s pretty moot at this point. What was shaping up to be an epic duel between the Gunners and the Reds over a potentially prolific talent turned into settling for Palace. I guess it’s over now.