Arsenal: Denis Suarez must do much, much more

Denis Suarez on a six-month loan trying to earn a permanent move to Arsenal. He must show much, much more than he has thus far.

Barcelona did not want to sell Denis Suarez on a six-month loan in January without an obligation to buy. Desperate to offload the 25-year-old, the Catalan giants seemed insistent that they would only accept a deal that essentially was a permanent transfer that kicked the finance down the road a little, six months, to be precise.

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Arsenal rejected that proposal. They wanted the player, yes, but they did not want to be inextricably tied to him without a possible out in the summer. For them, it was important to have the flexibility of choosing to sign or not sign Suarez after he had spent six months with the club. That flexibility does not come with an obligation clause.

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The Gunners, therefore, negotiated for an optional clause, rather than an obligational one. It meant that they could sign Suarez for a reported £20 million in the summer if they so wanted, but they could also let him return to Barcelona with no cost to themselves. That structure of the deal puts the pressure on Suarez to prove his worth. If he wants to leave Barca, which are the suggestions, then he must illustrate that he is a £20 million player.

It is early days in his time at the Emirates. He has made just four substitute appearances thus far, totalling 68 minutes of action. It is hardly a sample size worthy of accurate assessment. But the very fact that he has not been able to work his way into more minutes is a little concerning, even at this early stage.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan suffered a bad foot injury that kept him on the sideline for two months. He returned to the starting line-up almost immediately, in Suarez’s place, and has now made three successive starts. If Suarez really wanted to prove his worth, he should have won that job in training.

Similarly, Mesut Ozil has been injured and out of the picture until Thursday night. Alexandre Lacazette was suspended. Aaron Ramsey missed matches against Huddersfield Town and both BATE Borisov legs with a knee injury. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang also missed the Huddersfield Town trip and did not start the first leg versus Borisov. Unai Emery has been rotating through his squad out of force, and yet Alex Iwobi has started every game, seemingly unpressured by Suarez’s presence.

I am not trying to say that Suarez is a waste of money or time. He has played barely more than hour, coming off the bench every time. It is hardly fair to accurately judge a player’s performance on such small opportunity. And this was the point of bringing him on loan, try before you buy.

But if Suarez is to earn a permanent a move away from Barcelona to a big European club, whether that be Arsenal or otherwise, he is going to have to show much, much more than he currently is doing. The pressure is on and he is not yet delivering.