The whole response by Arsenal & their manager to the backlash against their lack of success in the transfer window has been either to hit back and claim they’ve had bad luck and have done things behind the scenes or promise that someone will come, as the club turn their attention to Juan Mata from Chelsea.
No one really knows if Chelsea want to sell Mata. It’s not really known if Mata himself wants to leave. But there’s some sort of foundation to his train of thought.
From the moment Jose Mourinho took the Chelsea job, Mata was one of the two names constantly mentioned as someone who will be sold. He didn’t start for Chelsea on their opening day match against Hull City, and performed quite badly in their win against Aston Villa.
Two matches don’t mean anything, especially when it’s the club’s best player from the last couple of seasons we’re talking about, but Mourinho doesn’t care about what Mata did in the past if he thinks Oscar, De Bruyne and Hazard are better players, while Willian and possibly Wayne Rooney arriving are going to further change the minute distribution.
According to the Mirror, Arsenal are now going to move in on the 25-year old Spanish international, figuring he’s going to be displeased this week when he realizes that the signings Chelsea are making will be coming at his expense, more than it is for others.
How does he work for Arsenal? Mata does play in a role that’s similar to Santi Cazorla, which is an attacking midfielder who can move to the wings as well, but he might also get a chance to start as a left winger instead of Lukas Podolski. In any case, whether Arsenal play in their 4-3-3 or 4-2-3-1, Mata is better than anyone they have in the positions he’s comfortable to play in.