Robert Lewandowski and Arsenal. It seems surreal even putting those two names in the same sentence considering the issues the Gunners have had of late at striker to then suggest arguably the world’s best player could join the club.
However, this link has emerged with Four Four Two claiming that Arsenal may move for the Polish striker in the summer with contract talks between Lewandowski and Bayern Munich non-existent. His deal expires in 2023 but the former Borussia Dortmund man favours staying with the Bundesliga champions.
Were Bayern to decide in favour of moving on from Lewandowski, perhaps to pursue Erling Haaland in the summer, the 33-year-old would surely be an asset to whoever he joined and for a club like Arsenal a no brainer of a move?
Well, this does not seem to be the case for many Arsenal supporters. Curious regarding the news and how Gunners fans would react to the idea of Robert Lewandowski at the club a poll was published that received more than 1500 votes.
However, more than 60% of the vote showed that supporters favoured rejecting a move for Lewandowski with the context of it being a two-year deal and the striker being paid £400,000 per week.
Reading through the responses it became clear why so many felt it would not be the right move for the club to make.
@RemontadaVV said, “If he was 25 maybe. Think we should have learned our lessons regarding large contracts with ageing footballers. Avoid.”
@doomandgooner wrote, “No, we can’t keep making the same errors and it’s such a huge gamble if at his age his level translates to the rigours of the PL.”
@TheGoonersPod replied, “We need to discover/create the next Lewa, not buy the one who's already there and lose him on a free at the end. I love Lewa as much as anyone and don't think he's past it yet, but we can't keep being the place people end their functional careers at. He would be 36 at the end.”
It is clear that a combination of Lewandowski’s age plus the fear of repeating the mistakes of giving huge money to players in their latter years is enough to turn people off the world-class forward.
I have an understanding of this. When players like Mesut Ozil and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang left the club in their thirties after signing mega-money deals which did not reflect their output in the time since the agreement, it makes sense for apprehension.
However, there remains a part of me struggling with the idea of turning down a player of Lewandowski’s calibre. He has 33 goals in 39 games with nine coming in just seven Champions League fixtures.
There appears no sign of a decline and were Arsenal to combine his acquisition with a second striker signing of a much younger profile such as a Jonathan David, perhaps this would allow for a better transition and lower the risk.
The thought of Lewandowski being the missing piece of the Arsenal jigsaw is one that gets me excited. Have I not learned from the former errors of the past? Or would it be mad not to welcome a player of Lewandowski's stature into the side for next season?
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