At this time of the year, rumours and reality play really badly together.
One day you have Arsenal strongly linked with a certain player only for the next to find yourself reading about Arsene Wenger’s denials.
Who do you trust?
It really is hard to know.
Papers and websites get things wrong and the Arsenal manager? Well, he just flat out lies during transfer season and we all love him for it, especially when the man who probably knows every player in the French fifth division tells you that he’s never heard of Santi Cazorla.
So fast forward a few days after the end of the Emirates Cup when the Arsenal boss said that he probably didn’t need a front man and we find Arsenal being heavily linked with an £8.5million move for Fernando Llorente.
The hitman, who only moved to Juventus in 2013 on a free, is 30 now and, if we’re honest, has seen better days. Why would Arsenal, who are no longer cash-strapped, be shopping at that end of the market now?
Backup, perhaps, with Lukas Podolski leaving for warmer climes, but it seems unlikely.
With just seven goals in 31 Serie A appearances last season, Llorente is not exactly pulling up trees, although he’s certainly capable of that given his size. But Arsenal have their own ‘big man’ and he’s scoring a hell of a lot more goals in the league than seven.
At that age, as well, you have to wonder if he would be able to adapt to the frenetic pace of the Premier League.
On the face of it, £8,5m seems like a bargain, but when you scratch beneath the surface you uncover a host of reasons why Wenger, frugal at the best of times, would rather keep that money for a few players from the lower leagues in France that we’ve never heard of but you can be certain he most definitely has.
MORE : Why Arsenal’s Mesut Ozil could finally be ready to justify his £42.5million transfer fee
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