Will Arsenal rue the decision of not cashing in last summer?

Football FanCast columnist ‘The New Voice of Football' wonders
if Arsenal are ruing the decision not to cash in on Adebayor.

With interest in Gunners striker Emmanuel Adebayor
seeming to have evaporated completely, after being coveted by Barcelona and AC
Milan last summer. Will Arsenal rue not cashing in on the reported £30million
on offer, given the Togolese International's extended periods on the treatment
table at the Emirates and moderate form in the Premiership this term?

Surely Wenger must have secretly hoped that the
Blaugrana or Rossoneri would do the unthinkable and fork out a king's ransom
for Adebayor last summer. There is no doubting the ‘quality' as Wenger would
say of Adebayor, but the former Monaco player has not done it consistently
enough yet, to be worth £30million.

Wenger would have us believe otherwise, in fact so
sure was the French voyeur of Adebayor's value at that time that he reportedly
saw fit to send a fax direct to the San Siro kindly informing them that ‘Adebayor was not for sale, for money or
gold'. Statistically the French are amongst the lowest users of computer's
in Europe, which could explain the lack of an email by Arsene on this occasion.

In a double bluff, could Wenger have been planning
the redirecting of the Milanese millions, while scribbling this fax? After all
he had built a dynasty spearheaded by Thierry Henry after making a killing off
the sale of Anelka to Real Madrid before the turn of the millennium.

Adebayor had talks with Barca, coach Pep Guardiola
wanted him, apparently had told the board at the Nou Camp that this was the
striker to end the playing days at the Catalan club of Samuel Eto'o. While
Milan looked into the possibility of a Western-Union transfer to the Emirates
as their preferred methods of payment were not on Wenger's list.

So unable to get to grips with Western Union, Milan
pulled out of the running, with Guardiola having seen Adebayor face-to-face now
not so impressed. As the Gunners striker demanded £120,000-a-week and was
understood to have given the Barca legend more than cause for concern about the
his motives and attitude along with those of his entourage,

By acting and pricing himself out of his move to the
Nou Camp, with the Spanish giants not pursuing the matter any further or likely
to while Guardiola is in charge. Adebayor was left with little option, but to
take the measly £80,000 on offer by Arsenal and sign a new deal (my bleeding
heart).

In a season disrupted by injury, which has seen
Adebayor produce a modest return in front of goal, with the striker now injured
again, due to return at some point in April for Arsenal. The reluctance of
Wenger to truly spend big in the transfer windows as he nurtures young talent
year-in-year-out at the Emirates could see Arsenal rue not bagging in excess of
£30million for the striker last summer. Because surely the talent-spotting
skills of the Frenchman could have brought the equivalent of three-or-four
Adebayor's for that sort of money and started building the next dynasty?

• Time for Wenger to forgive and forget and make £8m move
• Why Wenger should look to activate Newcastle star's 'get out' clause
• Fergie wouldn't have it, Rafa would have ended it – so why won't Arsene Wenger?
• Why Wenger shouldn't pass up this £12m opportunity
• A £6m mistake that I hope Wenger won't look to make again

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