da betsul： Earlier this week Atletico Madrid confirmed the capture of Fran Merida from Arsenal on a free transfer. However, many Arsenal fans will be bemused as to why Wenger has let the young Spaniard depart from the Emirates so early in his career.
da fezbet： The 20-year-old is a highly rated youngster and a few years back was compared to a young Fabregas by both Wenger and the fans. This even makes the departure of the player a little more perplexing for some.
The midfielder signed for the Gunners when he was just 17 years old from Barcelona. Since his move, Merida wasn’t really given a chance to excel like others have in the past.
In his first year at Arsenal, Fran Merida made just the 3 appearances for the club, all of which were in the carling cup. The following season he was sent out on a year loan to Spanish side Real Sociedad, where he managed to play 14 times and net just the once. After his loan expired in 2008, Merida returned to North London and in his last two years at Arsenal only managed to make a total of 13 appearances and net just the 2 times.
After 3 years in North London, the Spaniard obviously felt it was time to leave the Emirates and continue his development elsewhere. Joseba Diaz (the agent’s player) told the Sun newspaper this week that his client has left the club for sporting reasons and not for money:
“Fran’s decision is based purely on sporting questions and not money.”
Merida doesn’t look the type to be in the game for the money (not yet anyway), the youngster simply wants to play the game week in week out, and unfortunately wasn’t doing this while at Arsenal. In fact, Wenger gave Merida limited chances to impress him and most importantly the fans, so to let him leave so soon appears a little harsh and premature on Wenger’s part.
Without a doubt Merida does have quality to offer, but was never given the chance to show it. The midfielder possesses skill, good movement and great technical ability for a player of his age. If Wenger put a little more trust in the player and gave the Spaniard more time on the pitch, then maybe the player would have stayed at the club for an extra year or so.
Some of the Arsenal faithful maybe glad to see the back of him, but personally, for me, it looks as if the Arsenal boss has let go of a potential star…this decision may come back to haunt you in the future Wenger, we’ll have to wait and see.
The Spanish wonder kid will be playing in the Vicente Calderon after signing a four-year deal with Atletico Madrid once his current Arsenal contract expires on June 30th.
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