It was a cold winter indeed for Arsenal as they failed to bring home almost all of their transfer targets and wound up loaning Denis Suarez from Barcelona.
The out-of-favour midfielder was keen on the switch due to his severe lack of game-time and his affinity towards the English giants. It was rumoured that after the deal almost fell through, it was Suarez who pushed the move to fruition.
Nevertheless, around 2 months after his change of clubs, the Spaniard’s situation remains quite unchanged. He is yet to start a game for the Gunners in a major competition and the minutes he has been allotted so far has been scarce. Probably not exactly the break the former Sevilla star was hoping for.
However, recently during the international break, the Londoners flew to Abu Dhabi. A friendly match had been scheduled against local club Al Nasr, which featured the Barcelona loanee in the starting line-up for the first time since his spell at Arsenal began. The Premier League side won the tie 3-2 and offered a chance to analyse youth prospects, and, Suarez.
Though, it’s still unclear whether the 25-year-old’s performance has impressed the gaffer enough to consider him in the starting XI of a top-flight fixture.
“I think he is OK for starting in the first eleven, to give us this impact,” Unai Emery said [as per Football.London]. “I think now our focus is collectively a very strong focus to help, in 90 minutes, 30 minutes or one minute.
“I think it’s normal [that he needed time].
“Now we have a lot of players ready, with a big mentality with a big performance to play and help us. For me like that, we can be stronger, more competitive for taking the big performance, with Denis or with another player.”
With Alex Iwobi, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Mesut Özil competing for the winger position, it is very hard to imagine the versatile midfielder rising up in Emery’s ranks to obtain regular game-time.
But alas, the former PSG boss has proven to be an unpredictable tactician, so his past colleague could still get the break he’s in search of. Especially since the duo’s time at Sevilla is a clear testament to their success formula’s potency.
