The Balotelli to Arsenal rumours are gathering pace. Some newspapers are reporting that AC Milan are willing to sell, and that it would take £29,500,000 to secure his signature. Others are reporting that a deal is all but done, and that we are set to offer him £180,000 a week in wages. However, given the nature of the British press, there is still a good chance that the move may not materialise.
Either way, talk of Mario’s potential move to the Emirates has split opinion among Arsenal fans. There is no doubting Balotelli’s ability with a football, but his ‘bad boy’ reputation is causing concern.
We’ll start with the positives, of which there are many. He is a top goal scorer and he has the record to prove it. At the age of 23, he has already notched up over 100 club goals in his career. Most importantly, 35 of these were scored during his time at Manchester City, meaning he has that most invaluable asset- Premier League experience. He is also enjoying a successful World Cup in Brazil at the moment.
On top of his goal scoring record he also has a number of honours to his name. With Inter Milan he won Serie A three times, the Coppa Italia once and the Champions League once. During his time with Manchester City he won the Premier League and the FA Cup. A winning mentality is important and has a big impact on the team; Mesut Özil is an example of this. His first season in the Premier League was seen as a ‘flop’ to most, but I don’t believe that his arrival, coinciding with Arsenal’s first trophy for nine years, is purely coincidence.
If you choose to stop reading here, you will see no reason at all as to why Arsenal would want to pass up the opportunity to sign Balotelli. However, this impressive list of positives goes hand in hand with a rather extensive list of negatives.
Balotelli has spoken out about his antics away from the football field, explaining that he did do some of the things reported, such as throwing darts at youth team players at Man City. He does however deny that he set fireworks off in his home and that he fought with Manchester United fans. Here are few other things he is reported to have done.
He got in to a fight with four bouncers after breaking the ‘no touching’ rule at a strip club. The police stopped him when £25,000 in cash was spotted in the passenger seat of his sports car. When asked why he had it on the seat he replied, “because I can.” He has broken up with a girlfriend via text while she was on live television presenting a show. Stood up in the middle of a top-end restaurant and shouted ‘Rooney’ a number of times at a woman who was supposedly Wayne Rooney’s hooker and has racked up thousands of pounds in parking tickets and has had his car impounded almost 30 times. The list really does go on.
Should Arsenal sign Balotelli, Arsène would be taking a huge risk, and squad harmony is the main aspect of the current Arsenal set-up that could suffer. The mood in the changing room has seemingly been fantastic all season, with great leaders such as Per Mertesacker and Wojciech Szczesny bringing a lot of fun and passion to the dressing room. Now, following the FA Cup win, the mood will have lifted indefinitely. If Balotelli did move to Arsenal, there is a big chance that, at some point, something would happen to spoil this. Be it a fight with a team mate or an off the pitch incident which smeared Arsenal’s name a little, it could prove incredibly costly.
However, if there is one man who can tame ‘Super Mario,’ a man who has a life sized bronze statue of himself in his house, it’s Arsène Wenger. His limitless intelligence, endless empathy and unrivalled ability to bond with players could be just what Balotelli needs to settle down and become the world-class superstar the footballing world knows he can be.
Arsène Wenger has been described a father figure and a great man by Arsenal players past and present who have played under him. He has had an impact on the lives of his players both in and out of football and should Balotelli join, he would have a mentor who would give him all the tools he needs to become the best. Arsène has created a team bursting technical ability and creativity and with Mario leading the line, he could be looking at the Golden Boot next season.
Signing Balo would be a huge risk, but you have to take risks to win. Should this risk pay off, the rewards for the club, the players and the fans would be substantial.