It is not a good time to be a Arsenal fan right now after Chelsea seem to have all but completed Riyad Mahrez’s signing from Leicester City for a reported €50million transfer fee.
Gunners have already missed out on the likes of Jamie Vardy, Alvaro Morata, Gonzalo Higuain and are still looking to bring in attacking re-enforcement this summer.
As for Mahrez, the Algerian’s move to Emirates seemed all but completed but Chelsea have made a late dart and now are in the pole position to sign the reigning PFA player of the year.
This surprise transfer was further spooked by Adidas posting Mahrez’s jersey for Chelsea’s roaster on their official kit store. According to Kitbag, Mahrez is expected to be given the number 7 jersey ahead of the next season.
We recently saw Henrikh Mkhitaryan’s move to Manchester United get confirmed prematurely after club’s official store started selling his jerseys even before the transfer was made official.
Having seen how that panned out, one has to believe that Mahrez’s move to Chelsea is all but done and only needs an official confirmation from The Blues.
If it does become a reality then Arsenal and Arsene Wenger need to take a harsh reality check in to their transfer policy this summer.
They have already missed out on several of their high value targets, and to make the matters worse they (Kante, Vardy and now Mahrez) have opted to join their direct rivals.
Gunners still need new attacking options upfront to stand a chance of even competing for a top-4 spot next season. Le Professor needs to act swiftly now more than ever and for once get that cheque book out of his drawer and actually make a good use of it.
As for Chelsea, they seem to have signed the best possible player for Antonio Conte’s counter attacking style of play.
Mahrez made a name for himself by scoring 17 goals and laying down 11 assists by being one of the best counter attacking players in Premier League last season.
Chelsea can expect a similar kind of impact from him and if he can be anywhere close to his old-self from last season, we may see a completely new Chelsea side in effect under Antonio Conte.