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If Messi Went To Arsenal...

There are reports that back in 2003, Arsenal was this close to signing Messi, Pique, and Fabregas all at the same time. It seems that no one really cares to ask way Pique didn’t go through, but Messi is said not to have went partly because Wenger wouldn’t give his parents an apartment.The club only managed to sign Cesc Fabregas, but what if…what if all three of those players left Barcelona and went to Arsenal? That one move could’ve drastically altered football as we know it today. Just imagine with me for a second.

Zlatan Ibrahimovich would still be at Barcelona. If Messi weren’t there, Zlatan would’ve undoubtedly received all of Guardiola’s adoring attention. Without having to share the spotlight with Messi, Zlatan would be the unrivaled star of the Barcelona show, and that would make Zlatan very happy. If Zlatan were happy in Camp Nou, he probably would still be there to this day with an outlandish mega million buyout clause that made every other club in the world unable to take him away.

I have a feeling that Messi would not be as good as he is today if he spent those crucial developmental years at Arsenal. Messi has natural talent, so, regardless of where he was, he would’ve been good. But, influences he received at Barcelona, such as working closely with Ronaldinho and being coached by Pep Guardiola, have a lot to do with what has made him the best. If Messi played for the Gunners, Cristiano Ronaldo would be the undisputed best in the world.

This next possibility is rather sad. What if Arsenal Messi had that same problem that plagues so many Arsenal players? What if Messi ended up spending his whole career in and out of injuries and never really reached his potential? What a pity that would have been for the sport of soccer!
Rather than famously calling Arsene Wenger a specialist in failure, Jose Mourinho would be saying:

“If I am the special one, he is the specialist…a specialist in success.”

Speaking of success, Arsenal would surely have been much more successful with this particular trio of players on the squad. The club’s famous invincible season happened in 2004. With Fabregas, Pique, and Messi there to replace those invicibles, like Thierry Henry, who left, Arsenal could’ve kept on being invincible. All of those infamous fourth place finishes would’ve become first place title clinchers.
If Messi had went to Arsenal, assuming he stayed there all these years like he has at Barcleona, he would’ve probably been very fluent in English right about the time I got into soccer. Maybe, I would’ve seen some sense of humor in him, which believe it or not has a lot to do with why I’m currently a Chelsea supporter. He would’ve probably been the star of the biggest team in the premier league. I would probably prefer Messi over Ronaldo, and, I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I would probably have become a Gooner rather than a Geezer.


I’m glad Wenger didn’t pay for that apartment.

--Marissa Blackman
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