Demba Ba reveals how close he came to joining Arsenal

Throughout the summer transfer window, Arsenal had seemingly been on the lookout for top quality players with the likes of Luis Suarez and Cesc Fabregas linked in the media, however in reality we must reflect on the summer perhaps not being as promising as we had originally wished, Mesut Ozil aside. Of course, as Arsenal fans we were left extremely happy with the fact that we managed to sign three players in the last week or so before the transfer deadline day, one of which was club record signing Mesut Ozil. And we also strengthened our goalkeeping options as well as bringing in Mathieu Flamini as a defensive midfielder. But one area many state we failed to strengthen in was in the striking department and now it’s become a realisation that after Giroud we have literally nobody, that there is a real cause for concern over this potential issue. It is unlucky that two Arsenal strikers, Podolski and Sanogo, have picked up injuries since the season started, but some fans think Wenger should have prepared for this sort of thing. However it’s not as if Wenger had forgotten about the striker department, because as well as rumours linking the Gunners to the likes of Luis Suarez, Wayne Rooney and Karim Benzema over the course of the summer, one player that actually was close to joining was Chelsea’s Demba Ba. According to many on deadline day, Ba was set to switch West London for North London and join the Gunners on a season long loan. The move of course never came off and that seems largely down to Jose Mourinho, because Ba has today reflected on what was seemingly an interesting deadline day for him. In a BBC report the striker is quoted as saying, “I was ready to go and to play there (at Arsenal), but it didn’t happen. I think I’m a good professional, and I’ve always worked hard to deserve what I have. Until today I will keep doing the same. “I told him (Mourinho) if I stay I will keep fighting for the club and for the side. That’s it. Now what matters is the next months, the next years with Chelsea and that’s it.” I have always thought Demba Ba is an okay striker but is certainly not top quality. His goal scoring records at both West Ham and Newcastle have been relatively impressive and he was even speculated to join Arsene Wenger’s side last January, however the Senegalese international ended up at Stamford Bridge, but it has not gone too well for him. So whether or not it was a good thing or not that we didn’t get Ba last January is a topic that needs to be discussed, but for now I can say that I am disappointed that we never managed to get Ba on loan on deadline day, because we are seriously short of striking options and although he isn’t top quality, he could have proved an effective option to have on the bench.