It would appear that Arsenal could have suffered a second blow in their quest to bring in a new striker after failing to sign Real Madrid’s Alvaro Morata on loan in January.
Morata’s desire to leave Madrid was only so that he could have more playing time after coach Carlo Ancelotti preferred to play Jesé Rodriguez rather than him, making a summer transfer to Arsenal look like a done deal until last night, when during Real Madrid’s Champions League second-leg clash with Germany’s Schalke, Real Madrid striker Jesé had to be stretchered off the pitch with what was later revealed to be a torn cruciate ligament in his knee.
This all of course means that Ancelotti’s first choice will now be out for six months and will also have lost any hope of making Spanish national team coach Vicente del Bosque’s World Cup squad.
After the match when talking to Real Madrid’s website Ancelotti said:
“I think it has been confirmed that Jesé has torn his cruciate ligament. He was unlucky. I think that the whole of Real Madrid has been unlucky. We are going to lose a very important player, a young man who has done very well this season and surprised everyone. That is football. Injuries come in a player’s career and we will be close to him and support him and we’ll be waiting for him next season.”
“We hope to have him ready soon and we would like to send him our support. We are waiting for him and we wish him luck. He will certainly be an important player for Real Madrid after his injury. We are sad. We are very sorry about this, but these things happen in football. It could be an important time for him, to enjoy this time of difficulty and build his character. I had the same problem at the same age. The period of downtime is not good, but it is not so bad. We have to stay positive.”
The 21-year-olds injury could not have come at a worse time for Real Madrid after first choice striker Karim Benzema limped off with a thigh injury during their 1-0 win over Malaga, meaning the league leaders will be without both strikers for the crunch match against Barcelona where a win would almost certainly guarantee Los Blancos the La Liga title.
If they were to lose however it would open up the race to the Catalans and cross town rivals Atletico.
Talk about being given an opportunity to shine as Morata is now being served it on a plate, and should he do well not only will he feature in the team till the end of the season, it is very hard to see Real Madrid letting him leave this summer as there is no telling as to how well Jesé will recuperate from his surgery.
So there you have it Gooners it sounds to us like Arsenal needs a plan B, and should start lining up a replacement for Morata now before the World Cup starts in June.
