You have to feel for Sergio Canales, he signed a deal in February 2010 which would make him a Madrid player that Summer, and it appeared his dream was coming true. He had signed for one of the biggest clubs in the world, but then Jose Mourinho arrived and his dreams were dashed.
The youngster has claimed that he wants to stay and fight for his place, but really that appears to be as much of an exercise in futility as Charlie Sheen trying to get a job on Sesame Street.
Since his arrival, Mourinho has brought a host of attacking midfield talent with him, Mesut Ozil and Angel Di Maria both signed, and of course they already had Kaka and Cristiano Ronaldo. So all in all whilst you have to respect the determination of Canales, you also feel that he needs to draw a line under this chapter of his footballing career.
He began his footballing life with Racing Santander where he spent 2 seasons with the first team, the winger, who is now 20, cost Madrid £4million, and has been tipped to be a future star for both club and country. So far this season he has appeared in just 7 league games and it is fair to say that he is becoming pretty frustrated.
It appears that Arsenal are now leading the race for the players signature, although previously there has been intense interest from Liverpool and Chelsea. Spanish paper AS are reporting that Canales would prefer Arsene Wenger’s side. The newspaper claim that he wants to fight for his place at Madrid, but if that isn’t to be, Arsenal would be his first choice.
Canales is a player with immense ability and should he decide to quit Madrid in a quest for more games, Arsenal would be a really good option. He is best played from a wide area and I am certain he would be more effective than Arshavin, and he is clearly also a better player than Rosicky. Samir Nasri could be shifted centrally and paired with Jack Wilshere with Canales on the wing, should Cesc Fabregas be sold as AS claim he might be.
The picture that the Spanish media has painted maybe a bit extreme and digging up the whole Fabregas leaving story all over again feels somewhat unnecessary. The bottom line is that whoever comes or goes from the Emirates this Summer, he would still be a fantastic signing for the club.
Liverpool and Chelsea will almost definitely try to compete with Arsenal, but it is fair to say that the player has probably learned from his mistake at Madrid and therefore won’t sign for a club where games are limited. If he is to move to England this Summer I would be highly surprised if it wasn’t to the Emirates.
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