Neymar may be on his way out of Paris Saint-Germain but Arsenal should avoid any temptation to bring the Brazil superstar to the Premier League, former England international Darren Bent tells talkSPORT (8 March, 3.30pm).
There are shades of that sorry Cristiano Ronaldo saga, perhaps.
If you were looking at ability alone, why would any club resist the opportunity to bring in one of the finest attackers of the 21st century? A man who, even in a struggling Manchester United side, still scored 24 goals during 2021/22?
But, much to Ronaldo’s probable surprise, it turned out that very few sides are willing to break their bank on a 30-something footballer on colossal wages and carrying an ego the size of a small planet.
Neymar, presuming his topsy-turvy PSG career comes to an end this summer, may find himself in a similar situation with Arsenal-mad Bent expressing a view that most sensible football supporters will likely share.
Where will Neymar go after he leaves Paris Saint-Germain?
“I wouldn’t like him (at Arsenal),” Bent argues. “The baggage he comes with…
“(Neymar is a) fantastic player. But he is the sort of player who could go into the dressing room and obliterate everything. Neymar in his pomp was unbelievable. But there are times when things don’t fit.”
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Mikel Arteta’s success in building a tight-knit, disciplined squad of players continues to underpin much of his good work at the Emirates, shipping out many of those who’s presence had become an unwelcome distraction from matters off the pitch. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Mesut Ozil, to name but two.
Neymar had produced a remarkable 18 goals and 17 assists before his PSG campaign was brought to a premature end by that annual injury curse. The former Barcelona star will still be placed on the transfer list this summer, AS claim, though finding a club willing to take an ageing, injury-prone Neymar off Christophe Galtier’s hands will be easier said than done.
He is, the report adds, the best-paid player at a PSG side containing such talents as Kylian Mbappe, Gianluigi Donarumma and Lionel Messi.
‘I just find it frustrating’
“I want to see more from him,” Liverpool legend Graeme Souness told ITV Sport during the Qatar World Cup.
“He’s got incredible ability. He was heir apparent to the throne of Messi and Ronaldo but he’s not picked the baton up for me. I’m not sitting saying he isn’t an incredibly talented man. There are things about him that are easy on the eye.
“I just find it frustrating, he wants to show how clever he is all the time. I’m not being a killjoy because some of the football was fabulous. But some of his antics with his showboating…”
In other news, ‘Do more’: Ian Wright calls out David Moyes & slams West Ham 26-year-old
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