2. Age and hunger
When Arsenal bought Jesus and Zinchenko, they had just turned 25 and neither had ever fully cemented their role as a guaranteed starter at City, so they were full of hunger to prove themselves as leaders and star players.
Cancelo on the other hand is soon to be 29 and was almost guaranteed starter for City, and one of their star players before the bust-up.
At Arsenal, he would expect the same, which could lead to tensions with Zinchenko and affect the harmony within the squad.
This doesn’t mean that competition isn’t healthy. It is crucial to squad growth, but a player like Cancelo on huge wages after joining for a big transfer fee wouldn’t be coming in to compete, he’d be coming in expecting and demanding to start and could cause trouble if he didn’t.
Continued to next slide…
pic.twitter.com/8eJnKllmIe
<p>— Arsenal Buzz (@ArsenalBuzzCom) <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/05/18/3-reasons-arsenal-should-avoid-joao-cancelo/2/"https://twitter.com/ArsenalBuzzCom/status/1658821084072796161?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%22>May 17, 2023</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/05/18/3-reasons-arsenal-should-avoid-joao-cancelo/2/"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<h2>1. Wages and transfer fee</h2>
<p>Last summer, Arsenal got Oleksandr Zinchenko and Gabriel Jesus for a combined £75m, and they brought their winning experience and hunger to the club which immediately raised the level.</p>
<p>Cancelo, however, would cost close to that alone and earns a reported £250,000 per week, which would put him among Arsenal’s highest earners.</p>
<p>Considering the Gunners are <a title="Declan Rice or Moises Caicedo: Who should Arsenal sign this summer?" href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/05/18/3-reasons-arsenal-should-avoid-joao-cancelo/2/"https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/05/11/declan-rice-moises-caicedo-arsenal-sign-summer/" rel="">in the hunt for Declan Rice</a>, who they are reportedly preparing a £92m offer for, whilst also needing an additional midfielder, striker and centre-back, paying £50m+ for Cancelo seems like the ultimate luxury.</p>
<p>If Kieran Tierney leaves as expected, Arsenal will need a left-back, but given the cost of Cancelo as an overall package, they would be best served to shop elsewhere.</p>
<p><em>Continued to next slide…</em></p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background: #c01f2f" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/05/18/3-reasons-arsenal-should-avoid-joao-cancelo/2/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> #2 Age and hunger </a>
</div><!—pageview_candidate—><hr id="pagebreak"><p><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="wp-image-134539 size-full" src=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/05/18/3-reasons-arsenal-should-avoid-joao-cancelo/2/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_1702,w_2560/https%3A%2F%2Fpaininthearsenal.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2018%2F08%2F1441460199-scaled.jpeg" alt="3 reasons Arsenal should avoid Joao Cancelo" width="2560" height="1702" srcset="https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1441460199-scaled.jpeg 2560w, https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1441460199-768x510.jpeg 768w, https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1441460199-1536x1021.jpeg 1536w, https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1441460199-2048x1361.jpeg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px"></p>
<h2><strong>2. Age and hunger</strong></h2>
<p>When Arsenal bought Jesus and Zinchenko, they had just turned 25 and neither had ever fully cemented their role as a guaranteed starter at City, so they were full of hunger to prove themselves as leaders and star players.</p>
<p>Cancelo on the other hand is soon to be 29 and was almost guaranteed starter for City, and one of their star players before the bust-up.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<p dir="ltr" lang="en">🗣️| Dean Jones on Arsenal and Joao Cancelo: “I think when we first did the Cancelo story a little while back, it was loose at that point. It was just being tentatively put out there that he could become an option for Arsenal.</p>
<p>“Since then, there has been some momentum gathered… <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/05/18/3-reasons-arsenal-should-avoid-joao-cancelo/2/"https://t.co/976bbepeEk">pic.twitter.com/976bbepeEk
<p>— Arsenal Buzz (@ArsenalBuzzCom) <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/05/18/3-reasons-arsenal-should-avoid-joao-cancelo/2/"https://twitter.com/ArsenalBuzzCom/status/1658597558816591873?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%22>May 16, 2023</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/05/18/3-reasons-arsenal-should-avoid-joao-cancelo/2/"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<p>At Arsenal, he would expect the same, which could lead to tensions with Zinchenko and affect the harmony within the squad.</p>
<p>This doesn’t mean that competition isn’t healthy. It is crucial to squad growth, but a player like Cancelo on huge wages after joining for a big transfer fee wouldn’t be coming in to compete, he’d be coming in expecting and demanding to start and could cause trouble if he didn’t.</p>
<p><em>Continued to next slide…</em></p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background: #c01f2f" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/05/18/3-reasons-arsenal-should-avoid-joao-cancelo/2/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> #3 Defending </a>
</div><!—pageview_candidate—><hr id="pagebreak"><p><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="wp-image-134540 size-full" src=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/05/18/3-reasons-arsenal-should-avoid-joao-cancelo/2/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_1810,w_2560/https%3A%2F%2Fpaininthearsenal.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2018%2F08%2F1312484828-scaled.jpeg" alt="3 reasons Arsenal should avoid Joao Cancelo" width="2560" height="1810" srcset="https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1312484828-scaled.jpeg 2560w, https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1312484828-768x543.jpeg 768w, https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1312484828-1536x1086.jpeg 1536w, https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1312484828-2048x1448.jpeg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px"></p>
<h2><strong>3. Defending</strong></h2>
<p>Much has been made of Zinchenko’s defensive lapses since joining the club, and Cancelo brings the same problem.</p>
<p>Like Zinchenko, he has phenomenal technical ability and is a better creator, whereas Zinchenko is a better <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/05/18/3-reasons-arsenal-should-avoid-joao-cancelo/2/"https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/04/20/importance-zinchenko-saliba-arsenal-control/">controller. However, this would give Arsenal two very similar options, with one earning significantly more than the other.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Bayern sign cancelo asap🤩 <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/05/18/3-reasons-arsenal-should-avoid-joao-cancelo/2/"https://t.co/ffYcjRhwa7">pic.twitter.com/ffYcjRhwa7
<p>— alexbbeast🇵🇱 (@alexthebbeast) <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/05/18/3-reasons-arsenal-should-avoid-joao-cancelo/2/"https://twitter.com/alexthebbeast/status/1657466679113428992?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%22>May 13, 2023</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/05/18/3-reasons-arsenal-should-avoid-joao-cancelo/2/"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<p>If Arsenal are to improve on that position, they need a player who can defend and play, which is what Arteta first looked for last summer when he approached Lisandro Martinez.</p>
<p>Finding a player like that would give Arsenal more security and more options to adapt against dangerous teams, and ultimately give Arteta more tactical flexibility without abandoning the team’s principles like he is currently required to do with Kieran Tierney.</p>
<div class="embed ">
<blockquote class="wp-embedded-content" data-secret="muHccR5a05"><p><a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/05/18/3-reasons-arsenal-should-avoid-joao-cancelo/2/"https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/05/17/arsenal-fans-not-get-excited-joao-cancelo-links/">Why Arsenal fans should not get excited by the Joao Cancelo links</a></p></blockquote>
<p><iframe class="wp-embedded-content" sandbox="allow-scripts" security="restricted" style="position: absolute; clip: rect(1px, 1px, 1px, 1px);" title="“Why Arsenal fans should not get excited by the Joao Cancelo links” — Pain in the Arsenal" src=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/05/18/3-reasons-arsenal-should-avoid-joao-cancelo/2/"https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/05/17/arsenal-fans-not-get-excited-joao-cancelo-links/embed/#?secret=l1CRjXgmeS#?secret=muHccR5a05" data-secret="muHccR5a05" width="500" height="282" frameborder="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no"></iframe></p></div>
<p>All in all, Cancelo is not the right man for this project, with his questionable attitude, defensive lapses and the costs associated making it a risk the Gunners don’t need to take.</p><!—pageview_candidate—>">
