Rafa Benitez has revealed an amusing tête-à-tête with Arsene Wenger that took place when the two crossed paths at yesterday’s pre-season meeting of Premier League managers.
The Spaniard, who is understood to hold an interest in signing Lucas Perez this summer, apparently attempted to broach the subject only to be met with the Frenchman’s sharp wit.
This is what Benitez said on BT Sport today about the chat: “I was talking with Arsene yesterday because we had the managers’ meeting with the Premier League.”
“I said ‘listen, we have to talk’ and he said ‘do you have some money? Let me know’.”
“Obviously you like good players, but it’s too soon to talk about that.”
Arsene Wenger has already confirmed that Perez will be allowed to leave the Emirates this summer, however, the Gunners are refusing to sell unless their €15 million valuation is met.
A bid in the region of €9 million from the striker’s former club Deportivo La Coruna has already been rejected but their president has suggested they could return with a second offer.
Speaking to Galicia de Goles [translated by Sport Witness], Deportivo’s president, Tino Fernandez said:
“Nothing is impossible, but we have a limit. We’re going to continue to fight. He really wants to come here. We can’t sit around hoping, however, and we’re looking at other targets, meaning we’ll have to make a decision. It’s an important position for us”.
Perez is desperate to seal a move soon in the hope of gaining the regular first team football that could bolster his outside chances of making Spain’s World Cup squad. It remains to be seen whether newly-promoted Newcastle is a destination that appeals.
According to @Gunnerblog, that may not be the case…
My understanding is that there are only a couple of clubs in England Lucas would be interested in joining – and Newcastle aren’t one.
— gunnerblog (@gunnerblog) August 9, 2017
With three weeks left of the transfer window, there’s still time for a few more twists and turns. Lucas has been quite the wanderer during his career to date so you get the sense everything is on the table…
I feel so sad for Lucas… I wish him all the best..
I feel bad for him also then I remember he earns more in a year than most do in a lifetime
And gets to bitch about it too.
Wait, he doesn’t WANT to play for Newcastle?
Better get used to being unused, then.
That’s the thing with him. He has proved everything that he has ever said wrong just a few days later. First he said he has fought so hard for his place and short after we learned that he already wanted to move to china in winter, doesn’t sound like he has fought very hard. Then he said he mainly wants to move because of his chances to get in the Spanish squad, a thing that would have been basically impossible if he would have moved to China. And now where there is a club where he could play in a… Read more »
If this is true then you’re absolutely right
Agree with most of what you say. Where you loose me though is the: “The fact that his hometown club is not willing to pay more than half the money they’ve received from us last year tells you all you need to know about him”. Why should they have to pay basically the same as what they sold him for? He’s a good player no doubt, but the only reasons he’s for sale are because AW doesn’t rate him highly, & he’s therefore deemed surplus to requirements with Arsenal. The fact that club is trying to offload him a year… Read more »
I don’t agree about the value. Everybody said that he’s done brilliantly well when played for us so the fact that he hasn’t played more has nothing to do with his qualities but is just down to Wenger not fancying him, according to a lot of Arsenal fans. So if you’re not liked by a manager that normally doesn’t lower your market value. Especially in a year when the transfer fees have gone completely bonkers. Apart from that Deportivo is well aware of the fact that Newcastle is also after him but they said they rather look somewhere else than… Read more »
If he really thinks he stands any chance to go to the world cup then he knows he has to play, so he’ll go pretty much anywhere they play at a high level with good media coverage (so the national manager can see he’s playing) which means any team in the PL. Newcastle may not be Top Class but it’s a higher level than La Coruna…
He’ll stand more chance of playing for Spain if he goes back to la liga. He’ll be much more in the shop window than at a lower profile club in the prem.
If he goes to a decent Spanish team then yes, but the PL has much more depth than La Liga and is a very high profile league with good TV coverage. So he’ll be seen more than enough playing in the PL and even if Newcastle finish 17th in the league, the standard will be much higher than the bottom half of La Liga and their coaches know that.
You think they watch the PL in Spain more than they watch La Liga? I have a bridge I’d like to sell you.
Football people in Spain watch football.
They watch La Liga because it’s their own, and they watch the PL because it’s the most competitive football.
Maybe non-football people only watch Spanish football but they don’t pick the squad, Lopetegui watches the PL…
It might help at Newcastle playing for a Spanish manager, highly regarded in Spain. My feeling is he wants to go home to la Coruna though. I hope he gets the move he wants. I feel bad for him because he did well when he played, and gave everything.
I guess Coruna don’t really want him if they aren’t prepared to pay €15m, which is still a bargain price.
They’d have made a few million € profit on a 1 year loan deal to us…
There is little to no chance of him playing in the Spanish national team. Who is he going to displace?
That bloke who is going to break a leg dropping a giant castanet on it at a piss up in a disco brothel but doesn’t know it yet. That’s who.
Just imagined Arsene like a Godfather-type figure asking Rafa “Show me the money” before shooting Jose. Ah!
Pity I couldn’t see Jose’s face though because just then my professor hauled me out of the class.
thats jerry mcguire tho
I can understand why we’re selling him and respect him for not being content with just collecting his wages.
Just can’t understand why at a reported £15mill? they’re not lining up around the block.
Has to be worth a punt for the majority of clubs outside the top6
He is worth at least 15mil. Show Wenger the money Rafa
It’s just bargaining chip,it could be more or less,the market will ultimately determine that.
But bidding starts at 15m.
Market determine price. But supply, demand and type of market (sellers/buyers, bull…) determine who sets the fee!
We finally grew a pair!
Figure he’s decided to g home. Maybe agent is putting other clubs off saying he’ll not agree terms. We can’t force him to go to Newcastle if he doesn’t want to, so we’ll be left to decide to keep him or let him go cheap to Deportivo.
And he’ll have to decide if he wants to play or wave goodbye to any chance of playing in the world cup…
I love this about him, a player who wants to play football, not content with collecting just collecting his wages
We don’t know if this is true yet, or just what he’s saying to get back to Coruna…
15m EUR, ie 13.5m pounds… so a loss of ~4m pounds
I believe it’s €15m not £15m.
Newcastle have a few promising players. Maybe might be worth seeing about a swap deal? Mbemba and Lascelles both are decent defenders to have as cover for frist team.
I downvoted your comment cause I don’t think either is of Arsenal quality, but then I saw your name and voted up instead. I also think we should go all out for Blaze Matuidi.
I don’t think they’re top defenders, but I do think Mbemba with the extra security with a back 3 could fill a role as cover for our starters. A player of maybe around Gabriel’s quality and like him can also play as a RB in a back 4. I’m not suggesting we look at them as a first teamer, but if the teams are apart 5 odd million then it could be a decent make weight.
Are you saying we should buy some deadwood this summer just in case we need him? Buy an identical Gabriel replacement even though people are screaming for us to sell Gabriel?
Next summer: “Mbemba is happy to just sit and collect his massive wages. The bastard should accept a wage cut and just LEAVE NOW!!!!!”
Aren’t we trying to reduce our squad numbers?
It’s about offloading players. I dont think a swap deal is relevant right now.
He can find a better club than barcodes surely.
Wait closer to end of window, someone better will come in for him (like we did).
I’d offer him to Sevilla as part of a deal to take N’zonzi to us (apparently N’zonzi submitted a transfer request today). He ran the game against us on the 2nd day of the Emirates cup. His stats for Sevilla have been outstanding and we don’t have any midfielders with his physicality. He’s got quality skills to go with his brawn too and I think he’d give us an edge we’re lacking in midfield for games where we need extra security and battling qualities.
Would give Perez to them for free if they sold us N’Zonzi. He was brilliant for them last season, would improve us so much. Though I expect Barcelona will be all over him as they need to rebuild their midfield
N’Zonzi reminds me of Vieira – the way he battles and runs
Perez > Walcott in my opinion. Walcott has only stayed at Arsenal so long because of sentiment rather than output. He’s a good player but shouldn’t be a starter.Or at least not 1st choice. If Perez had an extended run in the team like Walcott gets, his numbers would be better. Perez is hungrier and more keen to impress than Walcott is. Theo and the club both need something different .
I think we can get better than 9m for him. My guesstimate is 12-14m which will be a very palatable 3-5m loss for us. Othewise may as well rent him out. Price can go either way in mad scrable at end of market. It can go down because pursuers have taken other options or it can go up bc there are less strikers of quality left for the remaining clubs to consider. Perez is quality and won’t be short of clubs that will fancy his usefulness (like err…the Arsenal last season late on) My guesstimate on some of our other… Read more »
“Got enough money, mate?” That’s the correct quote… Guess Arsene’s seen gunnerblog’s video ?
Overheard at the PL managers meeting:
Benitez – Arsene, this Lucas feller, is there any chance of…
Wenger – Show me the money, Rafa, and we’ll talk.
Mourinho – Arsene, I’m dead keen on Alexis and money is no option…
Wenger – That’s MR Wenger to you, son!
Mourinho – Sorry Mr Wenger. So is Alexis…
Wenger – Not even if you show me the money!
*thumbs his nose at Mourinho, turns his back and walks off with Benitez with his arm over his shoulder eagerly discussing Lucas Perez*
Hi people, this is off topic. Have you noticed no pundit – Merson, Teantalk, BBC and Sky pundits – thinks we are going to make top four. How I hope and pray they have a lot of eggs on their faces come May!
Not to be negative here, but I’m not 100% sure either, as most teams have added new players (top class, a lot of them are) and dynamics would change as new managers have settled down in their environments. I think it’s too early to predict who’ll make the top 4. When I watched Community Shield (I’m happy we won it) I had an uneasy feeling that our build-up play was similar to last season – laboured and heavy rather than spontaneous, during most times. Maybe, that’s down to Ozil not playing but by the time we reached their box they… Read more »
It’s always a benefit when pundits say we’ll have a poor season.
Very few of them named Chavski last season (and every one of those that did was trying to change it at the end of September when they weren’t doing well).
They all had us and ManU in the top 4 and I doubt any of them had the spuddies 2nd.
And the year before they were predicting Leicester to be in a relegation battle.
They’re all a bunch of fuck-wits.
Klopp is in danger of wasting a great opportunity for Liverpuddle.
I would love it IF barca give up on Coutinho following latest (reported) rejection of their 90m offer.
Maybe they should just get Dembele and bring back Alexis then.
Liverpuddle will miss out on a big chunk of money to rebuild their inefficient squad.
doesnt want newcastle?
wants to play cause of world cup?
ooohhh everyone feels so sorry for him,deserved better!
blah,he would of been off to china for money bags last jan if he had he’s way and would of been a shoe in for spain world cup squad then…
he will go wherever he gets most money,just like when he jumped evertons ship for us…
and kudos to him,just dont hide it
and please dont feel sorry for him,not good enough, obviously to arsenal coaching staff.
one good season those not make a summer