Remember that overly confident Arsenal fan who was so sure of the Gunners signing Riyad Mahrez from Leicester that he went out and got the electric Algerian winger’s name on the back of his shirt?
That shirt is about as much use now as Nicklas Bendtner on a bad day, as last season’s PFA Player of the Year sent out a message to the footballing world by signing a new contract that will keep him at the King Power Stadium until 2020.
Arsene Wenger has managed to bring the highly rated Granit Xhaka to The Emirates this summer, but despite it being painstakingly obvious that the main position they need to be recruiting for is someone who can ease the goalscoring burden currently being carried Olivier Giroud, Arsenal fans can be forgiven for getting a bit excited about a marquee signing of Mahrez’s quality.
But as was the case with previous transfer target Jamie Vardy, the North London club missed out, and the more optimistic Gooners have been left looking a bit silly again.
We couldn’t find the original tweet, but the internet never forgets.
How you feeling @AsadBalal? pic.twitter.com/bbl08wFL4i
— Weekend Football (@weekendfootball) August 17, 2016
Oh dear.
We don’t fully understand what compelled Asad Balal to make such a rash pre-emptive purchase. Maybe he thought Wenger would spot it and feel guilty about his wasted expenditure should the club fail to lure Mahrez away from the East Midlands. Maybe he hoped Mahrez would get wind of it and decide that that’s the kind of self-assured fanbase he wants to play in front of. Maybe he just genuinely thought Arsenal would land one of their big-money targets…
Nah.
But to Asad’s credit, rather than furiously hauling the shirt in the nearest bin, he’s decided to donate it to charity.
Giving away the Mahrez shirt to the Charity Shop 🔴⚪️ #Arsenal #WasFunWhilstItLasted
— AB (@breezybalal) August 17, 2016
Arsenal v Leicester will be an interesting game.
