"He can be unstoppable" - Arsenal urged to sign 29-year-old winger
TalkSPORT presenter Alan Brazil has urged Arsenal to sign Crystal Palace superstar Wilfried Zaha. The 29-year-old has just one year left on his contract with the Eagles.
Zaha has established himself as one of the leading players outside of the Premier League's established top six, having scored 65 goals in 287 Palace appearances over eight seasons.
See you all tomorrow! 🫶🏿⚽️ https://t.co/0DNjuEkCRZ
The Ivory Coast international joined Manchester United in 2013, but endured a miserable time as he only played four times for the club before being shipped out on-loan to Cardiff City six months later.
However, Brazil believes that Zaha's poor experience at one of England's biggest clubs shouldn't put Arsenal off signing the attacker, as he told TalkSPORT (as quoted by HITC Sport):
"It is interesting. Ray (Parlour) said earlier he was talking to Edu, and Arsenal might not be finished yet in the transfer market, could be another wide player, another winger.
“Does it surprise you maybe they wouldn’t go for someone like Zaha because when Zaha is on form, he can be unstoppable?”
The Gunners have already enjoyed a successful transfer window, having brought in attacking options such as Manchester City striker Gabriel Jesus and young Porto playmaker Fabio Vieira. Mikel Arteta's side will open their Premier League campaign against Zaha's Palace on Friday evening.
3 Assists
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Wilfried Zaha has been on fire during Crystal Palace's pre-season friendlies. 🔥
Arsenal on alert for Friday's opener. 👀 https://t.co/57RtMMmTND
Former Arsenal boss Unai Emery claims he was desperate to sign Wilfried Zaha
Emery endured a difficult spell in charge of the Gunners as he succeeded legendary boss Arsene Wenger in 2018.
The Spaniard was sacked after less than two years at the Emirates Stadium, but revealed he wanted the club to sign the Ivorian international. Arsenal instead signed Lille winger Nicolas Pepe, who has been nothing short of a disaster since his club-record move three years ago.
In an interview with The Guardian in May 2020, the now Villarreal boss claimed:
“We signed Pépé. He’s a good player but we didn’t know his character and he needs time, patience. I favored someone who knew the league and wouldn’t need to adapt. Zaha won games on his own: Tottenham, Manchester City, us. Incredible performances. I told them: ‘This is the player I know and want.’
"I met Zaha and he wanted to come. The club decided Pépé was one for the future. I said: ‘Yes, but we need to win now and this lad wins games.’ He beat us on his own. It’s also true he was expensive and Palace didn’t want to sell.”
Only Jamie Vardy (4 against Watford) has won more penalties against a single opponent in Premier League history than Wilfried Zaha (3) v Arsenal