Arsenal are continuing to monitor the situation of Mario Balotelli, as Milan prepare to sell the Italian forward. The asking price for 23-year-old Mario Balotelli has dropped from £30million to just £14million following a poor showing at the World Cup. Arsenal are believed to be keeping one eye on the situation, after transfer target Loic Remy joined Liverpool who offered a larger salary.
The rumours of a move for Balotelli started last month when reports in Italy suggested Arsene Wenger would do anything in his power to sign Mario Balotelli. Sky Sport Italia pundit Mario Giunta suggested “Arsenal are very interested in Balotelli and Arsene Wenger would do anything to bring him to London.
“This operation could be pushed forward by the technical sponsor, who Balotelli shares with Arsenal [PUMA]. To have Balotelli in the Premier League for Arsenal would be an important investment.”
It is surely fair to suggest that Mario Balotelli is, pretty universally, considered something of an enigma. Talented, impulsive, impetuous, individualistic, flamboyant, daft, probably even somewhat endearing; essentially anything but ordinary. Standing 6ft 2in and combining exceptional natural athleticism with a fearsome strike, Milan deem the Italian worthy of a £20 million fee while barely out of his teens despite an already long-established flair for controversy. Balotelli, contests the prevailing wisdom, possesses all the characteristics of an elite footballer and should he reign in his often destructive, maverick excesses, should develop into one of his generation’s finest talents. His maturity and temperament may be questioned but his talent stands alone. Or so the argument goes.