Its never ideal when a manager has to come out within 48 hours of signing a player to defend his decision, whilst at the same time admitting that had he more time he would have probably signed somebody else. In the case of Swedish midfielder Kim Kallstrom, arriving for a six-month loan deal on January 31st 2014, it was Arsenals desperate attempt at scraping the bargain basement. For Arsenal, not only were they signing a 31 year old whose stock had taken a hit since his peak years with Lyon in 2006, but the Swedish playmaker was arriving already injured, having damaged his vertebrae for Spartak Moscow - ruling him out for six weeks.
''It crossed my mind to not do the deal. I wouldnt have signed him if we had another two or three days, but it was on Friday at 5pm. We need to establish the real truth. He arrived and had fallen on his back two days before. Theres a possibility he will not play, but also a possibility he will score a vital winning goal. - Arsene Wenger, February 2014.
The bizarre move proved to be a giant waste of time for everybody concerned, with the Swede having to wait until March 25th to make his debut, one of just four performances before the end of the season and the expiration of a pointless loan deal.
Recent Journalism & New Media graduate. Insatiable thirst for all things football, and hopes to break into the field of sports journalism in the near future.
Have made a significantly insignificant playing career out of receiving several slaps around the head for not passing the ball.
