Reports over the weekend suggested that Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger was interested in brining AC Milan forward Mario Balotelli to the Emirates because the 64-year-old believes he can “tame” the enigmatic footballer.

The Mail on Sunday were the first to report that Milan were looking to sell the former Manchester City striker two weeks ago and at the time they labeled the Gunners among possible suitors.

On Sunday, the Daily Mail’s Rob Shepherd revealed that Wenger was firmly interested in brining Balotelli to London for a £20 million deal alongside Queens Park Rangers Loic Remy.

Can Wenger tame Super Mario?

The Mail reported that Arsenal could take both strikers but would have to balance the books by selling German Lukas Podolski.

The most intriguing part of the Mail’s report is the final line, though, which states: “Wenger also feels he can tame Balotelli and turn him into a world class striker.”

It is this statement that I believe will excite Arsenal fans because surely if anybody can tame ‘Super Mario’ and actually make him super, it is the Arsenal manager.

Nobody can question his pedigree in producing exceptional young talent and nurturing them perfectly. And though the Italian is 23-years-old, he still has a lot of maturing to do.

Perfect man for the job

Wenger could be the perfect man to get the best out of a player that has so far, only shown glimpses of his talent and a lot more of his temper. Balotelli would surely enjoy the coaching the Arsenal boss does and how he is with his players.

You only have to listen to the players that have come from the youth system and current players that have been brought from elsewhere to understand how much respect and admiration they have for Le Professor.

Wenger philosophy with youth could work on Balotelli and turn him from a controversial forward into a world class one.

Of course, at the moment, there remains a lot of ‘ifs’ and ‘buts’ because though the Mail are insistent that Balotelli is interested in moving to London, no concrete bids have, thus far, been made public; that isn’t to say behind the scenes lots of work could be going on.

£20 million fee

The £20 million transfer fee doesn’t seem too much considering he is an Italian international, has enjoyed some previous success in England and remains under the age of 24.

While the temperament and inconsistency of Balotelli could see some question if it is worth spending such a figure on him, in the modern era, £20 million isn’t that much for a striker who has showed his class and that he has bagsful of potential.

If Balotelli was to come in, would fans be happy with Podolski departing? The German has established himself as a favourite among his team mates and when he plays he usually performs to a high standard.

However, is he ever going to be the main man at the Emirates? If we could raise some cash and balance the wage bill by selling the attacker and then use that to fund a move for Balotelli would that please the Gunners faithful?

Would you accept Podolski leaving if it meant Balotelli and Remy moved to the Emirates?

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Comments  

#18 lardybouy 2014-06-16 17:56
hmmm if we sold bendtner......we could buy a bag of peanuts .
why o why did he ever sign him .
loved fabregas ....but he chose to leave,when he knew we desperately needed hgim to stay ....chased the money and glory ..... we need players who are loyal .
#17 MCA 2014-06-16 03:14
Buy Ballotelli and Angel di Maria.
+1 #16 Jungen 2014-06-13 13:31
Balotelli is an awesome talent, and no fan of any team would reject a player of such calibre coming in at 20mil in a heartbeat, regardless of his off-field antics. On Lukas, he is a gunner and he stays. Need I mention he's one of the gunners that won us a trophy in the new era? and with his work ethic it is no surprise. However, what is important now more than ever is the return of Alex Song! Bring back Alex Song, He's an experienced world-class holding midfielder, and arsenal need an experienced world-class holding midfielder..
-1 #15 #ROGER 2014-06-13 11:41
Sell giroud and bring back super mario
#14 shauno 2014-06-12 15:07
No need to lose lukas,bring in mario and let Arsene work his magic and what a strike force we could have!Just need to get sagna replacement (aurier) some cover for shez and i think we are good to go.
#13 STODDY 2014-06-12 05:55
MARIO will one day be a world class striker,and Wenger is the only man on the football planet,to get him there,and I for one would love to see it at Arsenal.got to keep poldo,will be much better next season.got such high hopes and just can't wait.GOONER TILL I DIE.
#12 Twum 2014-06-11 16:42
We need podosky badly along side super mario,so papa wenger sure u dont sell lucas.
#11 abraham 2014-06-11 14:48
Forget about mario bring me manzukic fabregas and One right back and One left back defender.. *** paper talks
#10 Adekunle Alaka 2014-06-11 11:45
Though a good and promising player,I have my doubts about Balotelli fiiting into Arsenal style and temparament. Wenger will have a lot of job to do on him.

Why waste much precious time on Balo: rather give Podoski more playing time alongside Giroud. With Remy coming in, Please leave Baloteli alone

Lemy a
#9 benjamin molefe 2014-06-11 10:21
guys we really need them both if wanna take the UEFA, Barclays FA you name them especially the Super Mario
+1 #8 ben 2014-06-10 17:04
Leave them ALL and Bring them ALL too !
-4 #7 TC 2014-06-10 16:48
Mario Balotelli is a nightmare, we don't need him and all his baggage.
-1 #6 Kimosh 2014-06-10 15:39
i don't support the idea of sacrificing Podolski. He is a good strike of not the bost among the ones we have now.Bring Supa Mario then Wenger link him with Theo n Podi.
+1 #5 Roland C Rozario 2014-06-10 14:40
No need to have any sacrificial lambs.... especially Lucas Podolski!
The clearing of Nic Bendter, Park, Sagna can easily accommodate Balotelli's wage!
-6 #4 Welch 2014-06-10 14:39
Santiago should be sold
+1 #3 Oscar 2014-06-10 14:20
Wenger never mentioned selling and I don't know why he'll change. So far Podolski is a gem and Arsenal should have quality replacement. Podolski will score 20goals+ next season for Arsenal.
-1 #2 javed 2014-06-10 14:17
I agree with the above comment. I think Podolski is easily a 20+ goals striker, he's got a great eye for goal and is very agressive on the pitch, can run muscle out defenders and is a better dribbler, not to mention he has more pace than Giroud. If Podolski got more game time, he would easily be scoring more goals, and I don't think sacrificing Podolski for Baloteli is worth it
+2 #1 Delford Magaya 2014-06-10 13:50
There is no need to talk about Podolski, I am surprised a lot of people talk of Podolski. Wenger says he will keep all the players at Arsenal and bring in maybe three or four players. Why do you talk of Podolski leaving Arsenal? He is not going anyway if you look at Podolski if he was to play all games he could have scored more goals for Arsenal. He scores better than Giroud, but he is not getting more time on the pitch.