Arsenal Striker Looks Likely To Leave In The Summer

Arsenal’s summer activity in 2011 saw the London club add to their strike force with 26 year-old Park Chu-Young from AS Monaco, with the BBC claiming the fee was between £3-£5 million.

It was something of an odd signing, as it soon came to light that the South Korean forward would be forced to leave Arsenal within just two years as he needed to complete compulsory military service for his country.  It was assumed therefore, that the striker would be utilized as much as possible during his short spell with the club.

Well over half way into Park’s debut season in England, and this has evidently not been the case. Whether it be down to the sensational form of Robin van Persie or the fact that Wenger does not trust his new signing to deliver the goals required to impress the Arsenal faithful with an immediate impact can be debated, but with just one league appearance, it seems something isn’t right.

The situation also isn’t something Park himself anticipated when he decided to move to Arsenal from Monaco. The BBC report that he had another option to consider at the time, with French side Lille close to his signing just before Arsenal swooped, and he may now be regretting choosing England over France, with the prospect of first team footbal far more likely with Lille.

The recent January transfer window saw him already linked with a move away from the Emirates, with the Sun claiming Fulham wanted to take Park out on loan, although no deal materialised. The report also quotes Park’s agent as saying the player will consider his future at Arsenal in the summer, should he continue to struggle for playing time:

“If the current state continues, we will have to look at the transfer market in the summer.” said Maurizio Morana in the Sun

A total of five first team appearances with even less full 90 minutes, scoring just the one goal against Bolton in the League Cup has not been the desired start to his England career, and a summer move looks on the cards for the player who is running out of time.

Thanks to DBSfootball for submitting this guest blog post