Should Arsenal go after Iker Casillas?
According to recent reports, the English side is interested in going after the Spanish International. Santi Cazorla, one of Arsenal's pivotal midfielders, recently revealed that the team might go after him this summer.
"I've told him [I would like him to join Arsenal], but so far he has just been curious about my experience in England," said Cazorla, according to ESPN. "His situation is very complicated, but he has to make a decision.
"Lots of clubs want him, including Arsenal, but I think that it would be very difficult to leave Real Madrid because of what the club represents. He knows what he has [at Madrid] and what he could find at another club."
For well over a decade, Casillas was the symbol of Real Madrid. He was their captain and their franchise star. Even though Cristiano Ronaldo and Raul Gonzalez were the team's top offensive stars, Casillas remained the rock on which Madrid's team was built. But things changed in 2012-13 when conflicts with manager Jose Mourinho left Casillas out of the nets. He was initially left out in favor of Adan but an injury made his benching permanent with the emergence of January acquisition Diego Lopez. The arrival of Carlo Ancelotti in Spain's capital seemed to restore the order, but the Italian opted for giving Lopez the reins in league play and allowed Casillas to be the man in the cup rounds. The result has seemingly worked for the most part as both keepers have played their parts respectively. But that has not killed the controversy as every mistake Lopez makes enflames the cries for Casillas. The keeper could have left in January but opted for sticking around.
Arsenal currently has Polish keeper Wojciech Szczesny but the young keeper's inconsistencies are well documented. The bigger issue with Arsenal seems to be a mental one. The team has shown throughout the early part of 2013-14 that it can compete with the top sides, but has constantly fallen apart in big away games. Szczesny has shown himself to be a mediocre leader on the back end. He also fails to make the pivotal saves in the key moments, which often leads to his team falling apart thereafter.
Casillas meanwhile is a terrific leader who also has a knack for making big stops. He might struggled on set-pieces, particularly given the physicality of the Premier League, but he may be the man to stabilize Arsenal's often disorganized back line in key moments.
Casillas is 32 and still seems to have a few years left, but if he comes what happens to Szczesny? Does he get moved? Or is he willing to ride the pine and learn from Casillas? Things could get a bit uncomfortable in the clubhouse depending on how manager Arsene Wenger manages the situation.
In Madrid, it seems that Ancelotti is looking to shore up some younger guys to take over the reins in goal, meaning that he might have no trouble selling Casillas to the right buyer.
Should Arsenal go after Casillas?