Diego Ribas da Cunha

The German media are reporting that Arsenal are the club that are most likely to sign Brazilian attacking midfielder Diego. Diego had shown promise during 3 seasons at Werder Bremen (scoring 20 goals during the 2008/9 season), but has since fallen off the radar of the top European clubs after poor seasons at Juventus and current club Wolfsburg. Last season he was repeatedly fined by Wolfsburg for poor behaviour and has since made it clear that he wants to leave the Bundesliga this summer.

In February, Diego won a penalty which he then took (instead of allowing the teams designated penalty-taker Patrick Helmes to take it) and hit the crossbar. Wolfsburg lost the match by one goal and a furious manager fined him £86,000. He was also dropped from the first team for a few matches. In one of the final games of the season, Diego then stormed out of the hotel where the team was staying when told that he would start on the bench. He was subsequently fined around £350,000 for his actions.

It is known that Liverpool were interested in signing Diego to replace Xabi Alonso 2 years ago, but a transfer never materialised. Following the increased speculation that a move to either Arsenal or Spurs could be imminent he released the following statement:

“I prefer not to mention the names of the clubs out of respect for the managers and the owners but its true that there is contact with some clubs in England.

“Of course I will give these offers special attention because it’s my dream to play in the Premier League.”

Whether I would like to see Diego at Arsenal is a different issue. Yes, he does have a good track-record and, at 26, provides a bit more experience than some of Wenger’s singings over the past few years. However, I would suggest that based on his behaviour at Wolfsburg, Wenger should be wary of spending a large sum of money on a player who may have bad attitude. £18-20 million for a player who doesn’t listen to instructions and has a tantrum every time he is substituted or starts on the bench is hardly ideal. If we consider that we have also already signed Gervinho, this transfer looks increasingly unlikely.

Likeliness rating: 1/5

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