There are many reasons that transfers break down. “The case of Nuri Sahin,” former Arsenal transfer negotiator Dick Law explains to The Athletic, “is classic Arsene Wenger.”



With Alex Song poised to join Barcelona in the summer of 2012, Arsenal were looking to sign the Turkish midfielder on a season-long loan from Real Madrid. “I knew the agent, we got the player side done and he was in Madrid, and so I went down, met with Jose Angel (Sanchez, the Real Madrid managing director). We hammered out a deal… and then Arsene started stalling.”



Wenger had an infamous habit of prevaricating over transfers. “Arsene never said ‘yes’ until he absolutely felt like he had to say ‘yes’ to a deal,” explains Law.



In fairness, Arsenal were operating in a difficult financial landscape. Hit hard by the 2008 property market collapse, they were understandably cautious in the market. “The way I...