Denis Suarez traded in Barcelona’s Camp Nou for Arsenal’s Emirates in January, but the one thing that hasn’t changed is his lack of playing time.
The Spanish winger found himself rooted to Arsenal’s bench once again on Monday night as the Gunners defeated Newcastle thanks to goals from Aaron Ramsey and Alexandre Lacazette. Suarez has now played a mere 67 minutes since arriving at Arsenal. Any supporter expecting him to bring Lionel Messi-esque skills to the Emirates was unfortunately mistaken. So far, Suarez hasn’t even brought Gerard Deulofeu moves to the Gunners.
Suarez’s inability to get off the bench flew in the face of manager Unai Emery’s comments last week about him. Emery alluded to Suarez getting a run in Arsenal’s starting XI, but Monday night’s fixture didn’t even see him get in the game.
Why was Denis Suarez signed by Arsenal?
This is a question a number of Arsenal supporters have asked themselves with no real concrete answer.
Suarez was not wanted by Barcelona, but it seems the only way they could get him to go out on loan was to sign him to a contract extension. Perhaps seeing that Suarez was willing to run down his contract and leave for free, Barcelona decided it better to re-sign him and hope to sell him for profit in the summer.
The loan would have been designed to give Suarez the chance to impress other teams. But it seems to have worked the opposite and Barcelona may be stuck with Suarez next season. There is always China and that is where Barcelona sent Paulinho when he was no longer needed.
Is Suarez the next Barcelona player to trade Spain for the Far East?
Denis Suarez the numbers don’t lie
Suarez’s history with Manchester City and Barcelona give him an overblown hype that hasn’t been justified during stints with Sevilla and Villarreal.
The forward’s best season came in 2013-14 when he tallied seven goals and 11 assists in 36 games. Those numbers were accumulated during his time with Barcelona B and playing in Spain’s Segunda division.
His best season in terms of goals and assists for a top-flight club came with Villarreal in 2015-16. He tallied four goals and six assist during the campaign.
Despite Emery’s claims Suarez is close to the starting XI, it doesn’t appear that away. Will Suarez’s loan be justified? That is a question we will learn the answer to in the final games of the Premier League season. Right now, it looks like a very big NO.
