Dealing with your biggest rivals in the transfer market is always going to be nerve-wracking, because the outcome is either going to be horrific or glorious.
Arsenal actually have the perfect example of both outcomes in dealing with Man United. Robin van Persie was a sale that came back to haunt them on a regular basis as he played a major role in taking the title to Old Trafford, whereas Alexis Sanchez was a disaster at Old Trafford and he’s still a financial burden just now.
While Man United are a rival to Arsenal – they aren’t Spurs – so dealing with their London rivals is a definite case of upping the stakes.
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Arsenal and Spurs don’t really deal directly with each other, so it was a massive surprise when The Daily Mail came out and said that Jose Mourinho wanted to sign Ainsley Maitland Niles for £20m.
He’s a talented young player who’s struggled to nail down a regular position in the Arsenal team, so while the sale might not hurt them, the last thing they need is for him to blossom at Spurs and haunt them.
£20m is not an amount that’s life changing for Arsenal either, so selling him to Spurs is simply a risk that’s not worth taking.
Thankfully from an Arsenal point of view, The BBC are now reporting that Wolves and Newcastle are looking to make a move to sign him, so that gives Arsenal the chance to make their money and avoid dealing with Spurs in the process.