Having been widely expected to move on loan to Bolton in a deal mirroring that of Jack Wilshere’s last winter, Carlos Vela has instead headed for the Hawthorns to star for West Brom until the end of the season. Despite Owen Coyle holding talks with the player, it seems that Bolton couldn’t agree terms and Roberto di Matteo moved quickly to bolster his up front options with the capture of the young Mexican.
Not that it’s all down to money though, as the Baggies Sporting & technical director Dan Ashworth explained upon completion of the deal:
“Arsenal and Carlos had a lot of options and I’m delighted both the club and player have chosen us. It’s been well documented that Arsenal were keen for Carlos to stay in this country and the Premier League but I think a key factor was that they looked favourably on our style of play and performances this season.”
The Statistics
This will be Vela’s third loan stint since joining up with Arsenal; in 2006-07, he starred for Segunda Division Salamanca, scoring 8 goals and assisting 15 times in 31 games. The following season saw him back in Spain, this time in the top division with Osasuna, where he returned 3 goals and 4 assists for the La Liga side.
The past three seasons have seen him stay at the Emirates, but Vela has found it nigh on impossible to force a way into the Gunners first team, with the likes of Robin Van Persie, Samir Nasri, Andrei Arshavin, Theo Walcott and Marouanne Chamakh all ahead of him in the pecking order.
As a result, he’s played just 29 league games for Arsenal, and, with the vast majority of these coming from the subs bench, scored just 3 goals. An established starter for his national team, Vela has returned 9 goals in 34 matches for Mexico, a sign he can find the net with regularity if given the chance.
The Prospects
Di Matteo is a keen fan of a 4-5-1 formation and it will intriguing as to exactly where he sees Vela fitting into the starting XI. The Baggies boss was clearly delighted with his new acquisition, saying last night:
Carlos is a new attacking option for us who can play both centrally and in the wide areas. He also has great technical ability and pace and we’re hoping he can make a big impact during the remainder of the season.
There’s no doubt that Carlos has the potential to become a great player and it will hopefully be a win-win situation, where we help him by giving him game time in the Premier League while he helps us achieve our goal.
This Average Position map was taken from West Brom’s last league match, away to Blackburn. Will it be Jerome Thomas (14) who makes way on the left wing or James Morrison (7) as the attacking central midfielder? Will Somen Tchoyi (5), a sub for the Ewood park match, find himself further down the pecking order on the right wing or will Peter Odemwingie (24) be moved out wide for Vela to lead the line?
It’s clear Di Matteo sees Vela’s adaptability as a huge plus and with key players such as Odemwingie and Graham Dorrans spending time on the sidelines with injuries this season, the on-loan Gunner could offer the solution to more than one problem.
With Fantasy Managers eyeing up West Brom attacking options in light of their double game week 27 (WHM, WLV) the next couple of fixtures should give a hint as to exactly how and where Vela fits into the equation. Priced at a mere £4.4m in Fantasy Premier League (FPL) Vela, backed by the creativity of Chris Brunt, could well prove to be a real bargain as the club go hunting goals in their fight for Premier League survival.
