Adrien Rabiot was ready to let go of the drama.
“The last few months have been complicated both from a sporting and personal level, but today I am ready to leave everything behind and begin a new adventure,” he said after completing a free transfer to Juventus.
The French midfielder’s talent has never been in doubt. It was his ability that took him to Manchester City’s academy in 2008, but his stay there would last only six months. Then just 13 years old, Rabiot left Manchester to return to France after accusing City of breaking promises, and many view his sojourn to Manchester as a microcosm for his career.
Running parallel to Rabiot’s success on the field has been a series of tense off-field issues and disagreements. Rabiot’s mother, Veronique, serves as his agent, and she is often cited as an obstacle between Adrien and greater success.
Rabiot first joined PSG in 2010 at age 15. By 2012, he was brought into the first-team squad, but when the club refused to allow Veronique to accompany him on a mid-season trip to Qatar, he withdrew from the tour.
“She [Veronique] made me laugh because she said she was waiting for Ancelotti to turn up so that she could go into his office,” Martine Moulin, an educator at one of Rabiot’s youth clubs, US Creteil, told Bleacher Report. “Ancelotti is the kind of person some people might be intimidated by, but she’s not scared of anything.”
It’s vital to note Rabiot’s struggles as a child. His father suffered a stroke in 2007. It left him with locked-in syndrome, in which sufferers are almost entirely paralysed but fully conscious. His mother’s decision to involve herself in his career, while well-intentioned, has not been as beneficial as she might have hoped.
By the summer of 2019, it left Rabiot at a crossroads. He had opted to leave PSG on a free transfer, and his international career was in a similar state of limbo. Didier Deschamps offered Rabiot a spot on France’s standby list for the 2018 World Cup, which the player promptly rejected. Those kinds of bold decisions have littered his career and often landed him in hot water.
For example, in 2014, it looked like he would leave PSG after agreeing to join Roma on a free transfer, only for Rabiot to change his mind and ink a new deal. He had been linked with Arsenal that summer too.
Arsene Wenger was understood to be a huge fan of Rabiot and his interest appeared to be reignited during the January transfer window of 2016, but a deal never materialised for a player who appears to have a lot of the qualities the club typically seek from midfielders.
The move to Italy last summer was seen as a chance to reignite his career, but it has yet to do that.
Rabiot has played 17 times in Serie A this season, but reports in Italy indicate the Old Lady are ready to sanction a transfer for Rabiot. That could be the perfect opportunity for Arsenal to steal in ahead of Everton and Manchester United. Like many clubs the Gunners will be operating with a restricted budget this summer, but the chance to secure a player of Rabiot’s calibre and potential should not be passed up.
The midfielder boasts a wealth of experience both in Ligue 1 and the Champions League, with his ability to pass through the lines a perfect complement to Mikel Arteta’s style. With the future of Lucas Torreira unclear and the need for a leader in midfield, a cut-price deal for Rabiot would make a lot of sense for the Gunners and Arteta.
It would be naive to ignore the player’s past transgressions, but at 25, with his international opportunities at an all-time low, you would imagine that Rabiot has himself realised that this could be his last major opportunity at a top club.
The move would also provide a number of benefits to Rabiot personally. The chance to play in a possession-based side like Arsenal’s will suit his game, while London’s proximity to Paris will make it easier for him to stay close to family. Knowing he’s in the most-watched league in the world may also boost his international hopes.
Meanwhile, the benefits for Arsenal are equally as clear. Rabiot could be given greater responsibility by Arteta, and serve as a mentor to compatriot Matteo Guendouzi. He could also replace Granit Xhaka in the starting XI and provide a more reliable option for Arteta in what is a key position in his system.
The Swiss international has undoubtedly improved under Arteta, but fans are right to have some reservations about how the former Basel midfielder will perform long-term. The key for Rabiot now, at 25, is to find a stable home, and the Emirates could provide just that.
