ARSENAL’S greatest hope of stopping Manchester City is out to impress this weekend.
Lucas Paqueta saw a move to the Etihad collapse last summer but remains very much on Pep Guardiola‘s wish-list and Sunday is his last chance to show why.
The one big issue hanging over Paqueta, 26, and any potential deal is the same problem which scuppered last year’s move.
In August last year the FA opened an investigation into a potential breach of betting rules.
The probe centres on bets placed not by the player but back in his home country Brazil around games in which he has received a yellow card.
Paqueta denies all wrongdoing and says he has been cooperating with the investigators, including meeting with them twice last year.
West Ham stood by their player, who praised the club and boss David Moyes for their support, though he was left out of three straight Brazil squads last year before returning in March.
The investigation continues to drag on without a charge and there are frustrations both within his camp and at West Ham over the lack of action and communication.
Paqueta is expecting a decision either to charge him or drop the case to be reached before the summer transfer window opens on June 14, though the FA have declined to comment.
That would give him the best chance of securing a desired move to Man City, while West Ham would have the adequate time to find a replacement.
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Paqueta’s representatives are considering their options should a conclusion not arrive soon.
The ex-Lyon man has an £85million release clause in his contract which is activated this summer, though does not last for the entire window.
City and the Hammers had agreed a deal last year just shy of that valuation, which could have included Cole Palmer going the other way, before the FA investigation emerged and Guardiola’s side quickly moved on.
Paqueta’s stunning form in the early part of the season kept them keen, so long as he was eventually cleared.
Outgoing Hammers boss Moyes has lauded the playmaker’s ability to change games at crucial times.
The Scot admitted that the Brazil international was one of the few players he would give freedom to in games and it usually paid off.
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When Paqueta is purring West Ham are a completely different team.
However, when he tails off they can go flat – as has been the case over the closing months of the season as the Hammers’ season petered out dramatically.
Paqueta has just one goal and one assist in his last ten games for the East Londoners, on top of a reckless booking in the first leg of their Europa League quarter-final against Bayer Leverkusen – earning him a suspension for the second leg.
West Ham could not recover without him in the home leg and their season has been all but over since then, with frustration growing over their star man’s performances.
He has looked irritated and disinterested at times over the closing weeks.
But it must be different on Sunday, his big audition in front of Guardiola and his potential new employers next season.
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