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The data hit like a bomb on the last day of the January 2014 window.
Kim Källström was heading to Arsenal.
The then-32-year-old midfielder belonged to Spartak Moscow for 1.5 years and was not handed over to the starting eleven in the fall of 2013.
For the Arsenal website, Källström now reports that he was in Abu Dhabi at training camp with Spartak Moscow when his agent called. He himself was not particularly interested in lending to the Premier League and first refused.
But when the agent called the third time and explained that it was Arsenal, Källström changed.
“There were a couple of clubs in the Premier League that might have been interested in me and I didn’t think it would be a major club like Arsenal,” says Källström.
“I called my wife and she told us to live in London”
“I changed my mind from time to time, called my wife and she told us to stay in London for a few months and that was it. It was an experience for us and we knew we would not be there for long, so we did the best we could of the months we had and enjoyed the city and the club, ”he says.
Källström says that everything went very fast, since the agreement would be completed on the last day of the transfer window. He jumped on the plane from Abu Dhabi shortly after midnight and did not even greet my companions because they were asleep.
At 20:45, a few hours before the transfer window closed, Källström showed up as ready for Arsenal.
Källström’s mythical back injury
But the next day the news came that made Arsenal fans fear the worst: Their new acquisitions were damaged and they risked missing for months. The data circulated that Källström had “played soccer on the beach”. Now he tells the truth behind everything.
“Many people think they know what happened to this injury, but let me explain. We trained on the beach, this is very embarrassing, and it was a real workout, not just for fun. I call it a beach but it was more like asphalt. We played a game there and I landed badly on a small rock, ”he writes and continues:
“I hit my back and it hurt. Then the plan was to return to Moscow the next day, so we didn’t consult the doctor because it wasn’t so bad at the time. We immediately informed Arsenal that he had a small back problem and did not know what it was, but they told me to come anyway. ”
Källström describes the day as “a bit of a fog” when the clock struck and the deal had to be completed before the transfer window closed.
“I came to London, they did the medical exam and we saw that there were some problems, but we made it clear anyway,” he says.
“It was the last minutes in the transfer window, so they had to recruit me with back problems or none, since there was no time left. So they took a chance with me and in the end everything went quite well. “
“People always ask me why I smiled …”
In the end there were three games in the Premier League for Källström. Above all, he is remembered for shooting Arsenal for the FA Cup final when he put his penalty on penalties against Wigan in the semifinals. There, too, he drew attention because he smiled when he reached the penalty spot.
“People always ask me why I smiled on the road, obviously no one does, but you have to understand that it was never my intention to penalize Arsenal at Wembley,” he says.
Källström believes he got into Arsenal a bit with a banana peel, that he had been out of playing time and suddenly had a chance to become a hero in an FA Cup semi-final.
“I was worth it. We water That penalty changed my time a lot (at Arsenal). I came here, I got hurt and I didn’t play. It’s part of the game. But when you get this penalty, in any case, you have contributed in some way. ”
Then Arsenal won the FA Cup after a final victory against Hull and broke a nine-year title drought.
“I’ve seen fans joking about me and my time at the club on the Internet, it’s fun. There are many players who have done much more for Arsenal than me, but also players who have done less for a long time. I went in, set the penalty, we won the title and then I left. Who could have thought of that guy with a broken back? “He concludes.
