Former Czech Republic under-21s star Martin Graiciar spent time training with Arsenal and was poised to join them permanently before his dream transfer fell apart
Martin Graiciar of Czech Republic
Martin Graiciar played for Czech Republic youth teams(Image: Jose Breton/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
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Martin Graiciar has revealed how his own honesty saw him scupper a potentially life-changing move to Arsenal. The former Czech youth international spent time on loan at the Gunners’ academy before accidentally torpedoing a permanent transfer.
The 26-year-old has now retired from professional football at the age of just 26. He spent time at Sparta Prague and in Viktoria Plzen’s academy, but like so many promising youngsters, never got his big break.
That could have come in 2015, when he was training with Arsenal’s academy players while on loan from Plzen. Graiciar, who played as a forward, says he impressed the coaches enough to be invited back by Arsenal, with manager Arsene Wenger keen to take a look at him in occasional training sessions with the first team.
But sadly for Graiciar, that possibility never became a reality. “Everything was agreed upon. I even flew to London normally for the second time, and Plzen were supposed to receive 40 million koruna [€1.6million] for me at that time, which they were already planning to use for the reconstruction of the stadium,” he told Czech outlet MF Dnes.
“Arsenal promised me that I would be able to train with the A team from time to time.” But upon arriving back with the north London club, Graiciar says words from his own mouth proved to be the turning point.
“It was at a time when I grew up quickly and started having problems with my back and groin,” Graiciar added. “And unfortunately, also at a time when I first started to allow myself to be pressured, which then bound me tremendously throughout my career.
“I developed psychosomatic problems and inexplicable pain. As soon as I felt uncomfortable and stressed, my muscles would prick me, which I thoughtlessly told the physiotherapist at Arsenal.
Martin Graiciar of ACF Fiorentina
Martin Graiciar went on to join Fiorentina(Image: VI Images via Getty Images)
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“I wanted to go to training, but the standard practice was that they had to check me first. I’m a talkative type and I told them straight away that I had a slight muscle pull. If I had kept my mouth shut and at least tried, things could have turned out differently.
“They just told me straight away that I’d better stay in the gym. This was followed by a round of examinations, an MRI and a lot more. Logically, they wanted to know in detail what was bothering me. It dragged on for a few days, then they sent me back.
“I’ll never find out what would have happened if I had gone on the pitch at that time. And I blame myself a little.” Graiciar later joined Fiorentina and spent time on loan with Czech clubs before playing for York United in Canada, where he ended his career in 2022.
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