The Hampshire Gooner
It is beginning to get a little bit interesting to read between the lines of how things have been developing at the club over the past few weeks or so. Everybody will have his own opinion on how things are panning out over the summer months, but - for me - one thing stands out above all else.
The manager has made it very clear that he doesn’t want to lose two key men in the same summer, and the change in stance on Nasri over recent weeks indicates, with flashing neon lights on top for good measure, that our captain will not still be with us come the start of the new season. Cesc was left out of the Asia tour because of an injury which was minor at best when he suffered it in April. In reality, the change in heart over the Nasri situation means, I’m afraid, that Cesc is a goner rather than a gooner.
Personally, I am beginning to feel a little disappointed by the stance we appear to be taking on the Nasri situation. It is clear to me that the chances of the player signing his new contract are slim at best and, in my eyes, Samir will be more than happy to see out his final year on his current contract and move on for free next summer. At that stage, he will earn a higher salary than if he left now, as his new club will not have to pay out a transfer fee. In all likelihood, he will also be given a nice big signing-on fee as well for coming to his new club for free next summer. We as a club, on the other hand, get a big fat zero: no transfer fee and a player for one more season who clearly doesn’t want to be here. As a fan of Arsenal FC, how can you go to the games next season and feel comfortable about cheering on Samir and chanting his name? You know he is there literally seeing out time and waiting for his big pay-day to come in the summer.
AW seems to me like a man who is slowly but surely losing his bottle (not just his water-bottle either) as, surely, selling Samir and Cesc for the top offers available now would see us benefit the most by re-investing that £60m or so in new talent. Surely seeing some fresh blood coming in that actually wants to come and play for Arsenal FC is the right way forward for us as a club? I for one was excited a couple of weeks back by the prospect of selling a couple of big names for big transfer fees and being forced to go out and re-invest that money in some top signings. I mentioned the names of Leighton Baines and Eden Hazard as possible targets in a previous article and feel strongly that these are the sort of players that would see us kick on at the top level of the domestic game. Alas, it now seems like Mr Gibbs will be our new number-one left back and a half-hearted Samir will still be plying his trade on the left wing. This, for me, is a big step back on last term, and we were not good enough then.
When Cesc does eventually leave for pastures new, will we re-invest the money we bring in from his sale or will we as a club simply ask Aaron Ramsey to step up to the plate as our new midfield maestro? It is an interesting question and, for me, the answer will most probably be the latter. I can therefore see a midfield of Song, Wilshere and Ramsey being used on a regular basis next season. This trio might sound interesting on paper but, in the harsh reality of the Premier League, they will be found out as being too lightweight. I can therefore foresee a time early on in the campaign where we unleash our other young midfield prodigy in Emmanuel Pingpong - I mean Frimpong. From what I read about the guy, if he is fully over his long term injury, he could well be the man to add some much-needed bite to the middle of the park next term.
Starting the campaign with Kieran Gibbs installed as the new number-one left back will prove to be a mistake, I fear. The guy seems just as injury-prone as RVP and also seems to be more at home on the wing than in his on-field position of full back. Defensively, he seems weaker than Clichy and I wasn’t overly hot on our former left back either. We do seem to accept promoting our number two far too easily rather than buying in new talent. If Cole leaves, we don’t buy; we promote Clichy. If Clichy leaves, we don’t buy; we promote Gibbs. This is all well and good from an accounting point of view but it obviously makes you weaker on the field of play. Last term, Gibbs was a number two in his position; next term, he will be number one, not because he has improved but simply because the guy in front of him has left to earn more money elsewhere. This makes us weaker as a team, as we now have a second-choice left back playing every week when fit because we choose not to buy a ready-made replacement like Leighton Baines. Money-efficient or just lack of ambition? You make the call.
The signing of Gervinho seems to have been met with general apathy by the fans and I for one will reserve judgement until I have seen the guy play a few games at the very least. He seems to have pace, which was needed last season, and he also has pretty impressive assist statistics from his time with Lille. He scored a few as well, so who knows? He could prove to be a big hit even though he isn’t currently a household name. I can see him starting off the season on the bench and coming on in games when Theo has used up his energy reserves. If he impresses, he could be a starter by October. It looks as though he has been brought in to replace the exiting Bendtner. In my eyes, therefore, it wouldn’t take much to improve on him, so fingers crossed for our new Ivorian.
The signing of Jenkinson from Charlton seems a typical piece of Wenger transfer activity and, by his position on the field of play (right back that can play centre half), we could see the end of Emmanuel Eboue’s Arsenal career. I know the guy will be largely remembered as a clown-type figure who got booed off and gave away that penalty against Liverpool, but, overall, was he that bad as a squad member? He could play a number of different positions on the field of play and did give 100% even though his talents were limited. I am not for one second advocating Eboue as an Arsenal legend, but I am making the point that there are other players whom I would prefer to see go this summer and who are not even being linked with moves away from the club, Rosicky for one. What has this guy done for us to justify his salary over the past three seasons? (Answers on a postcard please.) Squillaci was nowhere near good enough last season and was a complete liability on occasions. Fabianski is still an Arsenal player as we speak and is not being linked with anyone. Vela? Traore? Almunia?
The list is endless and I have a sore finger now, so must stop. A case could certainly be made for all of the above-named players being more saleable than Eboue, however, in my eyes. Wouldn’t it be nice to offload them all for real money and not on loan-deals? How much could we remove from the wage bill and bring in via transfer fees? We could go out and buy a Hazard or a Baines from the fees recouped on the above-named players and how does that really equate to a financially well-run club?
The answer is a simple one. Sell the deadwood and don’t be scared about selling so-called top players if they do not want to play for the club. Re-invest the money you bring in on top players who will instantly improve things on the field of play. Is it that hard? Could we not get some of the players with whom we have been linked with the sort of transfer kitty we would then have? I for one feel that if the club do not show some balls in what’s left of the summer, it will not be far into the new season before they see some pretty disgruntled fans both inside and outside the stadium. Things were getting a little heated towards the end of last term and it won’t be getting any better until people see a genuine change of tack from the top people within the club.
We all like to see genuine talent come through and begin to shine at the club like Wilshere did last season, but what we don’t want is players being promoted to first-teamers who clearly are not going to be good enough to make the grade, as that should never be tolerated at a club like ours. We need to see more ambition than that at the top end of the game just to be competitive every season. If you have to endure seeing the likes of Squillaci and Diaby pulling on the shirt on a regular basis, then it does make paying out £45+ a game to see them do it seem like madness at times.
The time for faffing about has been and gone. The time for action is now, and that is what we need to start seeing over the next fortnight in terms of players both coming in and leaving. We need to start to see the player turnover we were promised at the end of last season, otherwise we fans will start to feel even more short-changed than ever and the club will know about it sooner or later.
