Theo Jensen
I thought I would mark the completion of the club's second summer signing by reviewing where we stand with our 'deadwood set' players. As some of you are aware, Arsène Wenger's budget for transfers also includes the costs of player-contracts (ie their wages).
The squad players who have been almost unanimously identified as 'deadwood' have not only made just a handful of appearances between them for the club in the previous season, but are also reported to be earning salaries that each commands a payment of £50,000 per week, or more. The exact amount for each player is not always reported identically, but I am yet to find a purported sum that falls outside £10,000 of the most frequently cited figure.
When you add up these players' contracts, a sum of around £30 million per annum emerges. Although this is, of course, a guess and not definitive, it does seem to be a well-founded calculation. So, without further ado, let's review where things stand (please note - unless otherwise stated, I am working on the assumption that these players earn £50,000 per week each):
Manuel Almunia: Old news now, but our third-choice keeper was released by the club. Adios!
Lukasz Fabianski: I can't find a solid source indicating whether he has one or two years left on his contract. He told Arsenal TV Online that he had signed a contract-extension in early 2010, and earlier this summer indicated his desire to leave. He probably has either one or two years left, but I expect Wenger may hold on to him so he need not fork out a transfer fee for a new keeper; in any event, it is far from certain that Fabianski could be sold at such a wage.
Sebastien Squillaci: thankfully, he only has one year left - I'm still not convinced he's ever had the concept of marking explained to him.
Abou Diaby: Reportedly earning an incredible £60,000 per week, Diaby is admired by a select few fans. He has shown some great potential, but, aside from being injury-prone, we have tons of depth for our central midfield options, and I personally would prefer to see players like Coquelin given more chances. He was originally contracted until 2012, but signed an extension at the end of 2009. He (possibly) is contracted until 2014.
Park Chu-Young: I really struggled to find out the details of this signing. Wenger stated that the signing was necessary given the absence of Chamakh and Gervinho, due to the African Cup of Nations. He was also 26 when signed, and, though I couldn’t find a source for this, allegedly told the club in advance he would be needed for military service in South Korea in two years' time. Hopefully, therefore, given any or all of those reasons, his contract is a short-term one.
Johan Djourou: I, like many of you, only recently saw the return of my eyebrows from the back of my head after hearing that Wenger had decided to extend Djourou's contract until 2015.
Marouane Chamakh: he is contracted until 2014. Despite his excellent start, his confidence seems to have been shattered since RvP returned. Assuming that our talisman stays, one hopes such a situation doesn't transpire with Giroud, who may play on the right wing, but may also be primarily the back-up lone striker.
Andrey Arshavin: world-class when he can be bothered, and supposedly earning £70,000 per week, but there doesn't seem to be any place for Arshavin anymore. Some have suggested he could be used as a playmaker, but again, we have Wilshere to come back who will presumably take up this role next season. He has one year left on his contract, and I suspect we could fetch a reasonable fee for him.
Denilson: Sao Paulo president Juvenal Juvencio is quoted as saying that we have set a fee of £4.9 million for his purchase. Given his wage, this seems a little unfounded. As with Chamakh, it would be probably be better for us to make these players available for close-to-free transfers, given their wages (our gamble on Chamakh's four-year contract works out at more than £10 million!). In any case, he signed a contract extension in September 2009 and is apparently contracted until 2014.
Carlos Vela: Signed on a five-year deal in November 2005, he extended his contract in December 2009. As usual, the club did not specify the length of this contract extension but he is reportedly contracted until 2015. Again, there are clubs allegedly interested in La Liga, so it wouldn't be prudent to quibble too much over his fee.
Nicklas Bendtner: contracted until 2014, Bendtner is, according to his agent, attracting 'global interest' - though which globe he meant is not clear. He could perhaps gain a decent fee - let's just hope his performances at the Euros have fuelled that to happen!
So, upon examination, it's clear that the problem of the deadwood players is not so bad after all. The majority of the 'set' will be gone, at worst, by 2014. This coincides with the time when new kit- and shirt-sponsorship deals will be negotiated. I refer you to the excellent work of Swiss Ramble's article 'Arsenal's Mystery Dance' for analysis of this. But we will be substantially stronger in terms of financial muscle when it comes to transfer-fees and player-wages, if we can stay in the Champions League or, better yet, win some trophies. The new TV deals, which I have not yet looked at in depth yet, will also apparently be the source of more income.
Therefore, long term, things are not looking so bad - as long as we keep competitive in the next two seasons. This unfortunate wage policy cannot reasonably become a trend, so let's hope that if more youngsters and/or squad players are signed, Wenger has learned the necessary lessons and makes their wages based on performance-related bonuses!
