7 Arsenal Players to Leave This Summer?

POSSIBLE SUMMER SHAKE UP?

Last summer was confirmation from Arsene Wenger that he has given up with his youth experiment as we lost a number of youngsters that were meant to be part of the next generation of the club. It turned out that a lot of them were not good enough and we instead decided to bring in players who were older and ready. Players like Santi, Podolski, Ozil, Flamini and Giroud. I know many of you have opinions of some of those players, some good and some bad, but it’s a fact that they are all older and proven unlike a lot of the youngsters we have been bringing in for many seasons.

Below is a graphic of players who left last season, have a look at some of the names and you will remember them being with us from a young age for many seasons when many of them were not good enough but we kept them on and on and on. Finally they have left and we can start afresh.

Are we going to another shake up this summer?

We have players who are rumoured to be leaving or not wanting to renew their contracts but instead of them being youngsters they are international players, people like Sagna, Podolski and Vermaelen. I think the fans opinions are split down the middle on Podolski, he is a top guy and clearly a great character but a lot of fans are unsure about his worth to the squad. For me he is a proven International player and to have him in the squad has to be a positive. Top sides always have top players ready to come in and do a job for the team when needed. Its basic knowledge that you wont get world class players coming in to sit on the bench, this is where players like LP help.

Vermaelen is the same, he is a top defender and captain of the club, for us to be a top top side we need these players in our squad. Its just about whether he wants to stay at the club and be part of the squad, as for now I cant see the partnership of Kos and Per being split up for anything but an injury or suspension. If that was to ever happen what a player TV is to bring in and replace them.

Sagna is our number 1 right back and needs to be offered a huge contract to stay. They guy is a warrior and will fight for our cause until he drops. I was at Sunderland away last season, I think when we went down to 10 men, and had to protect a lead, Sagna went into centre back and was simply superb. I want players like that at my club. Yes he has had bouts of bad form and I was one of the ones criticising that period but always knew he would come back to perform well again. Its down to the club to retain them so we can improve on the qualities that we have and not have to replace them all the time.

The players we should be looking to offload are people like Bendtner, Djourou and Park, these players who sap our wage bill away and are robbing a living from us. Get rid of them and use the money on players we need and can use. The only other player to be linked with a move away is our back up keeper Fabianski. I think it would be a great shame to loose him but the fact is that he is good enough to be a number 1 goalkeeper somewhere else, just like Vito Mannone has proved at Sunderland. We will need to recruit another goalkeeper as relying on the youngsters to be the back up is not ideal I don’t think.

I can see another small shake up happening this summer, we still have a few of the youngsters knocking around and as above some of the first team need to leave ASAP. I think we are clearly looking for players, a striker as everyone knows is a must and I can see business being done earlier because of the world cup. I think we will have targets in mind now and maybe even some deals drawn up ready to be completed when the time is right. If players like Sagna, Poldolski or Verm leave we need to replace them with like minded experienced players to keep the quality throughout the squad.

Overall we have a good team, a good squad and but for a few improvements will continue to be a good side. We need to concentrate on keeping this set of players together over anything and improve in key areas.

Cheers for reading

Norby

Follow @mattwigley

Highbury Classics Volume 3 – The day when Arsenal played France

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Last week I was running a coaching session for children and put them into a small sided game. One team were given orange bibs and named Holland. The other set of bibs were coloured pink so I thought – Juventus (who else wears pink?!).

One kid noted, ‘but league teams don’t play international teams’. Fair point but then I thought; there was that time when France came to Highbury for a friendly in the 1988-89 season. The kids were fascinated to learn that this once happened, as well as being confused with one kid pointing out “But Arsenal have so many French players how does that work?”

Of course in 1989 we had no Frenchmen in the squad. Our sole overseas players were Ireland’s David O’Leary and Niall Quinn. Every other player was eligible to play for England.

It’s my understanding that this game came about because France were playing Scotland in a vital World Cup qualifier and wanted some experience against a British team. From our point of view it was a game worth playing because we had no European football due to the ban on English clubs between 1985 and 1990.

That night in February 1989 Arsenal played in the yellow away kit which became immortalised a few months later with the title win at Anfield. With no away fans and the game being a friendly, the Clock End terrace was closed off, however, the North Bank made up for it with passionate vocal support. Despite being just a friendly the game did have a competitive edge to it, and beating a team like France carried plenty of kudos in our eyes. Three years earlier they had made in to the semi final of the 1986 World Cup and were one of the best teams of the 1980s; though by this point were a declining force.

From kick off it was clear that the French had better technique and moved the ball around very well. But George Graham’s team had great organisation plus an attacking edge and we won the game with two goals of quality. The first came about when Paul Merson scuffed a shot on the 20 yard line which was the opposite of quality; luckily, the ball rolled to Martin Hayes who smashed it past the great Joel Bats and into the top corner.

Later in the second half, Perry Groves made a great run down the right wing and crossed the ball into the box. Niall Quinn stretched out his long leg and with a beautiful touch softly chipped the ball over the head of the stranded Bats.

Despite being a friendly with a lower than average attendance, the goal celebrations from the players and the crowd were no different to any other game. Beating France mattered as we had no other opportunity to prove ourselves against the best overseas teams. The irony is that in recent years it’s been easier to field an Arsenal team versus England than it has against France. In the last couple of years the breakthrough of Wiltshire, Gibbs, Chamberlin and Walcott has slightly redressed the balance of English players.

Highlights of this game from 1989 can be found on youtube and I certainly recommend giving it a watch as a unique moment in Arsenal’s history. Put it this way: will we ever play France again?

Matthew Bazell
Follow @MatthewBazell

Luis Suarez – What can Arsenal do?

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The recent comments from Liverpool owner John W Henry confirming that Luis Suarez did have a release clause in his contract for any bids over £40million has caused a lot of debate amongst Arsenal fans. It has led Wenger loyalists to hit back at journalists who labelled the £40m+£1 bid as derisory.’ It has led to people questioning the future validity of such clauses. And has even led to a #FreeSuarez petition being created on line.

The loudest comments have been as to why Arsenal did not force the issue, take Liverpool to court and force through a move. A lot of people see this as a simple process which would have seen Suarez be an Arsenal player as the court would have upheld the clause. But that is not the case.

In the first instance, it would have had to be Luis Suarez who would have had to taken Liverpool to court over breach of contract. The clause is in the contract between Suarez and Liverpool, therefore by not honouring the clause, Liverpool were going against Suarez. Arsenal could not have done anything legally. Liverpool had no contract with Arsenal, and therefore had no duty to sell Suarez to Arsenal based on the clause. Their duty was to allow Suarez to leave if the clause was met. Upon the clause being met and Liverpool denying this, they were breaching the agreement between themselves and Luis Suarez, not between themselves and the bidding club.

In summary, it would have been up to Luis Suarez to take Liverpool to court for breach of contract, and not Arsenal to take Liverpool to court to establish the existence of the clause.

Secondly, it can take over a year for a contract law court case to be heard. I have previously had to wait over 2 years for a court case to be heard when someone was in breach of contract with myself. In the fast moving world of football, Arsenal and Suarez would have been silly to initiate a court case which would have taken potentially 2 seasons to resolve. Arsenal would have moved on in that time, leaving Suarez in limbo.

At the time, I felt Henry was playing a very clever game, and was proved right. He knew that by denying the clause would force a court case, and it would take a while to be resolved. In that time, Arsenal would move on and they could discuss a new contract with Suarez, without a release clause, with Suarez receiving a large wage increase.

Suarez himself was also playing a clever game. Had he wanted, he could have pushed through a move to Arsenal. We saw it with Van Persie, with Anelka, with Van Hooijdonk. If a player wants to move, he can get his way. This makes me think “just how much did Luis Suarez want a move to Arsenal.” And for me, the answer was not enough. He would have been happy signing for Arsenal for £180k a week. He would have been happy signing for Real Madrid for £180k a week. And he would have been happy staying at Liverpool for £180k a week. As it turns round, his new contract with Liverpool is worth a reported £200k a week.

In a game where money is king, he got his wish. A big pay rise.

Add in loyalty bonuses, an odd concept in football, not pushing through a move has made Luis Suarez a far richer man. A loyalty bonus is a payment made by the club to the player for fulfilling their contract. It was originally designed to encourage a player to stay at a club, to not hand in a transfer request. The player receives a portion of the loyalty bonus each year of his contact. If he hands in a transfer request, and subsequently leaves, he often has to repay what he has already received in loyalty bonuses.

Likewise, if a club sells a player, without that player demanding a move, then the club will often have to pay up the remaining loyalty bonus. What now happens is the player will simply not hand in a transfer request, and force the issue through other methods, so as to not lose out on a big sum of cash. In some cases, such as with Cesc Fabregas, the club will stand firm despite a lack of transfer request, and the player will pay up. In other cases, the club will fold and pay the player what he is ‘owed’ creating a situation where a player get his loyalty bonus, despite leaving the club (Tevez reportedly got this from Manchester City.)

A final factor is the fact the Luis Suarez could not exactly strike. With him already set to miss the first 6 games of this season, he would already not be available until the end of September. His first game for Liverpool this season was September 25th, nearly a month after the transfer window shut. So what would have happened had he striked? He would have lost pay, Liverpool would have stood still, waited for the transfer window to shut, and he would have pulled on a Liverpool shirt once more on September 25th. Suarez striking to force a move would have been futile.

So why didn’t Suarez push the issue? It is probably because he did not want a move to Arsenal enough. Had it been Real Madrid? Who knows. But Arsenal was not a massive step up, it was not ‘leaving England’ like he originally claimed, and when the new contract offer with Liverpool was mooted, his head was turned.

In the short term, Henry’s stance has benefited Liverpool and damaged Arsenal. With Suarez, Arsenal would have run away with the league. Without Suarez, Liverpool would have been fighting it out with Manchester United in mid table. With the tables turned, Arsenal and Liverpool are level on points.

In the long term, Henry could have done a lot of damage to Liverpool. A lot of players around Europe will still see Liverpool as a stepping stone. A chance to prove themselves in a Premier League side before making a big money move to Chelsea, Manchester City, Real Madrid or Barcelona. Liverpool are in the ‘2nd tier’ at the moment alongside Arsenal where if one of those 4 came hunting, they would quickly become a selling club. With Henry’s stance over Suarez, things will change. Why would the next Luis Suarez want to join Liverpool if, when the time comes for him to ‘make the step up’ Liverpool disregard the clause and fail to release him.

Agents are clever people. They will not let their clients join a club with such a strict stance. Expect in future, contracts to have further clauses that dictate ‘if a minimum release clause is not acted upon once activated, my client doubles his money’. This saga will damage Liverpool in their long term recruitment plans.

As for Arsenal, the damage is short term. We dropped Jovetic when Higuain came available, then let Higuain go to Napoli when Suarez came available. We were so confident of Plan A that we let Plan B & C slip, and had no Plan D. It left us a striker short. In hindsight, we should have settled for Higuain – although I am sure people would have moaned had Higuain joined us, then Madrid signed Suarez for a similar fee.

So what could Arsenal have done in the Suarez saga? Bar encourage Suarez to force the deal, or continue to throw more money at Liverpool above the clause agreement, not much.

Arsenal’s problem is that we did not have a back up for Suarez, and that is what has cost us this season.

Keenos
Follow @KeenosAFC