Some “Exclusives” to further the notion of a club in crisis.
“Exclusive” screams the Goal.com headline which states that eight Arsenal players could be heading out the door led by Andrei Arshavin and Gael Clichy.
Funny thing is that with the focus fixed on Cesc Fabregas supposed Barca departure, you would think that the Spaniard would be at the top of that class. I guess Goal.com has a different list or maybe more to the point, they have to compete with some equally shrill story, since The Sun bagged all the headlines with Fabregas.
When you look for attributable sources, there are none. Interviews with player agents, a third party source? None. Is Goal.com being exclusive in the sense of being the first to compile this post? But that is being disingenuous. One can make an exclusive story out of anything then. Exclusive: The ten Premiership players who might like to eat haggis.
Now, some of it is quite obvious. There will be departures. William Gallas will be heading out the door unless he drops his demand for more money. Philippe Senderos is out of contract and has not played for more than a year. Mikael Silvestre too faces the same issue with the added disadvantage of being the poster boy for Arsenal’s defensive meltdowns.
Fran Merida has no incentive to perform because he is head back to the Liga. Eduardo’s injuries have taken a psychic toll.
Wage considerations, contract expirations, performance let downs, and lack of playing time will contribute to squad attrition. But it might be a different list.
Carlos Vela is a player who did not even come back from the cold. Abou Diaby and Armando Traore could also find new homes.
The more dubious. Andrei Arshavin has been linked with Barca but even the Spanish media is not touching this one. And that says a lot. Gael Clichy has just about returned to match form after a long injury layoff. He has been linked with Barca in the same breath as Arshavin. But unless they get rid of Maxwell, one cannot see it happen. Plus, Armando Traore does not inspire confidence as Kieran Gibbs back up. Tomas Rosicky has come back to his first season from an even longer injury layoff. The Czech probably needs another season to get back to speed. It is hard to see Wenger giving up on this group.
Goal.com’s hyperbolic “Exclusive” is nothing compared to Mirror Football’s “Exclusive” on Wenger begging with Cesc Fabregas to stay on for two years more. Are they installing bugs in the boardroom or offices? The player’s agent talking? This is nothing but manufacturing out of whole cloth. Wenger has never stopped a player from leaving and even if he is concerned about a future without Fabregas, the club comes first, and they will look for a suitable replacement.