Bacary Sagna says he’s absolutely flabbergasted that Arsenal have sold Alex Song and stressed he’s so miffed by Arsene Wenger’s decision that he’s planning to hand in a transfer request tomorrow before pushing through a move to ‘dream club’ Tottenham Hotspur.
The French international was also filmed taking his irritation out on a beautiful new-born kitten…but for your own sake we won’t go into the details. It’s too gruesome.
If you read Twitter this morning you’d be forgiven for believing the above to be true. In fact you’re probably panic buying baked beans and bunkering down before the apocalypse and reading this in the dark using a feint 3G signal on your iPhone.
Take a deep breath. Relax. Perhaps some herbal tea will help. Maybe run a hot bath and use those funny soap balls your girlfriend or mum buys from the Body Shop.
The end of the world is not nigh.
What do we know? Well, Bacary Sagna has spoken to L’Equipe about all manner of subjects – his fitness, his aims to break into the French team again, his desire to taste success and his reaction to the departure of Robin van Persie and Alex Song.
Bacary is frustrated. It’s obvious he doesn’t appreciate watching his mates leave for pastures new and he hints at a lack of communication from top to bottom at the Emirates. He’s also jealous that a couple of our former players who recently jumped ship have tasted instant success at Manchester City.
Here’s what he had to say (quotes translated by @MattSpiro) when asked about the outgoing players this summer.
“Everyone knew Robin was leaving. But Alex? He’s 24. He had three years on contract. I still don’t understand. He’s a huge loss.
“When the two best players go, you ask questions. Fans come up to me in the street, I understand the frustration. Like them I don’t understand everything.
“I’m the only starting player left from 2007. In May, I watched City’s parade on TV. I saw Samir & Gael lift the trophy. I want that.”
Asked if both Nasri and Clichy were right to leave, Sagna continued:
“Yes, but we didn’t know then.”
When quizzed about his own contract situation, Sagna confirmed that he is contracted at the Emirates until the end of the 2013/14 season.
“I’ve one year left at the end of the season. No, nobody [has spoken to me about a new deal].”
Is it worrying that one of our best players has said the above? Yes, I suppose it is. In an ideal world, all your players are happy and don’t take to the media to mouth off.
Is it a surprise? Not particularly.
Bacary is allowed to speak his mind and if this is how he feels, there’s not much we can do about it. He’s hurting – no doubt, in part, because he’s not able to play at the moment. You can’t help but think that at the age of 29, and having broken his leg twice in the last 12 months or so, Arsene is most likely waiting to see how Sagna performs on his return before broaching the subject of a new deal. As always it’s a risk that might backfire.
Worst-case scenario? He doesn’t sign a new contract (if offered one) and he leaves the club next summer to join a Premier League rival. He is subsequently replaced by a new recruit or internally.
Best-case scenario? He is offered a new deal and signs it and stays for the foreseeable future.
Both cases have played out in recent years. We’ve survived the former and revelled in the latter. The world has continued to spin on its axis. Arsenal goes on.
What I’ve not seen mentioned in all this about Sagna, is the fact that he has missed alot of games in the last 2 years. Yes he played well on return from the 1st leg break, but this time around we don’t know (yet) what his form will be like. It makes sense, in my mind, for the club to wait to offer him the big bucks until it’s clear he’s recovered from his second leg break. Regardless, I’m all for offering him a new contract. But I just don’t see why he would be a priority re-signing for the… Read more »
Forget all that. He’s worried for his salon buddy, he’ll now move to real just to keep a close eye on song. Don’t wanna be left behind. It’s all about trends bitches!
He’s the best RB in the league?
When fit yes.
A lot. If you’re old enough to type you should know that “alot” is not a word.
You are saaaaaaaaaad (Alan Partridge voice)
spell check this mate.
your a cunt
“You’re”
Here you are, mate. Might find this helpful next time you can’t deal with someone’s minor spelling mistakes.
http://hyperboleandahalf.blogspot.com/2010/04/alot-is-better-than-you-at-everything.html
I suggest listening to the Stephen Fry Podcast about language. He admits he used to be a pedant, correcting others language until he realised the it was quite annoying and should get a life.
On Sagna- I dont suppose many clubs renogotiate contracts while the player is recovering from a recurrerence of a broken leg. Gazidis and his crew might be numpties but I don’t think they can be blamed for this situation. Get well soon Bac.
@Carlos: I’ll spell check you. It’s “you’re a cunt”, not “your”. Coincidence that someone who likes to call people he’s never met “cunts” from the safety of his PC can’t spell?
I’m an English teacher. My life is dedicated to correcting the spelling and punctuation errors of a hundred or so little buggers. In consequence, I cry every morning and take copious amounts of prozac, bourbon and ice cream so that I don’t blow my own (or someone else’s) head off. Learn from my mistakes and get a fucking life.
OMG Alots are so cuuuuute!!
“spell check this mate.
your a cunt”
Such sweet failure.
Grammar is the difference between
knowing your shit and knowing you’re
shit.
I’m pretty sure Carlos was being ironic.
Who gives a flying fuck if a gooner can’t spell. Let him say what he wants, for some ppl English isn’t their first language on here. A gooner is a gooner.
I can feel the Blind sheep sharpen their knives and the Sagna is a Cxxxx coming soon. Just as the other players before him who could see what is wrong with the club and they way it accepted being losers as the norm.
All the players are wrong and Stan the yank with no club of his EVER won anything is right!!!!!!.
Colorado Avalanche won the Northwest Division, their second Presidents Trophy and the Stanley cup after he invested $540 million, while the Denver Nuggets have won three division titles under Kroenke’s ownership. Kind of defeats your ‘his teams haven’t won anything’ argument
Sorry, I apologise, Stan the yanks team even in the UK won the Emirates cup three times.
I am just ungrateful bastard, please accept my apology.
I refuse to be led by the opinions of Na$ri, Ade-barndoor or those that have borrowed their ‘i’m leaving because I diasgree with how stuff is being run’ line to justify doing one to get a £200k/week contract.
why do you only come out to post when there is something to moan about? Where was all your doom and gloom bullshit last sunday?
And here we go again …
The fruits.
Probably the clearest ‘fuck this shit, I’m off’ statement recorded by an Arsenal player in recent years – including those that said ‘Fuck this shit, I’m off’.
Sigh.
We’re used to it now. Far too used to it. Of course he’ll leave (at age 30, so on the cheap). He’ll be replaced… internally.
Post the betrayal by a captain, childhood “fan” and seemingly loyal guy this summer, nothing surprises me anymore.
Word. I love the guy, I love the club – and in general, I agree with the financial policy.
However, and I say this clearly and with much vigour – ‘What the fucking cunt is fucking going the fuck on here’.
It’s not just about not winning. Errr, maybe.
Too true. However, I think it’s easy to misinterpret what he’s getting at. He isn’t necessarily saying he wants out. He’s just frustrated about the uselessness of our board when it comes to keeping our big players, and the fact that players who have left Arsenal have had success elsewhere (Cesc, Na$ri, Clichy, and probably Song at some point this season). It would be ridiculous to think that the only players frustrated by our lack of success are the ones that have left. There’s no need to jump to conclusions so quickly. Don’t forget that this is the same guy… Read more »
i understand Sagna’s frustration, we were all frustrated before the Liverpool game and echoed the exact sentiment as Sagna. We expect loyalty from our players and yet some are actually advocating waiting to see if he returns as the same player before we offer him a new deal???! I mean come on. we cant have our cake and eat it too, he got injured playing for us, and thats the thanks he gets. Wouldnt surprise me if the club cashes in, most will call him a cunt and we’ll move on., but we all know he’s no cunt he’s the… Read more »
Gloryhunter, I have to respectfully disagree old chum. Whilst I see what you are getting at, isn’t it prudent to wait and see that there are no medical issues before offering a multi million pound contract?
I do however think that as fans we need to show more loyalty to the players. Listening to the stick that Giroud is getting in various other arsenal podcasts is a joke, you cannot write off a player after 2 games. Equally, I wouldn’t blame Walcott for going as the fans haven’t exactly backed the lad.
To Midfield C: that’s fair enough, but we then run the risk of having another RVP scenario, if he recovers and is Bac to his old self(see what i did there :-)) on a free, if he refuses to extend his contract. We have always been very patient with Theo, and i don’t understand ppl criticizing him for wanting more money, why wouldn’t he? fans being fickle isn’t nothing new, go back a few months ago and most on this blog wanted Diaby sold or even given away for free and now he’s the flavour of the month. If Giroud… Read more »
Just as an aside, I don’t think Walcott’s reluctance to sign a new contract is all about money. I think he wants to play center forward for us, and if there is one thing that Arsene is stubborn about it is players’ positions on the pitch.
I defend Arsene on just about everything, but this is a maddening madness in him. He has misplayed Arshavin ever since he got to the club. The wider Walcott gets, the more he losses the football. Arsene gets a lot of these moves right, but he gets some wrong, too.
To Gloryhunter- I guess that’s the difficult part of contract negotiations, we could probably have got Robin signed up on a 5 yr deal 18 months ago but that would have been risky, if he’d got injured again we’d all moan about not using our resources efficiently. We didn’t and it went against us in the end, I can see the same happening with Bac. I was wondering what length of contract we’d offer him? 3 years or 2 yrs with a further year option? 🙂
Honestly, the boys coming out of the academy (Wilshere, Frimpong, Szczesny) , into the first team squad, seem to be pretty loyal and have said they look forward to spending most their careers with Arsenal. I know it is just words, but I believe in them and think they really mean it. Fabregas doesn’t count, he has Barca DNA.
This
does
not
seem
good.
No it doesn’t seem good. I love Bac – one of the real unsung heroes of the club. If he does go though it’s crucial we DO NOT sell to a rival club again. I hope he can settle back into the newer group of players we now have and achieve some overdue glory!
Feeder club anyone?
I suppose that none of us would have picked the cuddly, hard working quiet Sagna for delivering such a statement. This example shows though that loyalty etc etc are values long gone.
The only lesson out of this is the following (I guess):
a) some players are more interested in money,
b) some are more interested in trophies.
But everyone prefers either option a) or b) to option c): not cashing in and not winning silverware. I suppose nowadays a top club has to provide either a) or b).
I think he’ll sign a new deal. I love him and his wife.
his wife!
*Instant google for Bacary Sagna Wife*
Oooh. I see. 🙂
*Yesterday google for bacs wife*
I came.
Thanks for sharing. Want to expand on that? We are all ears lol.
just did that and got this:
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2010/06/08/article-1284933-09C55805000005DC-986_468x423.jpg
Don’t you know……………once you go black you never go back.
We all like threesomes, but make mine with two fems please.
Only the media will milk his comments just to sow discord among the Arsenal faithful. His reaction is basically similar to ours, nothing much to read into honestly.
I totally disagree. He is completely out of line.. One of my favourite players up to now, but revised a significant few notches downward after reading this. I think he needs to realise that some things we can do without reading in the newspaper. It damages the club. I am fucking sick to my hole of our really (really really) well paid footballers mouthing off against the club that pays them so well. How about some fucking loyalty. Fuck free speech, how about some fucking humility, and yes, GRATITUDE. Fuck sake. He should keep these sorts of bullshit opinions to… Read more »
Here we go now Sagna going to be the next Cxxx for the likes of Dave Gooner because he wants to WIN. The reason is Sagna “top top player” because he has to fight for EVERYTHING and not accept second best. How you and the likes want him to accept being a second best when he is THE BEST??? How about ask the club why do we have to make a profit when we NEED at least two players (not my words, Arsene said we need at leasts two players after Song’s departure) and end up with around 9 million… Read more »
“C***?” Didn’t call him any such thing CLF, just said he’s gone down in my estimation. Because he has. It is extremely unhelpful and totally disruptive to throw this bullshit (and that is all that it is) into the mix just as the .team is settling into what looks like a cautiously optimistic start…I say, fuck that, thanks a bunch Bac.. If Bac is concerned about Song’s departure, he need look no further than Songs agent, who advised him to run his first team career at Arsenal onto the bench (if even that) at Barca. Totally his own and Dein’s… Read more »
The only thing Bac is guilty of (till now) is agreeing to an interview and answering the questions posed to him. If you read the full interview in French, he clearly responds as a fan. The similar questions were posed to him regarding France’s Euro 2012 campaign, and again he reiterates, “I understand the fans’ frustration, as I too was blank.” This is the same guy who tweeted after Chelsea won CL trophy: “Looking at them just wanna make me celebrate something with my team as well.” And after we beat West Brom and secured 3rd: “i’m very proud of… Read more »
Good post, love some well-spaced out piece of written sense.
He always come back stronger, i’m not at all worried. BACMAN. Who needs that other shit out there, we’ve got BACMAN.
um…
He has 2 years left. Keep him till the end of the contract. Find a replacement meanwhile. He cost 6 million so there is not much of a financial hit either.
Oh and if we can win a cup or two for him in that duration, that will be good because he deserves it more than anyone else in our team.
haha. we never keep players till the end of their contract. He’s gone end of next season. Same old every summer
He won’t get us a lot of money. No point selling him.
I agree with Eboue, I am not worried about Sanga going for freee, he would be 31 by the end of his contract. But, what I am worried is that we let the headless sprinter go for free and we sold RVP not to lose him for free for just 7 million extra where we could have saved that from the pay rise of RVP and the sprinter annual wage.
This club like the one trying to save the pences by losing the pounds.
the title and the opening paragraph gave me a heart attack
Next time I get a heart attack i’ll make sure I post something on arseblog first before anything else.
You seem to recovered very quickly. Would you mind coming in so that we can dissect you and find out how you work?
By just reading that we can get idea of how a player like Sagna must be thinking. He came to arsenal five years ago, obviously with hopes of winning silverware. And now, all his team mates are elsewhere actually winning things. Clearly there needs to be a change. The club has been ‘in transition’ for a bit too long now. And the fact that no starting player is still here shows that there is something seriously wrong with the way the club is being run. Who is to blame? I don’t know simply because I have absolutely no inside knowledge… Read more »
Well put
Exactly!
I doubt that the money spent on “well known players” would pay back. I guess I agree to what you’re saying but I also think that the world of football is more complicated than that. I agree that we need “investment”, but we also need to buy top,top,top quality to quote le Prof. Statements like these drive us crazy, but there’s actually a good point there. Go ahead and thumb me down, but we can’t compete with certain others when it comes to the financial side. And even worse, that has also shown on the pitch. CIty bought the title… Read more »
To Tho:
But the most crucial point however is that we must stop selling our better players when a bit of cash is dangled in front of us
Glory hunter, Yes, we need to stop selling our best players. But we have to be realistic about where we are as a club. I don’t want to state the obvious, but the club can’t just extend player contracts on their own. There needs to be an agreement from two parts, again a Wengeresque quote. This leads us in to the burning question, what can Arsenal offer? And how can we make Arsenal an attractive club to go to, and perhaps more important, stay at? Finances? Well, we could go the Usmanov way, but I’d hate to see us become… Read more »
To quote Hemingway: “yes, isn’t it pretty to think so…”
It’s amazing how we still haven’t tied up one of our truly best players to a longer contract. But the really really bad thing with the whole Song affair, is that it made it clear that if you want a move away, no matter how many years you still have on your contract, Arsenal will still let you go, and probably without a fight too. I don’t know why Song was sold, maybe they had a good reason, maybe they didn’t, but it’s so important to SET EXAMPLES in an organisation, and not just look each transfer as a separate… Read more »
One reason: Arteta, apparently.
Song was sold because it was a decent bit of business and maybe, to a lesser extent, because he was (I think) Darren Dein’s last client at the club. If the former doesn’t make sense to you, go back and read PHW’s comments from yesterday or the day before or whatever. We don’t have a bottomless bank account, so we have to make sure we’re getting revenue from some player sales to go along with our outlays on player purchases. That’s the fact of life for us. My hope is that this will change a little bit in a couple… Read more »
Well put.
Swiss Ramble showed very nicely that Arsenal have to make the most of the window- not the transfer window, but the expiry of our kit maker and sponsor deals, in addition to ramping up our brand leverage. AFC brings in a ridiculous amount of revenue, is reducing its debt (which is low relative to the other “massive” clubs which outstpend us), and doesn’t need a magic wand or shady payment to fit into the FFP rules IMMEDIATELY. The question is, when we get better shirt deals, when our debt is paid, will the players out there not childhood Gooners want… Read more »
@Casper,
I think that the brotherhood/familly thing is very important. To play for the Arsenal is an honor.
@Tho And to that end, I put a conspicuous amount of faith in the rumor that Song’s transfer had a partial cause in removing Dein clients. If Arshavin wants to stay and fight, and actually puts the effort in, those players are suitable. Henry seems to have learned since his first departure that he was part of the brotherhood. When the crest on the front is why you score,not TH14 on the back; when the AFC goal account is more important than the bank account; that is when fans and players are uni..(Oh, screw that no one should want to… Read more »
Wonder how long it will take before the masses are labeling him a c**t too?
WE’RE FUCKING DOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMED!
PANIC
And it being that he has 1 year left after this one? Well that’s 2 years minus 3 games! Song is a good friend to him and he sees things different to us, but Song had to go, he was a loose cannon, good player but his head wasn’t always right and I guarantee if he’d stayed and had another good season we’d have got the whole ‘best player pushes for a move’ again next preseason. Sagna can’t not be impressed with the teams shape so far this season so maybe he should think before he speaks. That said, he… Read more »
With all due respect, I think that, yes he does see things differently, but maybe being an important Arsenal player, his opinion is more informed and relevant than mine or yours behind our keyboards. So telling him to think before he speaks is not exactly the most insightful comment we can make. 😉
I’ve become so used to players leaving that I can’t be fussed anymore. At the moment though it makes sense that he hasn’t been approached by the club.
What I’m trying to understand is why he has to talk publicly about this situation, what does he hope to gain?
Well I’d guess his agent told him to bring it up in the media, forcing Arsenals hand not to look mental (after losing RVP n Song) and sorting a new contract quickly? It would though be mad to offer a player who is out injured with a broken leg (2nd time in a year) a massive bumper contract?
He’s looking for his own plane ticket to Barcelona, perhaps?
(Fishing for a new contract extension/raise?)
I love Sagna and the way he plays, but it sounds like he wants more money.
Didn’t see this one coming! 🙁
Everyone just calm the fuck down….
Don’t mistake resignation for rage, brother.
Talking about this like it is so trivial is quite disappointing. This is a huge issue for the club and our management. I am not talking about Sagna here, I am talking about communication and contract issues across the board. Broken leg or not, Sagna is a top right back and we are lucky to have him. The club need to do more to keep top players happy and that starts with communication and getting better with f-ing contract negotiations, the amount of important players being lef to run down contracts before even a hint of discussion starts is quite… Read more »
I completely understand where he’s coming from to be honest. He’s just seen our best and arguably second best player leave, and Song is his mate isn’t he? I think its pretty hypocritical too for people to say we should wait and see how well he plays before we offer him a new deal. He’s been I would say our most consistent performer for a few years, arguably the best right back in the league when on form. I won’t forget that goal last year against Sp**s either. We can’t criticise players for having no loyalty with one breath and… Read more »
Well said
Sagna will retire with Arsenal!
I will calm down now.
sell him hes a good right back but as the great man the rock used to say ‘ he should know hes role and shut his mouth’
These statements worry me “Everyone knew Robin was leaving. But Alex? He’s 24. He had three years on contract. I still don’t understand. He’s a huge loss.” “When the two best players go, you ask questions. Fans come up to me in the street, I understand the frustration. Like them I don’t understand everything.” If Arsene want to keep up team moral then the team should be well infromed of club policy and decision making. If the players are kept in the dark and see all the best players leaving year after year they are going to make up their… Read more »
These are the same players that didn’t win anything. The lack of silverware is always placed squarely on Arsene’s shoulders, but at the end of the day he can only tell the players what to do. They are the ones that actually need to go and win the games. If RvP had shot properly against AC Milan rather than trying to chip the ‘keeper, then things could have been very different (Arsenal v Chelsea would only hold one winner in my eyes). If Sagna wants to win a trophy with Arsenal, he needs to work with the rest of the… Read more »
Am sorry to say but your statement does not add up, the same players have left our club and won things time and time again, the blame for us not winning falls squarely on Wenger and the board, tell me messi would have been the best player in the world with an alumina as a keeper, gallas in defense, sylivster, densilon, never he became what he is because of playing with the best players in the world, playing alumina for 5 fucking seasons in goal was one major factor for not winning a damn thing
Those players that have left have also gone to teams with almost limitless resources – City and Barcelona and can buy almost any player in the world for the right contract. If they as individual players were as good as they think they are, we would have won more. The players that have left in Fabregas, Nasri, Clichy, RvP and Song were all in the same team that were going for 4 trophies and won 0. That’s 5 out of 11 on the pitch. Seems they were happy to keep their mouths shut and heads down then rather than holding… Read more »
Baptiste, What let us down is not those players, they are “top top class”, out starting 11 beat the best team in the world 2/1 fairly. The thing that let us down is the squad size, we can’t compete in 4 competitions with 16 to 18 players and expect to win ANY. What hurts more, we have the money to buy those extra players needed to compete but we don’t, we rather make a profit and keep the money in the bank. When they move to another club they get all the tools/players needed to compete. Is that hard to… Read more »
It seems crazy that we are quick to believe a club that has lied through its teeth time and time again, even if he can be replaced like you said for team moral you don’t sell.
Carl Jenkinson, step on up.
I vote carl jenks, sit the fuck down, bac’s still with us.
What?
He’s been the best RB in the league so I can understand fans wanting him to be tied down but the reality is that’s two long term injuries in the last 12 months. I think we’ll wait to see how he recovers this time out but whether he signs on depends on what we win this season in my honest opinion. & not to be pessimistic but who can blame him for feeling down. Arsenal were perennial league challengers when he arrived. Now we’re a top four team
he has been the most consistent performer he deserves a new contract.Why wait and see how he performs we know how he will perform there a few rbs like him out there.so if he wants a new deal i would give him one especially when we have done with others who did fuck all.
Same way we were going to look at RVP and now he fucking banging in the goals at united, if a fucking policy does not work fucking change it, we have lost our best players season after season when do we say enough is enough
When the club cashes in on golden boy Jack Wilshere!!!
So we offer him a contract in 2009, during another injury spell which he is happy to sign, but when Wenger has to look at his injuries and whether RvP can play the whole season, he does it once and then clears off.
Seems to me that our policy suited van Persie when he needed it to.
Really, really don’t want to lose Bac. The best RB in the league by a country mile, and he’s bounced back from fitness many times. I can see his point and why he’s frustrated, that’s perfectly understandable. Talking to the press about it isn’t a great move, but again, I can understand why he’s done it. We need to keep him. Offer him a new contract, keep him on, or else we’ll spend next summer going through the SAME SHIT again, and we cannot do that for a third (eighth?) time. Not to appease him, but in recognition that he’s… Read more »
Bounced back from injuries, rather. Not bounced back from fitness. That would just be silly.
Sell him .. how dare he speak to the press about his contract .. the cunt
Correct me if I’m wrong since when did the future of our club rest on any one player. Have we not learned from the past 3 or 4 seasons that player loyalty has gone ever since the Chavs and the Mancs cash machines opened for business. if Bacs sees an opportunity to go then good luck to him. I support the name on the badge not the name on back of the shirt anymore…the sooner we get used to that the less stressed we become when the media tries to force feed our fans with these shit stirring stories..
COYG…
Wow your so smart, what then happens when sell all our best players, go to league one and start buying players, when a club like arsenal starts to loose players like it does that Is when you call an emergency meeting and find out what the fuck is going on so you can out a stop to it, not say fuck you and out my door, soon enough we would be rich but we would be like Liverpool because no player with amibition will sign for us, if they do it’s only to use yours as a stepping stone to… Read more »
You can thumb me down all you want, it still does not change the fact that our players are leaving for clubs who are showing ambition and using us as a stepping ladder
So does that mean Ibrahimovic used barca as a step ladder to psg?
That’s all well and good but it’s not just one player anymore, clearly. It’s all of our good players, Cesc, Nasri, Song, RvP and Theo are not just one player. You can’t have great morale when all the better payers are thinking of upping sticks to the teams we’re competing with.
Sorry, but Walcott is NOT one of our best players. Seemed to have more promise before, I’ll grant you, but there are at least 3-4 players I’d rank on this current team above Walcott.
there are at least 3-4 players I’d rank on this current team above Walcott.
that still makes him 1 of our better players.
Squillaci could play right back!! 😀
There are 2 realistic scenarios to how this wouuld end. 1) Bac rejects our new deal offered to him now. But we win a trophy at the end of the season and he signs a new contract then. 2) Bac rejects the new deal now, we fail to win a trophy at the eend of the season and we sell him. Either way I don’t see him signing a new deal now after these comments. I love Bac, but right now the only name that deserves to be on the bacl of my shirt is Wilshere. Lost most of my… Read more »
be honest big black c, do you really think if another club offers £25M – £30M for Wilshere, our beloved club wont cash in?? Honestly!
its not just the footballers, its a combination of a lot of things.
As much as i hate to say it, Man Utd dont lose key players every season.
Yes, I believe that we won’t sell Wilshere no matter what kind of offer comes in.
I’m not deluded, I’m realistic. A player like Wilshere cannot be replaced, therefore won’t be sold.
Oh btw, Man Utd’s monthly wage bill is more than the entire yearly transfer budget of some clubs.
I personally find using such money to keep your players 1) unsustainable, 2) stupid and 3) cowardly.
i honestly hope you’re right big black c.
Cos i certainly wouldnt be surprised if and when anyone is sold!
A soon to be cunt, money grabber, blah blah blah. He’s seen his best team mates leave and seems as miffed as some fans were. Difference is he can alter his loyalties we can’t.
Long way to go so let’s give him the benefit of the doubt.
We will sufer long for what Board did to the club in last two years!
Who’s suffering? When we win the league this year, theres going to be a lot of crow eaten around these parts.
You are not funny at all
Players in the final year of their contract want to move for more money, especially those around 30 looking for a big retirement payoff. Song was the exception and I imagine there is a reason we are not being told, likely personal or strategic.
Yeah, I agree. Figure he realizes he’s getting older… signing a contract at his age with his injury record and all won’t be easy, and perhaps he’s worried about that.
(And it seems Song has already been replaced. We have a killer midfield now. Only problem is if Arteta or Cazorla gets injured. Would like to see Diaby stay fit, too.)
Just another day at Arsenal. It’s a shame that players continue to think that the grass is greener elsewhere, but as is often the case, once they leave any success they have is short-lived. They forget that this club looks after its players and there’s an assumption that other clubs will too. Sadly, for them, that’s often not what happens.
So we are the kind, safe but unexciting, unchallenging partner?
Hmmm..who do people go for in real life?
Well all say we don’t understand what’s going on, the truth is we all do we just don’t want to face the truth, while I hate RVP, his statement and that of song and now Sagna has given us if not a clear picture of what is going on, time and again the club has said that financial stability was the number factor for the club, we have been told that we want to compete but not at the level of those winning, I for one believe arsenal is not longer an FC but a PLC. Even at that the… Read more »
“I’ve one year left at the end of the season. No, nobody [has spoken to me about a new deal].”
Of course not.
So he’ll be gone next summer, then.
I don’t like it when I agree with you, Fatgooner, but I happen to here.
Damnit.
I’d bet you dollars to donuts he signs a new contract next week.
Argonaut. That may have been the case years ago but players that have left in recent years have achieved success. Bar a few cases of course but cole nasri possibly rvp Henry clichy and song no doubt will win something. It’s a trend that somehow the club has to address we can’t keep saying our best players are leaving for money alone.
It may make us fans feel better to believe that but in the meantime more players will have gone at the height of thier arsenal careers and the problem will remain.
Yep it’s true but the chances are improved at the money rich clubs. It’s an excuse and that’s all. They go for the money and the easy ride to glory. If they had all stayed they could have won together with us! But that might have involved sweating a bit, fuck that!
Well the last time we had a player around this age coming to the last year or so of his contract was rosicky. after a number of injury hit seasons he bouced back with a few good performances earned a new 18 month contract then jumped back on the treatment table. the club must see how he recovers from back to back leg breaks. my footballing playing days were over in similar circumstances and i was only 26 and am now riddled with arthritis. at his age it will be much harder. still jenkinson koscielny coquelin yennaris bellerin and angha… Read more »
Lets settle for pretty decent
Bac says that in hindsight Nasri and Clichy were right to leave the club.
Winning the league at City – big deal! If that’s what Bac wants too, then see you later, thanks very much.
I only want players at the club who want to play for the club. So I am not sad to see Van Persie, Song, Nasri and Clichy go. I want to focus on supporting MY team, full of players who want to do well for the team. If you are not one of these players then you may leave!
“Winning the league at City – big deal! If that’s what Bac wants too, then see you later, thanks very much.”
Yeah, I hate players who want to win the league too!
Nasri didn’t win the league. He joined a team that won the league. Not a great accomplishment. Song and Cesc aren’t really going to win anything either, except maybe in a few years when Xavi et al start slowing down. If Sagna and others sticks around they have the chance of actually winning something themselves.
This is 2012. What you’re hoping for is not realistic in today’s professional football.
It’s naive at best.
Strange comments, who decided Song was one of our best players?! I suspect Wenger bit Barca’s arm off when they offered £15m, hence the deal moving so quickly. Yes Song had impressive attacking stats last season, but his complete lack of discipline meant massive holes were left in front of our defense for the opposition to play (and ofter score) through. So we’ve gained some defensive structure and as far as attacking options go, I’d take Cazorla for the same money any day! Would we want to buy Song for £15m if Barca were selling? No…and there’s your answer. Anyway,… Read more »
the fans did when he wasvoted second in the player of the season list. And AW did as he started him in nearly every game for us in the last 3 years. But thats besides the point.
I guess the fan vote is something to cling to, but surely that was more out of surprise that the guy can play an excellent diagonal through-ball? We’ve had to spend many years defending the guy when pundits/press have slated Song, so it’s typical that they spin it as a great loss when we blag £15m for him! His run in the team was largely down to staying fit (a rare attribute!), I just can’t see where Song would fit in now, especially considering Wilshere’s coming back, we’ve looked much more solid; to quote Diaby “we have many players that… Read more »
Agreed. Arteta is playing DM now, and is much more defensively sound.
As far as I could see, it was Song that wanted the move to Barca happen. I was pleased we got rid of him in the end.
Again we ask the wrong question, the question we should ask Is why players like song want to leave in the first place, answer that and you can fix your problem, lie to yourself and we will keep loosing players
But most of the players we continue to mention are the ones who have brought us this trophy drought. They then leave without fulfilling their wish to win things in order for instant success and bagloads of cash.
Maybe if they had stayed and knuckled down we wouldn’t be so unsuccessful.
Don’t forget the faith Wenger has shown to these players (Song when he was shit and RVP throughout his injuries) only to watch them flirt with other clubs.
You can’t say these players didnt win us anything during this perios, then say one was shit and one was injured! That doesn’t make a lick of sense.
Van Persie only really had one full season. Song was shit at the start. Wenger got them both through the dark days and up to the level they ended up at last season. Yet they managed zero medals.
You can also say players such as Na$ri, Clichy etc – even Fab – all left without achieving what they wanted.
No chin was here for two seasons before he left – to me that is someone who did not want to knuckle down at our club, but wanted to taste success and huge salary being a bit part player up north
But you blamed RvP and Song (along with Cesc, Nasri, Clichy) for this trophy drought then acknowledge that RvP was injured and Song, was a poor player, so how can they be accountable for the fate of the entire club during this period? The fact is that these players were our top performers in a weak squad, thats why they were picked up.
Your answer: Greed and Agents.
Let me guess RVP and song were also the goal keeper who could not catch a penalty by my 90 yr old nana, we lost the league 3 times because of a horrible keeper did we change him hell no we kept him for another 3 seasons
“why players like song want to leave in the first place”
Song already said it HIMSELF (google it) that he left because Arsenal did not want to renew Song’s 3-year-long contract. It was his fault that he signed a contract for that long, and Arsenal was prudent and insistent.
If Song loved Arsenal more than a payrise, he would have stayed obviously.
Come on guys, read stuff up before asking your questions.
Andrew Morgan, I mean that winning the league AT CITY is no big deal. They bought it!
I want a team full of players who want to win the league AT ARSENAL!
And you know what? I think we pretty much have that.
I don’t know about anyone else, but the second half of last season, and even moreso this season, I have a feeling that we have a proper team again at the club. That’s how I feel anyway.
I twisted your words. Like you did with Sagna’s quotes. He never said he wanted to win something with city, so you were wrong to imply that. He was saying he wants to win a trophy full stop.
“He never said he wanted to win something with city, so you were wrong to imply that.” But Sagna implied (or at least the way he is quoted appears to imply) that Clichy and Nasri were right to go to City.
I read on the mirror the other night, on the subject of Theo Walcott’s contract, that the club was endeavoring to make his one the last ‘saga’ that they would ever get into. Instead they would now be pursuing a policy of not allowing players to enter the last two years of their contracts with Bacary Sagna and Kieran Gibbs mentioned as the first two on the contract renewal hit list.
Wow, didn’t envisage it becoming such a shitstorm… He did an interview with a French paper and we know from previous experiences that players are more candid there. Even Mr. Wenger spoke to the same paper about topics (transfers I believe) that he wouldn’t dare mention over here. He didn’t say he wants to leave. He said he wants to experience what clichy and the twat experienced. And I took that to mean with us. So he said what he felt. Better than proclaiming one’s Gunnerness (?) and then fucking off to Manchester. I hope he has more class than… Read more »
I want to ask a question and I want guys to be honest, put aside your arsenal loyality for a second, let’s say you play for club xyz who used to win stuffs year in year out and then all of a sudden start to sell of every good player in the team, your former team mates go else where and start to win things, you stay and win nothing when your contract comes to be renewed will you ? The problem is not the players, the players did not buy sylivster when matasaker was there, they did not make… Read more »
You are obviously not neutral, and you are obviously seeking empathy for the negative camp, although I do understand what upsets them.
Your circumstances are so one-sided against club xyz that it’s not even funny. Are you talking about Liverpool in actuality?
He can go and shove himself up Na$ri’s
We have Carl
Biggest takeaway point is there is no clarity, transparency or communication from the top down and this has to stop! If there isn’t more of an effort to keep the fans informed of the how’s and why’s Arsenal will continue to lose both our best players and our fans.
Nobody, and I repeat Nobody, will be surprised if Sagna leaves!
Just absolutely shocking. It really isn’t that difficult, even from a fucking PR exercise, you begin talks with the player, let us and any potential predators, know that and it makes a statement. Letting us know that the Ox, who already has many years of his contract to go, would soon be sitting down with the club to make it an even longer juicier contract, so he stays with us (or can’t leave for free!) for a long time yet, makes The Gooners happy and let’s other clubs know we’re not dicking around. Yes as bloggs says, the Mighty Arsenal… Read more »
Footballers are cunts- end of.
No, Arsenal Board are cunts – end of!
All of this is debatable, but what all of us can agree upon is that both of you are cunts.
‘I always wish my team-mates well and put a happy face on. If I have to take my unhappy face home then so be it, but I would never let my team-mates or manager see it.’
Wish more players at the club would use this way of thinking when talking to the media at least. I mean talking about disrupting team harmony after a nice start to the season.
Fuck the double-faced cunt that’s Francesc Fabregas. Didn’t he show Arsenal his desperately pissed face?
*sigh*
At 29 it’s kind of understandable he feels like this. He’ll be 30 next season and we all know what happens to players over 30. One year contracts. Two years max. He’s coming towards the end of his career. He’s a full back who has suffered two broken legs. He may not come back with the same pace. Our game is based on pace in the fullback positions so I think we may need someone to come in to usurp him soon enough. I love his attitude on the pitch and the solidity he brings but we’ve been doing alright… Read more »
If it’s ok for fans to question the club’s transfer business/policy, then how can we expect any player with self-awareness not to do the same? If we have doubts, why can’t they?
Ideally it wouldn’t be played out in public but that’s the only criticism you can level at him. What he says is pretty much what the majority of people here have been saying (constructively, I should add).
If we continue to get good results and play well then Sagna, and other players, will feel more assured about the state of the team. I think that’s normal.
can’t argue with that.
Exactly. Arsenal fans are so fickle its amazing. Yesterday we were praising Wenger’s decision to not bring in a DM and trust in Diaby. Today, one interview and we’re back to attacking the board again.
Seriously all we need is a trophy and we will be recognized as the best-run club in Europe. It’s really amazing how a trophy (or the lack of it) can change the perception of a situation.
It’s not only about the trophy its about seller our best players without putting up a fight, it’s like teams just watch our match to know who they would buy next, the song episode was crazy, barca said they wanted song and even b4 the bid had said they were 100% sure of getting him so much so their players were fabbing about, song is our number one DM and what did the board do, the very first offer and he was gone, who is next cazolar, daiby, jack, it’s so sad that everybody is sellable at our club the… Read more »
Bullshit.
There is an enormous lack of belief from many fans, and now even players, in the direction that the club is moving. A League Cup or FA Cup win would not do anything to calm those fears.
The lack of ambition at Arsenal is outrageous. Selling off our best players and refusing to shell out real money to build a title-winning squad has left even players like Sagna wondering where the club is going.
“Today, one interview and we’re back to attacking the board again. ”
I didn’t read anybody who was prising the Board. Maybe some stupids. 🙂
I hope that Wenger is also littlebit angry and that he’s not happy with the situation but he has a job he loves so why would he leave or else.
I think sometimes, we should look for fans opinion outside of arseblog (which I respect) ‘cos I have a feeling that there are lot’s of young fans here which minds are like 50Hz frequency.
The fact that Blogs has to point out something that obvious is a shame, it’s like our love for the club is blinding people to the reality of the situation.
Its quite frankly bizarre.
It’s not like he’s lying, he’s stating facts & we all know it, burying our heads in the sand won’t fix things.
We all love our club but I can’t stand the people running it!
Arsenal were around long before the current board & will be around after them, so don’t confuse criticism of the board for criticism of Arsenal cos the shit stinks!