Today at ’1nildown2oneup’ I am delighted to welcome back the well known wide boy and market trader that is Anthony Oliverio, known to most of you as @ArsenalFamiglia. Anthony is opening the Emirates market stall and will take you through some of the potential bargains available to the discerning buyer this summer. I hope you are all paying attention and making notes because if these bargains don’t disappear I am afraid some of the new stock you would love to see in the new season will not there….Thanks @goonerdave66
With 2 games of the regular Premier League season to go, summer transfer rumours involving Arsenal are rife but for me, this summer, a clearout is just as vital as any incomings.
The Podolski this week was completed yesterday after months of speculation and most Gooners are hoping for a least two or three more to join him. For this to occur first the club has to make room, literally.
I’d like to take a look at the players likely to leave the club in the summer and any feedback would be appreciated.
Marouane Chamakh
When Marouane first arrived in the summer of 2010, I thought the “Plan B” we so desperately needed at The Arsenal had finally arrived. Big and strong with a will to work hard for the team, his 6 goals during the first few months of the season looked like a bright start to a promising career at The Emirates. Since then we have seen nothing. To be fair to him, his chances have been limited with RVP on fire since last Christmas but on the odd occasion we have seen him, the fire in his belly seems to have disappeared. He is not helped by the team not being set up to throw in cross after cross.
Cost – Free
Current Wage – £60,000 pw
Contract Expires – 2014
It looked likely he would leave in the last winter transfer window but I’m 100% sure he will be moved on this summer.
Park Chu-Young
Park is a tough one to comment on, purely because we have seen hardly anything of him. He made a start against Marseille in the Champions League (which ended 0-0) and played against Boltonin a 2-1 win in the 4th round of the Carling Cup. Surprisingly, the only other playing time he has been given was in the 2-1 home defeat to Manchester Utd and the 3-0 victory againstMilan.
I’d like to see more of him but the only explanation for his lack of playing time must be that Arsene does not rate him highly enough, thus making the appearances against Man Utd and Milan even more surprising.
Cost – £2.6m
Current Wage – £40,000 pw
Contract Expires – 2015
Expect him to move on in the summer.
Denilson
Deni is currently on loan to Sao Paulo but is expected back on June 1st. Sao Paulo had enquired about a second season but Arsenal are not keen
There is still a part of me that would like him back but at the age of 24 and with the already packed out midfield we possess, I just don’t think he would get the playing time he would like.
Cost – £3.4m
Current Wage – £50,000 pw
Contract Expires – 2014
After over a 100 appearances for us, I think it’s time for Deni to move on permanently, with Spainlikely if anyone can foot the bill?
Nicklas Bendtner
As we all know Nicky is the greatest striker the world as ever seen……
If Nicky played the game as well as he talked it, he’d be the new Messi. Despite that and the fact he has hardly been prolific during his season long loan atSunderland, I would like him back at The Arsenal. The problem is, Nicky wants to start every game and genuinely believes that he is deserving of a regular starting place in the side. Unfortunately, for those of us outside of “The Magical World of Nicklas Bendtner”, we know that he is a good back up striker at the very most.
If he is happy to spend most of his time making an impact from the bench, I’d love him to stay.
Cost – Nominal Fee
Current Wage – £52,000 pw
Contract Expires – 2014
Expect him to leave in the summer.
Carlos Vela
Every year we have high hopes for Carlos. Every year those hopes are dashed by a lack of chances, a lack of form or a season long loan spell, generally inSpain.
Carlos is 23 now and after a fairly successful season long loan at Real Sociedad in La Liga, Arsene is either going to have to promise him first team football next season or sell him.
He is another player, like Bendtner, who if content at being a back up for the first team, could be a great squad player. Again, like Bendtner, I don’t think he will be happy with that.
Perhaps it is the ineffective nature of Park Chu-Young and Marouane Chamakh that has made us appreciate Carlos and Nicklas.
Cost – £125,000
Current Wage – £30,000 pw
Contract Expires – 2015
I expect Carlos to leave during the summer and Spain will be the likeliest destination.
Andrey Arshavin
Andrey, Andrey, Andrey.
I can’t help but love him. Whether it is because of “those” 4 goals at Anfield or the Alexander the Meerkat similarity, who knows?!
Despite hitting the big 30 he still has the ability to be a success in the Premier League, I’m just not sure he wants to be. Watching him warm up at the start of this season, he would often look relieved when all 3 subs had been made and he could return to the comfort of the bench.
Cost – £16m
Current Wage – £70,000 pw
Contract Expires – 2013
I would love him to stay but I couldn’t be sure he’d even want to. A permanent return toRussiais on the cards in my opinion.
(Editor’s note – had we played him as a No 10 and not on the wing he would have ripped up this league but it is now too late)
Sebastien Squillaci
Seb the Squid as he is not so affectionately known is a phenomenon to me. The phenomenon is that the man has played Champions League and International football whilst playing for big European teams such asLyon,Monacoand Sevilla.
Again, he is another that has not had a great deal of playing time but whenever we see him he looks way out of his depth. When he recently made a substitute appearance against Sunderlandin the FA Cup, replacing the injured Francis Coquelin, he was so poor he was himself substituted early in the 2nd half. An unwanted accomplishment for any professional footballer. (Eboue – take a bow son!)
Cost – £4m (I wasn’t sure how much Seb cost so I took to twitter to find out. The responses, “about 20 points” and “a lot of grief” sum up most of the feelings towards The Squid.)
Current Wage – £60,000 pw
Contract Expires – 2013
If he doesn’t leave of his own free will, I will drive him to the North Pole and leave him there.
It is worth noting that attempts were made to offload some of the aforementioned players last summer. The likes of Denilson, Vela and Bendtner were all made available but their wages proved to be a stumbling block to any potential transfer. Le Boss has been trying to offload Manuel Almunia for the last couple of seasons but his contract expires this summer so he will definitely leave the club. Likewise, I believe Vito Mannone and Lukasz Fabianski will leave the club in the summer when their contracts expire as neither seems to have the ability to force their way into the number 1 spot currently occupied by Wojciech Szczesny.
Whilst it would be nice to receive respectable transfer fees for any players leaving The Arsenal, the club must take in to account that the players mentioned are costing us in excess of £400,000 a week. This sum of money could be allocated to new signings or even existing transfer negotiations such as Robin Van Persie’s much publicised contract extension talks.
It will of course be sad to see some of these players leave but by trimming the squad down it will also allow others more opportunities to play. The likes of Ryo Miyaichi, Kyle Bartley, Benik Afobe and Henri Lansbury, I believe, will all be given playing time in the first team next season.
Any clear out of the playing staff would clearly benefit the club financially but more importantly I believe the club is in dire need of rejuvenation and the best place to start is by removing the dead wood.
So anyone looking for a bargain this summer, keep your eyes peeled, the BIG SUMMER SALE starts very soon.
Thanks Anthony – Feedback to Anthony via the comments or via @Arsenalfamiglia will be most welcome
