A tale of three contracts: RVP, Djourou & Nike
110 comments July 11th, 2012
So training is back underway, and there are some familiar faces at Colney. Â The likes of Gervinho, Arteta, Vermaelen, Santos and Gibbs are all back at the grindstone. Â Even Abou Diaby is there, although he looks dangerously close to injury at all times. Â There are plenty of youngsters bulking out the squad, too. Â A quick glance at these pics will reveal the presence of Kyle Bartley, Damien Martinez, and a fit again Conor Henderson.
Steve Bould and Neil Banfield are running things for the first-time, and it’ll be interesting to see if the new coaching team precipitates any chance in first-team matters. Â I can’t be alone in hoping that Bould is able to mould our defenders in his own image. Â We shall see.
Of course a lot of the big names are absent – including the biggest: Robin van Persie. Â Nevertheless, he still continues to dominate headlines. Â Yesterday Sky Sports News started claiming that the Dutchman was set to do a u-turn and sign a new deal, a la Rooney. Â They even went as far as to publish a news story about it on my website. Â Then, after about an hour or so, they stopped talking about it, and the article was pulled down. Â It was almost as if they’d realised that what they were saying had no real factual substance or basis. Â Who knows, they might even have received a call from an angry member of the RVP camp. Â From what I hear they are pretty resolved on pushing through a move ASAP, most likely to Manchester City. Â So there’s all that fun still to come.
One man who seemingly isn’t going anywhere is Johan Djourou. Â You can read the full transcript of his interview with Blick.ch here, in which he reveals that the man hawking him round Serie A simply isn’t his agent. Â I do feel a little for Johan Djourou: the guy takes a lot of stick, largely from the same elements of the fanbase that hailed him as “the answer” just a couple of years ago. Â As he was overrated then, he’s underrated now: the truth is somewhere inbetween. Â There are constant calls to sell and replace him, but few of the suggested signings would be happy being a fourth choice centre-back. Â You can’t question Djourou’s loyalty: he’s now pretty our longest-serving player. Â The interview also puts an end to the ridiculous stories doing the rounds on certain blogs that his new contract was due to a clause exercised by the player against the clubs wishes.
Youngster Gavin Hoyte has left Arsenal to join Dagenham & Redbridge on a two-year deal. Â This is the same Gavin Hoyte who was once hailed as “even better” than his brother Justin Hoyte – the very same Justin Hoyte who now plays in the Championship with Middlesbrough. Â This is a stark reminder that as much as we occasionally get excited about a young talent, there’s a big difference between impressing in the odd Carling Cup cameo and securing a future as a top flight player. Â Take note messrs Frimpong, Miquel and Eastmond.
Finally, there was some talk on the interwebs yesterday that Arsenal are negotiating a new kit deal with Adidas, and are set to end their long-term deal with Nike, possibly even a year earlier than planned. Â It’s not impossible: as Alisher Usmanov’s open letter made plain, the club are in the process of hurriedly renegotiating their commercial deals in order to maximise our spending capacity. Â I’d expect to see more stories of this ilk over the coming months and years – it’s worth remembering we’re already more than halfway through the ‘Emirates’ name deal for the stadium.
Everything changes. Â Especially when money’s involved. Â Just ask RVP.