The saga of Samir Nasri’s contract negotiations will be familiar to you by now.
Arsene had suggested they were close to an agreement in the Spring, before back-tracking and saying talks were on hold until the end of the season. Both Clichy and Nasri were given a deadline of the end of June to sign new deals, or face being sold off to the highest bidder.
Clichy decided his fate lay elsewhere, and left on good terms for pastures blue. It was an amicable parting of the ways, with Arsenal able to recoup a significant profit on a player who felt he needed a change of scenery.
It’s August now, and negotiations with Nasri’s representatives seem to have ceased entirely. The hopes of him extending his contract beyond next July have faded – he clearly sees his long-term future elsewhere. And yet he remains.
Arsenal now face the prospect of losing one of European football’s brightest talents, and one that cost us some £13m when he joined the club in 2008, for free. Understandably, this has provoked anger among fans. And part of that resentment comes from the fact that this is an all too familiar pattern.
The path from Marseille to Islington to the open plains of the Bosman has been trodden before, by one Mathieu Flamini. After a fairly middling career as a plucky and versatile squad member, including some impressive performances as a left-back in the run to the Champions League Final of 2006, the start of the 2007/08 season saw Flamini find himself in the first-team. An injury to Abou Diaby and the absence of Gilberto Silva opened the door, and Flamini kept it ajar with a series of all-action displays that endeared him to the Arsenal faithful.
Flamini was playing for his place. And, we were to discover, for his pay-packet. Despite Arsene’s confidence, a new deal never materialised, and Flamini found himself able to walk away and join his boyhood club, AC Milan. For nothing.
Flamini became the subject of much ire because, ultimately, Arsenal fans were disappointed that a solution to a problem area had emerged, only to disappear. Fabregas and Flamini was our most functional central midfield partnership since the days of Vieira and Gilberto – in fact, since Flamini’s departure Arsene hasn’t entrusted another pair to play in the middle of a midfield four. It was a duo that could have run and run – and boy could Flamini run.
Nasri’s career pattern at Arsenal has not been dissimilar. His most recent season has been by far his best, and that was reflected in the fact he finished second in the PFA Player of the Year Awards. He, like Flamini, emerged as a potential solution to a different problem: finding Cesc’s successor. Although he excelled in a wide role, Nasri has long envied Fabregas’ central playmaking position. The blow of the captain’s probably depature was due to be softened by the emergence of another world-class talent.
I don’t think either Arsene or the fans banked on Nasri declining the invitation to become Arsenal’s focal point. But Nasri has always been his own man, with little respect for reputations. He famously infuriated the old guard of the French national team by daring to sit in their seats on the coach. He is strikingly confident, and hugely ambitious, and seems to have decided that in order to fulfill those ambitions – namely by winning trophies – he needs to move elsewhere.
Naturally, this has drawn angry comparisons. According to some Arsenal fans, he’s “just another Flaminiâ€. Well, the situations have a fundamental difference.
With Flamini, the salt in the wound was that for the first time in his Arsenal career, he was worth something. Twelve months before he departed, Arsenal agreed a fee with Birmingham for a matter of a couple of million pounds. Had his contract not expired, the end of the 2007/08 season would have seen his worth quadruple – at least. The feeling was that Flamini had saved his best form for the season in which he was playing for a contract elsewhere. Arsenal benefited on the pitch, but lost out economically.
With Nasri it’s different. Having attracted interest from the likes of United and City, at various points this summer there have been offers on the table which would allow us not only to recoup our £13m investment, but almost double it. As goodplaya points out, the player himself is doing little wrong: he signed a four year contract, and is willing to see it through. He has not agitated for a move away – the decision to sell him or not rests with the club. And, crucially, the manager.
Having identified Nasri as Cesc’s heir apparent, the prospect of losing both has obviously come to Arsene as something of a shock. I don’t doubt that the club worked hard to offer Nasri an enticing new deal, but when he and his agent withdrew from talks in the spring Arsenal should have known what was coming. Now we’re in a position where we face the possibility of losing both players – a prospect that Arsene feels threatens our status as a “big clubâ€:
“I believe for us it is important the message we give out. For example, you talk about Fabregas leaving, Nasri leaving.
If you give that message out, you cannot pretend you are a big club, because a big club first of all holds onto its big players and gives a message out to all the other big clubs that they just cannot come in and take away from you.â€
It’s a strong statement, and one that puts the manager in something of a corner. For now, the seemingly imminent departure of Cesc means he’s prepared to take a £22m hit on Nasri, partially in the vain hope that Nasri will revel in the freedom afforded by a central role and sign a new deal.
I consider that unlikely. Big players want to play with other big players. Cesc leaving does not make Arsenal are a more enticing long-term option for Nasri.
I’m also not sure he’s right about how “big clubs†behave. Manchester United lost both Carlos Tevez and Cristiano Ronaldo in the same summer – I think it’s fair to say they’ve retained their status among the giants of the European game.
A big club is by definition bigger than any player. A big club would sell a player who didn’t want to be part of their long-term future and reinvest the cash in someone of equal talent. Alternatively, a big club would point to the end date on Cesc’s contract, tell Barcelona to try again next summer, and sell Nasri now in order to maximise revenue for the two players and put the club in the best possible position to adequately replace them.
Arsene, usually the economist, is justifying retaining Nasri as a “football decisionâ€. It’s an unfamiliar stance from our spendthrift manager. But, crucially, the fact it’s a football decision means it is his and his alone.
Nasri is not the appropriate target for anger. Unfortunately the world of football has moved on, and loyalty is not to be expected – certainly from a player who has already walked out on the club that raised him, Marseille. He’s a professional, doing a job. We can only hope he continues to do that job to the best of his abilities until Arsenal sell him, or his contract expires.
Man City will gladly come in with £20m+ plus and make Nasri a very rich man. They’re just waiting for Arsenal to give the word. But so far, the club remain resolute.
Arsene is taking an enormous gamble. He’s hoping that Arsenal push on from last season, claim a trophy, and convince Nasri that his ambitions can be fulfilled in North London. As an eternal optimist, Wenger will have every faith that could happen.
Alternatively, his roll of the transfer dice could spectacularly backfire. If Arsenal fail to progress this season, and then Nasri walks away for nothing, the manager might find himself wondering if he should have taken the money and spent it on players who actually want to be here. And the board might find themselves wondering if they can still trust the judgement of the man once known universally as “The Professorâ€.
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In the depths of the transfer window, with scoops and exclusives being hurled at you from every possible angle, sometimes it’s hard to know who to believe. So let’s start by telling you who not to believe.
First up, Guillem Balague. I’ve got nothing against Balague the man. Despite his eerily accurately trimmed beard, he seems like a decent enough sort. I also understand the pressures of his job: as a freelance journalist, he has to generate his own work. The consequence of that, however, is that having “a story” becomes more important than it being a “true story”.
This is all well and good until such a story begins to toy with the emotions of that most vulnerable of creatures, the Arsenal fan. Having already written in AS that a €23m deal for Juan Mata was done, he then spent yesterday telling anyone who’d listen that the buyout clause in Mata’s contract had now expired, and Arsenal could be forced to pay anything up to €60m – the deal, in essence, was off. This, of course, sent morale among Arsenal fans spiraling, as the twits on Twitter tried to decide who to blame: had Arsene forgotten about the expiration of this clause, or was it the fault of Ivan Gazidis, who had crucially forgotten his pin number just as the deal was about to go through?
It is all, of course, nonsense. If such a clause existed – which it may have done – and Arsenal felt that this deadline was essential to us agreeing a deal, then it would have been done. As it is, with Valencia having already signed a potential replacement for Mata in Sergio Canales, we probably remain confident of agreeing a fee regardless. Furthermore, signing a replacement for Cesc before striking a deal with Barca would only weaken our hand.
“Valencia simply rejected their offer. After some hesitation they answered ‘no’ to the Gunners’ offer.
“So my son remains a Valencia player, for now. But I don’t think it’s their last offer.
“There are several offers for Mata and I think that Arsenal will come forward again. The situation is still evolving.â€
So it’s exactly the same as where we stand with Jagielka: one bid rejected. Now whether or not we return with improved offers will tell us just how badly we want these players.
Much, of course, depends on what happens with Cesc and Nasri. Neither situation has progressed since the weekend, but The Sun claim City will return with a £22m offer for the Frenchman this week. Whether Arsenal will be in any position to accept or refuse that, without knowing Fabregas’ fate, remains to be seen.
“As Arsene said, we are looking to buy some players but we are not going to do our business in public. They are going to have to be bloody patient – as we are.
It is frustrating for both the fans and Arsene and the board.”
Some would say we already have been quite patient. The season is right around the corner now and so it’s understandable if that patience is beginning to wear a little thing. Nevertheless, I maintain my belief that it will only take a few dominos to fall for this to be a successful summer for Arsenal. Cross all available digits and pray.
Finally, my opinion on a few rumours floating around that I don’t wish to dignify with links: Arsene has neither the money nor the desire to sign both Gary Cahill AND Phil Jagielka; if Stoke couldn’t afford Cameron Jerome then they can’t afford Nicklas Bendtner; and Arsenal signing Joey Barton is about as likely as Arsene bringing Neil Ruddock out of retirement to play as a creative midfielder.
The Emirates Cup is here, with Arsenal facing Boca Juniors at 4.20pm today. Â The game is like on ESPN and there will be highlights on Arsenal Player later today.
It’s a significant landmark in the Arsenal calendar. Â For Arsene, it marks the end of the first phase of pre-season. Â Rather than building stamina, training will now begin to be geared towards match situations. Â A limitation of six substitutions also means that for the first time this summer players will be asked to complete 90 minutes.
For fans, it represents a return to the Emirates and the commencement of a new campaign. Â With the Premier League just a fortnight away, the vernacular shifts:Â “next season” becomes “this season”, and thoughts turn to tackling the fixtures on the ever-encroaching horizon.
With all that in mind, it’s particularly worrying that Cesc Fabregas will continue to be absent from our preparations. Â It’s no secret that he wants to move to Barcelona, and yesterday was a watershed moment, as for the first time Arsene publicly questioned his commitment to the cause:
“I always say he is torn between two loves – the club where he has been educated as a very young boy and the club where he has been educated from 16 onwards and he has been given a chance. I personally can understand it – but of course we want to be certain about his complete commitment.”
I have to say that what with these comments, added to Peter Hill-Wood’s statement the day before, it feels very much as if we’re waiting for Barcelona to come in and put us out of our misery. Â They’ll sense that, and know that they can bide their time, incrementally increasing their derogatory offers until eventually we accept. Â The Spanish papers today reflect that too, with all sorts of language about how Arsenal “have realised they have no choice”.
Arsene was loathe to talk about any kind of deadline yesterday – “the only deadline is August 31st” – but I hope that privately the club have taken a stronger position. Â Barca need to be told that either an appropriate bid arrives for Cesc by such and such a date, or any deal is off. Â The player is under contract, and a disgruntled Cesc is still a more useful asset than most other footballers.
The skipper himself must be in real limbo. Â I don’t, however, subscribe to the idea that Cesc has gone on any kind of strike to force through a move. Â The decision to exclude him from first-team involvement will either have been mutual, or the manager’s.
That said, but the longer this goes on the greater the chances of the player’s relationship with the fans being severely damaged – predominantly through Barcelona’s fault, not his own. Â If they want Cesc, they owe it to him to come in for him soon before this gets even messier.
I think the situation is probably best summed up by this genuinely mental film from Scottish lunatics FitbaThatba. Enjoy:
“Our business will be done sooner rather than later but it is difficult to speak about any individual player because that makes things difficult.”
To me, that says that next week could be a big one on the negotiating front: the squad are stationed in London Monday to Friday, Arsene will have his afternoons free to oversee any negotiations, and any potential arrival would have a week to settle in before the Premier League kicks off.
Although he conceded an interest in both players, he refused to comment on negotiations for Phil Jagielka and Juan Mata.  In my opinion, they’d both be superb additions, but I don’t want to get carried away – all signs suggest Everton are very resistant to the prospect of losing Jagielka for anything less than £18m, which I can’t see us producing.
Unless, of course, we had sudden windfall from the sale of a certain Catalan midfielder. Â Hmmm…
I actually went to bed some hours ago, but was struck by a bout of insomnia. Giving up on the idea of sleep, I turned on my laptop. Turns out my tossing and turning was predestined, for it can only be that I was meant to find out that Joel Campbell has finally agreed to join Arsenal. It’s a transfer I’ve followed for some time, and now it looks as if it’s approaching its conclusion.
After quoting the President of Campbell’s club, Saprissa, as saying that negotiations were still ongoing, Costa Rican news channel Teletica have now confirmed an agreement is in place.
Campbell himself declared his happiness and thanked his family for their sacrifices to help him to get where he is – although his father’s dubious negotiating tactics looked, at one point, to have scuppered any deal.
For any Spanish speakers among you, a video of interviews with the coaching staff and Campbell himself can be found here.
It remains to be seen whether or not Campbell would be awarded a work permit or whether he would move to La Liga on loan.
It is one of Premier League football’s great mysteries. Why does Peter Hill-Wood, chairman of one of the clubs who demonstrates the most caution in commenting on transfer speculation, choose to let fly with his occasional volleys in, of all papers, The Daily Star?
Is it the paper that arrives on his front porch every morning? Does he have a close friend on the sports desk? Do they have photographs of him doing unspeakable things with Lady Nina Bracewell-Smith and a horse?
Alas, we’ll probably never know. But thanks to his comments in this morning’s edition, we do know an awful lot more about the transfer situation at Arsenal, particularly as regards Cesc Fabregas. Hill-Wood said of Barca’s interest:
“They have been messing about for a year and a half now and they have got to make up their minds.
The ball is in their court. They have made one bid of around £26m and another rather tentative one.
If they want to buy the player they are going to have to pay the right price – and when you look at what is being paid elsewhere I don’t think what we are asking is at all unreasonable.”
Asked whether the time was approaching we would call off talks, he added: “We are getting close to that.â€
It confirms a few things: first of all, that there has indeed been a second bid from Barcelona, which has also fallen short of our asking price. It’s also the closest the club have come to officially confirming a willingness to sell the captain. All summer long, Arsene has insisted he doesn’t want to lose his captain. But here, Hill-Wood is conceding that if Barcelona come up with the money he’ll be off. The allusion to an “unreasonable” fee suggests that the £40m mark often referenced in the press is probably about right.
He’s clearly irritated by Barca’s dallying, and I would suggest that this public declaration of Arsenal’s frustration is calculated move to flush our their interest once and for all. The player, the club and the fans are clearly all feeling the strain of this situation, and resolution – one way or the other – is essential.
He also spoke about the possibility of bringing in some new faces, saying:
“We are trying to buy a few players but it isn’t going to happen overnight.”
The suggestion we’re after “a few” players lends credibility to stories claiming that we’re attempting a double swoop for Juan Mata and Phil Jagielka, with Hill-Wood going as far as to confirm a bid for the latter has already been rejected:
“We have made a bid for him but they didn’t think it was enough.”
Whether or not that bid will be raised this week, as widely reported, remains to be seen.
The Chairman can occasionally make comments that appear a little ill-judged, but in this instance I think fans should be universally delighted to finally hear a bit of straight talking from the club. I understand why Arsene and Gazidis are often so reticent to comment, and I respect that, but it does feel good to hear from the board just what is really going on, rather than having to rely on what is often guesswork in the national press. Here, the chairman has both reassured supporters that efforts are being made to reinforce the squad, as well as very publicly challenging Barcelona to make the bid they’ve been threatening to make for almost two years now. Good on him.
Finally, rumours of Nicklas Bendtner’s imminent departure to Sporting Lisbon could be a little premature – apparently their President said last night that his wage demands could be beyond their means. It seems that although Arsenal are keen to move on a few members of the squad, finding clubs able to take on their salaries is proving more difficult.
If you enjoyed those quotes from Peter Hill-Wood, their might be more on the way today as Arsene gives a pre-Emirates Cup interview to Arsenal.com. After a very quiet week, the club do seem to be saying and doing the right things.
Arsene is taking an enormous gamble. He’s hoping that Arsenal push on from last season, claim a trophy, and convince Nasri that his ambitions can be fulfilled in North London. As an eternal optimist, Wenger will have every faith that could happen.
