Wenger: Fabregas not leaving Arsenal in the summer

Arsène Wenger has dismissed speculation that the he would consider letting Cesc Fabregas move to Barcelona in order to generate extra money for other transfers.

As we approach the end of the season, there is ever increasing speculation about players leaving the club. In an interview ahead of our game against Manchester United this weekend, Wenger insisted that Arsenal are not a selling club and that he would rather focus on the the end of the season and the title run-in.

The ongoing struggle between Arsenal and Barcelona is expected to resume this summer, with many suggesting that Fabregas is now ready to move back to Spain following yet another season without a trophy. On the other hand, Wenger has made it clear that only he will make the final decisions about whether players are allowed to leave the club. We do need to keep our captain – holding onto our best players is the only way in which the club can truly demonstrate its high levels of ambition.

“We do not want to sell our players – so all the players who have contracts will stay here unless we decide otherwise.”

Of course, everything is dependent on whether or not Fabregas really wants to leave the club. Despite Wengers intentions of holding on to our influential midfielder, it is well known that the power is increasingly with the players – who are often able to force transfer moves. Should Fabregas hand in a transfer request, it would become increasingly difficult for Wenger to convince him to stay for yet another season.

If Fabregas is destined to join Barcelona, Wenger needs to hold out for a much bigger transfer fee. Liverpool bought Andy Carroll for £35 million, so Fabregas is definitely worth at least £50 million (not the £30 million Barcelona offered us last season). With the money generated from his sale, Wenger would be able to buy two or three world class players who would significantly boost the squad.

One of the most important things to consider is whether the presence of Fabregas is actually hindering the development and effectiveness of some of our other players? Jack Wilshere and Samir Nasri are more than capable of playing in the creative midfield role. If anything, Nasri was more influential at the beginning of the season when he was playing in central midfield (covering for the injured Fabregas), and has been significantly less effective on the wing in recent games. Extra money generated from the Fabregas sale could be spent on bolstering our defence or on a quality striker.

Szczesny and Djourou provide boost for Gunners ahead of Liverpool game

Djourou has been in sensational form this season

As we approach the end of the season, it is important that we have as many players fit as possible. Often, teams that could/should have challenged for the title fall short due to injuries (as we have seen many times over the past few seasons). Sunday’s game against Liverpool represents the first of a series of important games which will define our season. Three of our next 4 games are against other “top 6” sides. We face Liverpool on Sunday, Spurs on Wednesday and Manchester United in just over 2 weeks.

The good news is that Wenger is welcoming back some important members to the squad. Wojciech Szczesny, who has not featured since our Champions League exit to Barcelona, could replace Jens Lehmann in goal. However, I thought that Lehmann had a great game last weekend against Blackpool and if Szczesny is not fully fit then I would prefer to rest him for an extra game as a precaution.

Johan Djourou is also back in full training following a dislocated shoulder suffered in our FA Cup tie at Old Trafford. I have been hugely impressed by Djourou this season, especially given the extent of the injury that kept him sidelined for the majority of last season. His return to the squad is extremely important as I do not feel that Koscielny and Squillaci make for a particularly effective defensive partnership, especially against the likes of Luiz Suarez and Andy Carroll.

Alex Song did not feature at Bloomfield Road due to a knee injury, but is expected to be back in the starting eleven for the game against Liverpool. Denilson also missed the game against Blackpool and has a small chance of being available. Unfortunately, Bacary Sagna has not recovered from his knee injury, so Emannuel Eboué will continue to play as right-back.

Thomas Vermaelen is also back in training, but is unlikely to feature for the first team during this campaign. Vermaelen has not played since the Euro 2012 qualifier for Belgium at the beginning of September, and Arsène Wenger has indicated that he will not risk our first choice central defender unnecessarily.

“I can understand my manager when he says that my season is over – I have been out for seven months and I must fulfil a complete ‘pre-season’, so it’s logical that he won’t take risks.”

Had Vermaelen been fit for the whole season, I think things could have been different. He was a revelation when he joined the club last season, adapting to the fast-paced Premier League with ease. It was unfortunate that he picked up an injury when he did, but it seems that he is now well on the road to recovery and will be available to play week-in week-out next season. We have also been unlucky with injuries to our goalkeepers this season, but it is clear that Szczesny will remain Wengers first-choice for next season.

Wenger – Finishing second would not be a “disaster”

In his pre-match conference ahead of the Blackpool game tomorrow, Arsène Wenger insisted that finishing in second place (and therefore having another season without a major trophy) would not be a disaster. Under Wenger, the team have had consistent Champions League football, and  the manager suggests that given the amount of money he has spent compared to other teams in the league, it would not be terrible if we finished the season as runners-up. The club isn’t in excessive debt. We are not even close to the same sort of crisis experienced by Liverpool.

“We are second in the league. Is that a disaster? There are teams who invest 10 times more than us, and they are behind us… Why do you say it’s a disaster when we are second in the league? Do the 18 clubs behind us have a fantastic disaster?… We have been in the Champions League for 15 years, and there are only two clubs who have done that in this country – it is us and Manchester United.”

The team can be sublime, yet at times frustrating to watch, but the second that we start spending huge sums of money in an inflated transfer market, we lose everything that differentiates us from the likes of Chelsea and Manchester City – clubs who have spent ridiculous amounts of money and yet still lag behind us. £50 Million for Fernando Torres, who has failed to score for Chelsea in 9 appearances. £35 Million for Andy Carroll, who wasn’t even the Championship Player of the season for Newcastle last year.

I don’t want Arsenal to be known as a club who spends money to win the league. There is no achievement there. Any idiot can buy expensive players and put them all into a team. It’s the less expensive players, bought a few years before their peak, that I find more exciting. Can anybody realistically say that Samir Nasri has been any less effective this season than, for example, David Silva (who is twice the price)?

We are going to win the league the right way. With players who have passion for the club and don’t just care about their next paycheck. Wenger won the league (and went unbeaten) only 7 years ago. Clearly his methods work. It’s only a matter of time before we win the trophies we deserve. Chelsea and Manchester City can keep changing their manager and continue to throw money at over-rated players. That’s not how the most successful teams are run.

The most expensive players in the Premier League:

(You’ll note that I have included some of the most expensive Arsenal players at the bottom of the list)

Fernando Torres – £50 Million

Carlos Tevez – £47 Million

Andy Carroll – £35 Million

Robinho £32.5 Million

Rio Ferdinand – £31.1 Million

Andrei Shevchenko – £30.8 Million

Dimitar Berbatov – £30.75 Million

Juan Sebastian Veron – £28.1 Million

Edin Dzeko – £27 Million

Wayne Rooney – £25.6 Million

Adebayor – £25 Million

Michael Essien – £24.4 Million

Yaya Toure – £24 Million

David Silva – £24 Million

Darren Bent – £24 Million

Luis Suarez – £23 Million

Joleon Lescott – £22 Million

David Luiz – £22 Million

James Milner – £18 Million plus Stephen Ireland

Andrei Arshavin – £15 Million

Samir Nasri – £12 Million

Thomas Vermaelen – £10 Million

Theo Walcott – £9.1 Million