With the Euro 2012 competition once more upon us, this will prove to be a frustrating summer for making new signings.
Firstly, clubs and players themselves will want to use the tournament to up their stock and place themselves in full view of potential suitors. Both club and players want to make as much money from any transfer deal; players therefore wait for the Euro tournament and hope that they will play out of their skin and thereby command higher wages in the transfer market.
A classic example of this was Andrei Arshavin who was the most outstanding player at Euro 2008. He became the most desired attacking player that year. He would have ended up at Barcelona but for, I suspect, not fitting into their team.
I love Arsenal. I love every Arsenal player until they leave the club. Depending on the manner of departure from the club, I might carry on respecting the player, otherwise they all become "cunt" as far as I'm concerned. A classic example is Emmanuel Adebayor.
This summer, Robin Van Persie, Theo Walcott and Alex Song are the key players whose contracts are up for renewal. If they don't sign, then it's imperative that they be sold and the money be used to buy new players. Now, of those three, I think Van Persie would be the biggest loss were he to leave the club this summer.
I am very worried that he has not signed a new contract by now. Previous comparable scenarios have proved that you cannot rely on a player's "love" for the Arsenal to stay. We have seen with Fabregas, Nasri, Flamini, Henry and Vieira that once a player gets to the final year of his contract, chances are that he will leave.
Yes the circumstances were different in each case, but the principle remains the same. Players and coaches normally extend their contracts 24 months prior to expiry. Any player who runs down their contract to the final year does so to facilitate a move elsewhere.
Now, Love them or hate them, Ca$hly Cole, Fabregas, Nasri, Clichy, Henry, Vieira and Flamini have all won trophies since leaving Arsenal. And this is the painfual truth facing our stars. Arsene Wenger was very confident that none of the above-listed players would leave... we all know what happened there. That is why I am not holding my breathe over the Van Persie issue.
Which brings us to the point of this blog; Where Will Van Persie Go? For a player like Van Persie, I suppose the most likely destinations would be (not necessary in this order) Barcelona, Real Madrid, AC Milan, Inter Milan, Bayern Munich and Manchester City.
I do not see him fitting into the Barcelona team as they have an embarrassing abundance of striking talent. I don't see him fitting into a Real Madrid team with Ronaldo, Higuain, Benzema, Kaka and getting along with Jose Mourinho. I expect Didier Drogba to end up at Real Madrid this summer. Manchester City would be the ultimate betrayal.
Bayern Munich on the other hand are an established team with some very potent wingers in Ribery and Robben. Their style of play and the entire style of football in the Bundesliga is similar to Arsenal and the Premier League. A player like Van Persie would thrive at Bayern Munich alongsde Gomez. But do Bayern really want Van Persie?
That narrows it down to the Italian clubs. AC Milan are an ageing team and will be looking to rebuild their team. The same can be said for Inter Milan. With Italian football having fallen so far behind English, Spanish and German Football, would a player like Van Persie want to go that far down?
Arsenal have just signed a very good striker in Lucas Podolski. I think if we make one very good signing in midfield, suddenly this Arsenal team starts to look competitive...
Perhaps there is hope for Arsenal retaining Van Persie...
Firstly, clubs and players themselves will want to use the tournament to up their stock and place themselves in full view of potential suitors. Both club and players want to make as much money from any transfer deal; players therefore wait for the Euro tournament and hope that they will play out of their skin and thereby command higher wages in the transfer market.
A classic example of this was Andrei Arshavin who was the most outstanding player at Euro 2008. He became the most desired attacking player that year. He would have ended up at Barcelona but for, I suspect, not fitting into their team.
I love Arsenal. I love every Arsenal player until they leave the club. Depending on the manner of departure from the club, I might carry on respecting the player, otherwise they all become "cunt" as far as I'm concerned. A classic example is Emmanuel Adebayor.
This summer, Robin Van Persie, Theo Walcott and Alex Song are the key players whose contracts are up for renewal. If they don't sign, then it's imperative that they be sold and the money be used to buy new players. Now, of those three, I think Van Persie would be the biggest loss were he to leave the club this summer.
I am very worried that he has not signed a new contract by now. Previous comparable scenarios have proved that you cannot rely on a player's "love" for the Arsenal to stay. We have seen with Fabregas, Nasri, Flamini, Henry and Vieira that once a player gets to the final year of his contract, chances are that he will leave.
Yes the circumstances were different in each case, but the principle remains the same. Players and coaches normally extend their contracts 24 months prior to expiry. Any player who runs down their contract to the final year does so to facilitate a move elsewhere.
Now, Love them or hate them, Ca$hly Cole, Fabregas, Nasri, Clichy, Henry, Vieira and Flamini have all won trophies since leaving Arsenal. And this is the painfual truth facing our stars. Arsene Wenger was very confident that none of the above-listed players would leave... we all know what happened there. That is why I am not holding my breathe over the Van Persie issue.
Which brings us to the point of this blog; Where Will Van Persie Go? For a player like Van Persie, I suppose the most likely destinations would be (not necessary in this order) Barcelona, Real Madrid, AC Milan, Inter Milan, Bayern Munich and Manchester City.
I do not see him fitting into the Barcelona team as they have an embarrassing abundance of striking talent. I don't see him fitting into a Real Madrid team with Ronaldo, Higuain, Benzema, Kaka and getting along with Jose Mourinho. I expect Didier Drogba to end up at Real Madrid this summer. Manchester City would be the ultimate betrayal.
Bayern Munich on the other hand are an established team with some very potent wingers in Ribery and Robben. Their style of play and the entire style of football in the Bundesliga is similar to Arsenal and the Premier League. A player like Van Persie would thrive at Bayern Munich alongsde Gomez. But do Bayern really want Van Persie?
That narrows it down to the Italian clubs. AC Milan are an ageing team and will be looking to rebuild their team. The same can be said for Inter Milan. With Italian football having fallen so far behind English, Spanish and German Football, would a player like Van Persie want to go that far down?
Arsenal have just signed a very good striker in Lucas Podolski. I think if we make one very good signing in midfield, suddenly this Arsenal team starts to look competitive...
Perhaps there is hope for Arsenal retaining Van Persie...
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