I'm getting sick of repeating myself. Fabregas is a world class player who will go on to have a magnificent career, I'm sure of that. He is the best player at Arsenal, but that doesn't mean we wouldn't be better off without him. Why? Because we're too reliant on him. Our whole system is based on him. So, when the inevitable happens and he gets injured, we lack creativity and spark, because we have no plan B. This means we are bound to struggle in games which he doesn't feature in. Fabregas will not be easy to replace (if he does leave), but it can be done. We don't have to replace him with a player equally as good (we probably can't anyway), we can replace him with a quality player whom we're not as reliant on. We should concentrate on manufacturing a team which is not over reliant on anybody. Look at Man Utd for example, they can win games with some of their best players missing. Why? Because they're a team and they have adaptable players who can put in a shift whenever a first team player isn't involved. They don't rely on a certain individual to carry them through a whole Premier League campaign. I have a lot of admiration for Fabregas. He has never shown a lack of respect to anybody involved with Arsenal. He has never asked for a pay rise despite not earning half of what he should be, he has never handed in a transfer request or tried to force a transfer though to join his boyhood club, he has never done anything that would disrupt or cause a problem in the dressing room or anything like that. He has been at this club for 8 years and he's given everything he's got in every game he has featured in. If he does leave, he will have my blessing. I will follow him for the rest of footballing career and cheer him on. He's a gunner forever! The Nasri situation is completely different. He is demanding wages which he knows we can't offer. He knows the wage structure at Arsenal, but he is demanding money he doesn't deserve despite this. I wouldn't actually mind if he deserved it, but he doesn't. He wants to earn the same amount of money as our club captain who also happens to be one of the best players in the world. What has he done to deserve this? Playing well for 3 months doesn't earn you that kind of money. We're not Man Utd. We can't just allow him to hold the club to ransom. I would definitely sell him this summer as I think we can replace him easily, and I mean easily. There are plenty of players like him all over Europe. By the way, I do think Nasri is a good player, and I do think he'll become a top player if he chooses the right path, but I will never forgive him for what he's put us through. I think he'll leave this summer and end up like Hleb. It's a shame because I really think he could've been a special player for us. Anyway, my point is, we should concentrate on building a good squad, not a team based on a few star players. This club has dealt with much bigger losses than Fabregas and Nasri. This is nothing. Much love, Kamran.
Good article but i'm not sure any of us are saying either of those players are irreplaceable. Maybe you are reposting this from another website?
In my opinion we need to keep one of the two. I would rather Fabregas left for the reasons you stated, we cash in on him, and then replace him with Nasri and/or another player bought with the Fabregas money.
Are you accusing me of plagiarism? I'm not sad enough to use someone else's work to enhance my reputation. Use Neil's toolbox to check.
You need to do something drastic. Like get rid of Wenger ( as mad as it may seem ) or a big name player ( Fab/Nas ) and rebuild. Fabregas will go though imo, replace him well and you will have a new lease of life. Dont replace him well and its going to be a long season.
When the 4-3-3 started Arsenal were beating opponents with ease with the new system. The problem is it's been figured out. There is zero flexibility at the club from a tactical point of view. Man Utd could play 4-3-3, 4-5-1, or 4-4-2. They suit formation and personnel to the opponent. Arsenal set up in "the Arsenal way" and expect opponents to play them. This is nieve. Teams are now coming and knowing exactly how Arsenal will set up, and who will play. Last year: Chesney Sagna Djourou Koscielny Clichy Song Wilshere Fabregas Theo RvP Nasri/Arshavin Only ONE position was questionable. The rest were set in stone unless players were injured. Man Utd don't have a "first 11," rotation to suit the occassion is the name of the game. Arsenal don't do it, and because of this, especially towards the end of the season when clubs have plenty of games to study the players from, they are found out. The solution, is better quality squad players who are pushing for the 1st team, not just sitting around and waiting for an injury.
Febregas and Nasri may not be irreplaceable but they would be VERY costly to replace. We don't need to sell them, we should pay them the going rate to stay. The trouble is the Board cannot resist selling when millions of pounds or euros are waved in front of their noses, they would sell their grandmothers if they could. The expectation of the fans is a world away from that of the Board, the fans want a trophy the Board want bigger profits. Wenger is a busted flush as a manager, we will be lucky to get a top 4 finish next season at this rate. Bring back David Dein.
a) no matter how much you pay Fabregas he's still going to want to go b) the board haven't taken dividends or profits for many years now - this is a commonly known fact c) a trophy brings marketability, which brings profit d) David Dein isn't the white knight saviour a lot of people seem to think he is. See Lady Nina's recent Tweets
The fact is Gazidis does not seem to have what it takes to secure the players AW wants. There is the reaal prospect that we may well start next season without Fabregas, Clichy and Nasri, without securing adequate replacements. How long before RVP gets egdy at this prospect? I'm not sure fans will be impressed at paying top ticket prices to watch the 'youth team' get pasted in the PL. Action is needed and needed soon if we are not to end up outside the euro places next year. Excuses are all we seem to be getting at the moment.
