Arsenal fan in peace. The Cesc Saga is one that I, as an Arsenal fan, am very sick of. And it'd be very tempting to accept the undervalued offer (by about £20m) of £27m and be done with it. But that would hurt the league. Why? Because Barcelona will have learnt that simply by making a lot of noise, they can drive down a players value, unsettle them and force the club to sell. I find it amazing that no action has been taken against Barcelona and its players in the last few years. From an Arsenal point of view it is bad for the future. We have Miquel, Toral and Bellerin who have, at some point, played for the Barcelona youth team. If just one of them makes it, how long before Barcelona get them for a fraction of their actual worth. They shafted Man United for Pique after all. It just didn't hurt United so much due to the quality of their 1st choice defence. You know, what if Barcelona decides they want Modric, whose more direct style would give them a plan B whilst still fitting in with their style of play. What's that? De Gea is world class now? He should come back to Spain. Spain is his home and, although he never played for Barca, he somehow has their DNA. Suarez plays like a Barca player. He should come to the biggest side in the world. And so on. I just think that maybe this represents a balance of power that is in danger of hurting us all in terms of the marketplace. So what's your view? (I won't reply for an hour, got to go out)
I think the current offer is £35m but really I think Arsene is the one ( it could also be Gazidis as well ) who is holding things up. Arsene still clings on to the notion of his youth policy of which Cesc was a major part and seems to be quite adamant on persuading him ( and that Nasri ) to stay. Well either that or he's a pretty good actor in holding out for more cash.
You purchased Cesc at an age where in Spain a pro contract would be illegal You gain circa five years of high quality performance at a low salary rate compared to top players in other top four sides You have now brow beaten the boy to a state where he slides gradually down from world class performance and is obviously homesick in a big way You have had more than your pint of blood, let the boy go home and any amount better than £20m determines you have had a great deal
Total rubbish Barca didn't want Cesc when he was 16 otherwise they would have given him a contract. We made him into the player he is today, by giving him that chance. If you think he is only worth £20m then you would also agree that Modric is worth no more that £12m ? No, didn't think so. So stop talking bollocks
When you enticed Cescaway from Barca he was at an age when under Spanish law no pro contract was possible, learn about your teams methods d-head I am saying 20m as you have had a very fair deal in (classy) workload from Cesc and Modric is only worth 30m unless you are a desperate Russian
I actually think Barca's antics will hurt them in the long run. They will have a lot of talented youngsters who can't break into the team - but would you buy one knowing that Barca will start pulling their crap if he turns into an excellent player.
