Arsenal FC Transfer Window Evaluation: Part 1 - Outgoing

Arsenal FC Transfer Window Evaluation: Part 1 - Outgoing

At the end of the last season Arsenal fans were promised a “busy summer” by both the Manager and Chief Executive alike. So when, with a week to go and the most notable transfers for Arsenal Football Club were both outgoing, you could sense the level of discontent rising. This culminated in an abysmal 8-2 defeat away to the Champions and whilst the travelling squad was severely depleted by injuries and suspensions, many of the fans felt that this result was the consequence of a failed transfer policy. The blame for the majority of people lay squarely on the shoulders of the Arsenal Manager; Arsene Wenger.

For many people the Arsenal squad required strengthening even prior to the sales of Gael Clichy, Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri so when these transfers were finalised the feeling among Arsenal fans was understandably dejected. This however changed in the final 48 hours of the transfer windows following the completion of five incoming players. Fans are suddenly coming back to life as highlighted by the slow sales of the next home Arsenal game against Swansea. The match went to general sale, which if you have any experience of purchasing an Arsenal ticket is very rare. This dramatically changed following the transfer deadline day as all the remaining tickets were sold the following morning. The question I have though is: is this new found exuberance amongst the fans warranted?
There are still fans questioning the dealings as well as some prominent Arsenal figures doing the same. Frank McClintock, an Arsenal Legend exclaimed his concerns in an interview to TalkSport when he told them that “I’m not impressed with the names, I hope they do very well. I’m not going to be out there looking to criticise, I want to give them all the support I can…[but] I’m really disappointed." So there are clearly some quarters which feel Wenger and the management have outdone themselves in the final two days where as others are concerned at the perceived lack of planning and as a result transfers.
I will attempt to evaluate the performance of Arsenal in the Transfer Window as objectively as possible, without the consideration of public perception, just purely on the sales; incoming and outgoing over the past two months. I will also only include sales of first team players as there were a number of youth players sold during this window. I feel it would not represent a realistic outlay of the talent lost when looking at numbers of players sold. The price, combined with the role of the player and their effectiveness at carrying out the role are the main criteria when compiling the score.

First comes outgoing transfers:

OUT: Nicklas Bendtner (LOAN)

Bendtner has been agitating for a move away from Arsenal all summer and despite his best efforts has been unable to do so. In fact given the rhetoric thrown at the media by his father/agent it is amazing that a move to Barcelona wasn’t forthcoming. Jokes aside, Bendtner has qualities which I am sure Sunderland will be able to make the most of and whilst he could come back a better player I would suggest that he has burnt any bridge leading back to the north of London. For Arsenal it was important to get another fringe player off the wage bill.

8/10


OUT: Henri Lansbury (LOAN)

One of the younger players who despite some natural talent has not been given much of a chance. He is a fairly technical player and many felt that he would at some point be given the opportunity to make the step up. He certainly seems to have some of the right ingredients but there is clearly something in him Wenger is not too confident about as he is being loaned out in the last year of his contract. It would be foolish to suggest that Wenger has got this wrong given his handling of youth talent in the past.

7/10


OUT: Samir Nasri (£24m)

This really is interesting to analyse. You have a player who many considered to be the best player of the season, for the majority of the season last year. This is a player who helped carry Arsenal through injury problems including the likes of their top scorer and captain and managed to come out of it looking better than all above. Form dwindles aside; this was a great season for a highly talented player. This is why the situation regarding Nasri is so perplexing; despite his undoubted quality and ability he was allowed to run into the last year of his contract despite having negotiations almost wrapped up by October of 2010. We can argue that it was Nasri that backed out of a prior agreement all we want but one thing is clear: Arsenal FC should have tied up the contract of one their most promising stars way before the summer was even in sight.

Despite that, it is amazing the amount of money that Manchester City departed with given the duration left on his contract. There are suggestions from some quarters that part of this was “hush money”, given in order to silence Arsenal from complaining of an illegal approach. Regardless of these issues, to be compensated so heavily for a player in the last year of his contract is astounding.

10/10 for the transfer 0.5/10 for handling the situation


OUT: Armand Traore (£1.2m – £1.5m)

The most surprising thing about the Traore situation was that Arsenal actually managed to find a buyer. This was a player that Arsene Wenger, for whatever reason did not like. He clearly showed signs of why he was not good enough for such a prestigious club on occasion but to actually be smiling when being mauled 8-2 by one of your fiercest rivals suggests a lack of any pride. This is a player that was not in the plans for the season and had it not been for an injury crisis the likes the a football club rarely sees, Traore was clearly not meant to figure.

10/10


OUT: Emmanuel Eboue (£3.5m)

His career at Arsenal started like a shotgun. It was strong, powerful yet scattered. Whilst he seemed an ideal replacement for the injury plagued Lauren with his pace, power and surging runs, he was found wanting on the defensive side and that is something that ensured his future was never certain. Given the rise of Sagna combined with the faltering defensive performances of Eboue, we were growing accustom to seeing Eboue as either a substitute or in a more advanced role. It seemed that Wenger was now left wanting after watching his performances but that he held an important role in the squad. This however dramatically changed on Sunday 17th April 2011, when Eboue all but ruined Arsenal’s chances at league success by conceding a penalty with a clumsy challenge in a non-threatening area in the 97th minute. This, it seems was enough, even for a man of Wenger’s patience. His performances combined with his high wages meant there was no choice but to get rid of the player and as such it was a great move for Arsenal; one in which they were rewarded to the tune of £3.5m.

10/10


OUT: Francesc Fabregas (£39m)

After almost a life time of torturous negotiations the saga that was, was finally completed. The prodigal son had finally returned home after an eight year absence. A lot of questions have been asked of the management with regards to how they could not keep hold of a player who had such a long contract without getting top money for him. It is clear to me that the whole situation was mismanaged and the player clearly had no intention of staying and every intention of leaving. It is strange then that no replacement was found prior to his sale nor was his sale concluded in a timely fashion. It is impossible to imagine a situation where a company was about to lose its best asset and had no plans to replace that asset until it was too late. That is essentially what Arsenal done. They let go of a world class player without having any contingency to have one come in. Even with the arrival of Arteta you can argue it has not been a like for like replacement, this coupled with the fact that the players value would have been far higher on the open market, you can’t help to think this was a blunder whichever way you look at it.

2/10


OUT: Carlos Vela (LOAN)

Another who falls into one of those players who has had a chance but has failed to establish himself category. Despite possessing one of the most exquisite chips known to man, an over reliance to use it has cost him and with that his chance to really cement a decent run in the team. His finishing aside from that wonderous chip has cost him and unsuccessful spells on loan in the past; particularly at West Brom last season have all but written his fate but an unwillingness of any club to sign him has prevented that. So with the stars re-written a loan move was inevitable, perhaps this can prompt the talent to find his best form. Either way he is another salary off the wage bill and is certainly surplus to requirements.


8/10


OUT: Denilson (LOAN)

For years it has been apparent that Arsenal have had a number of squad players that were whilst technically solid, lacking in other areas which prevented them from really pushing on to be great players Arsenal could rely on. This is more apparent in Denilson than any of the squad players at arsenal. He looks comfortable on the ball, is an able passer but was unable to be really effective on the bigger stage. He never really looked comfortable unless he had two big performances around him. He did however score some important goals and was not as bad as was made out by some. It was clear that players that had been given a big chance and had not made the most of it needed to be sold and that was not possible but a loan move out to a technical team where he is likely to play in the majority of games is a win, win situation for arsenal. Either he comes back a better player or he is off the wage bill and paves a way for a permanent move in the future. This was a good deal for Arsenal Football Club by any measure.


9/10


OUT: Gael Clichy (£7m)

Leading up to the sale of Gael Clichy a lot of fans were questioning his ability to perform as part of our defence but immediately following the sale nobody could understand why he was sold without a replacement already in place. As it stands though, Arsenal lost one of its most experienced players and one the last players who won a premiership medal. In this respect it was a difficult sale to justify especially when the heir apparent; Gibbs, has glass ankles and whilst talented would always struggle with fitness. However the recent arrival of Santos, an experienced international explains why Arsenal really had no choice but to sell a player in the final year of his contract.

7/10

Overall an income of £75m was earned whilst ridding the club of a lot of expensive fringe players. This was all very important but the sales of Fabregas and Nasri bring down the overall rating of players exiting the Emirates. This is not an average of the above ratings as the weighting of the Fabregas transfer holds far more importance than that of the loan departure of someone like Lansbury.

If the transfer of Cesc Fabregas did not occur or even that of Nasri than the rating would be a 9.5/10, however these transfers did go ahead and as such the rating I give Arsenal in their outgoing transfers is:

6.5/10