Some things in sport are as inevitable as night following day. No Grand Prix is complete without Martin Brundle brilliantly interrupting Tanja Bauer on his grid-walk. You can be almost as sure of a British fighter being let down by their wrestling in the world of mixed martial arts. When it comes to football, and more specifically Arsenal however, nothing is more likely than a summer of uncertainty and discontent.
The noises coming out of the Emirates in the past couple of days are far from promising, and it seems that for all of the prayers of the Arsenal faithful, Cesc Fabregas is going home. Though even the most optimistic of Gooners knew the time would come, most were hoping that he would honor at least one of the four years remaining on his contract.
As the old adage goes, no player is bigger than the club. It is a phrase that has lingered around the club like a bad smell in the past, as superstar after superstar has fled for supposedly greener pastures. The death of Arsenal Football Club has been rumored more times than that of Barry Chuckle, but regardless of comings and goings, we have continued to be competitive in both domestic and European football.
There is no downplaying the significance of the loss of Cesc, but if the fees being projected (£35 million) are on the mark, then the money from the deal could go a long way to strengthening other areas. Let’s say the move saw Yaya Toure arriving in London, armed with a check for £25 million. The Ivorian would bulk up an undersized Arsenal midfield, with Nasri given the responsibility of filling Fabregas’ boots. With Chamakh now a done deal, that would leave a considerable amount of money to address the perennial goalkeeper problem, as well as the defender shortage.
Of course the major stumbling block is Wenger’s reluctance to spend. A summer spending spree could be seen as the Frenchman admitting that his perseverance with youth was a wasted foray. Hopefully the planned Emirates Cup protests will be enough to persuade Arsene to change the habit of a lifetime.
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