Tony Adams has claimed that Wenger was right to sell players that no longer wanted to be at Arsenal, but the continual selling of our best players is affecting our chances of success.
Our club hasn’t played Champions League football since 2017, when we qualified in second place in the Premier League just behind shock winners Leicester City, but the club has struggled for consistency since.
Unai Emery just missed out on two counts last term in trying to help guide us to qualify, missing out on the top four by 1 point, as well as falling at the last hurdle to win the Europa League to qualify that way also.
Former club captain Tony Adams is worried that our club could be heading in the wrong direction, and says that while he was happy when former boss Wenger stood strong on his belief that the club was more important than any one player, his previous stance has had a knock-on effect.
When talking about the chances of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang quitting the club, Adams claims: “Quite possibly, he could walk out the door. I loved Arsene Wenger’s principles, that no player was bigger than the club, and he moved players on if it made sense for the club financially.
“He was strong with that and he got Champions League football every year but it did stand in the way of recruitment – so we have become a club that is selling the best players.
“If I was a coach I’d be saying ‘don’t sell Aubameyang at any price, we need to recruit, bring players through the academy and keep our best players’.”
The Arsenal legend added: “It is a completely different club today and I think recruitment at Arsenal for a good few years has not been great.
“Now we seem to be selling our best players and you are never going to recruit a championship squad selling all your best players.”
It’s worth noting that the last time we allowed a key player to leave in Alexis Sanchez, that sale was replaced by the arrival of Henrikh Mkhitaryan, and a week later Aubameyang was signed to replace the goalthreat which we lost in Alexis.
There is worries about our finances this summer however, and PEA’s sale may not bring in enough money to replace the hole left by the Gabon international, which tells me that it could be more beneficial to keep our star until January at the very least.
Will the Coronavirus lower asking fees across the globe, or will it simply force clubs to further avoid selling their key assets?
Patrick
auba is 31yo….at max 1 season of top football and he will start declining….unless he has the discipline and determination of ronaldo but pace will still drop with age