Who believes that the Arsenal Board will ‘sacrifice’ £100m to keep contract rebels?

After a whole summer of Arsene Wenger categorically saying that Arsenal will not be selling Alexis Sanchez or the other contract rebels even if they refused to sign new contracts, Le Prof has finally revealed that the final decision on any sale is in the hands of the Arsenal Board.

Wenger was asked for the umpteenth time if Alexis would be staying, but this time he gave a different answer. “You cannot rule anything out,” the Frenchman said. “For me, you have a sporting decision and the sport decision is easy: You keep him until the last day of his contract. I don’t consider players’ contractual situation to decide who plays.

“Then you have a compromise to find if you can afford to do it because you lose a lot of money and at the end of the day my decision, which is purely sporting, is easy to make. I want him to stay.

“After that there is, of course, a lot of money involved as well and the club needs to make a financial sacrifice.

“Who has the final say? I have always been followed by the board, but the final say belongs to the board.

“It’s a financial sacrifice for the club and sometimes you have to calculate what you can afford and what you can’t afford.”

I fully expect Arsenal to squeeze £60m out of Man City for Sanchez, and up to £40m for the Ox, wherever he goes. Which team in the world (excepting PSG) can afford to ‘sacrifice’ such an enormous sum of money in one summer? The club have built a reputation over many years of being prudent with their financial decisions, so how on Earth can anyone believe that the Board will sanction a £100m loss to their budget by not selling two players that clearly do not want to play under Wenger any more, when they could invest that money in other players that actually want to play for us?

Mmybe there are some Arsenal fans that think the Arsenal Board are in the habit of turning down massive cheques? But for me it is a no-brainer. Alexis and the Ox are definitely going to be sold.

Darren N

54 Comments

  1. Sell them ALL! It would be really a financially incompetent and irresponsible decesion to let over 120M walk out of the club at the end of the season. And for what? I know for a fact we will neither win the league under Wenger nor finish in the top 4 again. Sell them and get a kitty for the next manager who comes in 2 years time. SELL SELL SELL SELL SELL ALL THOSE TREACHEROUS RATS!

    1. They are not treacherous rats. At this point Sanchez is bigger than Wenger IMO. Sanchez actually does get the results, Wenger doesn’t.

      COME ON TEAM, MAKE ARSENE RESIGN.

    2. How dare you call Alexis a rat, The Ox and Mesut Ozil yes they are both rats. The Ox is a rat because we waited patiently for this punk injury or dodgy performance after injury or dodgy performance, the guy is an attacker and has scored like 7 or 8 goals in 6 years and soon as he starts coming good he forgets all off that and wants to move on for greener pastures. Who does he think he is turning down £180k a week, I’m glad he did cause he ain’t worth that. Mesut Ozil cause he doesn’t do anything for every 1 world class performance there are 15 dodgy ones, he doesn’t work for his team mates and only shows up against small teams which just ain’t good enough, he is a passenger which we can’t afford in our team, and £280k a week his performance’s don’t even warrant the £140k a week we are paying him now .
      But Alexis you can’t put him in this bracket , he carried the whole team on his shoulders last year, the only shining light in an otherwise very disappointing season. His goals, his work rate his pressing when usually he is the only one doing it is amazing he deserves better than what this manager can give him, better than what this club can give him at this point In time. He is the only player off this current crop that can put in a transfer request with his head held high because he did his talking on the pitch last season. He deserves £400,000 GBP per week from Arsenal cause if he did stay In this hell hole at least he will be mega rich when he finishes up. So Quantic Dream you can call The Ox and Ozil whatever you like but don’t be calling Alexis a trechorous Rat

  2. LOL If you were kroenke would you sacrifice a 100m!!?? NEVER. The club is in a mess and 100m means a lot more than the ucl. If I’m kroenke I’m probably thinking ” hey let me sell alexis and chamberlain” “Arsene can pull a few players from the youth and a one panic buy and we can make push for the europa league” If I’m kroekne Im probably already in negotiations with usmanov to sell the club..

  3. I want Sanchez to stay but he deserves so much more than this!! I didn’t want him to be sold to a rival but if he wants to go to man city then let him go! After yesterday’s performance we’ll be lucky to even beat Huddersfield! The window shuts on Thursday & to think we need at least 4 new players including a gk. The future isn’t looking very bright in my eyes ?

  4. Who gives a f*** at this point?

    We can sell everyone in the team but with Wenger in charge nothing will change.

    Against Bournemouth he should try:

    Giroud at CB
    Monreal as CAM
    Sanchez at RWB
    Cech as CDM

  5. Iam over confident that they will be sold. The only interest the stupid board and kroken have is to enrich their pocket and forget about what ever happen to the club

  6. The FA cup trophies blinded us over the past few years coz deep down we knew we aint good enough,how Wenger has survived this long at arsenal baffles me now we are at really pathetic state and the future doesnt look promising at all…am just weeping from inside!

    1. Wenger has survived so long because the Board has been scared shitless about how to replace him. Like we are the only club in the whole world that cannot replace the manager. At the end of the day Kroenke is the only one who can dictate big decisions and he thinks Wenger is a lovely bloke.

  7. Sell them and get a defensive midfielder and a center back like Virgil van dijk.. I don’t know what the fck xchaka is doing here and how on earth can you bench lacazette on basis that he’s adopting.. Let him adopt on the pitch and looking at our defense kolasinac should start every game Monreal is out played in that position to concede four goals at anfield is a disgrace for such a great club like arsenal. and if cazorla is not going to be fit then buy a new attacking midfielder. How hard is it for wenger to feel out three positions with world class players!!!!!!

    1. If VVD has any choice in the matter he’s not going to come to Arsenal over Liverpool. If the Reds sign him and hold on to Coutiniho then they are genuine contenders.

      I’ve got no problem with a clear out as long as it includes Ozil. He is incredibly talented but not the character who you want as your best player in a rebuild. If there is an offer on the table, take it.

    2. Incompetence, no excuse. You can also say the same about the board, you cannot tell me that there isn’t a manger out there that don’t have the profile to take over from this outdated manager we have. We should have been looking many years ago for his replacement and look at where we are now. Any person saying who are we going to replace Wenger with are those that are not brave enough for change and is holding on to a glimmer of hope Wenger will come right, but the truth be told he will never change, because to change is to go against his belief.

  8. We need a manager who can attract players. Wenger is done and this season its all those wenger in who will enjoy. I hope you enjoyed that! This season is already a waste we need investment but 4 days to invest seriously? This is a big fat joke.
    We need a takeover and a new manager this path we are in we are becoming a mid table team very quickly

  9. There is a lot of emotion from everyone after the terrible match yesterday. Quite simply the team were not up for it. But look at the team selection, we had a rightback playing left wingback. We had a leftback playing central defence. Plus also we had a winger playing right wingback who can’t defend at the best of times. The team looked like strangers on the pitch. This sort of performance can only be blamed on the training, tactics and team selection. For that the blame is on one persons shoulders Wenger. There can be onmy one resolution and that is for Wenger to go. But this will not happen now. It will happen when we are out of the Europa Cup and out if contention from the League. So i expect we will be stuck with Wenger until the end of the season unless he falls on his sword and goes early. That will only happen if the whole of the staduim protests week after week.

  10. My Post from May
    “If the board has any real interest in making the team great again,they will give Allegri whatever he wants to manage Arsenal and give a once revered manager a dignified send off. ”

    New tactics,new approach,new attitude-we’re all bored of the same script.

    1. Joe you have the best name in the world Mine .
      Allegri please I been saying his name for 2 years now .Allegri, Allegri, Allegri, Allegri, Allegri, Allegri please Arsenal. He is exactly what we need , the exact mix off defensive stability and attacking flair that this club is crying out for. Sign him up for 4 years 2 years to sort out Wenger’s mess and 2 more to take us back to the top. In Italy they say tactically he is better than Conte and we all know what he has done here. Come on Arsenal move the old man on and bring on the Italian. Come on Usmanov or Dagnote get rid off this American cancer that is ravaging our club, quick before it becomes terminal.
      I love this club as much as I love my kids. I’m from Australia and spend 15-20 hours a week following Arsenal. On forums like this ArsenalFanTV, and reading transfer and any other news on the internet and watching every game live on my big screen. For those off you that know the time difference it is a big commitment to do all off this when you work full-time sometimes going to work on 2 hours sleep. This club is breaking my heart I can’t take this anymore, how can the people in power not see it, if Wenger loves this club so much why hasn’t he left for the good off the club. It’s because the people in power only care about the bottom line and Wenger doesn’t give a crap about the club he only cares about the £10.5 mil a year he is collecting and is deliberately sabotaging the club
      #KROENKE OUT
      #WENGER OUT
      #GAZIDIS OUT
      #KESWICK OUT
      #DICK LAW OUT
      #WHOLE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OUT
      #USMANOV IN
      #ALLEGRI IN
      #NEW BOARD IN

  11. The manager is quoted above as saying “I have always been followed by the board” so there are no excuses.

    Wenger has lost the fans… Lost the dressing room (Apart from his sub-standard favourites-club)… Lost his credibility… And completely lost the plot.

    His time-to-retire is long overdue. We expected more of the same this year, but it’s actually getting even worse.

  12. At this point, the sentence that comes to mind is “it’s finished”. Many gooner fans yesterday gave up. Doesn’t mean they aren’t suppirters again but what’s left is for Wenger to finally ruin it. It can easily go downhill from here. I am not sure I would be bothered if Alexis leaves and I feared he along ozil and ox played their last games. Mustafi on the bench was also creepy.
    We actually in a deeper mess than we know. In two years our squad will be old…..walcott, giroud, santi, koscienly, monreal and cech in their 30s. We bereft of big players as they won’t sign for us now and maybe a new manager to pick up the pieces. The board is afraid nd leave wenger to steady the ship.

  13. It poisons the atmosphere at the club if you keep players around who don’t believe in your future and don’t want to be around. It was clear to all that Ox and Ozil and to lesser extend Sanchez don’t want to play for the club yet we play them. We looked limp IMO because 30% of the players we played don’t want to wear the Arsenal shirt. Only a fool would still play them and refer to a contract. They are football players and not lawyers. They don’t care about their contract. Did we care about the contracts of Perez and Gabriel? Contracts get broken all the time.

    And our promise for the future Laca and Kolasinac were benched. Wenger has completely lost the plot.

    At this rate, it is not going to take long for these new guys also to want to get the hell out of dodge.

    Ask yourselves if we would be this irate if we had lost with our new guys on the pitch and players in their preferred position? We would be sad and frustrated but we would think that at least Laca and Kolasinac had an other game under their belts, that Mustafi might reach the level he reached early last season again and just needs game time and that Bellerin would learn the right wing back position. And we would all understand why the contract rebels would not be in the squad. That would have sent an SAF type message. A message of a manager with character.

    In stead, we ask the same guys who don’t want to put pen to paper earlier in the week and the same guys who reject rich contracts, to give it they are all for us!!! And then we are surprised we get a lackluster performance. Can you be any more naive???

      1. Van Percy said same before he left. Wenger can’t stand the tactical nous of Guardiola, Klopp, Pochetino, Conte & Mourinho who are young & crazy tacticians & same will be contending for the title.. Arsenal will not make the top 4 anymore under Wenger & Kroenke… I feel pity for my beloved club & wish Usmanov or Dangote would take over but as we all know, it won’t happen………

        1. I have been supporting Arsenal for 46 years and I am afraid that this year we could see Arsenal in the bottom half of the table. Something drastic has to happen to right the ship.

  14. Even a blind person knows that Wenger is the problem at Arsenal.Let him resign because our pride has been eroded away

  15. We are a joke man , who so ever wants to got let him go , our team is hopeless .. And this 3 at the back to hell with it ???

  16. After yesterday’s no they won’t. So the players win again.

    Don’t care where they go to just get we much as we can. Did anyone see known on MOTO last night? First time I’ve ever seen him si anhey8 and critical of Wenger.
    Why oh why was bellerin lwb yesterday and why did mustafi lacazette abd kolasinac not start

  17. We are a joke of a club and only one man is responsible Wenger!! He has to much power in the club.. he has quite clearly lost the dressing room.. sticking with the same average underachivers for the last 4 years.. if Wenger thinks this team is capable of winning the league we got no chance.. no defence our midfield is unbalanced and average.. xhaka Ramsey elneny coquelin ain’t gonna cut it against the big boys..

    This season has only just begun and I’m worried that it will get worse than last year.. we are heading for mid table that is all.. Wenger won’t win the league in next 2 years nor finish in top 4.. the board bottled it in not ditching Wenger in the summer.. how does the daft old fool think that our defence and midfield is strong enough? We have conceded 9 goals in 3 games.. we need a miracle.. no signings will b made and let’s b honest we have 5 or 6 first team players that want out.. no passion no pride they are all over paid underachivers that sulk like bitches..

    Trust me wen i say this ppl.. nothing will change with Wenger in charge.. all u Wenger in supporters please tell me.. what the hell do u see happening this year? Same old as the last 10 years.. we are under prepared for the start of the season yet again.. contracts dragging on all summer and will b a distraction all the way till January just like Wenger stupid contract extension last year.. I foresee some very hostile atmospheres at games to come and all I can say is Wenger and the board have brought it on themselves.. we are a laughing stock and not one of them players yesterday deserve to wear the shirt.. I’m heartbroken that it has come to this but I for one will not be attending any games nor watching on tv as it is to much pain to watch this team..

    I’m am now officially Wenger out!! Stupid old fool is still stuck in the 90s and even Henry is questioning Wenger

    Sad times ahead boys

    1. Me to not gonna watch or attend any games and cancel my membership until the senile one has left!!! its breaking my heart watching them total disgrace im gonna go watch my local team bristol rovers until new manager….

  18. “before” he adds more success to his resume its time the bournemouth coach was approached so as we’d have a manager we could gravitate towards and grow to respect – rather than wenger who is quickly ruining any credibility he has left. Eddie Howe at this point would bring a bright and new perspective.

    Wenger should revisit the idea of stepping aside, its time he showed humility. he’d help matters by being seen to usher in a “new young manager”. it would be a step in the right direction, the media would have no more reason to target us for ridicule and our fans im certain would find Eddie Howe an exciting and new breath of fresh-air.

      1. Pep Guardiola believes Eddie Howe (age 39) will manage one of the Premier League’s top clubs – others here in london have expressed the same.

  19. Next game field a side of kids I wouldn’t mind.
    About time some of them got some game time.
    Just play a few 1st team players the ones that had a go, ( I think there were a couple).
    Worst thing yesterday I worried for holding people on here slating him but we bought him cheaply and he was horribly exposed yesterday and for that I blame Wenger.

  20. In one of my post, I said after three games we could have 3pts, 6pts, 7pts or 9pts as the case maybe and depending on which Arsenal team turns up. Well, it’s three pts after three games and it could have been worst at zero point. Well, it is still bad as it stands.

    The annoying thing is the line up in the first three games. It is just terrible. Wenger shouldn’t make Sead and Lacazette lose their confidence.

  21. What people fail to understand is that the class of the players in the squad is irrelevant. With wenger running the show we will have plenty more humiliation to come. We have had the worst defeats in our history under wenger but he is still here. the first thing we need is for the yank to F££k off and that will only happen when he feels a few dents in his pocket. From now on we need to be seen making noise outside the emirates for these leaches to leave not inside it cheering like everything us hunky dory..

  22. I think we should sell Ox and Sanchez to Chelsea or Liver and Man City respectively because even if we let them go to Chelsea or Liverpool and Man City still it doesn’t make any difference to us because we are not selling them to direct rivals… We are not at the level or Chelsea Liverpool Man City… So it is not harm for us.. So we can consider of selling them.. At least we can play who really wants to play..

    1. Yeah u are right we are not in the same level with those clubs anymore, we in the same class with Everton, I don’t mind if some of us will disagree with what I said,how can u be competing for the tittle and u av lost two matches out of three….Wenger is outdated, arsenal is moving backward till Wenger leaves arsenal will not see the light

  23. Thierry Henry has said it all,that there’s is a problem in arsenal, there was a time he don’t even relate with his teams mate and he question why Sanchez will remain at arsenal after the display against Liverpool, I have said it before the big issue on ground is not money that the player are demanding but the ambition of the club…henry also said,when u are playing for arsenal u are comfortable whether u are playing well or not because there’s no pressure on u….it surprises me when some of us defend Wenger despite all the nonsense I have been seeing for the past ten yrs

  24. I don’t believe I am saying this but we might have to think about an interim manager taking over for the rest of the season at some point because this can not continue much longer. At least guys like Big Sam or Pulis would organize this lot and not accept a performance like we have seen yesterday.

    Oh how far we have fallen.

  25. Wenger should do the honorable thing and resign. I think he has lost it in every sphere of the game. This is not a football dynasty.

  26. as far as I can tell the closest experience to us is ac Milan … so be prepared for several years in the wilderness

  27. Sell them, recoup the money, they are obviously not interested in playing for the arsenal anymore and they will just follow the rest of the below par under achieving players we already have in the team putting in little to no effort. Losing Sanchez will hurt but if your hearts not in it nor will the effort you put in be. Wenger saying he wants to keep them is just a power trip for his own ego.

  28. By and large the anger since yesterday has been focused on Wenger. I get why he is the lightening rod, but here’s a question. Does the focus on Wenger contribute to the comfortable environment (Henry’s words) that will allow the players to shrug this performance off and move on to the next game? This isn’t a pro-Wenger comment. He created the comfortable environment but the players took advantage of that yesterday and ignored their personal accountability.

  29. can someone come up with an article to suggest how we can improve on last season get wenger out campaign. cus am sure not buying the idea of us being totally powerless to influence decisions and am going down without a fight.

  30. I expect them to leave next summer. Maybe except Ozil. If we offer him close to £300,000 or even £250, 000 or even £200,000 per week, I don’t believe other clubs would pay him that much. Right now Ozil is not worth £140,000 that he currently earns

    This is part of the problem.
    Is Walcott worth £110-140,000 per week?
    Is Kolsanic worth £150,000 per week? (he is a very good player though but he makes £60,000 more than Koscielny)
    Is Xhaka worth £90,000 per week?
    Is Welbeck worth £70,000 per week?

    We are paying players too high salaries

    Also, Our team is full of average players making above average salaries. For example our CMs (ie Ramsey/Xhaka/Ozil) can not compare to Pogba/Matic/Mata or Bakayoko/Kante/Fabregas.

    We are having difficulty selling players because we value them too high and their wage demands are too high.

    We need more top players.
    We are fine with GK, RB, LB and striker
    We need
    1. another Top CB
    2. A top Defensive midfielder
    3. A top box2box midfielder
    4. Another CAM
    5. Another forward to replace Alexis
    6. Sell and replace all our deadwood

    Next summer we will need to rebuild basically
    We are in very bad shape thanks to Wenger and Kroenke.

  31. According to the Express on Saturday Wenger told Alexis and Ox to earn their wages.Is it not time he took his own advice what has he achieved over the last 13 years 2 fa cups oh yes and £8+million each year?

  32. Get the Ox out of my club now! He looked uninterested yesterday and looked to be actively working against his own club. Sanchez as well, get out!

    Anyone who doesn’t want to be there get out, if some of the fans don’t want to be herr then they should get out too.

  33. I still keep blaming the Arsenal season ticket holders who still flood the stadium to watch those disgraceful display by the players. Time to boycott matches! Stop patronising mediocrity!!!

  34. Quite unfortunate our club has degenerated to this.. Arsenal is quick becoming the AC Milan of the EPL, what a shame… We have a lot of players who won’t make 1st team at Bournemouth but super stars at Arsenal(ie: Ramsey, Walcot, Xhaka, Coquelin, Welbeck, Ozil etc). I feel sorry for players like Lacazette & Sead who just came in & I guarantee us that they also will lose their confidence very soon with what they’re seeing… Alexis & Ox should leave as they were clearly not interested… Bottom line is Wenger has completely lost it guys, pls lets pray for our beloved Arsenal…………………………………….

  35. ARSENAL CRISIS
    * I wonder what Wenger writes in the weekly reports that he submits to the board *

    SAMPLE REPORT
    ——————
    PAGE1
    ARSENAL FOOTBALL CLUB

    MATCH: LIVERPOOL VS ARSENAL

    MANAGER: ARSENE WENGER

    TO: ARSENAL BOARD

    PREPARED BY: WENGER’S SECRETARY

    DATE: 27/08/2017

    PAGE 2

    PROBLEM STATEMENT
    Arsenal loses with a large margin without response. Players lacked concentration, and there was no cohesion in the team.

    REVIEW
    The result was a shocker, and there is still time to improve. When players improve, we’ll sell some of them at a PROFIT next season.

  36. BAD MANAGEMENT FROM WENGER AND THE ARSENAL BOARD. THEY SHOULD ALL HANG THEIR
    HEADS IN SHAME.
    #KROENKE /WENGER / GAZIDIS / KESWICK / LAW/ WHOLE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OUT.
    #USMANOV / ALLEGRI / NEW BOARD OF DIRECTORS IN.
    # BRING BACK DAVID DEIN.

  37. Ox = Sell. He was less than useless yesterday, no effort in defending, walking back instead of running to help his team out.

    Alexis = keep till Jan. Don’t play him in EL, do not cup tie him! Teams will pay in Jan for him, might not be £70 million but we would be able to sell him easily still. Teams will be progressing in UCL, injuries could have happened and the need for players who are not cup tied can massively increase, adding value onto the player.

    Ozil = Keep. I can comprehend why some would want him sold, he does underperform a LOT but i can’t help but think the team selection hinders him, having Ramsey who forgets to defend and bomb forward into his space doesn’t help him, he was dropping deeper against pool and lost the ball a few times when he shouldn’t have been that deep.

    I would like to see Mustafi sold for £35 million, along with £35 million for the Ox and put that £70 million into an offer for VVD, that should boost the moral in the team.

    Use the current ‘war chest’ and bid for Carvalho(Or a player like him), someone who is big and powerful, has some pace, neat passing and capable of getting past a player on occasions.
    With a Def minded B2B player (stays behind the ball when moving to oppositions box) and a aggressive deep lying playmaker then we could get the best out of Ozil, he would have space and if both the CM are capable of playing long balls… makes for perfect counter attacking football which our pace and passing should be able to do, with Lacazette not needing 20 tries like Welbeck then we should now have the capability of turning on the style.

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