The last thing Arsenal fans want to see is for the bad old days of a few years to return and for the Gunners to lose our best players to some of the big spending football clubs around Europe, which there are more than enough of these days. Theoretically, the days of Arsenal being forced to sell Robin van Persie to Man United, Nasri to Man City and Ashley Cole to Chelsea are long gone, as the building of the new stadium is no longer a drain.
There is a very real fear, though, that the way our club is run could mean that Arsene Wenger and the board would agree to sell our stars if the right offer came along. In the case of our young Spain international Hector Bellerin, that price would probably have to be a massive one, asthe Metro is reporting that the Arsenal right back is now the most valuable defender in the whole world.
This valuation comes from the well respected CIES Football Observatory rates brilliant Bellerin as being worth just a touch over £43 million, almost £5m more than the next defender on the list, Bayern Munich’s David Alaba. Hopefully this will put off La Liga champions Barcelona who are being linked with Bellerin in numerous Arsenal transfer rumours.
If not though, Arsenal may have a fight on our hands keeping the Spaniard, although he does at least seem to be happy to stay in North London for now. And amazing as that proce may seem, it could even go up if the right back excels with Spain at Euro 2016. He looks certain to get the chance as well, after the injury to Real Madrid’s Carvajal left him as the clear first choice.
So will a good tournament from Bellerin see Arsenal receive a transfer bid from Barca in the region of £50 million? And if so will we be able to turn it down?
Bob