Arsene Wenger has called for a close of the January transfer window, with fears over players performances in the run-up to Christmas.
The Frenchman endured a tough summer window, with a number of players pushing for the exit door, and he now fears his players will have their heads turned in the run-up to the winter window.
‘What’s happening is the players know the transfer window is closed. September will be OK,’ he said.
‘The players who do not play or the players who are tapped up in October they already start again to think, “Where do I go in January?”
‘That’s not the way to be on board with the football club. And I believe we have to realise that.
‘We are here to entertain people, and you can do that with people who are really on board, together, to achieve something together, and not every minute that it doesn’t go well to think, “Where can I go next?’”
‘I believe that we have to bring some decency, and we all complain today that it has become too much business. But we can do something about it. We have that responsibility as well in the game.’
He continued: ‘You cannot have a player preparing for a football game that is today vital because nobody accepts anymore to lose a football game and still be at 4 o’clock on the phone, “Do I go or not? How much is it? When do I have to go?” It’s impossible.
‘These boys are all under high pressure, well paid, you want them at least to have a normal preparation for a football game.’
He added: ‘The ideal situation would be to have a transfer period that is closed 48 hours before the first game of the championship, and to close it completely until the season after.’
Will our players lose motivation from October onwards? Will we lose a number of players in January? Should the winter window be closed?
Pat J