Quote Originally Posted by IBK View Post
Don't fall into the trap that the agents and sharks want you to fall into. I dislike this idea of having to manage/massage players' expectations. When it comes to top performers this is true in a general sense - a club is subject to market forces, and players need to see a good trajectory, but this is no different to what should be the overall approach of the club. Transfer disappointment aside, we have seen nothing to suggest that this isn't the club's and the manager's aim. As soon as we start focussing on the need to match individual players' ambitions we lose team focus and start being affected by outside noise. The formula is simple. Progress on the pitch. Following early mistalkes by Arteta, we have seen what can be achieved by a young team that buys into the manager's philosophy. I for one am not unhappy with getting rid of players who consider themselves more important with the club, and the direction we have chosen is not one that lends itself to focussing on keeping individual superstars happy.

Saka is a star, but has been made by a club and manager willing to give him a key role and I can't see him being unhappy with where he is at. The club's resonsibility is to tie him into a contract that reflects his further potential, not to reward him for what he has done so far. Progress will mean us achieving the aim that we had at the beginning of the season - European football - and we do this, I have no concerns about him agreeing a new contract.
You have the right idea about what football ought to be and what it used to be. But isn't today's football primarily about the trap that agents and sharks want you to fall into? Are players still individuals with a talent and a connection to the club? Or are they investment vehicles for wealthy individuals, be those agents, owners, shareholders, and themselves? You know what they say, it's not personal, it's just business.