Clichy has left. And Nasri in talks with Citeh.

[Cripps_orig]

to those who hate clichy, just one stat for you

justsaying

Impressive

Another stat

89 - Gael Clichy made 90 tackles but 89 of those were through his stupid ass concentration and he should be sold asap

[Olivier's xmas twist]

This

Cos of the way Cole left us, we all got behind Clichy and supported him 100% and his shiteness was overlooked.

However season in and season out of Wenger failures meant the fans have lost trust and patience in the cunt meaning any shiteness is not not overlooked and instead highlighted

This is Truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth

[Ollie the Optimist]

Yeah, but his brain only works for 85 mins at a time.

He needs replacing tbh.

i agree, i dont think he should be our number 1 and there are better wing backs out there but the point of that stat was to show the people who said he was shit, never did anything etc that he really isnt as bad as they say

[Master Splinter]

Another stat

89 - Gael Clichy made 90 tackles but 89 of those were through his stupid ass concentration and he should be sold asap

Now that is quality WUMming.

Good to see the stattos giving their opinions now too .

[alexander]

Im sure that part of Clichy recent headless chicken act is partly due to having a mongy goal keeper (almunia) a dodgy defence to his right and no protection in front of him (Arshavin)

Seems strange to sell him to our closest rival, City, for as little as 7mil when he is only 27. Needs replacing if he goes, because we cant rely on Gibbs (or any of this team) to stay fit.

[IBK]

I actually edited the post afterwards to include the word immediately.

I'll stand by my statement that a lot of the replacements post invincible are inferior, now I accept they are younger and have time to develop, but some of them...Clichy being a prime example haven't developed in the way I would of like, Ashley Cole is far superior to Clichy.

I'm just so frustrated with Arsene & Arsenal at the moment, I'm sick to death of the perpetual rebuilding.

In 07/08 Arsene built one of the best squads he's ever had at Arsenal with financial restrictions or whatever we want to call it. That summer he went about dismantling that squad and we've not looked the same since.

I realise that constantly moaning won't change things but how folks can say that we'll be OK when the heart of our team is being ripped out beggars belief.

Yes the players who are leaving haven't contributed anything in terms of trophies, but these are the players we should be adding quality to not removing.

At Arsenal it's always...1 step forward, 2 steps back.

Spot on, mate. While LDG argues very eloquently that AW has the talent to deal with a complete regime change, and the likes of Letters take the supercillious high ground - logic and experience suggest that a mass exodus, including some of our key players, is going to be a serious set back for the club. Consider these facts:

- Even when he was purchasing the players who were to become the Invincibles - the last time he 'spent big' as it were - these players were added to a tried and tested solid base, particularly the back 5. Anyone who thinks that our team, less Cesc, Nasri and Clichy, is a tried and tested solid base is on crack.

- The market for the very best players is infinitely more inflated than it was in the late 90's/early 00's. We know that the club isn't going to purchase in the style of Manure/Citeh/Chavs so we are inevitably looking at second tier players.

- Wenger has a decent track record of buying good players - but they are almost invariably young; foreign and developmental. He is also implacably against paying over the odds (as we have seen with his albeit correct decision re Nasri). The manager may be a bit more adventurous this Summer, but no way is he going to break the habit of a lifetime.

- Since when has a team with a large number of new 'key' players bedded in immediately?

Yes we must wait and see. But for me it is naive to think that what we will see this Summer and next season will be any more than the start of another project. Even the brilliant SAF tends to take 2/3 years for a title winning team to be built. Why do people think that Wenger, without his captain and key player and significant supporting cast members will be any different? Clearly, our want-away players don't. And the difference between Manure and a now diminished Arsenal team is that SAF doesn't keep hemorrhaging players every other year.

So it would be a massive (and very pleasant) surprise to see a team of new faces gelling and competing next season. But this should be acknowledged as the rose-tinted optimism that it is rather than people implying that this is the likely outcome and that all the cynics are immature pessimists.

[Power n Glory]

Good post, Nas.

You'll have to change your name again. Go for an Arsenal legend instead of a current player. It's safer that way.

[Niall_Quinn]

Bang on NS.

If it's true that we really are stuck on £13M for Chaill when the demand is a mere £4mill more, then that sums it up for me. Nothing is changing at this club and no lessons have been learned. I suspect that's because the manager and the board don't feel there are any lessons to be learned anyway. This obnoxious acceptance that a top 4 placement each year somehow represents success seems to have blinded them to what this game is really about.

Where would we be today if we'd have just paid that extra £2mill for Alonso? An absolutely ideal player for us, one would think. Just as Cahill is a vital player for us to acquire given the tragedy that currently passes as our defence. We never did sign that goalkeeper, did we? Of course that decision cost us too, as was easily predicted. Now some are suggesting we go with a talented rookie in goal (some even say make him captain), and there's that blind hope there will be a different outcome, as if some magic process will unfurl to buck every trend, dispel every ignored lesson.

Sure, let Cesc go, we don't need him, he's bad for us. Let Nasri go and get some untried replacement in. He might be good, it might work out, everything could be wonderful.

But is this really the way to manage an allegedly top flight football team? Constant churn and then trust to luck? Good players out, every year, YouTube stars in. No wonder we seem to have a collection of talented headless chickens rather than a coherent team. The headless chicken in chief, Wenger, seems to be at it again, his stupid and losing principles to the fore and the screamingly obvious kicked into touch.

If we really wanted change this year then it had to be Wenger out the door first. Somebody else said there's a belief any old fool could do a better job. When you're missing the obvious fixes and instead focusing on some hybrid two fingered salute to the English game and a penny pinching economics master class, I wonder who the biggest fool is - in terms of actually winning?

Anyway, here's my prediction for 2011/12. Wenger will fail to fix the problems, we'll sell more of the spine, we'll get in mediocrity, we'll cling to a top 4 spot (hmm, I'm not absolutely sure about this one), we'll collapse at the end of the season, we'll suffer horrible humiliations throughout, RvP will get fed-up and leave and the board and Wenger will claim another great season with increased profits and European football secured. Sad isn't it? How predictable it all is.

[Mr. Lahey]

Spot on, mate. While LDG argues very eloquently that AW has the talent to deal with a complete regime change, and the likes of Letters take the supercillious high ground - logic and experience suggest that a mass exodus, including some of our key players, is going to be a serious set back for the club. Consider these facts:

- Even when he was purchasing the players who were to become the Invincibles - the last time he 'spent big' as it were - these players were added to a tried and tested solid base, particularly the back 5. Anyone who thinks that our team, less Cesc, Nasri and Clichy, is a tried and tested solid base is on crack.

- The market for the very best players is infinitely more inflated than it was in the late 90's/early 00's. We know that the club isn't going to purchase in the style of Manure/Citeh/Chavs so we are inevitably looking at second tier players.

- Wenger has a decent track record of buying good players - but they are almost invariably young; foreign and developmental. He is also implacably against paying over the odds (as we have seen with his albeit correct decision re Nasri). The manager may be a bit more adventurous this Summer, but no way is he going to break the habit of a lifetime.

- Since when has a team with a large number of new 'key' players bedded in immediately?

Yes we must wait and see. But for me it is naive to think that what we will see this Summer and next season will be any more than the start of another project. Even the brilliant SAF tends to take 2/3 years for a title winning team to be built. Why do people think that Wenger, without his captain and key player and significant supporting cast members will be any different? Clearly, our want-away players don't. And the difference between Manure and a now diminished Arsenal team is that SAF doesn't keep hemorrhaging players every other year.

So it would be a massive (and very pleasant) surprise to see a team of new faces gelling and competing next season. But this should be acknowledged as the rose-tinted optimism that it is rather than people implying that this is the likely outcome and that all the cynics are immature pessimists.

I agree with most of your post mate but can someone tell me why the bolded part is the correct decision? Ive yet to read an intelligent post about why its a good decision not to do a little bit extra to sign him. Is this all because its a matter of principle? Ive never seen a fan base so obsessed with money moreso than Arsenal fans.

Sometimes as a manager, you have to pay that little bit extra to get that extra special something. You ask any Manager/GM in the world is this is how they operate aside from ours who is as stubborn as they come. This has held us back in our trophy run for years. Wenger is too stubborn to shell out the extra $$$ here and there on players for key positions.

Nasri for me is worth the extra money and this is why:

- Hes 23 and still has not even reached his peak physically or on the mental side

- His first season he was solid. 2nd in our team player of the year on Arsenal.com and voted player of the year on here.

- 2nd season he started out missing 2 months with a broken leg. This affected his whole year and he even admitted that this was the problem. He battled fitness issues all season and this affected his performance.

- This past year he had his most successful year. Bagging 15 or 16 goals from the midfield and was even talked about as WPOY. Sure he tailed off at the back end of the season but he was the MAIN reason why we were so successful at the beginning. His run of goals look awfully familiar to Pires's run back in the Invincible day.

- Hes a France international who his a designated captain. I like to believe that Blanc is a man who knows what he is doing and I highly doubt that he would put someone with a poor attitude into that position. Ill take his judgement over anybodies on here any day.

He is going to get much, much better as he is still learning. I believe that under a different coach he would be up there with Messi and Ronaldo. SO why are some on here so eager to get rid?

[Niall_Quinn]

There's an even bigger problem than us losing him - Utd getting him. He'll be stellar for them. They were going to have a massive problem with the loss of Scholes and Giggs, fortunately for them it looks like we're leaping to their rescue. I'll say it again, if we sell Nasri to one of our domestic competitors it underlines beyond all reasonable doubt the total lack of ambition that now exists at the club.