da aposte e ganhe：
da bet7k： “If the boy definitely wants to go, then let him.” These are the words of one of Arsenal’s greatest ever managers in regards to the Cesc Fabregas saga that has rocked Arsenal football club in recent weeks.
George Graham has had his say on the matter, and believes Arsenal should allow Fabregas to leave if the midfielder wishes to do so this summer. Graham has also stated that the club can recover from the possible loss of their captain, but do Arsenal fans agree with Graham’s analysis of the situation?
Fabregas has been linked with a move to Spanish champions Barcelona for the past two weeks and has reportedly undergone a one-to-one meeting with Wenger expressing his desire to leave the Emirates this summer. Wenger has continuously tried to persuade his talisman to stay at least one more year in North London and reassess the situation in 2011.
Wenger has also reportedly demanded £50 million for his captain if he is forced to sell his star man (£20 million more than Barcelona would have anticipated). Many fans will want to see the Spaniard at the Emirates next season, but former Arsenal boss George Graham reckons that Cesc’s likely departure would not be a major disaster and fans should not worry too much if it ensues. Speaking to the Sunday Mirror yesterday Graham said:
“It won’t be the end of Arsenal, not by any means. There is no one player who has ever run or will run Arsenal Football Club. If Barcelona come up with the fee that Arsenal want, then there is no point keeping a player who doesn’t want to be there.”
A number of (if not all) Arsenal fans will be nodding their heads in agreement to their former boss’s hypothesis. No player is bigger than the club, period, and like others in the past he can be replaced. Several Arsenal players have been sold over the years; big names include the likes of Nicolas Anelka, Patrick Vieira, Marc Overmars, Robert Pires and most notably Thierry Henry. George Graham shares this view and has stated that the world will not end if a massive player leaves Arsenal football club once again, he declares:
“People thought it was the end of the world when Liam Brady left but Arsenal came back. It was the same with Frank Stapleton and then Ian Wright. More recently, it was Thierry Henry.”
A number of fans will wonder why Arsenal have sold their biggest stars in recent years. The construction costs of the stadium did hold the club back, and because of this they had to sell their players to clear off some of the arrears. However, the debt has finally been cleared; so many Arsenal fans will not understand why they are continuing to sell their best players. They (the fans) will surely feel that in order to win trophies they will need to keep hold of their most prized assets and in this case this would be Cesc Fabregas. However, if a player is not committed and seems unhappy with the current circumstances of the club, then is it really worth keeping him at all?
In this day and age of football, contracts mean nothing. If a massive club want a high profile player then inevitably they will get him, no questions asked. The fact is footballers these days have more power than the managers and boardrooms themselves and this is totally wrong in many fans eyes. George Graham believes this is the case with Fabregas now:
“It makes it harder to be a manager now in many ways because there is no patience and players have more and more power.”
He finishes off by adding:
“If they say they want to leave, then invariably they leave.”
Arsenal fans must have thought that someday the 23-year-old midfield maestro would want to go back to his roots at some stage of his career…whether it was this early is another question. Nevertheless, if a great offer is put on the table this summer, then Arsenal should definitely consider it. Many Arsenal fans will believe that there is life after Cesc Fabregas.
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