Former Chelsea assistant manager, Ray Wilkins, has told talkSPORT today that if Arsenal don’t start winning trophies then they will lose their top players.
The north London club have now gone six-years without winning any form of silverware which has left a number of big name players considering their future at the club.
Gael Clichy has already jumped ship to City; Cesc fabregas is expected to tie up a deal in the upcoming weeks to return back to Barca, while contract rebel Samir Nasri has a number of clubs, including both Manchester outfits and Chelsea, interested in his services this summer.
Wilkins firmly believes that it’s the lure of lifting honours rather than the financial benefits that’s persuading players at the Emirates to look elsewhere.
Speaking to the Alan Brazil Sports Breakfast show this morning, Wilkins said:
‘Arsenal are leaving it far too late [in the transfer window] and they’re losing players hand over fist.’
‘They have needed experienced players for a couple of years and I don’t see them going for trophies this year.’
‘Samir Nasri and Cesc Fabregas are financially secure, but they want to win [things] and they haven’t won in six seasons.’
‘That’s the one thing they are missing, Arsenal are a wonderful football club but if you’re not winning trophies then these players will look to move on.’
‘Wenger’s letting two top players go and who is he going to bring in that’s going to replace them? Is it going to be a couple of players from France and Spain that are young guys and need adapting to the Premier League?’
‘They [Nasri and Fabregas] have got to a period in their lives where they are not winning anything and they have this burning desire to pick up a trophy.’
I couldn’t agree more with Wilkins. Everything he stated above is pretty much spot on in my book.
Although we are financially stable, at the end of the day, players want to win trophies and be successful, that’s it.
Some may say that we are still in a transition phase – I’m not one that endorses this anymore.
As Wilkins stated, we are a wonderful football club, but if we’re not filling the trophy cabinet with silverware, then what our players do on the pitch week in week out is pretty pointless.
There is no reason why Arsenal can’t hit the heights as they once did and win honours year in year out. However, it’s up to Arsene Wenger to find that winning formula and for the players to produce the goods on the pitch for this to ensue.
What do you guys make of Wilkins comments?
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He is definitely right and there is no player D???†? does not want to win trophies as addition to his cv.
Wilkins is talking rubbish. Where are the players that “we are losing hand over fist”. At the present time NO-ONE except Clichy has left.
On the subject of silverware, some analysis is called for. Of the four annual trophies, two domestic ones are largely determined by the luck of the draw. The Champion’s league is presently dominated by Barcelona and we, along with other EPL Clubs, are not yet at their level. That leaves the EPL in which we are already highly competitive and with minor tweaking plus some promised new blood, we can succeed there.
The continual media pressure over the absense of silverware is beginning to pall. Far more important is the attractive football we play and most fans would not favour a boring system based on an impregnable defence.The days of “One nil to the Arsenal” have surely gone for good.
Nicky, again this window we’ve under-bid and lost out on a host of players(jones and alvarez we know about). Wilkins is correct. Given what’s happened the last few season, the mentality of the players and fans, this is not the window to be messing about. Wenger is managing himself right out of a job. Should the board see a dip in revenues due to fans losing interest the manager is asked to resign, that’s how these things go. Unwittingly, many fans are letting themselves in for exactly this.
Dan,
With respect, the Window has another 7 weeks to run. Wenger has promised new signings but there is no required timescale. We fans are not privy to the wheeling and dealing behind the scenes so all we can do is have patience and trust the professionals at the Emirates.
With a waiting list of 40,000 or so, I can’t see a dip in revenue on the horizon, for whatever reason.
Trust and patience frankly won’t suffice given the current situation, and I don’t think Nasri will buy it either considering the past seasons and windows we’ve experienced. As for the 40k waiting list, I believe that’s a bit of myth and will soon be receiving a little test.
Dan,
To put it bluntly, you simply have no choice but to trust and have patience. We supporters, as I’ve said, have no control over the governance of our Club. All we can do, this Window, is wait and see. I must admit that I will be bitterly disappointed if a number of new signings do not emerge. Remember that Wenger did promise new blood, something he has never promised before.