Why even a bid as low as £3m should persuade Arsenal to sell:

A consistent complaint amongst Arsenal fans this season and the preceding one has been that their club is carrying too many passengers. Too many Denilsons, Diabys and Eboues. Whilst the summer helped the Gunners clear out some of the chuff, the feeling resides that not everybody is pulling their weight.

For instance, what is Manuel Almunia still doing at the club? Vito Mannone and Lukasz Fabianski may not be reliable, but it’s clear the Spaniard’s future will not be with the Gunners. Wojciech Szczesny will be Arsenal’s number one does for years to come and the club needs to recruit a capable keeper who is willing to play second fiddle.

Then there’s the likes of Diaby (a long term injury sufferer) and Denilson (currently on loan) who Arsenal are struggling to get rid of. Diaby’s career is in tatters as he has found it impossible to recover his fitness and is now primarily a wage-drain on his side. Denilson try as he might (and let’s face it, he’s not one for trying…) just isn’t Arsenal quality.

Then there are others whose best years seem to be behind them, like Andrei Arshavin or Tomas Rosicky. Which brings me to a recent story in the Daily Express which claimed that Fulham are lining up an ‘ambitious £3m bid’ to sign the Czech Republic star Rosicky. Fulham are currently 14^th place in the Premier League table and need to bring in some reinforcements, whilst Arsenal need to shift some dead weight. Doesn’t this move make sense?

It may not be a lot of money, but it’ll get Rosicky off the wage-bill and free up some funds that can be put towards a decent signing in the future. At 31-years old, Rosicky is unlikely to get any better and it seems the best years of his career are behind him.

If he were still nabbing goals I’d be tempted to keep him but those days now seem long gone. Rosicky is the last man that you’d want to bring on when you’re chasing a goal, but he’s often the man Arsenal have been forced to rely on in these situations. A club like Arsenal needs better back-up players, but they won’t be able to get themselves in this position without selling first.

Fulham would offer Rosicky an opportunity to play regular football in an increasingly competitive side and a chance to recover his best form. He certainly wont be offered such an opportunity in Arsenal colours, so I’m not sure why he’d stay.

What’s your take? Is it time for Arsenal to sell?

Source: The Express

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