Barcelona legit used their Spanish players to do this to Fabregas in their bid to get him to join them from Arsenal. That summer he fought tooth and nail and left #AFC. Wenger was powerless. That was the reason Wenger rejected him he asked to come back.
They have a history of doing dirty things to get the player they want. Good thing Atletico Madrid gave them the Middle finger.
I'm not saying Andrea Berta is perfect, but using the way Chelsea do their business to judge how Arsenal handle transfers—especially player sales—is just not it.
Look at Chelsea: Nicolas Jackson, Liam Delap and Andrey Santos are/were all players with significant time left on their contracts, which gives Chelsea much more leverage when negotiating fees. Delap, for example, had five years left on the deal he signed last summer and Chelsea have now reportedly sold him for £45m, potentially rising to £50m.
At Arsenal, we're dealing with a completely different situation. Gabriel Jesus, Reiss Nelson and Fábio Vieira are all entering the final year of their contracts.
That matters.
It's much easier to demand a premium when a buying club knows you don't have to sell. When a player has only 10 months left on his contract, the power naturally shifts towards the buyer.
So yes, Berta should absolutely be judged on how he handles these situations, but let's also be honest about the position he inherited. Arsenal need to get better at contract management and moving players on BEFORE they enter the final year of their deals.
Chelsea's sales shouldn't simply be used as a stick to beat Berta with. Their squad-building and contract situations have given them a different platform to operate from.
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Surprised to see interest in Alvarez described as complicated or as a saga. Seems relatively uncomplicated to me. He wants Barca but Arsenal waiting in the wings in case he can’t go there and staying untenable. Potentially Arsenal have forwards they’d be willing to send in the other direction to smooth a deal with Atleti. Doesn’t sound like much energy or resource being expended.
If the Martinelli rumours are true then I fully expect some kind of rumour to drop tomorrow on an interest in a player. Otherwise why the fuck are we selling Martinelli. Just keep him till January