Kyle Bartley will contemplate leaving Arsenal this summer, should Arsène Wenger sign a centre back. The 19-year-old is seeking assurances over his future, amid speculation of a deal for PSG’s Mamadou Sakho.
Bartley is back at Arsenal for treatment after sustaining medial ligament damage during his hugely successful loan spell with Rangers. The youngster earned rave reviews in Scotland, and The Gers have already enquired about a second loan spell, which Arsenal have initially turned down.
The former Bolton trainee is expecting to be rewarded for his impressive displays with a place in the Arsenal first-team, but if that fails to materialise, he is all but certain to ask for a transfer. Future Rangers manager Ally McCoist has already indicated he would be a key part of his plans next season, and they would be willing to double Kyle’s wages, as a sign of just how highly they rate him.
Any potential move away hinges on what business Arsène Wenger does this summer. A move for PSG’s Mamadou Sakho has long since been talked up, and while Arsenal have been keeping tabs on the Frenchman, suggestions of an imminent deal seems wide of the mark.
Bartley is expected back in full training at the end of May.
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What his contract situation? Surely he deserves a pre season chance and then see what happens
What do you think? Sakho or Bartley? I like Bartley but seriously think Sakho is a better player for Arsenal.
Erm, surely if McCoist has said that then it’s blatant tapping up and unsettling of our player. Sure you could rightly argue that speculation, which is so far all it is, that we’re going to sign Sakho is what’s unsettling for Bartley, but the fact remains you simply cannot take a player on loan in good faith and then turn around and tell him he’d be key to you if he signed. And then top it off by telling him you’d double his wages.
If I were Gazidis I’d be straight on to the football authorities. And I wouldn’t be loaning any of our players to Rangers again in a hurry.
Hi mate. I am a Gers season ticket holder. I like to think i can keep on top of news and interviews coming out of Ibrox. Bartley is very much a decent player who we’d all love to have back but never once have i heard of McCoist saying something like that and given Gers financial situation at the mo i dont think they are in a position to freely state that they’ll “double” a players wages dont you think? McCoist may have said that he rates Bartley highly and would love to have him back although we have to wait and see if he gets his chance at The Gunners. The part about wages is mere fabrication :)
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!
Even if we do get sakho get rid of squa;llci
i can’t agree with you more we need to buy squillaci a portable bed where he can rest during games(like eboue)and make bartley fourth choice,he deserves a chance plus vermaelen can do other jobs like leftback or midfield
Squillaci really picked up in his last couple of games and he has a record of being a very good defender, so perhaps it just took(/is taking) him time to adapt to his new club and the new league. People always say that a player needs a season to adapt to the PL, but they almost never give it to them. It’s a shame.
This is what is wrong with our club now. These damn kids think they should just be handed a spot because a lot of them have over the past 5 years. If he wants to bail, oh well. He can join the long list of players that made the stupid choice to leave Arsenal and went on to flop.
I really don’t get the Sakho thing unless Wenger really is planning a massive summer buying spree. We have 3 more pressing issues than a new centerback and knowing Wenger he never buys more then 3 first teamers at a time.
We have 3 more pressing issues than a centre back…..
Do we really??
It is our defence that causes all the disasters. I don’t think we have any more pressing issues than a good, strong centre back.
You mean the same defence that was let in the 2nd least goals in the entire season? And without our best CB? Please.
@badaman – we’re actually 4th best currently in terms of goals conceded, but you’re right, it’s hardly a crisis. I think we’re just lacking energy in midfield and up front.
Whatever the contract situation, I am sick of youngsters holding this club to ransom. He is a good player. I have very high hopes for him. But dishing out ultimatums? unacceptable whether you are Thierry Henry, Cesc Fabregas or Kyle Bartley. If he is good enough, he will play. The same way Jack has done, the same way Szczesny has done. Otherwise he can go wherever he likes. Arsenal Football Club does not succumb to threats of overpaid 19 year olds.
It’s astonishing how AW deals with the young CDs. It’s clear that this is that position where Arsenal don’t have good players. Only 3 of them were noticed. Nordtveit has been sold and since then he has been flying in Germany. Ignasi Miquel, imo, won’t make it at Arsenal, but Kyle should. Please Wenger, don’t waste him for Squillacis and Sakhos.
I bet most of these people have never seen mamadou sakho.
Hes good on FM hes 22.
Whats the point of spending £15 million a player whos playing his first year in ligue 1 from what i have heard hes similar to koscielny.
Surely we need to give bartley a go hes the exactly the type of defender we need not sakho.
We need a commanding tall defender
He’s been in the PSG first team since ’07.
Sakho is a commanding, tall defender. I think you’re one who’s never seen him play.
It’s not his 1st season in ligue 1, he’s played almost 100 games, and is vice-captain of their side at 21, behind makelele of all people, and has captained them many times since he was 17. It seems he is a strong and energetic defender and at 6ft 2 is actually a physical presence. I expect he would be a quality signing, but it’s true, I couldn’t say for sure.
Sakho looks promising sure, but I’ll put it this way: nothing I’ve seen of Sakho so far is more juciy than what I saw of Boumsong when he was on loan at Le Havre at a far younger age. And look how Boumsong ended up.
Its not that easy projecting growth from young defenders, otherwise we’d need neither of these young guys, as Philippe Senderos by all rights should have been in his prime right now as the second coming of Sol Campbell. And you guys think you can be so sure that 15 Million spend of Sakho will be money well spent? It’s not all that clear.
I would say yes, ditch Squillaci and look for a better experienced – and pacier – backup in the age 25-30 range. But the last thing we need is to spend 15 million on a new question mark in a problem area.
Is this straight from the horses mouth opr just speculation?
We dont need Sakho and he wont join Arsenal trust me. He going to stay at PSG. Bartley will still be here and will be 4 or 5 choice for Arsenal next season.
Sakho will be world class.. that is without doubt!
if we can sign we have to.. but Wenger offered 15 mil E in march and no more.. they want 18 i believe, which wenger wont pay….
Bartley is a great prospect who we have to keep!!..
agree with J90.. sell squillaci!! pls!!
then get sakho..
5cb left…
verm
kol
djouou
Sakho
bartley as cover…
But reaslistically.. we wont sign a CB..
will be same as this season but with Verm fit..
same as we wont sign a GK!!
Well even if Squillaci went and Sakho came in, Bartley would still be 5th choice, as he was this year.
as to Johns comment…
Sakho was in starting 11 of PSG at 17 years old!
he was also made the captain at 18!
capped by france already and labelled the new Thuram in France….
I think bartley has 2 or 3 years left on his contract and i believe he has done well on loan and he deserve to have a chance as for sakho he is a good strong defender with leadership quality that can bring stability to the team, he will be a good signing but will affect the like of bartley and miquel to breaking into the first them since he is just 20 year.
John, His first year ? He´s played 93 league games for PSG and I the think he became the youngest ever captain of a ligue 1 side and he has 2 caps for France under his name, the same cant be said about Koscielny. But Jamie, would he leave if we would sell Squilacci and buy Sakho ?
Ben
Alot of people havent seen him play and are judging because people play too much football manager.
Hes a player i dont think his ready for the premiership.
I prefer to go for jan vertonghen whos more verstaile and played champions league football and promote kyle bartley.
JS hows Havard Nordvetiet doing we could have seriously done with a player like him this season. We should have sold him in the summer
Sounds like you haven’t watched him either (going by your stupid “fact” about him being like koscielny, and that this is his first season in the first team).
Stop talking, please.
Haha, classic John. Always trying to look clever and falling flat on his face.
Sakho is not 22, he’s 21. And he has been a PSG regular for three seasons.
I’d prefer Bartley to Squillaci..
No real need for Sakho unless Vermaelens injury problems persist into next season.
Vermaelen, Djourou, Koscielny and Bartley would suit me fine.
what an idiot, imho (if this is even true). You are frikkin NINETEEN years old. You are not supposed to be a world class defender (which is what is good enough for arsenal really) untill 4-5 years from now.
this is what is wrong with arsenal. players are too afraid of competition.
Hope it’s not the case. I’d certainly like to see another Centre Half come in and Squilaci out and as has been shown many times this season, 5 centre halves are a must at this level. Bartley’s performances at Rangers were stellar and added to the fact that he can be deployed as a holding midfielder too he could be a very important asset for the club.
Why would someone sign a £15m centre back then assure Kyle Bartley that he still has a place? Of course the kid will want to leave, weather Squillaci is sold or not… If the club has as much emphasis on youth as it says it does then Bartley, Lansbury, JET, Frimpong, Watt and Henderson will all be in the first team squad next season instead of the likes of Rosicky, Denilson, Squillaci, Traore and Chamakh… All of whom are probably no better than the aforementioned and do not show hunger or experience when they play, hunger out ways experience every time in my book!
As someone previously stated, is this his own words, or merely specualtion? As for the people who are still convinced we have a bad defenc, it’s just not true! We have one of if not the best defensive record in the league this season, as long as Tommy V is back for next season we have plenty of options, and i’m sure Kyle will get his chance.
The more pressing issue is the need for a midfielder and goalscorer, as good as RVP is, he’s not the out and out goalscorer we need, and it’s not fair to rely on him all the time.
Sell the Squid and buy a leader (physically strong and tall for setpieces) in Sakho!
Bartley can then depending on injury front either remain or go out on load for a year to gain more experience…
And I would go for M’vila (also a leader with muscle)as well and sell Denilson…(Yes i know we have Frimpong a& Qocuelin)
Hazard instead of Arshavin(sad to say though)
And Bentner, Almunia, Traore out! For those sales they could invest in a new young star like Oxlade-Chamberlain.
What do you guys think about that??
Think a lot of changes will happen next season. Players out on loan like Ryo, JET and Lansbury will replace Denilson, Arshavin, Eboue and a few more.
Even Cesc will leave and Nasri will replace him in centre with Ramsey and Wilshire. Will be surprised if a goalie is signed as a CB leader is needed and Sakho is that player. Finally a guaranteed 20 goal a season world class scorer.
I feel our problem is certainly strikers, cast back to 2001/08 eason when Adebayor got 30 goals in the season and Eduardo was contibuting aswell, I feel thats our problem we dont have a 30 goal striker. Also i do agree we need to shake up the defnece aswell and sell the lesser players and lazy ones e.g. Arshavin
That’s a good point.
Van Persie is my fav arsenal player, but the truth is not team has won the league without a top goalscorer, and the last time we were close to winning was with adebayor scoring 30.
Why is everyone trying to be an internet/blog Football manager. When you try to sell a player, consider
1. Do we have enough homegrown(over 21) to sell bendtner,Clichy,Traore,Denilson,Diaby, Almunia etc.
2. What is the gain of selling the players. Save Wages or Use the money to by a replacement of same wage demand.
3. The better players cost more in transfer and starts with more weekly wages which is why Wenger works on his overall budget.
4. Remember Nasri is demanding more money, Arshavin wants an extension and more money, Clichy want to be paid like an elite player. All these are the issues affecting Wenger’s budget.
5. Young players on promotion gets paid more in wages.
6. Remember he cannot afford to pay 4 top players as CB. He would rather look for a Squillaci, Micheal on cheap fee and low wages as 4th defender.
how sad that so few people on the internet are able to see the bigger picture. People want to sell half of the squad and buy average players as replacements. Would they fare better and challenge for the title? Most likely not.
And when the internet football managers get it wrong nobody seems to remember. Sell Song/Walcott and buy Lorik Cana/Joe Cole anyone?
No quotes?????
Enough with the Sakho-talk already! he’s NOT what we need! He can piss off for all I care! We have kick ass CB’s in Verm(25) and Big D(24), and great backups in Laurent(25) & Kyle(20).. I dunno where AW sees Squid fitting in, so maybe one year was enough for him(?) All our current CB’s are yet to hit their prime, but when they do, we’re gonna have the best defence in the Prem :D
On another note; Freiburgs 20 goal targetman Papiss Demba Cisse is apparently a target for us…. (watch this space)
Rangers are skint this would be a whole load of shite
athlon29 am sorry but did you say havard is flying in germany??? isn’t his team dead last in the league and would most likely get relagated
I feel its important that I clear up a few points with this article.
The content is written with based on some very good information I’ve got. It is not trying to gain hits, or clicks, or anything. None of the pieces I write are based upon that, and any suggestions I write clearly for attention is as unfounded as the comments as others make again me.
I have a good reputation for breaking news and information, and don’t publish something if I’m not totally convinced and I’ve doubled checked. This is exactly that.
You can chose whether or not to believe it, but a lot of work and background goes into the articles I write, and this is exactly the same.
we know jamie.no need to clarify.all regular readers know this site is for true gunners and not for earning clicks.but i dont understand why bartley is so impatient.he is barely 20
I say Keep Bartley and let Sakho dreaming. Sakho is good but waaaay to far from world class. Bartley needs another season of first team football before I can say he will be massive for us. But I think he has what it takes to become big. We don’t need CD we need DM. And 2 new wingers.
Interesting piece jamie. And a quick note. to anyone doubting this blog, jamie is the only blog yet to publish something false. he has always been right and deserves credit for his work
I doubt we will be buying a centre-back, precisely because of Bartley coming through so well. So if this story is true, he’s getting his knickers in a twist over nothing.
Theirs nothing wrong in Kyle wanting to leave if we bring in someone like Sakho
Sakho is going to be a brilliant CB maybe one of the best he has everything.
If we do bring in another CB then Kyle should leave because with 4 CBs in early and mid 20s Kyle wont be able to break in and Rangers will be a better alternative but I should make it clear that I highly doubt we have made a bid for Sakho and I fully expect Bartley to be our 4th/5th choice next season
Jump ship at the 1st opportunity after everything the club has done for him? Let him go. Vermaelen will be back next season anyway and we can buy a CB like Sakho who is twice the player Bartley is.
I would like him to stay but it is his career and he must do what is best for himself at the end of the day.
What are the chances of buying Sakho and Bartley sticking around with the first team opportunity to play defensive midfield? Apparently Rangers have played him as a defensive midfielder, as well as a third center back, in some of their games. It seems as if he has excelled even at defensive midfield. From what I’ve read about him, he is truly a gifted footballer and has the versatility to do so.
Some people have went off the boil again. Look, if you don’t want Sakho at all then you are out of your mind. He is a monster of a player and will only get better. I have no issue with any quality players joining. 4 great centerbacks is better then 3. My only worry is that we won’t add to the other more pressing issues if we sign him. I am to the point now where I am not worried about holding a young player back because the truth is, if he is good enough he will make it here.
All due respect to JS but am unsure if some news are worth reporting.At a time all including the players ala fabregas n RVP are questioning the mental strength n the faith placed on youngsters by AW.
Arsenal remains by far the one team where a young player will get his chance but in fairness to KB.I think we should exercise patient before jumping into conclusion.At the very least he does not seem to have the courage to come out in public so lets not worry too much about it.
i go for bartley, hes good and have all the defender skill, but wenger should buy sakho too
coz sqilaci is too old
There is room for both Sakho (LB/CB) and Bartley (CB).
LB: Clichy out. Sakho can arrive primarily as left-back (in addition to K. Gibbs), with flexibility to fill-in for CB if/when required.
CB:
For 2011/12, Bartley can be transitioned into the squad, getting upto speed as a successor to Squillaci and being fully taking SS’s place by the start of the 2012/13 season. Kyle will get games, particularly with the usual squad wear-and-tear.
It would also work for Squillaci to leave at the end of this season. However, I still feel SS would have something to offer as a squad player, particularly with his experience and after having a full PL season under his belt. I can see Squillaci being ok with a graceful transition to fringe, particularly towards the end of his career, as he has always had a strong affinity to play for Wenger.
Kyle needs to be a bit patient or otherwise he will have regrets in the long-run. I think this ultimatum is misguided and a bit dangerous (for Kyle).
I dont see the point . Sakho has said that he wont leave PSG for a long time . Also why dont we just buy a world class dm who can play cb , mbia of marseille is good . That way everything will be sorted out
Aj7, you said it best. And the comment about Sahko was just brilliant. It’s like you took ’em right from my mouth. People should be aware that he plays LB every now and then, and it might be the manager has something similar in mind.
@kunnustica – thanks, looking at the messages below there is also the option of moving Verminator to DL. Anyways, the point is that there is room for Bartley and a new signing such as Sakho/Vertonghen, and Bartley should be a bit more patient (otherwise the boss may yield the axe on Kyle and bring in both Sakho and Vertonghen).
Oh please, not a horrendously overpriced centre back. I’m just surprised we haven’t been linked with Hummels, Subotic or Howedes yet
Jan Vertonghen is who we need, he is big, strong, pretty quick, can play DM as well and also knows The Verminator very well as they played together at Ajax and are international mates, alos what about playing the Verminator at LB and getting rid of Gael Clichy, that would make our Defence much strong and solid with Sagna, Vertonghen, Djorou and the verminator at left back it would also enable him to get forward and use that left foot of his for crossing and shooting only an idea what you think?
Sawyer:
I love the people saying Eboue is going. And to be replaced by? Some youngster who we will have to BUY as we don’t have any pure RB’s of note in the youth set up. Eboue has two or three years left, if only as a stop gap.
Denilson is a wonderful player, but he’s played out of position and not in his style. He’d do better in Spain, especially at Barcelona.
Lansbury is ready for the squad though. Wonderful vision I think.
Ryodinho will be a special player. Give him a few years and he will be as fast as Walcott.
On topic, Bartley should stop being so stupid if this really is true about him.
Re. Eboue: Sagna currently plays most games anyway and he looks pretty durable.
Possible replacements for Eboue: Sime Vrsaljko or Gregory van der Wiel. Vrsaljko is young, but he will initially have a chance to grow and acclimatize as an understudy to Sagna. We probably will be priced out of buying van der Wiel in the summer by Chelsea / Man City.
We should sell Clichy and put Vermaelen as FB instead, then bring in either Jagielka or Cahill as our CB with Bartley along with it. That way we get to keep and improve our defence.
you might have a point. Clichy will probably leave this summer since he doesn’t want to renew his contract.
Maybe Wenger is considering to buy Sakho in order to use him as a first choice CB and to move Vermaelen to the left.
Bartley is an excellent prospect and will be a good premiership player, he’s only 19 and the experienced gained at Rangers especially the physical side will be invaluable.
Bit of bad timing this as Fabregas has just come out saying we need to spend big and have more experienced players rather than relying on youth.
I Like Bartley, and think maybe he’s been misquoted as Arsenal has been nothing but great for his development, part of the winning Premier league academy team and an FA youth Cup winner, I don’t see Wenger selling him at all.
The Sahko thing is just a rumour – I can’t see Wenger paying £15m for a centreback, if so why didn’t he buy Cahill – a proven player in the Prem league??
I do think we need a top striker/match winner and a defensive midfielder – good on the ball but can also lead the team.
I see us losing at least 3 players in the summer
Cesc
Bendtner
Arshavin
Whether Wenger replaces them with Lansbury, JET, Ryo we’ll see but we need a few winners in the team, not players looking to make a name for themselves and then leave. Vermaelen would be my new captain.
When Arsenal first bought squillaci I thought that he was really reliable whilst at sevilla but now i found out that he’s crap and any how bartley will get first team chances because firstly he’s seems to be strong and tall plus english and secondly because arsenal defenders are injured some of the time
Not that Cahill/Jagielka bandwagon again! There is a reason they have been at mid-table teams their whole career.
Oh, I forgot-they’re English.
What’s wrong with buying british players?!, if we buy another frenchman like Sakho i am will seriously puke. I understand you can’t have a team of only british players but i really tired with Arsenal being a foreign legion. I am hoping (in vain i know..) for either Cahill or Jagielka as CB, out with Denilson and Rosicky , in with Scott Parker and Henri Lansbury , possibly JET as well.
If you haven’t yet seen Sahko play, PSG is playing today so I’m guessing he should be playing. Would be a good chance to look at him.
Personally, I’d like to have both Bartley and Sahko in the team, as well as M’Vila to replace Denilson. Squillaci leaving will be good for both parties really.
I don’t think there is a hope in hell that A.W will allow young Kyle to leave, having watched him closely this season I believe this young man will develop into a great leader and possibly the best center back around, he has everything you require to be a top class defender, he is very quick,composed, reads the game well, takes no prisoners in the tackle, and though he freely admits there is room for improvement in the heading dept, when he gets it right he is an awesome sight. This is a player who I for one would be truly dismayed to see slip through our fingers,rest assured A.W wont let it happen Kyle in the long run will prove to be every bit as valuable as Jack Wilshire i.m.o.
I had the same idea as a few of you guys fore mentioned…I think wenger will put vermaelen at left back and use sakho and djourou as center halves and have kos on the bench with kyle being the fourth choice and keep squillaci at 5th…if thats the case our defense sounds water tight…
You are spot on – I have seen this coming for a while as Clichy continues to dissapoint and Djourou+Koscielny look well matched.
If you look at this past season, Clichy’s attacking duties have been massively curtailed, compared to past years. He has clearly been told to defend first – which is what he is worst at.
The few offensive duties Clichy now has are nothing that Vermalen cant equal. In fact Vermalen has a better shot as well, and is far better equipped than Clichy to cope with our opponents’ well loved move of isolating our full backs on the ground or aerially and seeking to generate assists from that area.
Moreover Clichy has consistently shown that his brain dies when he is most needed, while Vermalen is a warrior that you never see slipping and gifting the ball away when the game is tight and the end whislte near.
I have deep affection for Clichy, given his history. But for 2-3 years now he has failed to be the veteran leader than he should be by now, after 8 years in the first team. All we need is a left back who can defend reliably – Vermalen can do that and much more, giving us time to find out if Gibbs is a repeat Clichy or something better.
Sakho: we won’t buy for two reasons
1. he was too expensive last year which is why we bought koscielny instead.
2. Wenger is not going to bench both djourou/koscielny so that we can play verm/sakho while young players like bartley would accept to sit on the bench.
to summarize: squillaci out, Bartley or another young gunner in.
if we let kyle go I will be upset and surprised because for one he is one of the fastest center backs i have seen…he is very vocal for a 19yr old, he is tall, english and reads the game well and he loves arsenal so i dont think wenger is that stupid to let him go…or that remains to be seen…and i dont think miquel will be all that
unless is coming for free, besides he can play left back maybe clichy is leaving……… and squillaci.
if psg put a huge price tag on him arsene will ignore him anyway
Apparently a bunch of you think Wenger is taking his best centerback and putting him at leftback. Even funnier is the fact that we play with attacking full backs. How does this make sense to so many people?
I am equally baffed.
They claim wenger doesn’t know what he’s doing yet want to turn our best CB into a fullback?
Sakho’s not coming people. We wanted him last year, he was too expensive. He’s extended his contract so is more expensive now, so why would we buy him now?
Above all else, our defence (excluding clichy, who’s been average) is statistically the 2nd best in the league.
@Bergkamp- Yes, buy British players if good enough. Cahill/Jagielka are not! From the little I’ve seen of Bartley, the young man has room to grow.
It is not a question of your nationality, but whether you are good enough for Arsenal. So stop puking over French athletes.
There is nothing wrong with Cahill/Jagielka , they both good and strong CB’s who if we don’t buy them will be bought by better clubs soon. Arsenal is suppose to be a british clubs, i really liked Arsenal more when we had a backbone of british players and then mixed it up with foreign players like Bergkamp. It’s a shame the 6+5 law never went through. This Arsenal we have today will never feel like a real team.
Sakho for me is like Micah richards.
I am not convinced i prefer jan vertonghen whos played in the champions league, taller, and can speak English.
http://vimeo.com/20364460?ab
Sakho isnt the greatest on the ball
Come on mate, you post one bad play. All centerbacks have had a bad play in their career.
Shane i am just pointing out i dont think hes the best on the ball lol.
Thats it
Hes a good defender
sell almunia rosicky squillaci
promote bartley
buy alex chamberlain
no need for sakho yet let him become world class so we dont mess him up like nordtveit
and when will pedro botelho play for arsenal
i keep wondering where all this news is coming from,
when we badly needed a defender arsene didnt buy any he gambled with what we have.
and guess what? same old arsene is planning to buy a defender when vermaelen will be fit, bartley and miquel will be a year older. arsene who?
I hate this 4-2-3-1 because we our holding mids don’t know how to hold. Look, I know we all get caught up in what Wilshere can do on the ball but he is costing us with his positioning. I leaves us open for the counter attack every time he ends up past the ball. Diaby does the same thing. Holding mids are suppose to hold. Stop playing this formation if we are not going to play it right. Especially when we are up 3 to 1. Also, stop bringing Bendtner on to play winger.
If he really wants to go, then sell him. I rate him very highly, and would love to see him make it with us. He’s been good on loan, and I think he deserves a place in the first team squad. But his concerns are of much less value than the concerns of Arsenal. If Wenger feels we need a CB, and that Sakho, or Mertesacker or anyone else is the man for the job, then that player should be bought. artley can either bide his time, or leave imo. The only thing that queers the pitch a little is the homegrown rule. Do we, or will we need him in the mid term, to best fulfil that criteria?
He’s not ready for the Arsenal first team this season but if he thinks he can make an impact from the bench next season with the odd game, I think he could do that. The best thing for him would be for him to come back up north for another year but the lad is probably itching for a crack at Arsenal. The best thing he would have gained from playing at Rangers is the pressure of having to win every game and that will stand him in good stead for Arsenal, he never let that bother him and he put in some good composed performances. I was gutted we lost him as he would have been an important player for us in the title run in. I will be keeping a close eye on his progress as I do think he could be a talented player in the future!
@john lol did you notice it was he’s weaker foot too…all CB have those type of moments in their career even the verminator scored an own goal
@Badaman and others
Yes we have only conceded the fourth least amount of goals in the league but that statistic hides the real truth – and Wenger is great at exploiting it. We have the majority of possession in most games and the opposition get very few actual chances BUT look at the conversion rate. They are unstaedy and totally incapable of holding onto a lead and this pressurises the whole team. The front players should be held accountable as well as they should be pressing more and more ready to chase for the ball when we lose it rather than sit back and let teh opposition come onto out non existent “defensive shield” aka Diaby / Denilson / Song – although I will allow for the last one but even he isn’t really the “stopper” we need
That’s the trouble with Wenger getting so many kids.If Arsenal to compete at the highest level,he must get the experienced players. Playing a kid Bartley is a risk.
If he were to make it into the first team,he should be gradually assimilated.
The thing is what happens if he makes a major blunder?
What then?
I agree. Youngsters coming through -a la Bartley for next season- shouldn’t need to be relied upon. Obviously the unexpected can happen like all your keepers getting injured, but youngsters should be looking to get maybe 10 appearances in all competitions in their first seasons and if they make a big splash like Wilshere then you can rely on them a bit more. There are more than enough games and sub appearances to accomodate this and a more experienced first team squad.
Like Miyaichi when he gets here. I’m sure there will be some saying he can be a first back up or even starting but he’ll be for all intents and purposes unproven in this league. He should be looking for a few appearences and training with the first team and brought on slowly.
I’m a Rangers fan and he was fantastic for us in the SPL and Europe. He had a shaky start but got better and better with each game.
I’d love us to sign him but in all honesty you should try and keep him. He’s future captain material.
@Bergkamp- And how many WC have you won with your “British” players?
No, how many finals or SF have you been to with your British players in the WC or even the Euro?
Bartley needs to sit tight. Maybe even go on loan another year, he hasn’t even played CC football for us yet. They can’t all be Wilshere and if they are they will get in the team. For a 19 year old to decide to leave Arsenal is to decide you’re not good enough