Anders: Should we keep Clichy even if he doesn’t re-sign
If Rumours Are True, Should Gael Clichy Be Sold? by Anders Marshall
Transfers have been slow for Arsenal, with Carl Jenkinson being our only official signing. Surprisingly enough, we’re linked with having more players leaving the club than coming in. One story that shocked me was the potential departure of Gael Clichy, our only proven quality left-back. If Clichy were to leave, who would replace him? I think the better question is, why are we open to selling him?
I know that Clichy doesn’t have the best reputation among some Arsenal fans for his error-prone ways of late, but there is no doubt that Clichy is one of the best left backs in the EPL. He has pace, good tackling, decent heading, and a great work rate. His attacking crosses have diminished in quality, mostly because of the decrease in frequency, but Clichy is a reliable defender capable of saving games, and scoring the odd goal.
The last time he lifted a trophy was in 2005, with the Invincibles in the FA Cup. While being a significant trophy, Clichy played little part in winning the competition. Despite that, he is one of the only ones who remain from the squad of the Invincibles, and that counts for something. He is one of the only players to have won something with Arsenal. Clichy arguably had his best season years ago, earning a place in the 2008 PFA Team of the Year. After his stellar season, he has been a shadow of his former self, mostly because of his seemingly increasingly regular lapses in concentration, resulting in tactics, such as the offside trap, to fail miserably. No player being perfect, I believe Clichy deserves another chance to redeem himself. If he leaves, who will take his place?
With the shortage of quality left backs abundantly clear, teams are reluctant to let go of the players they already have in the position, in fear they won’t be able to find an adequate replacement. If Clichy were to leave Arsenal, would Wenger promote Gibbs? While it seems the most likely, given his frugal ways, Arsene would be a lot better off by dipping into the transfer market, potentially signing Leighton Baines or another established defender, instead of using the injury-prone Englishman.
While Gibbs has bags of potential, his tendency to spend more time on the injury table than the pitch is worrisome, to say the least. With Carl Jenkinson an even more raw talent, Wenger would have to spend to assure a quality player on the flank. The issue with left backs is they are in extremely high demand when a talented one is tipped to leave their club. With Wenger reportedly chasing Phil Jagielka aswell, Everton would want to keep one of the two, or both at all costs, despite their financial problems.
If we were to sell Clichy, who would it be to? With him being reportedly interested in a move to Liverpool, Gael could be playing for our rivals come next season, which would only leave a bad taste in the mouths of Arsenal fans. If Clichy moves to Liverpool, we will be directly strengthening a rival team, which would certainly do more harm than good. A move abroad to a club like Roma would have almost no effect on Arsenal but a positive one, in the sense of competition and economic benefits. We would still have to search for a proper replacement, but with the reported player plus cash deal, we could be in a great position to sign a left back.
For me personally, I believe we should keep Clichy, as he’s a quality left back who hasn’t even reached the peak of his career. With only one year left on his contract, Wenger needs to move quickly to ensure he has a proven player on the flank, whether it’s Clichy, Gibbs, or a signing. With an already struggling defensive system, the sale of the Fastest Frenchman around could have a detrimental effect on the defense for the 11-12 season. Hopefully, Wenger will work his recently lost magic and keep our experienced defender at AFC, at least until we can find a better man to replace him.
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Anders Marshall
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Clichy has always done well for arsenal since hes been at the club just coz hes had one bad season that doesnt mean u just get rid of him.. if thats the case so everytime a player has a bad season just sell them NO!! he needs to stay up his tempo and come back to hes self clichy is a very good left back..
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The odd goal? 1 if I remember correctly, ever
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I say the odd goal more because he is capable of scoring, but he doesn’t very often.
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@LoveWenger I agree with you! He’s too great of a player to let go.
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yeah i mean in he past seasons we would never be judging clichy like we are now come on man just coz he wasnt all that good for one season u dont just get rid of him clichy is still who is he its not like hes lost hes talent he will recover and come back well give him a chance.
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True Arsenal fans that know how loyal Clichy is!
He would stay at the club his entire career if it were up to him. Wengers not been to impressed with him lately, and has Wengers always been able to find talented LB’s so if Clichy does leave, he is being forced out.
The Liverpool fans that think they will get him obviously dont know enough about Wenger, Never has he sold a dangerous player to a premier league side, never will he
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why?…
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Besides,he is values at 5 mill only right???!!!The likes of baines would cost around 15mill…Does not look like a good bargain to me..
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clichy for 5 mil if hes sold for that price arsenal board must be mental. what is wrong with clichy he can defend he attacks he can cross he plays good team football what more do u want from a left back. baines is no better then clichy if there only left back whos better then him in the league and thats evra. i would pick clichy over a.cole SIMPLE!
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Clichy wasn’t even bad this season at all. Don’t know where this idea comes from. The two seasons previous to this, yes he was relatively poor, but this year he seemed to have regained his 07/08 form.
*If* he wants to leave, better to get some money for him. He’s a good left back, but I think it’s clear now he won’t be the new ashley cole; he doesn’t have the mentality for it. We just need to make sure we go for a replacement who does have that potential. Maybe the celtic fullback?
Btw, clichy scores the odd goal??? Really? I guess when he scored his only league goal in 187 league games it did seem quite odd
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clichy doesnt play to score if he does its a bonus why would u even talk about clichy and goals :s strange.
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As far as i am concerned any player that wants to leave is welcome too. All they need to do is ask for a transfer, forego their loyalty payment and wait for a club to meet the price set by Arsenal Football Club. If as in the case of Clichy and Nasri they have been offered a new contract by the club, but are refusing to sign, then it is up to the club. Either run that contract down and if they still have not signed let them walk. Or the club transfer list them and see if anyone wants to place an acceptable bid. Clichy has been a good servant, if he does not want to re-sign that is his perogative. I believe that with Gibbs, Traore, Jenkinson, Vermaelen and Koscielny we have enough already at the club to cover his departure. Whether we get 5, 7 or 1m0 is irrelavant all are fair offers for a player that will leave for Zilch in a year.
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Arsenal fans all the way from Washington DC know that Clichy is a quality left back and should probably be kept. Loads of experience and he should have a good rub off effect on the young Jenkinson kid and Gibbs. Do you really think we’ll be better off next year with Gibbs starting if we cut loose ties with Clichy and don’t pick up an adequate replacement? i.e. maybe Baines. He seems to be better on the attacking wing side then Clichy and I would welcome his presence. My verdict, we keep him since he showed great form at times and that doesn’t totally evaporate and I wouldn’t be surprised if Clichy had a good season and help us lift that trophy.
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Clichy will be joining the Reds without doubt. No club will pay a player the wages Clichy is on to play reserves just to make a point! If Clichy digs his heels in as reported for the Reds move then Arsene will do the deal or lose him for nothing next season. I think a deal will be done and Arsene with sign Enrique.
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I’m not saying clichy has been bad, just not up to the standards he set from previous seasons. He is loyal, which is why the rumours were shocking to me.
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Is it a lack of loyalty after nearly 10 years service to want to experience playing at a new club with new challenges? A bit harsh isn’t it? Supporters are fickle. Players get shopped about or released all the time when they don’t want to leave but when a player decides he wants to move on he gets accused of being disloyal??? I blame Arsene for all this! If Arsene really cared to keep Clichy & Nasri why allow their contracts to run down?? Poor management!
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More players linked out then in? Are we even watching the same transfer window? That’s a remarkably untrue comment which diminishes the credibility of this article, only 5-6 players have been linked out, whereas we’ve been linked with many many more players coming in.
Anyway, the decision is easy for me, let Clichy go, allow Vermalen to play left back (his original postition) and buy two new center backs.
We can’t have a left back whose heart isn’t in the team anymore, it’s better to have players who actually feel proud to play for the club, as this will increase motivation to perform well.
Taking this into consideration, it’s almost guaranteed that more errors will come from him if he stayed, and he would have yet another poor season.
Therefore we should sell him to Roma preferably, as they are the highest bidders.
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Micky G you’re misinterpreting me. I am surprised Wenger would even consider selling him, because he’s so loyal. He hasn’t announced publicly that he wants to leave, so why push him? I realize he’s been here for a long time, but if he doesn’t want to go, which is my theory, why force him?
Beastly Gooner we’re watching the same window, but I don’t consider ridiculous links with scum like Joey Barton. Rosicky, cesc,vela,bendtner,almunia,denilson,squillaci,nasri,clichy have been linked with a move away, all of which to me seem plausible. Correct me if I’m wrong, linked with Samba,Gervinho,cahill,falcao,benzema,hazard, and recently jagielka. Taraabt and Barton are not considered for their stupidity.
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dont understand y many ppl keep saying clichys bad.he does hav a habit of makin occasional errors(maybe 3-4 times)a season,still his pace is outstanding and more than a decent leftback.@mickey-g agree how can ppl say hes disloyal bein here for 8yrs…..
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You forget Scott Parker, Upson, Alverez, Odemwinji, Defoe, Mauidi, Eto’o, Dann and several more. All of these seem plausible.
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Great article!! We must try our best to keep clichy!!
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I don’t think we are all watching the same player. Clichy has gone backwards. His ball control is good and he is fast But …. going forward his crossing is not good but piss poor. Worse he is NOT a natural defender … and it is too late for him to learn. Like too many of our defenders, he keeps a ragged offside line, he loses his man by ball watching and if there is a high ball to his far post he is useless. He has also been the worst culprit at over playing and losing the ball in dangerous situations. Now he wants to run his contract down or go to where he says … even for less fee for the club. I will be glad if we can replace him with a real defender.
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And another thing Clichy is a bit of a fairy … not physically brave … mind you he is in good Arsenal company there !
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chris your judging him by one season mate clichys been at arsenal for years if he was that shit as ur making him out to be he would of already gone clichy hasnt played in any other position than defence has he? so what makes u think he isnt a natural defender anyways look at it like this so if evra had one shit season with man u would ferguson get rid of him NO. coz evra would come back just like clichy he will come back better. at the end of the day he is good and he should stay and hes not one of the players to blame for arsenals season.
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A lot of you seem to view Clichy with rose-tinted glasses – probably due to his loyalty. He’s a massive liablility. He can bomb forward, and has energy. But he CANNOT cross the ball, 99% of his crosses are useless, and he makes loads of ridiculous mistakes at the back, often leaving one of the center-backs to clean up the mess, which often exposes us.
However we don’t have a ready-made replacement. Gibbs is made of glass, and put in some poor performances at the end of last season.
Be realistic people, he seems to have gotten progressively worse over the last few seasons.
Having read back – Beasty Gooner, in an ideal world…that’d be great. TV could easily slot in at left back and would be a much better ‘defender’ than Clichy. However we both know Wenger won’t buy TWO center backs! he seems reluctant enough to buy one! But yeah….Samba and Cahill, TV at left back, and solid-as-ever Sagna at right back. Sorted.
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Relax Gunner fans, in Wenger we trust
To win a trophy, is a must dire must
Tight arse Gazidis, as Greek as its known
No lamb but souvlaki, this malaka’s a gnome!
Yes i know, you have questions of doubt
We’ve no time to linger about
The Board is destroying true Arsenal loyalty
We suffer and lose, while they’re on royalties
Wenger please, bend over and squeeze
Push the cash now! Your arse can’t freeze!
Time to splurge the financial remains
Pump your tight arse, let’s ease the tight strain
A croissant is delivered when we need a buffet
It’s time to buy players, the mission TODAY!
Brut up the back, line up the rack
Loosen your crack, sign up the smack
A wish is a wish but no one is bought
Gotta Big fish itch? It’s time we caught!
This club I love, but invest is a must
We want more trophies, even if they rust!
So to end this merry chant of mine
I’ve skulled my Sweet Sherry Sublime
To numb the pain of my beloved team
Stain my brain on The Charlie Sheen
Hopefully wake up and a Genie goes pooooft
We have new players, I’ve spoofed on my hoof!
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we should keep him but if not TV at left back samba and LK centre and get a young up and comer cb as back up with JD is rob green still looking 4 a club? wenger should get him in as a no2 i no he can be crap but on his day he is up there with the best!! worth getting 4 free anyway 20 mill will sort out the back.
we need cover 4 song french, young, and cheap sissoko:) 7 mill.
gervinho 13 mill.
so thats 40 mill plus sales about 20 mill 2 find a st and knowing wenger a few kids 2
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Are you people crazy, this is the best time to let Clichy go while he still has some value and no doubt if he won’t sign a new deal, let him go. Clichy has not just had “1 bad season,” he has progressivly been getting worse since at least when the club signed Eduardo. He has pace and nothing else, doesn’t offer much offensively and not much defensively. “Good tackling, decent heading.. capable of saving games, and scoring the odd goal”? What team have you been watching? Clichy cannot head the ball and he doesn’t even score at a rate to be considered “odd.” Let him go and and find a change of scenery, it will be good for both player and club.
The replacements we could find already in the squad such as in Gibbs, vermaelen, or even Armand Traore are fine plus we have Pedro Botelho still to come through. I wouldn’t mind Baines either as he is a much better defensive player than Clichy and he is english. There is also the Celtic LB Izaguirre who has been winning rave reviews. Bottom line is there are better alternatives to Clichy who has been vastly overrated by author and certain people here.
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I disagree with two things. Vermaelen lacks pace to track back, while he is quick when needed, he doesn’t have the lightning legs as clichy does though, and you have to consider the outcomes of playing TV as a left-back. First, we would have to either trust the sometimes solid sometimes shaky partnership of Djourou and Koscielny, or dip into the transfer market and sign one or two defenders, depending on Wenger’s confidence level. New signings would take time to adapt, and our defensive tactics would change. Because we would have three slower defenders, and one quick one in Sagna, the three big boys would probably drop deeper and let sagna make runs. This would cause a large gap in midfield, unless Song moved back even further, leaving less options to pass to upfront. This will lead to less chances created, and once again we’ll have to rely on Cesc and RVP to do all the work, only it’s harder than before.
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To S.H. … Really enjoyed your poem. Your fellow fans should be proud.
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If clichy must go then its a must 4 AW to buy CS and GC so that vemaelen might move to left back not as fact but highly effective. And a GK comeon people.
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anders….
what medication have you been taking…quality defender – best in the EPL
i must have shit in my eyes…error prone, always out of position, fails to track back…you name it
gibbs is not a lot better but at least has age on his side…
out with the dross & in with the new – to think AC was allowed to leave over a few paltry grand a week – only to accept the undermining influence of Gallas into our midst
don’t compound the mistakes by pandering to this money grubbing no-mark….send him on his way PDQ
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Find me a better left back that we could possibly sign Gary. He is quality and has seen a dip in form, as almost every player does. Look at fabregas, he had a bad season too, should he be dumped as well? Best left back in the EPL. Baines had one standout season. Who else is there?
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Find you a better left back? I’ll find you 6, Baines, Izaguirre, Domonico Cristico, Fabio Coentrao, Benoît Trémoulinas, Aly Cissokho. Get rid of Clichy and either sign someone, or try either Gibbs, Vermaelen, or Traore. By the way Baines has been playing better and better each season in the prem but people are only hearing of him now. I also disagree with your analysis of TV, he isn’t as quick as Clichy but he is a much more balanced player, he wouldn’t push dangerously far up the field all the time and you could always count on him to be a defensive presence at the back. Plus, the shaky partnership of Djourou and Koscielny wouldn’t exist because Wenger has already said he will be bringing in at least 1 CB. Clichy has to go, it makes no sense to keep an average player for 1 season only to loose him for nothing when we oculd actually sell him for a good amount of money.
Finally if a player wants to leave let him go no matter who it is. Loyalty to your club should always be first so if Clichy wants out, let him go. Fabregas has wanted out and its about time he leaves, his heart is with another team and his form is only going to suffer.
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@AFC: you forget one option. The club offers him a proper salary and he stays.
We’ve already lost the like of Flamini in utter stupidity from the board to refuse to raise them. Wanna keep losing your players?
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in wenger arsenal will rust.
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Completely agree with Jo, very well put
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well said Jo
as for flamini – the season before the season he left was very average…covering for the injured AC and standing-in in midfield etc…
his form only escalated in his final season – but by that time his pride had been hurt and he opted for pastures new…that like so many that leave – find there is no grass in that pasture after all and then crave a return (like hleb – petit – seaman etc etc)
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Clitchy,s experience counts for Arsenal.His abscence from the team line up in the last games in the EPL 2010/2011 cost Arsenal goals and points.With a terific pace and the best marking ability in the EPL/the World due mainly to his pace daring ability to trying always to get to the ball before the opponent attackers next move,rejecting the awkward backward movement towards his own goalkeeper and goal post distinguishes him.His draw backs include poor crosses,not daring to run into the opponents goalpost(he has the ability)e.g that of Nedum Onuoha of Sunderland against Chelsea in an EPL which rewarded the defender/sunderland with a goal,his ManUlike passes from the Arsenal backline straight to an Arsenal attacker,bypassing his own midfield and creating pressure on Arsenal as a result for the opponent almost always intercepts such passes.Overall he is massive asset for Arsenal.He should be made to stay
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@Dr Ezeukwu Emmanuel
You forget his biggest flaw; the lapses of concentration which often cost us goals and games, leaving our centrebacks exposed.
If we are trying to strengthen our defense, then the left back position should be inclusive of this. Cliche has made similar mistakes to Kolshelny and Squalaci this season, though probably not as obvious.
We can’t afford to have any error prone players in our defense, it’s too costly.
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i Really think we should keep Clichy becasue he is a great LB and always will be; just because he had one bad season doesn’t mean he will be like for the rest of his career.
If we don’t keep Clichy i suggest we try to sign Leighton Baines or Ashley Cole, if we can’t get them i’d like to see Jose Enrique at the club because i think he is just as good as Cole and Clichy. So please Wenger Keep him or listen to my suggestions i love football and watch it all the time.
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WE’RE OPEN TO SELLING CLICHY BECAUSE HE’S THE MOST ERATTIC LEFT BACK WE HAVE HAD AT THE CLUB FOR 40 YEARS. GET RID OF THE LIABILITY AND I WILL DANCE A JIG OF JOY WHEN ITS FINALLY CONFIRMED
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i’ll drive him to wherever he wants to go,love Wenger give me a break clichy’s our worst left back since time began…
the guy cannot defend n he’s basically a tourist @ corners,never scored never will plus he’s French,one less plzZz,we need something realer or play with ten man, that’s how bad he is,every top team we play concentrate on him,must be a reason
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what planet are you on?
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hollyweed if that clichy does stay if he does i 100% believe hes gonna do great and put u in ur place u wait and see and come talk to me on here at the end of the season i will bet money on it. WERE GONNA SEE! if he plays. i dont say shit soo confident for no reason.
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