Five players Wenger needs to get rid of

Five players Wenger needs to get rid of

As you are aware, I am not part of the Arsene Out Brigade and never will be – he is still the best Arsenal manager I have known and if you were there for Don Howe, the last year of Graham, the Stewart Houston disaster and the Bruce Rioch “experience” you will know exactly what I mean.

Having said that, we really need to make a clear out in the summer WHATEVER happens this season. Even if we win the league , we need to accept that there are some players in the squad who are not good enough and who will never be to the level we expect from an Arsenal player.

These are the five players that I would like to see Arsene get rid of the summer ( even though if any of them  suddenly turn out to be our heroes for the last nine games !)

Manuel Almunia: The howler at WBA was one too many in my book. No ifs or buts, he has been at the club for seven years and has made mistakes year after year. The mistake at WBA could probably cost us the title this season. He has always been known as a third class keeper in Spain and had many loan spells in the lower tiers of the Spanish league. Has arguably improved in England but cannot be relied upon.

Denilson Hard to believe that he has also been at the club for five years. Has a whopping 153 appearances for the club  and how many exactly of them had he stood out in? Last year, he was promoted as our first choice holding midfielder but this year he is the sixth option in central midfield after Fabregas, Song, Wilshere, Diaby and now Ramsey. The times he lost the ball against a weak opposition like WBA was too much for even an optimist like me and he managed to look average against Championship sides Leeds and Ipswich. Not exactly a youngster anymore at 23.

Tomas Rosicky One of my favourite players ever when he lit up the World Cup in 2006 and signed for us that same season. The Little Mozart impressed initially and dazzled in the 2007-2008 season. His injury at the end of that season cost us the title. His long term absence means that he is now a shadow of the player he once was. It is sad but we cannot get too emotional and need to accept that he will probably never reach the same heights again.

Emmanuel Eboue Perhaps a harsh inclusion in respect of his improvement over the last two years. Despite being a popular figure in the dressing room, his tendency to take a stumble is sometimes embarrassing and he is another player who has been at the club for far too long. Six years at the club with an amazing 210 appearances, I am not sure how much better he will be in the future as he is already 27.

Sebastian Squillaci As I said earlier, we need to get rid of some of the deadwood and it does not matter if they turn out to be heroes until the end of the season. Played decently against WBA and I would love for him to come good. Big reputation, he has won trophies at both Lyon and Seville, and has international experience with France. But the fact is he has just not met the expectations so far and we have always leaked goals with him in the side. At 30, he is also not a youngster who is going to improve next season so I am wondering whether Wenger should cut his losses in the summer.