New contracts: BFG, Rosicky, Ramsey, Cazorla, Zelalem

[northbank123]

On my phone so apologies if it has already been discussed elsewhere. Officially announced, no comment on length of the deals.

By omission surely this confirms the end for Sagna?

[VoiceOfReason]

A new contract for Rosicky is surely one of Wenger's most outrageous decisions to date. He's (somehow) been at the club for nearly eight years, and has failed to make any kind of impact. He has the odd game here and there, but certainly hasn't come anywhere near close to warranting the kind of wages he must have earned during that time.

Not only that, but he's already 33 - is he really going to be able to offer anything at 35 or 36 (depending on how long the contract's for?) I'll also be the first to point out that Pires, a legitimate Arsenal legend, failed to be offered a proper contract just for having the audacity to turn 30.

In short: let's get rid of the dead wood.

[TeeCee]

All the reports said it would be a 1 year deal for Rosicknote which is in keeping with Wonga's bizarre transfer policies.
Letting the most consistent defender (Sagna) run his contract down is the latest in a long line of monumental fuck up's from Arsene, and YET ANOTHER indication of why the man is not fit for purpose. Couple this with the Bendtner situation.......ie yet another piece of dead wood allowed to run out his contract at the club and free to leave at the end of the season for nothing (not that he's worth anything anyway but you know what I mean)! I am always puzzled by this 'sustainable model' that both Wonga and Gazidis trot out at every opportunity.........you know, the sustainable model where you allow your best players to leave virtually every year, pay your more mediocre players virtually the same as your very best players, keep useless players who you never play on the payroll until their contracts run out and they leave for nothing, the renewing of contracts for perma-crocked players who really do not offer the club anywhere near value for money.....and worst of all, offering a failing manager an IMPROVED contract for zero success in 8 years (unless of course you view 4th place as success....which I suspect that both Kranky and Gazidis most definitely do).

Sustainable model???? Not in this world matey!!

[I Hate Hleb]

I would imagine Rosicky's contract will be a 12 month one (with a possible extra 12 months option) and probably on the same money. Given that, not sure the club will be worried as to whether he will still be kicking a ball in 2 or 3 years time.

Agree with TeeCee regarding Sagna. Madness.

[northbank123]

Might have agreed with you a few years ago but certainly not now. Whilst I would be happier with a one-year deal for Rosicky (as I said don't know what it is) for the last 2 years he has been a very useful player, stayed reasonably injury-free and adds a different aspect to our game. Despite his age he generally helps us play at a higher tempo and his movement/ability to skip past a player is vital when we are facing a team we struggle to break down.

Given he's played quite a lot last two years he can't be 'deadwood' unless you think his performances are useless? I know there is justifiably remaining anger at the Pires and Gallas contract handling but imo you're getting too hung up on the past. For me this Arsenal squad is better with Rosicky in it and will be next season.

[northbank123]

Also letting Sagna go will be a huge mistake. Forget past performance and whether that merits a new deal, the reality is our defence is the best it has been for years and playing inside him (matron) Mertesacker has been immense.

We have nobody that can nearly be considerewd a ready-made replacement so to jeopardise that improvement is outrageous, even if Sagna's demands are a little higher than perhaps a player of equivalent age and ability on the transfer market.

Ultimately it will cost us points and money over the next year or two.

[GranadaJoe]

Might have agreed with you a few years ago but certainly not now. Whilst I would be happier with a one-year deal for Rosicky (as I said don't know what it is) for the last 2 years he has been a very useful player, stayed reasonably injury-free and adds a different aspect to our game. Despite his age he generally helps us play at a higher tempo and his movement/ability to skip past a player is vital when we are facing a team we struggle to break down.

Given he's played quite a lot last two years he can't be 'deadwood' unless you think his performances are useless? I know there is justifiably remaining anger at the Pires and Gallas contract handling but imo you're getting too hung up on the past. For me this Arsenal squad is better with Rosicky in it and will be next season.

I completely agree. Over the last couple of years he's been as effective in midfield as anyone we've got. He can play a controlled passing game but at the same time he injects pace and movement into the team, can go past his man and always puts in a shift. We miss him when he's noy in the team.

I'm also delighted that the BFG has signed. It's great to see him as a kid in an Arsenal shirt.

[remigardeshair]

Our contract renewal strategy (that is of course assuming there is one) seems very scattergun and inconsistent. On one hand we tie players down to long term deal when they still have a reasonable amount of time to run on their contracts (Carzola, BFG etc) and on the other, we let players get into the last year of their contracts (Wiltord, Edu, Flamini, RVC, Walcott, Na$ri etc) so that they can either a) fuck off or b) hold us to ransom.

[QuartzGooner]

Rosicky one year deal (with a year option after that) is fine by me, he is in good form yet longer term deal makes little sense with his injuries.

Mertesacker extension good too.

It looks like Sagna's off in the summer, probably half his decision half the club's, but if he can get a fat wage and some silverware with PSG then I can see his reasoning.
Must be replaced with top quality though.

Cazorla extension in the offing too, makes sense.

Wenger admitted failure to offer Pires a two year deal was a mistake.

[MrT]

Rosicky - If you look up inconsistent in the dictionary you will see his name. The fact he is perma crocked doesn't help him find any consistent string of form.

Happy for Per, he should be made captain next season.

I am struggling to understand all this out pouring of grief for Sagna leaving. The man has been finished since the leg breaks. He's lost a yard of pace, he's always terrified and seemingly unable to beat his man, his lack of pace doesn't help. He always looks nervous with the ball at his feet when under pressure. The fact that at 31/32 he is still unable to ping in decent crosses consistently is fucking ridiculous. Thanks for your service but I could not give 2 fucks if he left.

[franksav63]

MEH for Roshity, hated the *word censored* for years!!! (but just not as much as Giroud!!)

[Nos89]

Rosicky always becomes indespensible when his contract is up for renewal, then he gets injured for 6 months, spend 3-4 months coming back getting the odd niggle along the way, then puts a run of 2 months showing his quality, signs a new contract then the cycle begins again.
Pleased BFG is extending contract.
I'm not one too bothered if sagna stays or not. He was awful against liverpool and city and culpable for 2 of their goals by his poor positioning. For me he gets caught out of position too often, plus he's getting to the age were he will naturally lose a yard of pace and with the way we play it leaves him vunerable. His last great game for us was at home against the spuds last season. Moving him to CB may be a better move for us if he stays. There are better RB's than him. Richards, Coleman, Johnson.

[remigardeshair]

Rosicky seems an odd player to inspire hatred

[spendsum4uckingmoney]

I'm convinced AW is grooming him for a coaching role but yes he is inconsistent, injury prone and old.

[Nos89]

With new contracts being offered to long term squad members why is the club rewarding players who have failed to bring success to the club? Rosicky has been at the club since 2006 and has hardly reached his full potential. Djourou has been at the club for 10 years...how? Sagna has been with us for 6 years why offer a new contract?

I agree stability is crucial to the club but why are we continuing to reward when we are not successful? How about giving the young players coming through the opportunity like we did in the '80's and early '90's. We have lost good young players who never really had an opportunity to learn and improve, because we kept players who we shouldn't have done.