Are Arsenal experiencing a player crisis amid ongoing contract uncertainty?

Add as preferred source on Google

It comes to no surprise or shock to anyone to say that Arsenal are a club currently in a crisis unlike anything they’ve seen for years. Between the fans not being behind long-term-serving boss Arsene Wenger and his wanting to stay at the club, and the likelihood that this year will be the first year since 1996 that the Gunners will miss out on being in the top four, things are not looking good.

Many not only fear that this year the club have a reached one of their lowest points in recent years, but worry that it will only continue to get worse…

Nonetheless, with the Wenger mess aside, there are other reasons why the Gunners’ future proves to be a concern: the fact that twelve of their senior players have expiring contracts in the next 18 months. Currently, only Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez have been offered contracts, and Santi Cazorla and Per Mertesacker have signed one-year extensions because of fitness problems.

Although it seems that Ozil wants to go, claiming he thinks he could earn more money elsewhere, that might not be the best option for the midfielder. With no other club chasing him with offers, where would he go? It is only a matter of time before Wenger runs out of patience with him after already offering him a massive £280,000 a week, which is double what he currently makes and the most money the club have ever spent on a player.

Sanchez’s reasons for leaving differ completely from Ozil’s. The Chile international is not happy with the direction of the club, which showed when the Gunners lost two defining away games at Everton and Manchester City last month, as well as in his anger at the end of the club’s 3-3 draw at Bournemouth.

But, although Sanchez is making it clear he wants to go and isn’t afraid to criticise his team-mates or let them know they’ve fallen to below his own high standards, leaving might not be the best course of action. Despite their tiffs in training, Sanchez is the player that gets the kind of support from Wenger that he surely didn’t get at Barcelona. Leaving could mean missing out on that support.

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain also wants to leave, with quotes in The Sun suggesting he feels under appreciated. This might be a good opportunity for Oxlade-Chamberlain to leave to rejuvenate his career if he wants to play more regular first-team football. The England international has only had a limited number of opportunities at Arsenal, and looking at the grand scheme of things, his career hasn’t kicked on in the way he hoped it would have. Leaving the Gunners might be the only resolution to achieve this.

Meanwhile, goalkeeper Petr Cech has also yet to be offered a contract from Arsenal. Cech has an uncanny ability to keep goals from the back of the net, with an average of 2.37 saves per game, it wouldn’t be a smart move to let him go.

And, surely Wojciech Szczesny, who is currently on loan at Roma, has proved he is Champions League quality? With an average of three saves per goal and a massive performance score (based on Squawka.com’s performance score ratings) of 666, coupled with the fact that he desperately wants an Arsenal shirt on his back, it would be a ridiculous move not to keep him when his loan is up.

But no one could blame French forward Yaya Sanogo for wanting to leave after becoming a bit like Arsenal’s personal elephant-in-the-room. No one wants to talk about him and he’s adopted the role of the Gunners’ forgotten man.His time in the club has been far from a success after being there for seven years. He has not made a single senior appearance for any side on nigh this year, and by now it’s evident that most people have forfeited hope that he will turn into anything.

Clearly, Arsenal and Arsene Wenger have a lot to consider.

Featured Image: All rights reserved by Genç Arsenal