With a Summer clearout imperative to Arsenal’s transfer plans, they’ve started on the right foot by seemingly allowing Sébastien Squillaci – who only joined the club in the Summer of 2011 – to escape from his North London surroundings… for free!
SC Bastia look to be leading the race for the Frenchman with a deal – which involves no fee being exchanged between the two clubs – looking likely to be completed in the “next few days”. French magazine Mercato 365 also state that Squillaci, who’s contract is believed to expire in the Summer of 2013, is in “very advanced talks” with the newly-promoted side.
After joining from Sevilla two seasons ago – as a full fledged France international might I add, he’s failed to make a mark on this current Arsenal squad – well, not a good mark anyone. In his short stint at Arsène Wenger’s club, he’s made 24 appearances, scoring 2 goals in the process. But, the highlights of his time at Arsenal will always be forgotten, largely due to some of his calamitous mishaps.
Many of you will be wondering as to how and why a transfer which includes no fee will benefit Arsenal’s transfer window, but it’s important that we look to move on players like Squillaci, who havn’t had a good time at the club, in order to free up space for incoming players on the wage bill. According to reports, Squillaci is on around £50,000 a week. This, in itself, is rather alarming. With Squillaci off the books, we take a much more positive stance when negotiating with new arrivals.
As for a possible replacement, it looks unlikely that Arsenal will bring in a new centre-half in the transfer market; especially if 25-year-old Swiss international, Johan Djourou, remains at the club. Although, don’t rule out the introduction of either Kyle Bartley or Ignasi Miquel to first-team surroundings. The former spent the whole of last season at Old Firm club Rangers, while the latter made a handful of appearances for the first-team at the start of the season - Written by Llew Davies.
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