Manchester United should learn from Arsenal and Arteta if they really want Antony ‘value’

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28 Feb 2024

If Manchester United really reckon they can come close to getting half their money back on Antony then they are deluded. Arsenal have shown them the way.

It is rare for one transfer to encapsulate the embedded executive incompetence at two separate clubs, but the trade of Alexis Sanchez and Henrikh Mkhitaryan six years ago helped explain the respective falls of Arsenal and Manchester United.

One side undeniably and irrefutably got the better of that deal, and it wasn’t the one which announced their end of the apparent bargain through the medium of piano. Sanchez was a disastrous capture which has helped define a decade of hubristic excess at Old Trafford. Yet Mkhitaryan was not significantly better, with a third of his total combined goals and assists for the Gunners coming on his full debut.
It was reported at the time that Arsenal had initially asked for Anthony Martial in part-exchange, along with a further cash fee, to sanction Sanchez’s exit, but they were talked down into accepting Mkhitaryan and no extra money. Arsene Wenger’s reasoning at the time – “we were in the position where the player had no value in three to four months” – was driven by characteristic frugality, but it was damning.
Arsenal soon came to realise that as little “value” as those players have, it is sometimes worth even less time and effort trying to get anything in return for them to save face – and their true merit to the squad and club can be realised by cutting ties.

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Mkhitaryan was released from his contract after two-and-a-half years. Mesut Ozil was gradually ostracised and ultimately made a free agent six months before his deal was to expire. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang tested the fine print in those non-negotiables too often and left by mutual consent, in the same way a couple might agree to break up on the strong advice of one of the parties involved. Shkodran Mustafi, Sokratis, Sead Kolasinac, Willian and Hector Bellerin have all been allowed to leave Arsenal for nothing with time left on their contracts.
More than £150m was invested on those players in transfer fees alone, long before factoring in wages and the rest, yet even in recouping nothing the Gunners absorbed the financial hit to aid their evolution and rise back into the elite.
READ MORE: Mikel Arteta’s 10 best decisions as Arsenal manager, including controversial Saliba, Martinelli, Auba calls
Manchester United should learn from Arsenal and Arteta if they really want Antony ‘value’ (msn.com)

It is that bigger-picture focus Manchester United need to emulate. The apparent acceptance that things have not worked with Antony is a step in the right direction from a club that would have previously doubled down and triggered a one-year contract extension to preserve some pretence of value, but one newspaper line on the situation suggests a vital aspect of the lesson is yet to be learned.

United may struggle to recoup even half the £86million Antony cost from Ajax 18 months ago

That ‘may’ is doing some incredibly heavy lifting; Manchester United would genuinely be fortunate to find a buyer willing to give them a quarter of their money back. Antony’s only goals and assists in his last 28 games have come against Newport. His 99th-minute introduction against Fulham underlined just how willing Erik ten Hag is to put his pet project down.

The biggest transfer loss a Premier League club has ever incurred for a player whose contract didn’t simply expire was the £72m Arsenal sank on Nicolas Pepe, only for him to be swept up in Edu and Mikel Arteta’s relentless deep clean four years later. The forward had 12 months remaining on his contract when the Gunners realised that clawing back any sort of meaningful fee was a pointless, vain exercise.
“It is not his fault the amount of money that we paid at the time and that’s it,” Arteta said last year. “When things are not working out, you have to move on. There’s no point trying when something is not working and that decision has been made and I think it benefits all parties.”
That is the sort of clarity and ruthless decision-making Manchester United need, with the future prioritised ahead of avoiding embarrassment. A club that demands £40m for Antony, having held out for similar fees for countless duds in recent memory, will never progress if it fears looking a bit silly.

Arsenal had a few fingers pointed at them in mockery and derision for letting those expensive players leave as free agents; the fan focus on concepts such as re-sale value will never not baffle. But the impact those decisions had was transformative.
“This showed that now we can’t play around, now we have to be calm with the team,” Mo Elneny said specifically of Aubameyang’s exit. “Now everyone looked at themselves because Mikel did that to the captain of the team. I think it unified us because now everyone was scared. Everyone is scared with their position because this happened to Aubameyang.”
Manchester United players have many traits, but a healthy and competitive concern over their place in the side is not one, and nor seemingly is an unwavering respect for the manager and faith in his vision. Ten Hag has tried to exert his authority but the proper boardroom structure to support him is still missing and there remains doubt as to whether he can help lead this brave new regime.

There were times when Arteta looked just as externally unconvincing in the role at Arsenal but the backing behind the scenes never wavered in the same way it feels Ten Hag’s might. Manchester United themselves cited the ‘patience’ the Spaniard was shown by the Gunners when it was said they felt ‘vindicated’ in their decision not to change managers despite the building pressure this season.
But a club cannot be remodelled and reshaped through persistence alone; the right calls need to be made and sometimes the collective ego must take a hit on that journey.
Saudi Arabia rescued Manchester United when it came to Cristiano Ronaldo, but who will take Antony, Jadon Sancho, Casemiro, Raphael Varane, Donny van de Beek and many others off their hands for the fees they will inevitably demand, and on wages no-one else would have offered? Can Manchester United accept and even embrace losing face like Arsenal have? What use is it to keep unwanted players around when examples could be made for the greater good?

Barring a ludicrous decision that cannot be properly ruled out, Martial will leave Manchester United upon the expiration of his contract this summer after nine years, at least the last three of which the club have spent openly trying to sell him. Antony has three years left on his deal and any attempts to sell him for half of the £82m they spent to be lumbered with him will see the entirety of that time served for the sake of the club not being made to look foolish. It is a cycle of stupidity they must be brave enough to break.

Gary Neville is right, Chelsea were ‘soulless’ and ‘gutless’ in defeat to Liverpool – Sutton

Chris Sutton has agreed with Gary Neville’s “bottlejob” assessment of Chelsea in their Carabao Cup final defeat to Liverpool on Sunday, describing Mauricio Pochettino’s side as “soulless” and “gutless” at Wembley.
The Blues arguably had the better of the game in normal time but were stunned by a late Virgil van Dijk header in the dying moments of extra time, having sat off Liverpool for much of the added period.

Pochettino admitted after the game that his players “felt penalties would be good for us” and Neville called his team the “blue billion pound bottlejobs”.
Speaking on Mail Sport’s It’s All Kicking Off podcast, Sutton said: “Chelsea seem to be a soulless club at this moment in time.
“Liverpool had half a team yesterday and Liverpool didn’t take their opportunity and then when all the kids went on, if you’re a Chelsea player at that moment, that should have been the moment when you thought ‘what an opportunity we have’, and yet they retreated and wanted penalties. That’s pretty gutless, that’s unforgivable.
“Chelsea finished the second half with the momentum, with the chances.
“At that particular moment when Liverpool were putting kid after kid on, the Chelsea team had far greater experience. This was an opportunity for them to think ‘let’s got for the jugular, let’s smell blood. What a great chance to transform our season and get people talking about Chelsea again’.

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“Gary Neville used the word they ‘bottled’ it. It’s hard to disagree with that. They should have taken the game to Liverpool and been braver in that moment in time, and they didn’t. They were passive, they sat off, they wanted penalties! You couldn’t make that up.
“Pochettino coming out and saying they wanted penalties tells you everything you need to know [about] the difference in mentality at both clubs, and they are poles apart. It’s all about the action at that moment.
“When they went into extra time Chelsea should have felt empowered that Liverpool were putting on all these young players and thinking ‘we are never going to get a better opportunity’.”
Sutton’s co-host Ian Ladyman defended Chelsea’s tactics, insisting that no team is “gung-ho” in extra time, but Sutton wasn’t having it.
“They didn’t miss their chances in extra-time. They retreated, that’s what they did,” Sutton said.

“They didn’t seize the moment and that was their downfall. And that’s where Pochettino has the problem, because, who does the blame fall upon?
“You don’t take your leader off in that moment. Did Gallagher want to go off? Maybe he’s injured but surely you can see it through. I’m not buying it, the ‘knackered’ thing.”
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Championship XI of the season includes Liverpool target and former Spurs flop

We’re 34 games into the 2023/24 Championship campaign and the XI of the season is dominated by five standouts from Leeds United, Leicester City and Ipswich.
Talented attacking midfielders have stolen many of the headlines in the Championship this season and with only three places up for grabs in this area, there was bound to be a notable absentee; Hull City’s Jaden Philogene is perhaps most unfortunate to miss out.
The youngster has exploded onto the scene this season and may end up in this XI by the time this campaign ends before joining Tottenham – who according to TEAMtalk are ‘leading the chase’ to sign him – in the summer.
WhoScored’s rating system is used as a guide to form this XI of the Championship cream of the crop (at least 20 league appearances are required to be eligible)…

GK: Viktor Johansson (Rotherham United)
Rotherham’s season has been bloody miserable and it would have been a whole lot worse had it not been for the imperious performances of their Swedish goalkeeper.After he played an integral role in the Millers staying up last season, Johansson has kept Leam Richardson’s side in games this term when they realistically have not had any right to be. This writer is set for summer heartbreak when he deservedly secures himself a big move elsewhere soon.

RB: Perry Ng (Cardiff City)
The Welsh side emerged as a shock candidate for the play-offs at the start of this season but have since slumped into mid-table. While their performances have been inconsistent, Ng’s superb displays have been a constant after he won Cardiff’s in-house Player of the Year award last season.The attacking full-back is Cardiff’s joint-second leading scorer this season with five goals and the addition of three assists makes him a desirable asset who manager Erol Bulut may struggle to keep in the summer.

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CB: Jacob Greaves (Hull City)
Liam Rosenior’s Tigers have gone under the radar compared to the Championship’s top four this season but for the first time in a while, they – with the help of significant investment from owner Acun Ilicali – are heading in the right direction.Philogene and loanee Fabio Carvalho have been superb in recent weeks, but Hull’s forwards are being boosted by a solid defence and versatile 23-year-old Greaves has kept eight clean sheets this season.

CB: Jannik Vestergaard (Leicester City)
Enzo Maresca is spoilt for choice in the centre-back department (as he is in every position, really) and Vestergaard stepped up to fill the void left by Conor Coady and Callum Doyle while they were out injured.Leicester City are superior to their Championship rivals in pretty much every department. Vestergaard had helped them lead the defensive charts as the best backline in the league for much of this season, but two consecutive defeats have seen Leeds (who have let in just 27 goals to Leicester’s 29) overtake them.

LB: Leif Davis (Ipswich Town)
Ipswich invested around £1m to snatch Davis from fellow Championship side Leeds United and this has proven to be a major coup.After being included in last season’s League One Team of the Season, the influential 23-year-old – like his talented team – has enjoyed a dream season back in the Championship, grabbing 12 assists in 31 games.

CM: Gabriel Sara (Norwich City)

The Canaries splashed out £6m to snatch Sara from Brazilian outfit Sao Paulo last summer and he was one of their few standout performers in what was a disappointing campaign in 2022/23.Norwich have gradually grown into the season under David Wagner – who was under serious pressure at one point – and Sara has carried on where he left off from last term. The deep-lying playmaker has been involved in 16 goals in just 34 games and has netted the odd worldie along the way.

CM: Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall (Leicester City)
Having previously shone for Luton Town at this level, Dewsbury-Hall was expected to fire Leicester to promotion and even after back-to-back defeats, he is on track to do just that.His early-season form saw him linked with Brighton in January but Leicester managed to keep a hold of their asset who has successfully stepped out from the shadow of James Maddison and Harvey Barnes.

RW: Crysencio Summerville (Leeds United)
There was a mass overhaul at Leeds United in the summer. They offloaded a lot of deadwood ahead of their return to the Championship but they did bloody well to keep Summerville.Linked with Liverpool and other clubs in the Premier League and around Europe last summer and in January, Summerville has been spearheading Leeds United’s promotion push and he’s got a strong case to be the Championship Player of the Season.
READ MORE: Leeds plan ‘sensational’ Phillips return on one condition; ‘heavy spending’ summer on the cards

CAM: Morgan Whittaker (Plymouth Argyle)
Newly-promoted Plymouth pushed the boat out this summer and spent around £2m combined to sign Whittaker and Bali Mumba from Swansea City and Norwich City respectively.This level of investment was required to bridge the gap from League One and it is hardly a surprise that Whittaker – with Mumba a close second – has been their best performer.
Whittaker in particular has been excellent and is a leading candidate for signing of the season after grabbing an impressive 17 goals and seven assists in 34 games.

LW: Jack Clarke (Sunderland)
The former Tottenham and Leeds player can consider himself unlucky that he is not currently playing in the Premier League (or Serie A with Lazio, weirdly) after he was one of the best players in the Championship last season.Valued at around £15m, Clarke has carried Sunderland this season and after Michael Beale’s poor reign as manager severely hampered their play-off hopes, he will surely leave the club in the summer.

ST: Georginio Rutter (Leeds United)
Leeds United have done some questionable business in recent years and their decision to spend £36m (add-ons included) to sign Rutter from Bundesliga side Hoffenheim in January initially looked to be the worst of the lot.Rutter struggled in a poor Leeds United side last term but he has shown this season that fan perception of a player can alter quickly as he’s now a beloved figure at Elland Road.
The 21-year-old has produced a few star-making performances this term but as good as he’s been, Championship specialist Adam Armstrong is hot on his heels attempting to break into this team.
FEATURE: Norwich 24), Leicester 19), Leeds 2) – Champ sides ranked by their market vs purchase value profit/loss

West Ham 4-2 Brentford: Bowen hat-trick relieves pressure on Moyes as Paqueta returns

Jarrod Bowen scored a hat-trick as West Ham beat bogey side Brentford 4-2 to ease the pressure on David Moyes.
The Hammers won their first match of 2024, with Bowen scoring his first goals since before Christmas, to end a miserable run of eight games without a victory which had prompted more questions about the manager’s future.

Played five, lost five was their sorry Premier League record against Brentford, the only team of the 43 Moyes had faced in the top flight and not previously beaten.
Finally the rot was stopped as Brentford, already plunged deeper into the relegation scrap earlier on Monday following Everton’s points deduction being reduced from 10 to six, suffered another defeat – their 12th in 15 matches since beating West Ham at home in November.
Where this West Ham have been for the past two months is anyone’s guess. They should have led after only three minutes when James Ward-Prowse flicked on Vladimir Coufal’s cross, only for Tomas Soucek to blaze over from six yards out.
But moments later they did go ahead when Ward-Prowse sent Emerson Palmieri down the left wing.
The Italian defender pulled the ball back for Bowen, who took a touch before lashing his shot past Mark Flekken.