There are outgoing vibrations in the transfer waters a-happening, fellow Gooners, as the wheels of human footballer trafficking begin in earnest it seems.

Yesterday we heard about Debuchy’s on-off deal with Nice, eventually off because Lyon are letting their right back leave for the French club, followed by noises of a Calum Chambers departure for £16million and a Szczesny to Juve deal for between £8-£10million depending on who you believe in.

Let’s start with the latter of those deals, which to my mind also represents the most irritating, because within two years Cech will probably be on the wane and an Arsenal-supporting Polish lad will be at arguably the biggest Italian football team as their number one. 

I get that Arsène might have had enough and doesn’t fancy Wojciech any more. I understand that he only has a year left on his contract. But offloading a ‘keeper in his prime who is an international stopper and has visibly improved since he left us, for that kind of money, is insane. It’s criminal. Szczesny could have fought off Cech this season and became our number one. Yet we’re shipping him out. And not only that, we’re doing it on the cheap, which seems to have been our MO since the mid nineties.

Henry, van Persie and Fabregas were all stars who were undersold. The last time we sold a player for at least his value was Adebayor to City. Before that? Well, you’d probably have to go as far as Petit and Overmars, or Anelka. It’s scandalous and a blot on the club that we can lose a player like Woj for so little.

Which brings me to Calum Chambers, who is supposedly attracting Palace’s interest for £16million. 

I’m sorry, what? The same value we paid for him a few years ago? Before the market went bonkers and valued Kyle Walker at £50million? 

No, no, no, no no.

Chambers is a £25million footballer at least in this inflated time zone we live in. But ignore that, he’s a player we should be holding on to for the upcoming season, because with our inevitable injury problems we will lose defenders and he will be needed. I understand what some people have said about how he and Holding are too similar and we don’t need another one, but I believe Holding and Chambers can play either side of a pacey central defender who wins the ball higher up the pitch, or even acts as the man to sweep up behind. 

Chambers has proven himself to be a very good centre half and if he’s given a run of games he will prove once again he can cut the mustard at Arsenal. I’ve always said that and I’ll stick by that statement. I just really hope we aren’t about to do something stupid.

Kieran Gibbs, on the other hand, seems like a logical move for all. He will excel at a mid table club. He’s a decent left back who’s good going forward. If the rumoured interest from West Brom is validated, then for £10million we should be moving him on and looking at where we can reinvest that ten mil (*cough* Lemar *cough*, *cough* *cough* new partner for Xhaka *cough* *cough*). Gibbs has been a great servant for the club and if he goes will get a round of applause when he returns. That’s how it should be.

Can’t say the same for poor old Debuchy though, who is the forgotten man of Arsenal, somewhat unfairly I would say. He’s been injury prone, out of the team, unable to string together any games and the effect has been a player who so many Arsenal fans deride. But even now, if we had an injury crisis and he was the only one available, I bet you’d all be a bit surprised at how good he could be with a run of games. But he’s never had that and is now the wrong side of thirty. He’s on the Arsenal scrap heap and when he does eventually leave, I can’t imagine he’d have too many positive things to say about the club, sadly.

I shan’t be deriding or abusing him though, because I just feel for him, as his Arsenal career never had the chance to get going because of injury. Such a shame. 

Anyway, that’s it for now, and the top line message for today is this: 

We ain’t too good at selling these days. It’s a good job player sales don’t have to fund any more building projects.

Laters.