Wenger wants to block Hleb move
Arsène Wenger came out fighting yesterday in regards to
the future of Alexander Hleb, insisting Arsenal are willing to take
legal action to prevent the midfielder from joining
Internazionale.
A day after Hleb's agent Nikolai Shpilevski publicly stated the
Belarus international is "leaving Arsenal," with the Italian
champions his most likely destination, Wenger said he was
"confident" of keeping the midfielder and played down the
possibility of him buying out the remaining two years of his
contract under Article 17 of Fifa's transfer regulations, otherwise
known as the "Webster Clause", which permits players to terminate
their deal after a "protected period."
Wenger made it clear Article 17 can be challenged and Arsenal
are prepared to do just that. "It is not as simple as it looks,
this Webster clause, you can't just come in next day and buy out,
there is no rule that says that. And you should not forget what
clubs can do," said Wenger. "You have to first go to a Fifa
tribunal and if you don't agree with Fifa, you have to go to Acas.
It takes a lof of months. You can be banned for the whole period if
it's not done in a proper way."
Hleb has long been courted by Inter, a source of great
irritation for Wenger who has threatened to report the club to Fifa
over what he described as the "disrespectful" pursuit of the
player. Losing the 27-year-old, who signed from Stuggart for £11.5m
in July 2005, would represent a huge blow for the Frenchman who has
already had to say goodbye to one first-team player in the closing
stages of this season.
WENGER launched an unprecedented attack on AC
Milan
Wenger could not hide his disappointment yesterday with
Mathieu Flamini's decision to join Milan on a free transfer,
especially after the midfielder had given assurances that he would
sign a new deal at the Emirates, and claimed that while Flamini's
wage will swell at the San Siro, he is joining a club with less
integrity.
"I know the rules in this job, the guy [Flamini] is free, he can
go to somebody who pays him more," said Wenger. "But he said he
wanted to stay. If you say 'no I want to go somewhere' that is ok.
But you cannot say 'I want to stay but I go.'
"This club here has a history of being built by people of
values. I'm not sure that in the history of Milan you'll find the
same values, even if you dig well." Despite his frustrations,
Wenger is sure he will not struggle to replace Flamini in the
centre of Arsenal's midfield, claiming the hole can be filled by
Abou Diaby, Denilson, Gilberto Silva who, Wenger indicated, has not
made up his mind to definitely leave the club, or a new
recruit.
"There are plenty of players who want to join us, I go to my
office and I have 220 calls from players who want to come in, we
have no problem on that front," he said. But there is less
assurance inside the Arsenal dressing room. One senior player feels
that in Flamini the team has lost someone willing to make "dirty"
tackles and that is essential in a side which has struggled at
times to assert itself in attritional encounters.
Some solace can, however, be found in the assurances Emmanuel
Adebayor gave yesterday regarding his own future. It had been
reported that the Togo striker, who has scored 30 goals this
season, wanted a pay increase otherwise he too would walk away, but
the 24-year-old insists he is happy where he is.
"These reports are rubbish," he said. "I love the club and the
fans, we have a great set of players and a fantastic team spirit.
We've had a good season and we want to go one better next season by
winning a trophy."
