Volante wrote:So what happens next season with Arteta and Flamini both still under contract? Will Wenger forgo signing a player in that position? Will he sign one and keep the other two on board? Will he sign one and sell one of the two?
What you're missing is that the future optimisation of the squad should not be a dominant factor when optimising the squad in the present. A factor yes, but not a determining one.
In fact, overthinking the future state of the squad has been an Arsenal curse for some time now.
Flamini was one of several options open in recruitment. Our overall financial commitment to his signing - wages and fee - were probably value for money given that we have a number of young, valuable midfield stars already.
So in effect you're complaining about a potential sunk cost that hasn't happened - money "wasted on Flamini in future seasons" - and in terms of our overall wage bill it wouldn't be a large one either.
But even over and above that, where is the sunk cost? There's no real evidence that our squad is overstocked now, or that Flamini will be a worse player next season. So given he's currently effective and in the rotation, I see no major problem within the usual margins of error in squad management.
What reason is there to expect he'll be a Bendtner or a Chamakh or an Arshavin?
What I see is a poster who thinks Flamini shouldn't be selected - and fair enough it's an argument that has its own separate merits.
But you're trying to convert that preference into an argument his signing was a squad management mistake, and the facts won't lift that weight for you.
