Right, and even then it's hard to see why an ambitious starlet defender who's already at Marseille would push hard for a permanent move there. Anyone who thinks he sees that as his next step is probably kidding themselves.
The risk is probably a bigger club tapping him up and a player strike. As above, though, if we got a good fee for him I'm not convinced it would be disastrous. I think the angst about it is a disproportionate projection of our far more serious issues under Arteta, both in terms of the squad as it stands and the manager's inflexibility in terms of tactics and man management.
As with so many other things, getting back into the top four looks vital, and if we don't get our shit together that might be out of reach by the end of March.
