by Lee Hurley
Wojciech Szczesny and Matthieu Flamini are moving ever closer to the exit door at the Emirates with deals expected to be finalised soon.
Szczesny will join Roma on a season long loan which will see the Gunners net €1m while Flamini will leave on a permanent basis, joining Lukas Podolski at Galatasaray.
Arsenal and Roma have been locked in negotiations for the past few days according to a report in the Guardian with the main sticking point being the Pole’s wages – Roma wanted Arsenal to pay a portion of them while he is in Italy – however an agreement has now been reached which will see Roma cover the full cost.
It is also said that they will look to buy him for around £3.5m next summer which seems awfully cheap if you ask me, especially given his homegrown status.
I must say the deal puzzles me for many reasons. It’s not like Woj needs the first team experience and it seemed to make logical sense that he would stay at the club to learn from Petr Cech. One reason he could be being sent off to Italy is in the hope that it will ground him somewhat and give him more of a sense of perspective without his support network around him.
Flamini, meanwhile, is moving every closer to leaving permanently with the club happy to let him leave.
After arriving on a free just a few seasons ago, his limited ability on the pitch has seen him slip down the pecking order and, even without Mikel Arteta fully fit, the boss preferred to use other options in front of the back four rather than trust the Flamster.