I see that the Scousers are all getting a bit heated of Trent leaving for Real in the summer. As Arsenal fans, we of all people know the pains of contracts being run down – or the perception of it – so rather than banter them off I’m offering a little sympathy this morning I think. That’s a £80 – £90million right back just walking out the door for free. We had Aaron Ramsey leave us on a free. Aubameyang may have been pushed out, but he was still a top player when he left on a free. Flamini the first time was an integral part of our midfield and he exited on a free. One thing we have been pretty decent at over the years – although none of us liked it at the time of happening – is cashing in before it’s too late. Nasri, Cesc, ADebayor, Toure, etc. Alright, it feels painful, but at least you get some cash to re-invest.

Perhaps none of these players had the same attachment as Trent and Liverpool players from the City have a bit of a history here with Owen and McManaman going back a fair few years, so you could say precedent has already been set, but it will still sting. The way the Liverpool leaning media is going on about it is kinda funny though. The absolute outrage that is reserved for these conversations, whereas I guarantee you that if we were losing Saka to Madrid on a free, having been cantering our way to the title, the same outrage would not be saved for us.

That brings me to thinking about this with an Arsenal lens on, because that is a kind of terrifying vision of the future if that were to happen to us with Saka. And the fact “he’s a Hale End and Arsenal boy” is the same as the situation of TAA. Trent has been at Liverpool since he was eight years old, he’s now 26 so he’s spent 18 years at the same club. He’s thinking that he wants to try something new and if you put that in to the context of Saka, who are we to say that it won’t happen to us in the same way? We are not immune and if at the age of 26 we had Saka saying “I just want to try something new” then we would be advised to look back at this moment and realise we aren’t the only ones.

It’s the same for other players too. Saliba may have a snap of him in an Arsenal shirt as a kid, he may love the club and he’s saying all of the right things recently about wanting to win trophies, which is great. But even if we keep him for another three to five years and even if we get him tied down to another deal after this one expires in two season’s time, he’s young enough that we need to accept that if he reaches the highest heights, he may want to go abroad and try himself in another division. It happens and I think as Arsenal fans we have to accept it. We might not like it, but we have to accept it.

It’s the same with Arteta. We’re five year’s in to his tenure now, I think most level-headed Arsenal fans can accept that we’ve gone in the right direction and despite some of his flaws, he’s been a brilliant manager for us. But eventually I think he’s the type of guy who will say “i’ve done my bit”. He’ll want to move on and try something new. But first we have to hope that it happens after he’s gotten us over the line with trophies. And that’s the same as these players with whom we have become so attached. We brought young, we made a decision to have them all grow up in their early 20s and formative years into the side we see today, but it does feel like we need to win something within the next 18 months to a) show them that they can win many trophies in the coming years, and b) ensure that when they do go, we can at least look back at their time as successful and not “close but no cigar” as runners up in consecutive seasons.

I think we’ll get there. It’s a ‘hope’ right now, but we have good players, a great manager, we’ve been moving in the right direction and I simply cannot believe we will have such rotten luck across the board next season like we have this season. Hopefully Liverpool will need a rebuild, City are in the midst of theirs now, so whilst this season is petering out a bit and I’m getting a bit ‘meh’ with it all, I am starting to look at the summer already and thinking that if we do the right deals and make the right moves early enough, we will be well placed next season to be the dominant force domestically.

Here’s hoping.

Right – I’m going to leave it there for today. Will be back tomorrow with more ramblings on whatever Arsenal-related stuff pops in to my head.

Laters peeps.