Before I get onto the bad news, I firstly want to say ’thanks’ to everyone who commented yesterday on the article about Arsene Wenger’s transfer plans. It was so refreshing to see everyone put some thought into their recommendations and refrain from pleading for every Ronaldinho, Kaka or Lionel Messi in the world. Great stuff.

Now, onto the bad news…

It seems that Alex Hleb will be leaving Arsenal for Inter Milan. Indeed, the Belarussian’s agent Nikolai Shpilevski has publicly declared that he will be signed by the Italian club within the next two weeks and going so far to say that there is ‘no way’ that he will be staying at Arsenal.

“Alexander is preparing to make one of the most important moves of his life. He is leaving Arsenal even though they want to offer him a new long-term contract and better conditions.”

“Only time will tell if leaving is the right decision, but there’s no way back now. Everything will be cleared up in the next two weeks.”

If what Hleb’s agent is saying is true then it’s a massive slap in the face for Arsene Wenger. Hleb has copped a lot of flak from all corners about his reluctance to shoot, but the manager has stuck by him and it really annoys me that this is how his repaid for it. Very disappointing.

To be perfectly honest I see the inevitable exit of Hleb as less of a loss than Mathieu Flamini’s but at the same time this is yet another first-choice player leaving the club. However, as long as he is replaced adequately by a player who can create and score a few goals (Diego, anyone?) then I don’t think the loss of Hleb will make too much difference.

What I am worried about is the impact this might have on Cesc Fabregas. If Hleb goes then the Spaniard will have lost two of his best mates of the club and there will surely be some doubts creeping into his mind. He’s always shown himself to be a class act off the pitch as well as on it so hopefully he will buck the trend and stay put.

On a more positive note is the news that Nicklas Bendtner has turned down advances from the likes of Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund and Werder Bremen to stay put at the club. The indication was that Bayern in particular were willing to pay €10 million to sign the Bendtner but the big man has said he is happy at Arsenal.

“I’ve always said that Arsenal is my club and that’s where I want to play my football. When you look at my season and the way it has developed, I see no reason why I should want to change Arsenal with any other club.”

Just for the record, Bendtner is now very much in my good books. As for Hleb…

What do you think?

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