Denilson Set To Leave Arsenal

By: Sairax | May 19th, 2011

63773980

Last night the team attended their annual end-of-season charity dinner, which saw van Persie and Fabregas tweeting various pictures of our Gunners dressed up in their finest threads. However, hat wasn’t all that was happening yesterday. It seems that Denilson has had talks with Wenger recently about a move away from the club. And so it begins. Well, I said I hoped that players would make decisions about their future sooner rather than later. I didn’t think it would be before the season was officially over, but there you go.

The Guardian and the Daily Fail have picked up the story that seems to have originated from an interview Denilson had with The Sun. Here’s some of what Denilson had to say:

“There’s something missing at Arsenal but no one knows what it is. Not the manager, not the players – nobody. Manchester United, Manchester City, Chelsea, Liverpool spend millions and millions on players. But we are still the best footballing side in Britain, we play beautiful football. Only Barcelona do it better. But we don’t win trophies. That’s so frustrating, you can’t imagine how frustrating. Arsenal is a great club, we have a great manager and so many talented players. So we should be collecting silverware. And there are no excuses for it.

“Some people say we don’t succeed because we are too young and naive – but that’s no excuse. We didn’t lose the Carling Cup final to Birmingham because we were too young. We lost because our confidence collapsed completely when Obafemi Martins scored for them. This was a final we should have won, we were the favourites. It was the opportunity to silence all our critics. Here’s a trophy to shut you all up after five years – and this is going to be the start of many. What a lift that would have given us all. Especially as we were in such a fantastic position in all the other competitions too.”

He goes on to talk about our slow decline and crashing out of the other cup competitions:

“After Birmingham the boss told us to hold our heads up and stressed there was still so much to play for. We had Barca and United coming up and we were chasing the title. But although we went into both those games still believing we could win, it wasn’t enough. Since then everything has fallen away. I remember leading Liverpool 1-0 and they scored in the last seconds. We were 4-0 up at Newcastle but drew. We also lost to Newcastle at home and West Brom and Aston Villa. We threw it away against Sunderland and Blackburn at the Emirates. Let’s be honest, some of those games were shocking, shameful. We are better than that. But until Arsenal stop throwing away those silly points in those stupid games nothing will change.”

Denilson goes on to talk about how he knows how much the supporters are hurting and how much Wenger is hurting too. He’s always been pretty loyal to Wenger, so it isn’t surprising to hear him speak so highly of our manager even after a tough season. It seems Wenger has told him he can go if an opportunity arises. Denilson plans to fly home on Sunday to contemplate his future. It hasn’t been an easy season for Denilson. He hasn’t played nearly as many minutes as he has in the past, his performances have not been great, he’s been booed on the pitch, had people tweeting him insults on twitter, and of course Arsenal have ended the season without a trophy and with many questions to face. So how did Denilson come to his decision?

“This has been the worst season of my life and I am so upset, so frustrated. I am a winner and I came here to win trophies but I’ve been here for five years and won nothing. A footballer’s career is over very quickly so it is time for me to move on. This is not a sudden decision. I made up my mind eight months ago. I was fed up of coming home and feeling down. But I haven’t said anything until now because I did not want to disrupt the team during the season. And I haven’t caused a big scene.

“I’ve simply been to see Arsene Wenger and told him how I felt and he’s agreed to let me go. I know some people will think I am crazy. They are right. It is a great club with a great organisation, a great manager and so many talented players. Yes, I make a good living at Arsenal but other things in life are important. I need a fresh challenge and although I know I’m taking a big gamble I am ready to take that risk.

“I can’t see myself returning in a Chelsea shirt, or Liverpool or Manchester City – and definitely not Tottenham. I think my future will be in Spain or Italy.

“It’s great to play beautiful football but sometimes to be a winner you have to play ugly if you want to succeed.”

Well. That’s a lot to swallow. Basically, he’s saying what we all know and what many of the players have already said. This season has not been anywhere near good enough. The difference is, he is ready to leave and take his chances elsewhere, presumably to win lots of shiny trophies. I suppose I could add in here that if he had played a bit better this season, perhaps we would have had a better chance to win a trophy. In all competitions, Denilson has started 20 games and has been subbed on for another 12 games. He has started only 6 games in the league and has been subbed on 10 times on top of that. That’s 16 appearances in the Premier League and no goals or assists in any competition. It has definitely not been his season. I have never been the biggest Denilson fan, but he has been able to come in and do a job for us when needed in the past. Just a couple of years ago he had the most appearances out of everyone on the team for the whole season. At the end of the day, maybe the Premier League is just not for him. He is still young and has potentially a good career ahead of him at a club that can best utilize his skills. I wish him all the best and hope he can find happiness and success wherever he ends up.

It’s pretty painful to hear the whole horrible story of our season over and over, and to hear it from a player who then says he wants to leave in part because of our horrible season can be difficult to take. If even Denilson has reached this point, you have to wonder how many of our other players are thinking the same things. I mean, of course they are. Denilson has barely featured and he is fed up with things. I don’t even want to think of what some of the others would have to say right now. Denilson made up his mind 8 months ago. Have any of the others been thinking of a move for so long? It would explain some of the performances we’ve seen this season. Denilson is the first to declare his intentions to leave. He is the first, but he won’t be the last. So begins our very long summer.

***************

Don’t forget to follow the Arsenal Offside on Twitter for the latest news, links, and updates!

Some Related Stories:

Category: Arsenal News, Denilson, Transfer News and Player Movement

« Wenger Will Fight For Cesc To Stay; RvP Offered New Contract | Home | Fulham – Arsenal Preview »

FredJacob

i say a comment by Harry Rednapp about defoe stating if he wants to stay he should start scoring goals or shut up, would this type of comment motivate a player and should we start doing the same, since Spurs did really well this year
Thugster

It's strange. Compare the attitudes of Lucas Leiva to Denilson. Lucas was considered the worst Liverpool player and Liverpool will literally in the relegation zone, are out of CL for the 2nd year running, haven't won much in years and people hated him.

What did he do? Nothing. He just got better and better and now he's quite something.

Denilson is basically the crappy Lucas with the mentality of 2010-11 Torres all in one.
Gigi_man

supposed to go as a reply to Perry S and Homey...Disques hates me, it just does..
Gigi_man

Yeah, I support the list. The list, is the life..
Gigi_man

Yeah, I support the list. The list, is the life..
Darren_V

A winner? And here I thought tracking back at full speed trying to prevent goals was apart of being a winner.
What do I know though, I only play for fun.
Ramzi

I heard you signed Ricky Alvarez? Though a one-season- performer, but if he keep the level he showed this season, I thing you got a good player that fits your football well.Just trying to break a good news for you :)
Sairax

Thanks :) I'm trying to follow all the news on twitter while finishing my lunch
Perry S.

For now this is just a rumor, I've yet to hear/read confirmation on this...by any chance, do you have any legit sources on this?
Sairax

Apparently it is from FoxSoccer but there's been no confirmation
Perry S.

Right, I looked all over their site, but nothing has popped up yet. Wait and see, I suppose.
Sairax

I think it all originated from this dude http://twitter.com/#!/Argentin...
Perry S.

Apparently over at Arsenal Mania, someone has confirmed the FoxSoccer twitter account has a Spanish tweet confirming the signing. At first I thought it might be the Argentinian Arsenal, but from the looks of it, seems we just signed a hidden treasure and on free?
Sairax

Ok so @ManuOlivariESPN:twitter says that Arsenal have NOT signed a pre-contract with Alvarez and that the rumour is false. It's possible he's going to the South American Arsenal club. Oh well, that was fun while it lasted eh? lol
Sairax

Just checked my twitter timeline. YoungGunsBlog said the rumour may have originated from goal.com. And we know how reliable they are lol Will update if I hear more
Homey_Mills

I read a bit about this guy, and from the sound of it, I have no idea why it would create much excitement.
And as a side note, isn't it usually the case that when you sign a player "on a free," he's not a great player? I mean, if a club knows a star player is going to leave when his contract expires, wouldn't that club get a huge transfer while they still have him under contract? I'm sure someone can correct me on my free agent history, but I just can't think of too many huge "free" signings.
Sairax

Btw Pirlo is leaving Milan on a free. That's pretty exciting!
Sairax

Search his name on twitter bc it blew up as soon as the rumour came out
Perry S.

If its not true, I hope his twitter account gets deleted. :)
brenton

Thank you thank you thank you.
Mike Howells

"Well..bye."
sandra350

I don't have a problem with most of what he said except the "I am a winner" part - um, no, Deni, you're not. I agree he should've been more self-reflective but on balance I really can't argue with his arguments.

I think he'll do quite well in Spain or Germany - and in Italy depending on which club would take him. I sincerely wish him well. I'm Brazilian and always hoped he'd develop well under Wenger & make our national team (he did captain our youth teams for many game). I hope he'll find a club who can develop him further to his strengths and that one day he'll be called up for our NT. After all, there are a few players being called up to our NT who have far less skill than he does.
Money

he will be very good in spain. was always a great performer in european games. just not right for england
FredJacob

well if the players wanna go fine, sure Wenger will do something useful with the money he gets for them
Steven6191103

Denilson is a f*ucking joke, plays barely no games at all this season and expects to win trophies when he cant himself get on the starting 11, denilson you are a joke good luck finding a club where you think you'll win trophies!!!!!
Guest

if he's saying stuff like that and wasn't even involved in many games, imagine what the likes of cesc, van persie and nasri would be saying since all three of them want to win a trophy soon , VERY SOON
Clarkey_2002

So in basic terms Wenger asked for a chat to tell Denilson that he thinks it is time to move on (hence his random toe injury for the past month), and now Denilson is making up a nice tale for himself to cover up for the fact that his performances have caused this decision rather than a lack of trophies that he became one of the route causes of. Credit to the lad for holding back, but yet again if we knew 8 months ago then why didn't Wenger at least loan him out in January?
phelan

Hope he fares better in La Liga or the Bundesliga. He might not be able to play his technical game much in Serie A, honestly.
Daniel Ahlsen

Despite him being one of the worst performers of this Arsenal team, he doesn't even begin to reflect on his own performance and what he could have done to pervent it. No, he sounds as if it was just somebody else's thought they haven't won.

Good riddance.
Daniel Ahlsen

*fault
Shirish K.

he needs to play , will be sole missed. i still remember his best season few years ago, when playing as XI with cese in a 4-4-2.
Perry S.

He doesn't belong in the EPL, period. I am extremely happy he is going and that this has been worked out in advance. One down, 5 more to go.
Gigi_man

Hopefully...Hey we can change the title from Journey's ballad, and sing it along dont stop believin, just this one, whenever something like this happens and will hopefully go on :P
Homey_Mills

Agreed. For those of us who wish to clear out some of the dead weight on the roster and bring in a few new faces, this is the best place to start. I hope Diaby is next. And then I think Wenger will be forced to spend on at least one quality DM. Let's hope.
Perry S.

Diaby, then Almunia, then Bendtner, then Rosicky, and maybe even Squizz?
Benjamin Dockter

It's vital that we get rid of Almunia and Squizz. I have no problem with the other guys staying as long as they're strictly used as squad players and not regulars.
Homey_Mills

I like your list, although I'm not really anti-Bendtner. However, I think he should be more of a pure backup to RvP and not get time at the wing/forward role. I think we need another quality option at that position, so that we'd have 4 solid options in all. If Nicky doesn't like that idea, then he can go. Then we'd just have Chamakh as the primary backup at that spot.
And yeah, I'd either want to offload Squizz, or at least make sure he's no higher than 5th in the depth chart. Which could be done even if we made no new signings at CD, by bringing Bartley back perhaps.
Perry S.

Agreed on Bendtner, just taking an assumption that he too will want an out if provided he can go to a half-way decent club. Also, agree on Squizz if he's way down on the depth chart and doesn't mind warming a seat on the bench.
JG

I would also add Cesc Fabregas and Robin van Persie on that list

/beat

Just kidding, although I wouldn't be mad if Clichy left, as long as that meant that Wenger spends on a LB that can actually defend and read the offside rule adequately. But Wenger would just give Gibbs the starting spot, so Clichy it is.
Oh, and did we really sign Ricky Martin? 28 goals in 46 appearances, and 23. Sounds like a stud.
mobbdeen

"I suppose I could add in here that if he had played a bit better this season, perhaps we would have had a better chance to win a trophy."

^^^

That may be true, but you didn't need to throw that in there.

I imagine that we all wish him the best in his future endeavors. He'll do well in ANY other major European league. He's talented but it never worked out for him at Arsenal.
Perry S.

Why shouldn't she have stated that? To naysay an entire organization is easy when you have 0 positive input into it.
brenton

I imagine that there are some of us that don't give a rats ass how he does.
Mobbdeen

Go ahead and imagine yourself off deez nuts too then.
brenton

Aw, cute. Sometimes I forget that teenagers are football fans too. Keep it up, sunshine.
mobbdeen

That coming from the person that started with the rat's ass fuckery? You ain't built for this. Trust me.
brenton

"You ain't built for this"? What, built for a comments section battle of wits? What does one need for that? Deez nuts?
mobbdeen

You make me wish this rapture shit was real. Go drop kick Denilson if you want. I'm heading over to xvideos...
Orion_saidwiseguy

Oi, don't stereotype will you? I'm a teenager too, a civilized one at that. :)
Jordan

Don't you have your name as Orion_highasfuck sometimes?
Orion_saidwiseguy

That was before I went to evangelical camp.
Homey_Mills

So now we're not allowed to criticize a poor performer on the team? What are blogs for anyway?
Mobbdeen

You're allowed to do whatever you like. I've said my piece. Do you.
Gigi_man

Granted, but man mine is that it was due! IMO Denilson was really floppy, good guy and all, loved the club and all, but floppy.