Sorry, Alex - but I still want you and Ade to go

It turns out, as with many things in life, that we didn't have the full picture yesterday.

Alex Hleb's comments, mis-translated and spun in the way the media love to sensationalise things, had not taken the full story in context.

Credit should be given to Hleb for wanting to clarify a sitution that probably doesn't make a whole load of difference to him, given his plans for moving away.

Writing on his own website he said: ''I am shocked by some media reports. In some newspapers it was mentioned that I have attacked Arsene Wenger and Cesc Fabregas. But let me tell you: this is not true! I would never ever say something disrespectful about them. And there is a simple reason for this: Cesc is a very good friend of mine and Arsene is one of the persons I respect most.

"I am very grateful to Arsene Wenger. He is the best coach of my career. And not just a coach. He is a very good man and intuitive psychologist. I very much appreciate his support. In life, everything changes. I believe that there are 10 top clubs in world football, and when a couple of clubs are interested in you and offer better terms, I believe that others would have done exactly the same.

"But Arsenal is dear to me, I am grateful to Wenger for everything he has done for me. I can say that there is no better club in the English Premiership."

Hleb also clarified his relationship with Fabregas, adding: "Cesc and I understand each other very well on the field, and it is very pleasurable for me to play with him. He's a very pleasant guy, both in life and as a footballer. He is just more egotistic in goalscoring opportunities, if he had a chance to score, he always used it, unlike me."

I still want him to go...I have a feeling that between them, Nasri and Vela will provide more spark and more impact than Hleb did last season or before, but it's reassuring to know that the boy still has a modicum of respect for his former employers.

Interestingly, the fact that Hleb talks about 'terms' being a factor underlines how much money talks thesedays.

No wonder, when Wenger had his discussions with Emmanuel Adebayor or his representatives in the last week or two, he realised that the Togo forward's demands were now beyond Arsenal's reach.

I suspect Adebayor could well have got the same sort of terms as Thierry Henry or Sol Campbell, had he hung around for long enough. But if he was given that sort of money at this stage of his Gunners career, apart from upsetting others at the club, it would have needed revisiting later on as well, taking the wage structure to a completely different plane.

So it comes as no surprise that Arsenal are now trying to get as much as they can for Adebayor, attempting, it seems, to create a bidding war between AC Milan and Barcelona.

The ever-discreet Adriano Galliani at Milan said this morning: "I have received a letter from Arsenal that says, 'Following our communication of June 13, in which we informed you we were not willing to deal over Adebayor, now we are writing to tell you that we will consider a deal if it still interests you.'

"If Adebayor decides to leave Arsenal, we are certainly interested."

If Arsenal can get anything near £30m for Adebayor, coupled with a fair chunk for Hlb and, lest we forget, the sell-on fee that David Bentley will provide them, if he joins T*tt*nham as seems possible, surely, SURELY Arsenal will make some signings that will excite and strengthen us.

What do you think?

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