The Buck Stops Here

According to Sky Sports news, Chelsea Chairman Bruce Buck has “told Arsenal to lower their asking price for Ashley Cole”. It is hard to believe that Buck, an American lawyer, would have considered it wise to make such a statement. To begin with, since Ashley Cole is under contract to Arsenal, it is the Gunners’ prerogative to value the player as they think fit and the much quoted figure of £25 million seems an extremely reasonable price to pay in order to acquire the services of a man widely considered to be the best left back in the world – especially in view of the fact that Chelsea were perfectly happy to fork out £21 million for Shaun Wright-Phillips and leave him on the bench most of the time. Indeed, if Arsenal were to reconsider their valuation at all, they might in the circumstances feel justified in adjusting it upwards, but that is a matter for the Arsenal Board, as Mr Buck will be only too well aware.

Similarly, the future of William Gallas is a matter for the Chelsea Board, as his contract still has a year to run, and they must decide whether it is prudent to compel the player to honour that contract after he has, according to all recent reports, made it abundantly clear that he wants to leave the club and pursue his career elsewhere – possibly at Arsenal. But whatever happens, the Chelsea Board can hardly expect to acquire at a knock-down price a player who is under contract to Arsenal but would like to join them, while denying a player who is under contract to them his wish to leave, without inviting the charge of hypocrisy.