Wenger keen to keep hold of Hleb
by Chris Stanton, 07 May 2008
Arsene Wenger hopes Alexander Hleb will still be an Arsenal player next season and is not concerned about reports the forward could buy out his contract.
A precedent set by Scottish defender Andy Webster allows players to leave a club after three years of employment, regardless of whether they are still contracted to the club.
Ominously for Arsenal, Hleb is approaching the end of his third season with the club and Inter are already confirmed admirers of the Belarussian.
However The Gunners’ ranks are to be depleted by the loss of Mathieu Flamini to Milan and Wenger has restated his determination not to see another one of his key men depart the club.
“What people say about the buy-out clause, it is not as simple as it looks,” said Wenger.
“It is much more difficult and the clubs are reluctant to do that [invoke the Webster clause].
“We want to keep Hleb, we want him to be part of our team next year. It’s as simple as that. We have lost one player [Flamini], we do not want to lose more.”