Arsenal coach Arsene Wenger wants a ban on loans of players over the age of 21 to solve the current debate regarding the market.
With the economic all over the place at present clubs have turned to temporary player exchanges, which see’s both parties benefit as the club would not have to pay the players full wages and have him sitting either on the bench or in the stands and if the player plays well his price will also go up.
But some critics have issue with the rule which prevents loaned players from featuring against their parent club when they are allowed to face, and potentially do damage against, all of their other rivals.
An example of this is Emmanuel Adebayor’s move from Man City to Tottenham, who he has fired above the Gunners in the Premier League after nine goals in 19 games.
But the Togolese forward was not allowed to play against Man City last weekend, when Mancini’s men beat Spurs 3-2, and that has led to renewed suggestions that the parent club is the real winner in these sorts of deals.
Arsene Wenger who has the aging duo of Yossi Benayoun (31) and King Henry (34) on loan at Arsenal from Chelsea and New York Red Bulls told the Daily Mirror – “Personally, I would not ban players on loan from playing against their own clubs.
“What I would like to see in the Premier League is that you are not allowed to loan players over the age of 21.”
“At the moment it is an opportunity for some clubs to reinforce other teams, without losing ownership of the player.
“For example, if a big club sends a big player to another club in the Premier League on loan, they only have benefits.
“That player cannot face his own club, yet he could win games against their rivals.
“Therefore, I think it would be better if players over 21 didn’t go on loan in the top league.”
Arsene Wenger went on in an attempt to avoid contradicting himself by defending his decision to sign Benayoun.
Wenger said - “It’s true that I haven’t done that often. But we were on the last day of the transfer window. We knew that Jack Wilshere would need surgery.
“So we were short in midfield at that point and to find two players so late was nearly impossible for us without using a loan.
“At that time, the most important thing was just to sign him.”
