Andre Santos: What Arsenal Fans Are Saying About His Exit

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Rejoice, Arsenal fans. Andre Santos is gone.

Santos, a 29-year-old Brazilian left-back, is returning to his Brazil for a loan deal with Gremio until the end of the season (via Arsenal.com). The departure brings to a close—for now, at least—the playing career of one of manager Arsene Wenger's least effective signings.

Having joined Arsenal from Fenerbahce for £6.2 million in August 2011 (via BBC Sport), Santos made only 13 league starts and drew the ire of Gooners everywhere for various reasons.

What are Arsenal fans saying about the Brazilian's departure? Keep reading to find out.

Unreserved Joy

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For many Arsenal fans, Andre Santos' departure is cause for celebration.

Take for instance football writer @FourFourTom, who posted his reaction via Twitter with a link to this photo.

Me and three Arsenal supporting mates when we heard Andre Santos had joined Gremio. (I'm far left.) bit.ly/WZZocQ

— FourFourTom (@FourFourTom) February 11, 2013

Here's celebrity fan Piers Morgan's one-word reaction:

BOOM! > André santos arrives in Brazil bit.ly/12hKtK7 (via @ralvarado96 )

— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) February 10, 2013

A Spirited Defense

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Arsenal blog Victory Through Harmony defended Andre Santos in a post titled "Why The Hate?" on Monday.

The post examined the Brazilian's career at Arsenal and concluded that Santos was not nearly as poor as most thought.

The truth is Santos is nowhere near as bad as he has been portrayed by some sections of our support and nor was he good enough for our side but then there's a long list of players that haven't cut the mustard. This is a player who could have easily been given the nod at the start of the season, as the contest between him and Gibbs was extremely close to call. In fact I thought Santos would have edged it based on him being better going forward. He was suspect at defending but Gibbs isn't exactly solid as a rock but now we have Monreal to pin our hopes on.

Weighing the Good with the Bad

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The influential Arseblog reacted to Andre Santos' departure with a thoughtful, even-keeled post on Monday.

To paraphrase, Arseblog wrote that Santos had not fared as well as Arsenal's other signings from the 2011 deadline day. As a footballer, he was "a disaster," but as a teammate, he seemed well-liked.

Arseblog added that while not truly a left-back, Santos struggled in the position and hurt himself with a seemingly poor work ethic. Finally, there are mentions for the Robin van Persie incident and Santos' infamously funny tweet from November 2011.

I think, as others have said, he became something of a lightning rod for bigger issues. Anger at van Persie and the club for selling him was directed at Santos for a foolish, but not malicious incident at halftime at Old Trafford, and he’s never recovered from that. So, even if it is a loan move, at least he’s going somewhere to play rather than sit around and pick up his wages, but with Vermaelen injured (possibly worse than we know right now), and Monreal cup-tied in Europe, we may be left somewhat short at the back. Yet clearly the manager has decided it’s best for both parties if he goes on his way.

Classy Parting Words

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Andre Santos left a parting message for Arsenal fans Tuesday, and it was quite the classy move.

Said Santos (via Arsenal.com):

I wish all the best for the team for the remainder of this season and of course, I'll be following the team from Brazil.

Finally a special thanks to all the wonderful Arsenal fans who supported me during this period here at Arsenal. I leave not with a "goodbye," but with a "see you soon."

The message seemed to resonate with fans, as @WeAreAFC tweeted:

Lovely sign of respect from André Santos. It's a shame the majority of us never showed him the same - arsenal.com/news/news-arch…

— WeAreArsenal© (@WeAreAFC) February 12, 2013

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