Ryan Babel offered out about as clear as dammit ‘Come And Get Me‘ as Arsene has received in years. Speaking at the Under-21 tournament, Babel said,
If I get the chance one day to train with Arsene Wenger it would be a dream. From when I was young I supported Arsenal. I liked the style, the ambience, how they show themselves on the field – everything.
Well, good for you, Young Man. It is refreshing to hear how a player recognises that there is more to life than saying that they would like to come to the Club. No doubt some will say that he is showing that Arsene is too powerful at the Club but there is nothing AW has done to deserve that criticism. All he has done is his job and Babel’s comment confirm that. Others would like to see his U-21 colleague Royston Drenthe who can play in any of the left sided positions. Only having seen him in the Under 21’s tournament, he seems to have done well so far. I am sure that AW and his scouts are aware of the lad but whomever they decide to plump for, one of those two or some unknown from the Andorran Reserves Second XI, it will be done in the best interests of the Club in terms of timing and price.
Nicklas Bendtner has been given the big ‘up’ by international colleague Thomas Sorensen,
I think Nicklas has improved a lot since I first saw him. He has been growing in stature and I think he has been growing as a person. He has been a young boy who achieved a lot in a very short period of time. He needs to learn he hasn’t reached his full potential. He has had a few collisions with the manager in the national team but I think he has learnt from it.
Which sounds an awful lot like Emmanuel Adebayor, whose recent interview with FourFourTwo included a section about how he had been maligned in his youth.
You can see now that he is listening to what people say and I can only see him becoming a very good player. Nicklas is only 19 but he has got the physique as well as the skill and is good in the air. I think he will be a good asset for Arsenal. Give him maybe a couple of years he will be in the first team.
The last comment is perhaps the most pertinent of the lot and needs to be borne in mind during the coming season. If he doesn’t score, the current mood amongst certain sections of the support will not give him that time. There will be message boards comparing him with Aliadiere, demanding that he is sold at the end of 2007-08 and replaced by another fantasy signing. I hark back to days of old when youngsters were given the chance at Arsenal and received the full backing of the crowd. Not everyone agrees with Arsene’s Youth Policy but that is not the fault of the players. Signs saying Keep Off The Pitch should be replaced by Keep Off The Youngsters Backs.
If he gets his chance with Arsenal next season, it is up to him to show he is as good as he has shown in the national team and at Birmingham during last season. He has scored goals in internationals – and not goals against minnows. He has scored already against Portugal and Germany. He has scored some big goals. He is a big hope for the future as a striker.
The best judges of anyone in life are your peers. They are not infallible in that judgement and football’s history is littered with players who have not made the grade despite a ringing endorsement of their colleagues, current and former. However, Bendtner in my opinion has one advantage over predecessors such as Aliadiere in that he has proven that he can score at the highest level for his country. Normally, you find someone who has hit the net regularly for his club struggles to hit the net in International football. Bendtner seems to have adapted to that reasonably well so you would hope that the Premiership will hold no such fears. Time will tell but cut the lad some slack before slagging him off.
Oh, and for those expecting some sort of chastisement about the latest Henry story to do the rounds. Tough. It isn’t coming. My view is if it happens, it happens. If doesn’t I look forward to him leading the line for next season. If Arsene met with Barcelona, good for him. If he didn’t, a pity because I’m sure he would have liked a night out in Paris.
’til Tomorrow.
At last, a bit of sanity in the blogs. Well said CLF.
By: Gooner for 60 years on June 15, 2007
at 8:09 am
Arsene met Barcelona representative in Paris, may be…but who knows may be he is looking at buying one of their players…
By: Michel on June 15, 2007
at 8:16 am
Contrary to the opinions of most people, I think that our crop of four strikers (Henry, Van Persie, Adebayor and Bendtner) looks very strong and I really dont feel we need to strengthen. The Sun said the other day Arsene was looking at Trezeguet – would he be a good experienced player who could do a job like what Larsson did for United, or is he the type who would sulk if he didn’t get selected.
Either way I don’t think we need him, and the story is probably crap as well. I hope to god Thierry doesn’t go anywhere. Selling Vieira was a hard thing to get over but losing Thierry would have a much bigger impact. I don’t care who we replace him with – we cannot afford to seem him go. I have said all along that we should take the captaincy off him because it puts too much pressure on him to score the expected 30 goals a season, lead the team on the pitch, be inspirational and support the youngsters. At the moment he is not acting like a Club captain by refuting claims outright and stating his intentions. All this “for now” rubbish and its the “same situation as last year” crap; he needs to just tell us because its having a detrimental effect on the rest of the squad and I’m surprised he doesn’t realise that.
By: SoL on June 15, 2007
at 8:25 am
Good points YW. Bendtner has the basic ingredients to make it at Arsenal as long as he puts in the hard work and waits his turn opportunities will come.
As for the fans I am seriously concerned about some of the comments I see around the internet and the expectations put on young players. If the crowd can be patient and supportive Bendtner and the rest of the youngsters could really flourish.
By: Passenal on June 15, 2007
at 8:51 am
Here, here! We have what has been described as the best crop of youngsters in the country! This is a team that P*ssed all over Chavskum in the first half of the CC final. Give them time and they will provide.
At the end of the season I was witnessing posts saying out Walcott & Denilson amongst others. I must be watching another team because what I have seen so far of these two suggests to me that in a few years time they are going to be big BIG players for the Arsenal!
We constantly ask our players for loyalty to the club and cry when they don’t show it but then slag off two 18 year olds who are trying their best and putting in good performances because they are not up to the standard of Vieira and Pires yet? Makes me ashamed to be a gunners fan sometimes.
By: Drew on June 15, 2007
at 9:26 am
Hi YW…this is my first time of visiting your site and Im impressed with the sensible article and some of the comments back.
Ive been a Gunner nowsince I was seven and that makes it 58 years of joy and much suffering. But I have to say that the one ‘new thing’ that is a big part in our wonderful game that the foreigners brought with them, is also the ‘thing’ that could cripple our game eventually. I mean the way now that we accept that clubs openly ‘tap’ players via their agents through websites etc. All the ‘ Eto says & Guilly says’ etc is crap speech for Barca and others have arranged for us to unsettle another teams star. Manure do this comsistently, and Chelski have made it an art.
The only answer is for the clubs who suffer Arsenal more than all the rest put together ( Viera/Petit/,Viera/Henry/ Viera/ Overmars/ Viera now Henry again) to cash in on these stars whilst they can. There appears to be a click of players who talk to each other on a regular basis, naturally. The problem comes when one suffers a broken finger nail or something so he cannot play, he has too much time top talk to the press and his pals. They rush to heap more distress on the ‘poor’ dear. Its a vicious circle which only helps the rich buying clubs like Manure who remember made it clear they would buy Hargreaves longe before they talked to Munich ???? How can this happen ??
Anyway, its time for us to suggest that Henry’s ‘ Imstill here for now crap’ is a taunt to far. Arsene, please get rid of him whilst a few bob is on the table, and please do not buy another one of that group of luvvies Eto. Buy some quality ‘just known ‘ players who will be loyal for some time…please!
By: GunnerPete on June 15, 2007
at 9:59 am
I am fed up with the same scenario with Henry we suffered with Vieira every close season. Not once has he said recently that he is dedicated to staying at Arsenal, unlike Kolo Toure.
When a player starts thinking he is bigger than the club, it is time for him to be moved on. We saw it with Vieira who strolled around the pitch during his last season at Arsenal. I think he was genuinely shocked when Wenger let him go and his double bluff didn’t work. And like all the others such as Overmars, Petit etc have found out too late that they should have valued life at Arsenal a lot more.
I think Henry has lost that extra pace that took him into so many goal-scoring positions and is becoming injury prone. I believe he will begin to struggle if he stays in the Premiership. Fans like to think he will still turn on the magic, but look at the sad sight of Freddie LLunjberg these days – no more the 15-20 goal provider from midfield. Sadly it is time to cash in while Henry still has a considerable value, but Wenger must get a quality replacement such as Et’o.
By: clockendjim on June 15, 2007
at 10:12 am
I think Henry will go and we will not get Eto’o. Why would Wenger want to lose two strikers to the ACN?
I think that he will go for either Bent of Torres. Personally, I’d rather see him sign Bent because he is proven Premiership quality while we don’t know how long it would take for Torres to adapt (although I wouldn’t cry if he came)
Henry is a legend and has done so much for the club, that I think that he is right to want to move on. I reckon that Wenger had him sign a contract last year with the guise that he would let him go at the end of the year. It guarantees money for Arsenal – probably £20 mil for him. With the negotiations with Reyes, Flamini, a part of me wonders if Torres will be coming here….
By: Begeegs on June 15, 2007
at 11:08 am
why is everyone talking about eto ?
this is the same eto who said quote ‘ it would be a joy to partner th14 up front at barca’ , it pretty much means to me that he is staying if henry is comming to barca 101%.. more realistically its probly babel .
also that would confirm rumours of arsene with a 40 mil war chest BOLLOXS, probly 5 mil from the club (whooppieee!!)
20mil for th14 and 12mil odd for that bumm reyes . and with the other fringe players like jeremie and maumba etc.. that would give arse about 40 mil .
One things for sure thou .. we need a big name .. and we will have to sign them very, very soon .. id rather like f.torres to come to arsenal .. but would he adapt quick enough ???..
God as much as id hate to say it maybe a certain frenchman from bolton might get his old job back … the old french connection thing
I mean we all thought baptista was the answer last summer , can you imagine if arsene spends what little he has on another lemon like that.. although i will be fair to baptista we didnt give him many opertunities at the start,and then when we did his confidence was about as low as britany spears underwear ..i think theo is ready thou !! god i hope so for his (& arsenals ) sake ..
I will say that im appauled by barcalonas tactics however, everyone from the water boy to eto ( ronaldho,xabi etc)
went on the record Reeling him in .. Saying we would all love him to join our club.. it was sort of what fergie did to hardgraves , mind you hardgraves wasnt anyones captain who just signed a 4 year deal the year prior ..
If henry 100% goes ( and its looking like it 95% currently)
it will show you the type of person he really is..
He does sell alot of tee shirts however
i dont want anyone to start saying ahhh he was getting slow anyhow and was past his best.. thats bollocks !
he is the best striker in the world !!! FACT
(barca wouldnt want him if not !!)
no sour grapes please .. because i will go ballistic if i hear that drivel ! Also i dont want to say i told you so next year .. sell fabrigas NOW ! lets face it the writtings on the wall
and we might as well get 25 mil for him too ! or next season
we will blame 2 more fruitless seasons on henry and fabs leaving respectively .. Anyone who is getting the twitch to leave ..
let them go .. Ive resigned myself to believing in our youngsters ,as quite frankly thats all we have left… so the sooner we get players that want to play at the club, and dont make statements like .. I will eventually play for real or barca , but im CURRENTLY happy in the UK can buggar off .. He is young and has the attitude of mini henry anyhow .. I think he’s over rated , he is a great central midfeild passer but he doesnt score and needs 1 or 2 seasons work , and by the time he’s good you know what will happen !
is it just me or are we just selling very player that was good
at arsenal ??
By: steve_gooner on June 15, 2007
at 11:15 am
Babel seems to offer the direct left sided player which is the balance that maybe our midfield needs. A deal could be in the offing but if it is it won’t be done until Reyes’ future has been concluded – possibly some time next week.
Bendtner is highly rated but unproven in the premiership. We need to give him time but such is Wengers reputation with youngsters that everyone is expecting a ready made world player of the year from day one. Give him the time and space to learn his craft and maybe, eventually, we will have someone special. The strike force should probably include Walcott as well. Again he needs time but could be a great mix of Owen and Henry.
As for Henry I think you have it right – what will be will be. I trust Wenger to find an acceptable replacement if he does go.
By: Amos on June 15, 2007
at 11:35 am
Begeegs we must of read eachothers minds about torres ..
good show !!! i definately wouldnt cry if he came either …
But you know fergie is still on a hunt for a striker and has in past seasons laid little hints to come to man U .. I hope theres no bidding war on him or AS USUAL we will loose out ..
We might as well start talking about who else do we what to go ??
Any suggestions anyone ?
i think fabs must go ! id like to see arsene stick in the knife before the little spaniard does it to us ! he has had some appaulling press conferences and said WAY WAY too much about his loyalty to wenger .. ( NOT ARSENAL .. wenger)
who there is a cloud over also ..
Abandon ship !
( but dont think the captain goes down with his ship ) .. hes already cut himself adrift in the longboats
cant you see him rowing towards europe !?
By: steve_gooner on June 15, 2007
at 11:42 am
Steve Gooner,
No sour grapes? then you start slagging off Fabregas as overrated? Come on mate the guy is truly a class apart from any kid his age! He has passion and drive and has an eye for a pass that we would miss hugely if we let him go. He has said that one day he will return home, I think thats fair enough he comes from Spain after all and is entitled to want to go back there at some point. However, he is under a LONG term contract and would not have signed that if he had no intention of staying at Arsenal for the long term.
Do not forget he is still young and the quotes of him linking himself to Wenger initially made me very angry but now I have had time to reflect on this they are quites understandable. Wenger took him from his homeland and gave him a chance to play in one of the best teams in Europe. Wenger has nurtured him as not only a player but also a boy, he must look on Wenger as a type of father figure and must be unsure what the next manager will be like.
He has never once this season looked on the pitch like he didn’t want to be playing for Arsenal and until that day we should all show him the respect a talent like his deserves.
If he is an emotional boy which it seems like he is then the more love we show him the more likely he will want to stay!
To suggest we sell him and Henry in the same season is just plain stupid.
By: Drew on June 15, 2007
at 12:11 pm
Steve,
If Henry goes this summer (likely) and you ship out Fabregas and Wenger leaves …I am afraid you will get back to some of the “lows” you have been experiencing in the past (given your long Arsenal history).
And I would not expect Clichy, Diaby or Denilson to stay too long either…
By: tokala on June 15, 2007
at 12:27 pm
Personally, I don’t see the point in getting wound up by this any more. Henry is not going to commit for more than a year at this moment in time anyway because of AW’s situation. So we take the year and see where it leaves us, unless of course AW believes it to be in the best interests of the Club to sell him which has to be a decision we respect. He isn’t going to do anything on a whim or out of malice so he is the Boss, let him get on with it.
It is interesting though that everyone is banding about names such as Bent (£17m? Pure madness) and Torres et al, yet it is widely believed that Michael Owen is available if someone triggers a £9m escape clause.
By: Yogi's Warrior on June 15, 2007
at 1:03 pm
I don’t think Cesc and TH14 should be compared. Cesc has made it clear he will be at the Arsenal for a number of years, and then someday he will go back to Spain. I can live with that, if he gives us five great years, a few titles, and the cup with the big ears before he goes. As for Thierry… if everything in the press is true (and who can tell with the English and Spanish press, I swear they sit in front of their computers and make shite up every night for their rags) and his statements are accurate… it’s time to sell him for Eto’o. He’s making statements that no captain should ever make.
By: MagicHat on June 15, 2007
at 2:09 pm
I think the whole ship hinges on whether Arsene stays. Thats where my real hope lies – Arsene has a real dream of seeing his youngsters through to maturity and enjoying success with a team he has built up. He won’t leave Arsenal unless something outrageous has happened upstairs that hasn’t been documented or even alluded to yet. To be honest, as long as Arsene stays – I KNOW the club is in good hands and Arsene will do the best for the club. His judgement has been very good in his 10 years at the club.
By: SoL on June 15, 2007
at 3:37 pm
magic hat
Henry made the same statement that he is commited to the club for life . fabs didnt even give us that
gaurentee , infact he came out and said if arsene goes so will i . And i think arsene was the only person really affected by DD’s leaving .. If your work superiors knived you in the back (and you were arsene the gentleman ) you would honour your contract then get the HELL OUT ! and do something that the arse has already admitted too .. that real madrid would be a dream appointment … pretty much like henry said about barca , and fabs said about his commitment to arsene , plus one day he will return to spain ( also in a later interveiw basically said he will assess if any top name players leave he would re-assess the situation ..
Drew
It might be stupid to get rid of henry and fabs in the same season , but i follow the principle of if you dont want to play for the club or dont have 100% commitment to the badge
then move over and give someone else a go who will commit too the club for at least 4 years !
and i aint slaggin off fabrigas ,I know hes good ,infact will probly be the no.1 centre of the decade, but hes still 2 years off that status ,like sergio ramos of xabi etc.. and by the time he’s good he will book his ticket.. So lets just get the cash 4 him and put someone who is experienced (24,25 age) in ,in lieu .. and only have 1 year of transition INSTEAD OF 2 !!! cant you see that this year if henry goes we will probly hear 30 excuses why we arnt ontop of the table again come christmas! henry loss affected the team , were still adjusting to life after henry blah blah blah..
Just get rid of the negatives and move forward ,having just 1 transitional year instead of 2 ! if fabs is itchin to goto spain let him go also .. fabs is overratted currently ! he doesnt score enough pure and simple .. and in some games more experienced player keep him very quiet ! ITS A CLEAR OBSERVATION not slaggin .. its a part of experience . hes a fast learner .. and id love him to be with us for 6 more years ..but i cant see it happening MARK MY WORDS !
tokala
if just henry alone leaves it will get back to the lows !
esteme in the dressing room will be 10 x worse than patrick leaving .. so im just suggesting to clear the decks now .. let arsene scout his new recruits and complete this transitional phase .. I DONT WANT IT GOING ON 2 MORE SEASONS
CANT YOU UNDERSTAND IT ???
By: steve_gooner on June 15, 2007
at 4:07 pm
So the Norwegian kid, Nordtveit, is ready for the Gunners. I guess AW now has his two, super, super class signings…..http://www.vg.no/pub/vgart.hbs?artid=141195, the link is in Norwegian. It says that the fee is around 2 million Pounds, depending on how many games he will play.
By: aintnobodyworryin on June 15, 2007
at 5:04 pm
sorry about the odd spelling error or 2
didnt re-read what i wrote and did it on the fly before din-dins:)
but drew, further to what you were saying i agree with you
on the fabs issue , and i pray your right ..
but so much has changed since he signed that 8 year deal
there was the full force of patrick leaving , a pretty average year when there was so much optimism that baptista .. not to mention the henry speculation of last year .. DD’s sacking .. and arsene being NON commital about our club and his future,hes a man who we thought was so passionate about ARSENAL.. all that, fabs has seen .
. i can tell you now
if i was him i know what id be thinking…
problem is he came out and said it .. if the coach goes so will i .. no pulling any punches there … then another statement about i am an arsenal player but if too many big names left i would reconsider my options ..
that is a person on an 8 year deal .. basically if henry can do it after signing a 4 year deal so can i ..
wouldnt it be better to get 45 mil for the 2 of them and let arsene do what he does best ..
WHILST HE’S STILL HERE !??!?!?!
the way we recruit this season will very much MAKE or BREAK us .(with the shadow hanging over wenger). we dont need any passengers who aint going to see this trip thru ! and if you goto the media and say stuff like fabs said , for me is the 1st signal of ‘writing on the wall ‘
also with that $$$ you could pry kaka or fernando torres to the team plus babel and others..
yogi has a good point about owen .. but i think arsene will again pool from europe .. too many shadows hovering over owen .. fitness- injury prone -confidence- 3 years since he was of a ‘mega star’ status has he still got it ?… darren bent is over priced too outragiously to even consider ( plus not sure how well he would fit in and quality issues as an arsenal player ).
we need a safe bet for replacements .. also we are really looking for 2 stikers reyes-baptista and 95 % henry..
not sure arsene or anyone else would agree with me but if henry where to go and van persie didnt fire like this purple patch last season, we could seriously be left wanting if arsene just replaced henry for the likes of babel .
who is a very similar player to fabs as regards too potiential , and arsenal would only make him better also..
By: steve_gooner on June 15, 2007
at 5:48 pm
Away from the Henry saga for a moment, reading the interview with Soresen about how Bendtner has had a few run ins with the national boss.. The guy’s only had a handfull of games for Denmark. That’s pretty good going to already have had a couple of barney’s wih the manager. I’m quite excited about Bendtner. I think a big club is the place for him. When he is playing for Birmingham or Denmark he is a big fish in a small pond. I think he just needs to be surrounded by other top players to keep his attitude in check.
By: Jimmy on June 15, 2007
at 5:58 pm
please can people stop randomly capitalising words in the middle of sentences. It’s one of the most irratiating and useless things you can do.
By: Jimmy on June 15, 2007
at 5:59 pm
Comment Removed By YW
By: steve_gooner on June 15, 2007
at 6:51 pm
Until now, I have only lurked on this blog. I’m a gooner in NYC. I have to say that out of all the Arsenal blogs I check out every day, yours is the most sane — no histrionics, no cheap, glib sarcasm passing for humor, just level headed analysis. And well written too.
Just wanted to point out two things:
I love Eto’o but he also is one of those players with a very difficult personality. He seems to settle ok for a little awhile and then gets restless and argues with teammates and the manager. Not sure how long he’d last with Wenger.
Also, I’ve seen other fans on some Arsenal blogs make the point that what’s actually happening with Henry (and why he’s so ambiguous in his recent comments) is that it is Wenger who has decided to sell him, and that however unhappy or frustrated he is with the club, he doesn’t want to leave. Remember that he has supposedly registered his daughter in school in London for another year.
This speculation claims that Henry he knows Wenger has decided to sell him and he’s not dealing with it very well, hence his sulking and ambiguity. This argument centers around the Wenger-Henry argument at the end of 2006, which caused Henry to supposedly walk out of training because Wenger told him he simply was not fit to play. Supposedly, that argument was a turning point for Wenger.
It may be that Wenger has decided that Henry, as with Vieira, has become a liability to the team. Some of us forget that Wenger, however nice he is, can be ruthless. Whereas other managers would’ve kept Vieira even with all the histrionics and injuries, Wenger preferred to let him go.
I don’t know if the above speculation is true, just repeating what others are saying.
By: marcus on June 15, 2007
at 8:18 pm
For me, part of Henry’s problem is a severe bout of frustration brought on by a prolonged absence through injury. The frustration he has is that he was not able to get on the pitch and make the difference that he knew he could.
Give any man who is used to activity prolonged spells of doing nothing but mindnumbingly mundane rehabilitation exercises and he will become frustrated. And in that I have sympathy with him.
During that time, he will no doubt have spoken with his advisors and been aware of problems at a Board level. He is, in his eyes, defending his friend. Unfortunately for him, the falling out at Board level is something that he has no business in commenting on. He is not a Director, he is Club Captain. He has shown that he is not able to separate business from friendship nor on this occasion has he shown that he knows the expectations placed upon his role. In this I have no sympathy for he is an intelligent man and he knows exactly what he is doing.
That said, I am unconvinced that prior to the end of the English season that AW had decided to sell him, if he has decided that at all. Currnetly the whole ’story’ is speculation. Until anything happens one way or the other, I suggest we treat it as such.
By: Yogi's Warrior on June 15, 2007
at 8:43 pm
I agree YW, if Wenger has decided to sell Henry that would have to be a very recent decision – when asked he reportedly said that Henry, Cesc and himself would be here next season only a few short weeks ago. Wenger also indicated that 80% of his task for next season would be to get Henry and RVP fit. Something major would have taken place for him to risk that much of a change. I’m going to try to wait and see the outcome as all this speculating is getting me nowhere!
By: Passenal on June 15, 2007
at 10:44 pm
[...] Bendtner, Babelling On And No Henry Ryan Babel offered out about as clear as dammit ‘Come And Get Me‘ as Arsene has received in years. Speaking […] [...]
By: Top Posts « WordPress.com on June 16, 2007
at 12:58 am
if u support arsena land love 2 ply for dem y wold u goto liver pool wasteman fam
By: jim on June 23, 2008
at 4:42 pm