Cesc Is Nuts and Adebayor

Tomorrow’s game is favoured topic of conversation amongst the players as one might expect. This morning’s Sun has Cesc proclaiming,

We’re like Brazil when they’re at the top of their game. The best thing about us is how quick and precise we are. But we must keep our feet on the ground and work harder than everyone else. Staying right at the top is the hardest thing

Whilst there is little to disagree with, the Brazil comparison is nuts. If he had used the 1970’s Brazil as a comparison, I might have agreed but for the current incarnation, I think he is wrong. Arsenal would beat them.

Cesc went on,

We have two tough league matches coming up and they provide an opportunity to show our strength. We will have to give everything to get a good result at Anfield but I trust in our team.

And therein is the crucial difference between this campaign and the two preceding. Whilst the team played well sporadically before – three good games, one indifferent, one bad – the start to this season has allowed them to believe in themselves post-Henry. The fixtures have been kind to a certain extent in that all of the home games should have been won but the away games were the sort of matches in which we have invariably fallen down.

But still it is not good enough for those who report on things. Still they do not consider Arsenal to be a genuine challenger for the title, simply because we have not played anyone decent. Yet titles are rarely decided over the matches between the top four, it is how many wins you get against teams from fifth to twentieth. Manchester United hardly set the world alight last season against their nearest rivals yet ended up winning the title with games to spare. Arsenal have been the same in the past, taking maybe eight or nine from eighteen points available in those matches.

Emmanuel Adebayor is interviewed in the Daily Mail today. He recalls the time when Arsene contacted him about moving to Arsenal,

I was in Togo having a kickabout with friends when my phone rang. One boys answered it and said, “Manu, it is Arsene for you”. “Arsene who?”, I said. “Arsene Wenger”, he said, “Get out of it”, I said, and grabbed the phone off him. But then I heard the voice. “Allo”. F***ing hell. It is Arsene Wenger!

He asked if I would come and play for Arsenal and I said I’d play for free. It was like moving from hell to paradise and, for the faith he showed in me then, I will forever be trying to repay him

Which is pretty much a common theme amongst a lot of the squad. They feel they owe Wenger a huge personal debt for giving them their chance at Arsenal and on the bigger stage. Which is why when you read the ‘loyalty’ pieces, this should be borne in mind and overreactions to the ‘news’ that a ‘starlet’ will leave if Arsene does should be toned down.

Adebayor is a deceptively fast man if his reports are correct, 4.90 seconds over forty metres, 11.41 over one hundred. To put it in perspective, Henry apparenty clocked 4.85 over the shorter distance whilst Walcott comes in at 11.85 for the longer. It is not surprising that he is quick given his leg length but it is an aspect of his game that gets overlooked because he is, well, awkward.

He has a high opinion of his abilities, borne by the displays he has made this season,

In the game, I’m very good. I’m strong, I’m fast, I can jump high, my holding of the ball is per…at the moment is very good. I nearly said perfect but nothing is perfect, and I still need to work more on my finishing

It is actually a pretty fair assessment of his game. He is good at the things he says and with six in nine Premiership games, he has a right to say his scoring ratio is as good as anyone’s yet the finishing does need working on. Alas this is where his detractors score points because he scores the difficult and fluffs the easy. It makes him more unpredictable for opponents but can let them off the hook on occasion. The key thing though is his overall contribution and it is about time that he was given proper credit where it is due, rather than having to defend himself against criticism of other aspects of his game. I am now hoping that he has a good game at Anfield so I don’t have to retract that defence of him.

’til Tomorrow.