Peter Hill-Wood has given Arsene a vote of confidence. In normal football circumstances, a P45 would swiftly follow except Arsenal do not operate in normal football circumstances. When the Chairman says such things, you have the impression that any question about Arsene’s future is batted away with an answer preceded by a five-minute laughing fit. PHW said,
It’s laughable to think he doesn’t have the support of the board. We are very happy with him and I think he is with us
I do not know anyone who knows anything about football who wants Wenger replaced. Some dislike the presumed power that he has but the criticism of him centres on his transfer policy, not spending the future now for a populist big signing. It is something that has the backing of the club’s hierarchy,
We have never denied Arsene Wenger a penny. Whenever he has wanted to buy, he has. What he is not prepared to do is to buy a big name that everyone will be happy with until they see them play. He is a very good judge. He has brought in so many world-class players, some of whom people had not even heard of at the time, and I am sure he will continue that
This summer Wenger has already admitted to wanting a creative midfielder and a defensive player. We presume he will be looking for a replacement for Mathieu Flamini as well but that may not necessarily be the case. What I do think is likely is that signings of a similar ilk of Sagna and Eduardo are the course Arsene will follow. He has a number of young players on the fringes of the first team squad and the balance he has to strike is to allow those who he thinks will make the grade to progress, or have that chance to, without blocking their path with a number of players in the way. In that respect, we might see two or three fringe players depart and replacements come in otherwise signings ought to be ready for immediate first team action.
Alas for Arsene, the rumours feed on perceived inaction in the market. Despite the close season not even starting, Tottenham are rumoured to have been speaking with David Villa (Madrid-bound if the Spanish media are to be believed) and to have sounded out Samuel Eto’o yet nothing about Arsenal because the manager keeps his cards close to his chest. Sunny afternoons seem destined to be filled with similar complaints to 2007 when missed opportunities such as Ribery, Babel and Torres were all heavily linked with the club and taken as the truth, the whole truth and nothing vaguely resembling media lies. It is easily forgotten that if a journalist asks a player specifically about joining Arsenal, the club’s name is easily interchangeable with any other.
Hill-Wood was more circumspect about the season that draws to a close on Sunday,
I don’t feel depressed about it. Overall, it’s not been a bad season. Other clubs would have been happy to be in our position. I was very happy with the way we played, but we are in the results business and I’m disappointed with the final result, I suppose
The inference being drawn is that the Board lack the drive, based simply on PHW’s last two words. Had he carried out a later thought, that might have been enough for some,
We will start next season with the aim of winning something. If we don’t, I will not be jumping off Tower Bridge. It’s not easy winning the Champions League and the Premier League
Indeed, it is not. That does not preclude trying hard and this season, the team did just that and came up short but not so much as people would like you to believe. However, in this world for some that is not enough. Everyone wants to win but acknowledging those efforts is derided, seeking positives is deemed to be accepting second best. It is an attitude that misses the point. I do not know anyone who supports Arsenal that is ‘happy’ the club did not win anything. Looking for strengths without denying weaknesses ought to be the aim; simply throwing out the latest name that has been bandied around does not solve any problems. It is easier to criticise destructively than to look for truths. In Arsenal’s case, I would suggest that the truth is more palatable than some would have you believe – the many technical strengths were derailed by a lack of leadership in tough times, lack of midfield goals, costly momentary lapses in concentration and a list of injuries that would make even the best wince.
William Gallas may yet pay the price of being relieved of the captaincy. There is no shame in that if there is an experienced replacement. Let us not forget though that it was his first season in that role and he has learned much from it. Yet the captain is not the only leader on the pitch, other experienced professionals can influence upon their colleagues performances in equal measure. Perhaps some of the squad did not realise that at the time when struggling against Villa, Birmingham or Wigan. We do not know.
As for the injuries, who could have predicted Eduardo’s and RvP hurting himself so badly? If Arsene had that much foresight, he would have signed more strikers or looked for a free-scoring midfielder. There is a strong case for looking for a left-sided midfielder who is genuinely that rather than fitting other players into that role.
The job that Arsene and the coaching staff have this summer is to work on those weaknesses and turn them to strengths. New faces will help, making the squad stronger. Signing freely is not the solution for as much as new players can re-invigorate, they can destabilise at a time when Arsene wants the squad to prove that they are ‘winners’.
Retaining the services of Alex Hleb for at least one more season would allow strengthening to take place and give Arsene more options for difficult away games such as those at the rest of the top four where as he rightly points out, leads were thrown away in various competitions.
Meanwhile Arsene has praised Manuel Almunia. Despite improving, there are still muted calls for a new goalkeeper on top of the new signings. This misses the point; there is a paucity of world-class custodians and those such as Buffon and Casillas are not going to leave their current homes and even if they were to be prised away, it would use most if not all, of the transfer budget to do so. To my mind, there are more pressing concerns that replacing someone who has done more than a decent job this season.
The Times meanwhile reports that the British Government has introduced rules that mean as from October 2008, non-EU nationals joining English Premier League clubs must have mastered English to a suitable level otherwise work permits will not be issued. I would have thought that their attentions should be concentrated on English players because some of them are barely able to string two words together in their native tongue…
‘til Tomorrow.
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