No Rosicky This Season And The Final Countdown

Arsene has been talking about keeping it all quiet on the Russian front and given that this has been compiled on Friday afternoon, Arshavin will no doubt have signed (woo-hoo!), it’s fallen through (damn) or nothing new has happened (qu’elle surprise).

He made a slightly disconcerting comment about Tomas Rosicky. Not unexpected but it will no doubt bring forth a slew of rumours concerning the Czech’s future, something his Mr 20% will be quick to deny:

Also, the players coming back, like Fabregas and Walcott, there is a little chance that Rosicky will play again before the end of the season

Now it depends upon your interpretation and the poor grammar of the hack transcribing from the interview, as to whether or not Rosicky will be missing through injury or his path to the first team will be blocked by Fabregas and Walcott returning. I believe it was a comment on the Czech’s injury, which is a shame to hear but not surprising, because of his quality.

More than that, had he been able to put in a few substitute appearances before May, his sharpness would have returned somewhat quicker than being forced to go through pre-season friendlies to achieve that. Given he will have been out of action for the best part of 18 months by the time the Premier League campaign commences in August, perhaps hoping for him to be a regular before the autumn will be overly-optimistic.

More pertinently, Wenger has laid out some indication that he is not going to busy in the current transfer window:

At the moment, I am more focused on doing well with the players we have than being frenetic about the transfer market. We are at an important part of the season where the most important thing is to focus on how strong we are and what we are going to achieve together. I am convinced there is enough quality inside here to achieve that target.

Arsene clarified what ‘frenetic‘ means in his Friday press conference. According to the manager:

I am more focussed to do well with the players I have than to be obsessed with the players I can buy or not buy. At the moment it is two per cent of my worries.

For me, the crucial phrase is ‘At the moment‘. He is quite right as you would expect him to be focussed on the trip to Cardiff. The prolonged transfer saga surrounding Arshavin is both a welcome and unwelcome distraction. You can imagine the contrast between Wenger and someone like Redknapp, whose mobile phone bill must be horrendous immediately before and during the transfer window.

Earlier in the interview on ATVO, he mentioned the return of the injured players, indicating that he is not intent on satisfying the whims of supporters who want him to follow up on the Alonso bid from the summer, something that will not happen this window, if he does so ever again.

The crucial point for Wenger is how long Walcott & co will be out. It is widely understood that Fabregas will be missing for at least two more months which puts some pressure on the rest of the squad to adapt to his absence. They have done so, eight games unbeaten and counting. Having the Spaniard return for the run-in would be a timely boost, especially since that includes visits to Old Trafford and Anfield with the visit of Chelsea thrown in for good measure.

Before that time, it is important to have overhauled Aston Villa and cemented a place in the top four, looking to have also closed the current six point gap to the top to achieve what seemed (and to some still seems) an unlikely title challenge.

Back tomorrow with a Cardiff preview. ’til Then.