Bendtner, Cesc and A Bit Of Tosh & Piffle

FA Cup Final Saturday and another dose of envy following on from Wednesday’s Champions League Final. They say that for a player, losing in a final is the worst feeling. For a supporter, I am not so sure that the same applies. It will be a truly horrible feeling watching two teams, one of which you know you should have beaten, the other you would have beaten, compete for silverware. Still, there’s always next year and best of luck to Everton, by the way.

A morning of transfer talk, the close season is well and truly upon us. First though, Nicklas Bendtner has made it clear that he wants a new contract with the club:

It is of course a priority of mine to prolong my contract, and I have never said anything else. For me it is of course sweet to receive the backing from the manager, and I hope to stay at the club for a long time.

Not so much of an immediate priority for the club, I suspect, simply because the Dane has another three years on his current deal. On the showing of the second half of the season, he is well on the way to gaining a new contract as well. By his own admission, the autumn showed little more promise than a Sunday League player. It was an honest assessment of his form that raised a few doubts. The goals at The Hawthorns though seemed to re-invigorate his reserves of self-belief – not that they were in danger of diminishing – and he put himself into positions where he could score. A quote from Samuel Eto’o summed it up,

The courageous put themselves into a position on to miss; cowards never do

Bendtner has proven that he can score at international level and domestically; he needs to find the consistency that marks out the good players from promising youngsters. Of course, to do that he needs regular playing time which may not be so hard to come by given the amount of injuries that the squad suffers.

Cesc meanwhile is the subject of a thousand misleading headlines, all linking him with a surprise move to Barcelona:

Which player would not like to play for a team like that at the moment? They are probably the best team that I have seen play in history and I have a lot friends there who are always telling me great things. Of course, you feel envy in a healthy way because of the way they play football. Everyone’s dream would be to play in a team like this.

Erm, so no he did not say the words that the headlines tell us. Oh well, a taste of things to come…

Which is more or less the stuff surrounding Gareth Barry who once more is being linked with the club, following on from last summer’s titilation before he firmly got in bed with Liverpool. This time, with noises emanating from Anfield that they want Xabi Alonso and Javier Mascherano to stay, Barry is apparently offering himself unreservedly to Arsenal. Umm, hmmm, OK, so he did not say anything of the sort either. A Long Hot Summer is beckoning.

Finally, for those who want their daily dose of ACLF in their inbox in the morning, click here.

’til Tomorrow.

Arsenal Is Not A Selling Club. Maybe.

A bright sunny morning, the media leaving Arsenal alone since they are all too busy revising their opinions of Manchester United from the only team in the world who can win something to a bunch of no-hopers, exposed by Barcelona. Which is all very nice, since Arsene has given them a little nugget that will no doubt be stored away.

In the aftermath of the Champions League final, he spoke of Thierry Henry‘s departure from the club and the potentially negative impact that this had on the 2007/08 campaign:

Maybe he could have made a difference, maybe last year. We had 83 points and with him we could have gained two or three more that could have won us the championship.

A lot of conjecture within that statement of course. The team would have played differently since Henry and Adebayor were, and still are, two entirely different players. Such was the Frenchman’s hold over the club that many of the younger players were in awe of him, admitting that they would look to get the ball to their former captain for fear of being given a withering look. Part of the reason that the team did so well that season was youngsters growing up and taking more responsibility.

That is not to say that he would not have made a difference but it raises other questions such as would Adebayor have scored so many goals? It is not hard to imagine that his total would have been lower. The problems with 2007/08 were not attacking though, it was other areas. Yet in games such as the goalless draw at Wigan, Henry might have found the net to turn a draw into a victory. Little point though in crying over spilt milk; Henry was not at the club and we did not win the League.

Wenger did send out a message, one that will no doubt go unheeded in the major clubs around Europe: Arsenal are not a selling club. In an attempt to fend off expected – and perhaps already received – interest, the manager observed:

[Henry] was close to the end of his career. All these players [in the current squad] are at the start of their careers so it’s completely different. I think the exact opposite now – I don’t see why we should educate the players, get some stick and when they’re ready we sell them. That would be masochistic.

There is a perception that Arsenal are replicating Ajax; create a fantastic Youth Academy and sell the players to bigger clubs. It is there that the commonality between the Dutch club and Arsenal ends. Ajax has to bring in the revenue to survive financially, money that can only be truly raised by keeping good players and letting the excellent go. Arsenal has a business model that does not require this. With any Academy system, there will always be a lot of departures since places in the first team squad are finite. You cannot have a squad entirely composed of young players which Arsenal does not have, despite what some sections of the support and media seem to believe.

Wenger and those in the club recognise that external players will always have to be brought in to augment the youth. However, the nature of football in this age is such that his beliefs may have to be compromised. Taking Alexander Hleb as a prime example, the club could not hold onto the player simply because he wanted to leave. No matter how spurious his reasons in public, the club acquiesced to his wishes.

Wenger is right though to try to hold onto his better players. Only with them can he guide the club to the trophies which will keep those players happy. It is a vicious circle because if the players fail on the pitch, they can try to walk away, an option that is becoming easier with the weight of EU legislation behind them. The Webster Case was feared to be the tipping point, one step too far yet clubs are backing away following a recent ruling that upheld the spirit of that law yet forced the buying club to hand over several million pounds in respect of the ‘training fees‘ incurred by the reluctant seller.

With respect to leaving Arsenal, winning trophies is something that always drives players yet if they are honest, players will admit that Arsenal are in the top five or six of European clubs. It limits their options for an escape route, the only other reasons can be homesickness / trying a new culture or money. Despite what the media believe, there are not many clubs who pay players more than Arsenal when bonuses are taken into account, and they certainly do not pay all players more than Arsenal.

’til Tomorrow.

Pass Masters & RvP

Last night’s Champions League final was probably about the closest to a demolition that a two goal victory can ever be. United started brightly but were overwhelmed by Barcelona’s passing game. Caps will be doffed towards them but especially to Henry and Sylvinho. Or Silvinho. Whichever passport he is using is no doubt the guiding light on that one. A sweet moment for the Brazilian since he is out of contract in one month’s time and at 35, well into the twilight zone of his career.

From the Arsenal perspective, the victory was somewhat reassuring and alarming at the same time. United play with more pace in the Premier League yet the manner in which the Catalan’s midfield controlled the game through short passing gives hope towards the manner in which Arsenal play the game.

Judging players abilities is always a subjective matter but Fabregas is on a par with Xavi and Iniesta. Arshavin and Rosicky likewise – when he’s fit. The coming season in a similar 4-3-3 formation could prove highly beneficial. There are, after all, plenty of forwards at the club who can provide an attacking triumverate. As is always the case, fitness will prove to be the decisive factor in whether or not this works effectively.

Robin van Persie has yet to agree the terms of his contract, telling the Dutch press:

The club and I have not been able to make any headway. But maybe I will soon have something new to report. That is all I have to say on this now.

Everyone had been expecting Cesc to be the media transfer luvvie this summer but perhaps it is going to be van Persie who dons that mantel. Since the sticking point in the past was that the player wanted the club to match his ambition, if that is still the case, it is a tough one to resolve. The only way that would appear to be possible is either (a) winning trophies or (b) making a big name signing; the first is not now possible for 2008-09 and the latter, well in recent seasons, it has been the last day of the summer transfer window that has typically seen the activity. It might be a long wait…

Quiet days so ’til Tomorrow.

Theo, Youths and The Usual Transfer Suspects

Congratulations to the Youth’s on their victory at Anfield, fitting that Steve Bould should once more win silverware at Anfield. The hard work that has been put in not just this season but in those previously, in building an Academy that can produce players to go on to the first team is paying dividends. It is a good sign for the club that the team has won, the taste of success will hopefully make those players hungry for more as they progress through the ranks.

In itself, winning the FA Youth Cup is but one marker for the Academy. More telling in the value of the work will be those that make the grade at the club. At the moment, all that can be said is that there appears to be more potential for this current batch of youngsters to achieve that aim than perhaps there has been in the past. Crucially for the players, they know that if they fail to do so at Arsenal, there is a better than average chance of it happening in the game as a whole. If you look around the divisions, the number of players at other clubs who started their careers at Arsenal but were released by Arsenal seems to be higher than normal. When Wenger is castigated in the media for a lack of English players in his first XI, those elsewhere seem to be conveniently overlooked. That none of them are setting the world of fire is not his fault. David Bentley is a prime example of having unfulfilled talent. Despite no shortage of publicly stated belief in himself, he seems likely to be offloaded by Spurs this window.

The English game is not helping itself. Theo Walcott is one of the brightest young talents around yet the national team is intent on burning him out before he reaches 21 summers old. It is frankly ludicrous that he is picked for the full and Under-21 England squads, requiring him to play potentially until a week before Arsenal resume pre-season training. Every time that there is an international schedule, the usual concerns arise about player fitness and how the football calendar does little to assist the clubs and for that matter, the national teams.

This time though, the situation is simply too stupid for words. Well, not quite but seemingly intelligent men are making crass decisions. There is no logic and personally I believe the Football Association has to take action. There has to be an intervention on their part and Stuart Pearce told that he cannot have Walcott. Failing that, the player should realise that rest is required before next season. I do not hold out any hope of commonsense prevailing. It never does in football.

Walcott though turned his attention to what is required in order to challenge for the title next season:

Man United only won one game out of their matches against the top four, so it just shows how important every game is in the Premier League. The so-called littler clubs, away and at home, they are the points you have to make up. We have to do the dirty work, like we have learned from this year, and take that into next season.

That has always been the crucial aspect but it overlooks one important thing. United win their home games. For the past two seasons, their record at Old Trafford has been outstanding. This season, they dropped seven points, last season even less. By comparison, Arsenal do not stand very well and this needs to be rectified. To highlight that, United only picked up six more points on the road than Arsenal meaning that they collected twelve more at home. This has to be addressed as much as turning defeats on travels into draws and draws into victories. It is not often that a team wins the title in equal measure at home and away. Most of the time it is achieved through being outstanding in one or the other.

Elsewhere, Adebayor is staying and believes that Wenger and Cesc are as well whilst Robert Pires thinks it would be a mistake to let him go. Brede Hangeland is the subject of all speculation emanating from these shores about whom Arsene is going, sorry not going, to sign. Oh, what the hell. Nobody knows and since it is not going to happen immediately, should we be bothered? Anyway, the player got a rave review from Roy Hodgson over the weekend. Whilst Hangeland reckons he is not leaving Fulham, his manager thinks they won’t be able to stop him. Confused? You will be.

’til Tomorrow.

Weekend Catch Up and The Usual Stuff

Arsenal 4 – 1 Stoke City

1 – 0 Beattie (o.g.)
2 – 0 van Persie (16 pen)
3 – 0 Diaby (18)
3 – 1 Fuller (31 pen)
4 – 1 van Persie (41)

On the twentieth anniversary of that night, the Youth’s get their chance to go back to the future by winning the FA Youth Cup at Anfield. Best of luck to them, especially since their demolition of Liverpool in the first leg was worth the trophy being handed over on that night alone.

A weekend of lessons learnt:

• an early goal in a match often leads to a comfortable victory
• Ladies, if you ever go to HMS Belfast in London, wear trousers as those wearing skirts will lose every shred of dignity ascending the steps
• three in the first twenty minutes = game over
• sitting on the doorsteps of the Spanish Embassy in London and explaining to your oldest son about Sir Francis Drake is enough to start a diplomatic incident, no matter how sunny a Saturday morning it is
• van Persie’s contract renewal is the key signing of the summer with his ‘assist’ to Abou Diaby meaning that he tops the EPL in this area. If people aren’t convinced by him now, they never will be
• small child + running at high speed + brick wall = five hours in the local A&E

Sunday’s match was about as one-sided as was witnessed at The Emirates and a good way to finish the season. Stoke rolled over and played dead as any good visitor should but the movement and passing over the Arsenal midfield should not be underestimated. Despite the absence of any further scoring in the second half, leaving the match meant mixed feelings. Ahead is a summer of tiresome transfer speculation, especially with Cesc on Confederations Cup duty and at the mercy of the Spanish media.

Also, it was a case of what might have been had the season started better. It is an old footballing cliche that the table never lies and finishing fourth is the position merited by Arsenal over the past ten months. Yet has shown their capabilities and 2009/10 should be anticipated with quiet confidence in that it can prove more rewarding than this campaign.

In terms of the performance in the match alone, it is impossible to give anyone less than ten out of ten. Stoke were entirely compliant and it was obvious that having achieved their aim of retaining their Premier League status, they were having a day out. As soon as Cesc and van Persie combined to free the Spaniard for a drilled cross into the box that James Beattie obligingly turned into his own net, it was a case of how many?

The second came from the softest of penalties won all season. Ryan Shawcross is highly rated by some and learned a valuable lesson: never put your arms around a player who is turning your defence inside out for they will rightly play on that infringement. van Persie’s spot-kick on the other hand was the perfect example of that art, as close to the post as you can get meaning it was impossible to stop.

Diaby’s header from the Dutchman’s free kick was a fine example of how to put the ball into the net when unchallenged. The Stoke consolation was a pitiful penalty to concede and also unnecessary. No blame to Manonne, having committed himself to going one way, Fuller simply put the ball the other.

The comedy element of Stoke’s defending was not over when their secret weapon, Rory Delap, suggest he might be a double-agent by heading the ball straight back to van Persie in the area for the Dutchman to provide instant control, swivel and the expected goal.

Overall, the Premier League this season was unremarkable. For all that Liverpool pushed United, the race was over before May had begun, as is normally the case. That no-one was able to take advantage of the Champions erratic form following the end of their solid defensive run in the Christmas, shows how far the rest of the top four have to go to overtake them.

In some respects it is a shame Newcastle were relegated, in others it was not. In fact, the only regret I can think of is that it meant Hull, or Phil Brown to be precise, remaining in the top flight. Looking at their form since Christmas, the stay of execution will only be one season as their tactically inept suntan seems incapable of arresting their slide. That they have remained highlights the fact that those who expect a relegation dogfight before the season are sometimes better equipped than more talented individuals in other clubs. Newcastle may have some good players but ultimately they were not a ‘team’ in its truest sense. Whether they bounce back or slide in the same manner as Leeds, we can only live in hope, sorry, we shall see.

Finally, congratulations to Burnley on their promotion to the Premier League. We will like even more if you oblige with six points next season.

’til Tomorrow.

Staying, Going, Praising – A Close Season Warm-Up For Arsene

Yesterday’s pre-match press conference seemed to be as much of a fine-tuning exercise for every one that he will give during the tedious summer months for Le Boss with speculation the name of the game.

Arsene re-affirmed his re-affirmation of his intention to stay at the club:

I don’t want to talk about that [the Madrid speculation] because that is endless. I might write a book one day about all the contacts I have and if you are interested in it I am happy to offer it to you [the media]. But I don’t think I will ever write it.

It shouldn’t be hard for him to do that; all that would be required would a trawl through the archives of any national newspapers and most of them would there in print already.

He seemed intent on ruling himself out of the running for the job for now and ever more when he had more than a little bit of a pop at Real and their modus operandi:

You speak about Real Madrid – they waste a lot of money and they have gone out in the last 16 of the Champions League for five consecutive years.

The unsaid part was that Arsenal have done better in that time but ignores the fact that Real have been domestic Champions during that period, something …<thwack!>. Sorry about that, Mrs YW had to knock the D&G out of me with her anti-D&G device, more commonly known as a rolling pin about which there are two things to observe: firstly, it hurt and second, it was carried out with a tad too much relish for my liking.

Back to Arsene. Following that, he spoke about Emmanuel Ade…oh, FFS. He may go, he may not but I’m not going to perpetuate that speculation. Wenger went on to single out Nicklas Bendtner for some praise for his improved performances since Christmas. The Dane has come on leaps and bounds since the opening half of the season where he struggled to hit a barn door. Despite occasional lapses since Santa popped his head down the chimney, most notably against Blackburn at The Emirates, he has shown enough to suggest that he is capable of leading the Arsenal line in years to come. I have the feeling that Bendtner and Eduardo would make a strong pairing since their styles of play seem compatible.

Still, if Arsene thought that the seemingly endless advice on how to do his job was over, he had better think again. This time, Alexander Hleb, shook himself from his peaceful reverie in Barcelona and received a thousand complaints from the neighbours for making too much noise when talking:

Arsenal’s problem is that every year you get players who have a great season and immediately leave. Season but after season, players leave and the manager has to build a new team and buy new players. That is not easy.

Especially when the players give spurious reasons for leaving

A lot of the problem is about money.

Yes, especially when it is head turning amounts offered by clubs in Milan or Barcelona.

Players play a season and then a lot of offers come from other teams and I think a lot of the players want to go because in football your career is short. You want to enjoy your football but you have to think about that also.

I don’t think that you thought about it a lot, to be honest. The first offer of a paella and you were off. <thwack! Enough of the cheap shots and stereotypes about us Spaniards – Señora YW>

A thousand hacks in Madrid and Barcelona then thanked their lucky stars for the perfect rent-a-gob quote to keep their summer’s occupied:

I spoke with Cesc recently and he wants to stay at Arsenal but he wants to win of course. Arsenal needs two more top players. If Arsenal get one player injured, they don’t have as competitive a squad.

Not entirely true but that rather depends on the player that gets injured. Even then, Arsenal don’t do one player out, we much prefer it when three or four are missing, preferably all of them should be key, experienced internationals.

Enough of the cheap shots for today. Well, no, there is one more still to come. Cesc Fabregas has found no case to answer over Gobgate or Entering the pitch is an expensive but unflattering jacket. The FA said that it was due to lack of evidence; the former is surely no evidence and if the second part could not be proven then there is something seriously wrong with the dodderers eyesight. Oh, sorry, that is no crime was committed, rather than lack of evidence on the second charge.

In the interests of good relations, I tried to contact Phil Brown to see if he would be apologising for his generally obnoxious behaviour but unfortunately I was told that there is no signal on his mobile in his tanning salon

’til Tomorrow.

Are Arsenal Too Reliant On Wenger, Arshavin and More

So what’s new in the world of Arsenal? New away kit for next season, preserving the commemorative status of the current version. In no way whatsoever is this a commercial exploitation on the club’s part, No Siree Bob. As it happens there is nothing wrong with the blue – it’s blue, whichever way you look at it, not Midnight Blue, just as the away strip a while back was not Anthracite, the shorts were, well God alone knows what colour.

Robert Pires made a few interesting observations regarding the manager’s dilemma about his future, even if the quandry no longer exists:

I must say that Madrid are above Arsenal in terms of status and for their history. Arsenal need Arsene Wenger more than he needs Arsenal. His youth policy will pay off in the future, no doubt.

An interesting proposition put forward. Is the club dependent on Wenger to the point of over-reliance? Personally, I am not so sure that the issue is as black and white as Pires has stated.

Project Youth is by no means the finished article, the consistency required to win is coming through. To that extent, and it is a point that Pires made, Wenger most likely would not abandon a project in which he has staked his own reputation and a considerable amount of physical, mental and emotional energy. However, that does not mean that his head cannot be turned by a substantial offer from a club with Real’s history.

The issue becomes clouded simply because it is Wenger who has built the systems and procedures that sustain the scouting. In a time when money is an issue at Arsenal, these are of the utmost importance. Keeping the wheels well oiled would be crucial for long-term sustainability of the direction that Wenger has chosen yet the club would not risk appointing a novice as his replacement.

Pires identified a potential replacement in Pelligrini, whose background and playing philosophy appear similar to the Arsenal manager. There is no doubt that Wenger’s eventual successor will need to be someone with experience of football at the highest level and be able to build on the Frenchman’s foundations.

There exists a mutual dependency between the club and manager. Wenger has returned the club to the top of the English game, something that had slipped in the latter years of Graham’s reign and not substanitally improved under Rioch although in fairness to him, he was building a platform on which he could build. Wenger has built his reputation at Arsenal and has total control over the playing staff, a state of affairs not necessarily available elsewhere, even if he were to go to a club with the remit to start over again.

Anyway, it’s all supposition because Le Boss has stated he is going nowhere and so has Ivan Gazidis.  Matt Hughes in The Times proposes that the players about whom he and his peers continually speculate should actually stay put. The general theory fits the notion that Arsene has been a reasonably good judge of character about when to terminate a player’s Arsenal career.

There is no denying that he has done well and some players have made ill-advised choices in the timings of their departures. Equally there are those who have been successful post-Arsenal – Vieira, Henry, Overmars spring immediately to mind – it is all down to luck and wise decision making, as well as a healthy dose of subjectivity in deciding how to define success. The crucial thing is that Arsenal will go on long after any player departures and has done so for the best part of a century and one quarter. There is no reason to believe that situation will change.

One man not looking towards an Arsenal future is Philippe Senderos:

I feel very good here and I would like to stay. I know that the decision does not depend on me, but on the two clubs.

A tinge of sadness about that because I believe Senderos will go on to become a highly regarded centre back. At Arsenal his confidence was battered and he needed a change of scenery to recover that. He appears to have done so with reports suggesting that he has had a good second half of the season. Best of luck if he does move, welcome back if he does not.

At the opposite end of the spectrum, Andrei Arshavin is keeping dictaphone tape manufacturers in business during an extensive round of interviews in the past week. Like almost everyone else, he has some advice for Wenger:

I think we need to buy two or three players, but it is up to our manager to decide which positions he wants to strengthen.

At least he recognises that it is Arsene’s job to decide who joins. Arshavin seems confident that the squad is not as far from completion as the recent barrage of cynicism suggested:

I would not say we lack experience…but sometimes we could do with a bit more maturity or composure. It will come, you just need time.

As an experienced professional, you would expect him to see the signs of what was lacking this season rather better than you or I. The situation has not led him to plumb the depths of negativity though, the Russian confident that a full pre-season will see an even better Arshavin and a positive campaign in 2009/10:

I have settled in quickly, though, and am looking forward to the challenges of the new season – one that we all hope will see us bring some trophies to the club for the players and the fans.

’til Tomorrow.