No Need To Get Arshy On A Quiet Day & Under 21 Woes

Quiet mornings are de rigeur during the close season, even the hacks have to take a break from the speculation every now and then. It does not stop it all, of course and on such days even the most innocuous of comments will bring about a veritable frenzy of wet dreams on the sports desks around the globe.

No chance of an Arsenal player making a throw away comment that will bring forth such spew, is there? Well, OK, there is. Andrei Arshavin would like to play with Barcelona, presumably because (a) they are European champions, (b) a good side, (c) he supported them as a child and (d) it would be home from home since 90% of the Arsenal squad has been linked with a move to Spain this summer. Does it mean he will get that chance? Nope. Does it mean he wants to leave Arsenal? Nope. Does it mean that we will be told he is going to be the subject of an imminent bid? Hell, yes.

Elsewhere Kolo Toure’s departure moved ever nearer with reports that Serdar Tasci is flattered by the fluttering eyelashes of whichever Arsenal scout has been watching him. Tasci would be perfect for Arsenal. Not because he is a superb defender – I could not pass comment on that never having seen him play and too bone idle to become a fully paid up member of the YouTube generation – but more to do with the fact that he is recovering from a serious knee injury. It merely continues an Arsenal tradition. In the early 80s, you were not a real Arsenal player unless you had encountered the long arm of the law having partaken of one too many shandies. Now, you are not an Arsenal player unless you have missed a substantial part of the season through injury.

Kieran Gibbs and Theo Walcott will be feeling somewhat heavier of legs this morning. Both were part of the England U21s who were on the receiving end of a good, old-fashioned gubbing. The nature of any international tournament is such that ‘stars’ are born, especially at this level. Patrice Muamba is falling into this category yet in a junior tournament, what can be learned about the player that is not already known? Criticism of Wenger for selling him denies the evidence of your own eyes: Muamba has not produced consistently outstanding performances in the English Premier League that suggest Wenger was wrong to release him. The player may yet do so, he could be the ‘one who got away’ but not yet. As far as putting him into the Arsenal midfield, would he bring more to the table than Song, Denilson or Diaby? Not at the moment. In short he is not the answer at the moment, he is simply the recipient of good press.

Theo and Gibbs had mixed tournaments. Walcott flattered to deceive, a couple of good halves but nothing substantial. He was not helped yesterday by his colleagues who had little of the subtleties that would bring the best out of him as a lone striker. Too often their passes were straight and intercepted. Credit to the German defence, especially Hummels who was marking him, very effectively as it turned out. Whether Theo learned anything new is open to debate. He commented before the game that Arsene had told him that he would have played centrally in the domestic cup competitions were it not for his own and others injuries. They will be his classroom next season which will not be a bad thing at all.

Gibbs meanwhile enhanced his reputation. His tackling throughout was crisp and even. He needs to work positionally but he held the left side pretty solidly throughout in his appearances. Even a nasty looking follow-through yesterday could not knock him out of his stride. The time when he can pressure Gael Clichy for the ownership of the left back spot in the starting line-up has not yet arrived but in a season or two, the Frenchman will be looking very nervously over his shoulder. And competition for places is no bad thing.

’til Tomorrow.

Show Me The Money, Fred’s Not Dead & Melo Feelings

So the plan by Sherrif Fatman to become a Man of the People is to be given serious consideration this week at the Board meeting. Quite right too for a Rights Issue in the broad terms that Sherrif mentioned is not a bad idea, as it would theoretically give supporters the chance to buy shares. Where the waters turn murky grey is Fatman underwriting it, ie guaranteeing to buy any shares that are not purchased, a nice back door way to gain a bit more influence at the club, may be even being put into the position of bidding for the club as a result.

Quite what the legalities of it all are enough to send lawyers into an orgasm over the size of the bills that they will be able to issue for services rendered. Depending upon which media outlet you believe, the Arsenal Board are either not against it or rabidly opposed. The latter is hardly surprising since it leaves the way open for their shareholdings to be diluted (The Guardian) or are taking advice from their bankers over using the money to reduce the debt (Daily Telegraph). The latter media outlet has the wrong end of the stick though for it wants to portray Usmanov as having pumped money into the club whereas he, like Kroenke and others before him, has only invested in the pockets of those who sold their shares to him.

The latter course of action is not how Usmanov positioned the idea when he floated it a month ago. The money was to be made available for Wenger in the transfer market. Gazidis was interviewed in The Sunday Times yesterday and mentioned the debt and how it is being impacted by the property market being depressed. The Highbury Square development borrowings are ringfenced away from the football side of things and are due to be repaid next year. The club want to defer this repayment but as of yet has not agreed this hence the serious consideration being given to Usmanov’s proposal.

The position that the Board would be put in depends largely on the lenders yet it will be they who are castigated should they be forced into an alternative course of action. I doubt that they will be enticed into a situation whereby Usmanov underwrites a Rights Issue. They may if it were a joint exercise with Kroenke but that path is fraught with difficulties, not least because The Takeover Panel could determine that the pair had acted in consort and therefore have to make a bid for Group.

Of course it gives more credence to the view adopted by Freddie Ljungberg last week, a Jerry Maguire moment where he bellowed, “Show me the money!“. Well OK that’s not how The Mirror hacks reported it:

The feeling I get is the financial situation is a bit tight – what is the state of the club?. Nobody’s come out and said why they’re not spending. Everyone is asking that. I get sad just to look at the results in the last few years. When I played there they always said if you don’t win a trophy every year then it was not good enough. I hope they turn it around.

Well, actually, Freddie, Arsene has said why he is not spending. He is working within his budget and strengthening the squad where he has identified weaknesses. Wenger has not denied this needs to happen but it seems that Freddie believes Arsene has always been able to spend the sort of money that Real has this summer when he knows that is patently untrue. Ljungberg is of course right in saying his bit about the trophies. Those were the days of developed internationals coming to the peak of their games, augmented by unknowns such as, oooh, er, Freddie Ljungberg; the days of Bergkamp, Henry and Pires with a smidgen of Vieira and the back four mixed in. Days that are probably on the verge of re-emerging thanks to the development of the squad that Arsene has undertaken.

Contrast Freddie’s reported uneasiness with that of Gilberto Silva. The guitar playing, samba merchant passed his opinions of Felipe Melo with the smooth, unruffled simplicity that was the hallmark of his game when at Arsenal:

If they got him it would be great because he is a player they need at the moment.I’m sure if they got him it would be a good signing.

Arriving late on the scene to deposit the ball in the back of the net, he went on:

I have told him Arsenal is a great club and I am sure next season they will improve

You’ve got to love former players who see the positive in things. ’til Tomorrow.

Transfer Circles Squared & RvP

We move in Small Circles

The Sunday’s you have to admit were a fine band. Oh, sorry, that quote is from The Rainmakers. Anyway, what I meant to say was that the Sunday papers are inhabited by a fine bunch of hacks. Not for them sitting idly by during the week laughing at various rumours that their peers churn out for the dailies. Oh, no, idleness does not enter into their vocabulary. For they take the best of the rumours, or the laziest depending on your view, and embellish them into tales that would render the Grimm’s unemployed and unemployable.

Take Adebayor – and I know that some would like anyone to take Adebayor at whatever price – and his seemingly neverending non-transfer to AC Milan. Now during the week, Milan said that they would like him since Dzeko is staying with Wolfsburg although according to sources, the Germans have said that they will give Milan a tinkle if they change their minds and decide to sell. So far, so good. Adebayor to Milan. How to replace him? In came Sir Alex on his White Charger for he is to buy Aguero and Valencia for most of the money given to them for Ronaldo. With Eto’o and Tevez pitching up at Eastlands, where could Arsene turn?

Step forward Karim Benzema. You know, the one who is totally out of reach financially. Yep, he is on his way to The Emirates. No, it’s true. But how can we afford it? Eh? Vermalaen took up well over half of the reported £13m transfer budget so say there is £5m left since stage payments mean not all of his fee is to be paid in one go. With £25m for Adebayor, plus the £5m – stay with me on this one – Arsenal are about £20m or so short in funding the signing of Benzema. Hold on, coming up on the rails on a murky grey nag is Sheriff Fatman and his rights issue, due to be discussed at the Arsenal Board meeting this week which will fund the whole thing. Marvellous. The only bit missing is Cesc to Barcelona and in one story, the whole of Arsenal’s summer thus far is encapsulated in one bite-sized nugget.

Hold on though, wait a moment. It’s not over yet. They have even included Arsene’s comments reported in L’Equipe that neither of his prized possessions was off since “there was little movement at Arsenal this summer“. How do you get around that? Easy, the hacks run amok claiming in a Jimmy Nail-stylee that “He’s lying“. Got to hand it to them. It is not easy squaring so many circles and they have done that with some aplomb.

Jailhouse Rock

Elsewhere, Robin van Persie‘s interview with a Dutch magazine is reproduced, more a personal touch than mentioning his future at Arsenal. RvP reckons that drinking alcohol is poisoning your body so he abstains which is OK because I probably drink his share anyway. And the shares allocated to 90% of the Arsenal squad. I guess it falls into the category of a lifestyle article since his wife talks frankly about the alleged rape case that the Dutchman was involved in a few years back. He makes similar comments to those of Cesc about wanting to win honours and how his aim to be thought of as the best player in the world:

I find it hard to sleep after a game and I’ll get up and write notes about how I played. I study all my matches and am a very harsh critic of myself. I haven’t yet reached the level I am capable of. If I were a true world-beater, I would have been voted the best player in Europe, I would have trophies.If our team had won the Champions League, the Premier League or the FA Cup maybe I’d have been a candidate for such an award. Only then could I say I’d reached the top – and that’s not the case yet.

But I see the potential at Arsenal. We have to do it. One fact which aggravates me is that in the five years I’ve been at Arsenal, we’ve won exactly the same number of trophies as I did at Feyenoord – ONE – that’s not enough. When I arrived here, Arsenal were winning trophies for fun.

But, if everyone is fit, we have a heck of a team and it’s up to me to ensure we go out and win these trophies.

He goes on to mention his contract situation, which appears not to have changed although it is hard to tell when the interview was originally given:

I’m not in negotiations with any other club – just Arsenal.

Lest anyone has any doubts:

I want to become the best player in the world. My career will only be a success when I consider myself the best. Anything less, won’t do

And that dear reader is why Arsenal will once more win trophies. Not just because of van Persie but due to the squad having a desire to win, a desire to be the best not just in the land.

On that note, I’ll leave you. ’til Tomorrow.

The Last Games Of The Season, Agent Out On His Arsh and A Bit More

This weekend marks the close of the 2008/09 campaign for three members of the first team squad, seven or so days before the rest return to pre-season training. If nothing else, it highlights the fallacy of FIFA and UEFA’s claims that they care about the players. With a World Cup twelve months away, the scheduling of international tournaments remains open to question. The Confederations Cup they will say represents the opportunity to test what is ready in South Africa and see what they have left to do ahead of 2010. Well, quite a lot if the reports of room shortages on the British and Irish Lions tour is anything to go by.

Spain play this evening against Egypt and I guess Cesc will participate at some point and then disappear off for three weeks or so break, which despite having missed four months will be well-deserved. Theo Walcott and Kieran Gibbs play on Monday in Malmo having played their respective parts in England Under-21s win over Sweden. Despite going three goals to the good, England contrived to almost screw it up by ending the match level and down to ten men. Walcott was left to plough a lone furrow when Campbell left the field and gained first hand experience of how hard it is to play the central striking role he craves, especially against a well-marshalled defence and with many loose passes to chase.

Fair play to Walcott though for he continually put himself against a barely mobile opponent but too often this was on the right hand side with no support in the middle. The level of the young England team’s passing belied their Premier League experience and it was not too difficult to see why Arsene looks to get hold of the youngsters before they make the national squads. Bad habits are hard to lose once you get over a certain age and plenty of the England team reverted to type, hacking the ball clear instead of retaining possession once they were numerically disadvantaged.

Credit to the two Arsenal youngsters though for when their turn in the spot-kick drama came about, they fulfilled their side of the bargain with consumate ease, Gibbs especially confident with a no-nonsense effort that essentially won the shootout. What did emerge is the gulf in refereeing consistency. I have seen plenty of ‘keepers do the cod-psychology that Hart became immersed in; I cannot recall ever seeing one booked for it. If that is the standard, then so be it but let it at least be applied at all levels, across all competitions and not the whim of one over-zealous referee.

Having suggested in yesterday’s comments that the club could persuade players to change agents, Andrei Arshavin decided not wait for Arsene to make the change, sacking Dennis Lachter off his own back:

Recently I sent a formal letter to Dennis Lachter, which said that I do not want him to continue to represent me and that I will act on my own behalf. This is no way associated with my Arsenal contract. On the contrary, I want to express my deep gratitude for Lachter’s help in moving to the English club.

Lachter is not one of my favourite people due to his involvement in Alexander Hleb developing a taste for Italian ice-cream parlours but he should be given some credit for his role in getting Arshavin’s deal through. I suppose.

There is no reason why a footballer should need an agent. In days of old, the players would turn to a lawyer and an accountant when any contracts were being negotiated. Even in this day and age, the PFA provides ‘Agents Services’ and will deal with this on behalf of a player. For commercial activities, the player might need someone but let us be honest, if a player from abroad is available, Arsene is not going to sign him just because he is phoned by an Agent, is he? Months of scouting will have gone into assessing his abilities and background checks so surely it would be quicker to negotiate directly rather than waiting for another wheel in the transfer cog to relay messages. Without agents though, how would the media get another story…

The winner of this week’s least complete headline goes to Sky Sports with ‘Galliani claims Wenger talks’ which appeared to have the phrase ‘sense whilst I talk complete bollocks’ missing. Either that or the AC Milan bigwig was genuinely surprised that Wenger possesses verbal dexterity. Personally, I prefer the former since it would be a refreshing change for a football administrator to be entirely honest about their own failings.

A myth has been put to bed as well regarding the transfer of Glen Johnson to Liverpool. Wikipedia has produced this answer for his desire not to return to Stamford Bridge:

’til Tomorrow.

Cesc and Gazidis: All Good PR?

Cesc has issued a public affirmation of his desire to stay at the club and win trophies with Arsenal. Responding to the media circus, the Spaniard denied that the comments published over here were a signal of intent to leave. He did not deny the interview and quite rightly so. Then again, I did not think that his comments indicated he wanted to leave, merely that he wanted to win and as such, personally I do not think the rebuttal is warranted . Unfortunately, the media interpretations forged a ‘belief’ that the opposite was true which the player and/or the club felt necessary to rebuff.

There has been some praise for the swiftness in dispelling the rumours and no doubt about it, Cesc must be heartily sick of responding to questions about Real or Barcelona. In years past, the media has put forward similar theories about Vieira and Henry in quiet summers. The situation is no different so why did the club feel it necessary to respond?

In part, it is to quell the speculation for the media but that is not going to change things. An element of the decision would have also been to reassure supporters. The final cog though is that they do not want Fabregas to suffer in the same manner that Adebayor, Gallas, Eboue and Bendtner have done during the last eighteen months and that should be of concern to supporters for it shows how we are perceived within the confines of the club.

There is substance to that concern. The derision faced within the stadium is tangible evidence of the dissatisfaction being shown in certain quarters away from the ground. The club will be aware of comments made yet those words are not the majority view so why have they taken them into consideration? Presumably to nip any negativity towards the captain in the bud before it becomes a snowball effect. Maybe there is concern within the club that Fabregas will be inclined towards a move if such negativity manifests within the stadium on a matchday?

That would seem to be an over-reaction on their part if that may be the case. One thing is for certain, a precedent has now been set this summer. Sagna and Fabregas have now issued formal denials on the website and using the logic of D&G, anyone linked with a move away is going to be viewed as disloyal if they do not follow the same course of action. Another stick with which to beat Adebayor for example.

Arsene has enough on his plate as it is although his workload has by his own admission been slightly lessened by the impact that Ivan Gazidis has had.

The manager praised Gazidis’ role in recent transfer and contract activity:

We are starting to notice the differences he is making at the club. Everyone with a big responsibility like that has a different personality which they bring to the job, and he is making a few changes. Ivan Gazidis came in and he lightened the workload for Ken Friar [the acting managing director], certainly, and myself a bit too

Gazidis’ arrival was certainly needed. None of the big four or top European teams expects a manager to share the CEO’s workload. Wenger should be identifying the targets, persuading player to join and then it should down to those on the Board to assume the responsibility for making the deal happen. The additional bonus is that it has quelled the demands for David Dein to rejoin the club. No-one should deny the good work Dein did but his era is gone, he did not and quite possibly still does not, believe in the self-sustaining model, preferring the route of a sole owner with limitless pockets despite them being rarer than the lesser spotted Mammoth.

Time will tell whether Gazidis will be good for the club but he deserves credit for his work thus far.

Finally, good luck to Theo and Gibbsy in their endeavours this evening for the England U-21s. If Walcott needed any motivation, the Swedes certainly gave it to him. A fine showing to shove down their throats is in order.

’til Tomorrow.

Another Spanish Inquisition

A day when the Spanish will no doubt be launching another Inquisition with the media playing the role of Tomás de Torquemada as they seek out the root of evil that forced them to lose to the USA. In the meantime, several self-appointed Torquemada’s will no doubt appear amongst The Emirates faithful as Cesc gave honest answers to questions put to him by the same media yesterday.

With little else going on, sensationalism has been the name of the game. Most opt for the route that Cesc is touting his wares for his home market. Frankly, I do not see any ‘Hello boys, come and get me‘ flirting in the direction of Madrid or Barcelona by Fabregas.

Actually, what did emerge is the picture of a player with a strong desire to win and who whilst he respects his manager, does not see their futures as interdepended:

I admire Arsene Wenger but each of us has his own life and looks after his own interests. If I have to say I want to leave I will do it face to face. If one day I’m not happy, I am the first who will tell the manager

His answer to the question of how his family would react to his signing for Madrid indicated that their love for their son/brother/nephew/grandson/uncle would override the tribal loyalties that the journalist in question was digging at.

Quite simply, the question was posed to try to eliminate Madrid as a destination for those reasons. OK, they were hoping for a slip of the tongue to suggest that Madrid has contacted him as part of Los Galaticos but the snippet was never uttered.

The player’s frustration about not winning trophies is nothing new. He has vented these feelings before and will do so again in the future until a piece of silverware is nestling in his bank safety deposit box. It shows nothing more than an inherent desire to win. If there are any players at the club who do not share such anger at not winning trophies, they need to develop the same intensity. It is hard to believe that Wenger would not have already have weeded them out in any case.

There appears little in anything Cesc said, nothing that is new nor unexpected. The only reason that it has been reported is that there is so little going on elsewhere. Mind you, anger is contagious amongst the squad since Theo wants to prove Stuart Pearce wrong for dropping him to the subs bench. Quite right too since if it did not provoke this reaction, questions would be asked about his motivation for playing for the Under 21′s.

’til Tomorrow.

Bendtner, Ade-bye-bore and The Usual Guff

One mystery is resolved, Arsene’s interview as quoted in yesterday’s Daily Mirror and widely reproduced was in fact from the Official Arsenal Magazine, rather than being an exclusive bout of repartee as intimated by the, ahem, rag. Indeed, it was from the same interview from which this morning’s praise of Nicklas Bendtner is derived. In terms of the comments Arsene made, there is nothing more that he said about Bendtner.

There are parallels between Bendtner and Kevin Campbell. The latter was in football terms, an absolute monster for the reserves and youths, setting records that lasted through the years. As part of a double act, Campbell was partnered by Andy Cole who never made the grade at Arsenal although one wonders how much of that was George Graham or the player’s own impatience at not being given a first team chance. I have a vague recollection of Cole turning out at some point during the tedious 1991 Charity Shield against the Tiny Tots but nothing much more than that. Bendtner meanwhile was partnered by Arturo Lupoli who has become something of a journeyman even with his tender years, returning from Italy to The Championship.

The point with Bendtner is that his career at club and international level are not in tandem. He is well established in the Danish squad without securing a starting place in the Arsenal team. He is a player not short on confidence which is something that stood him in good stead during his barren run in the first half of the season and at times in the second half, particularly during the Blackburn game when even with a twenty foot goal, I suspect he would have skewed the ball wide. It was one of those afternoons for the lad. Every footballer in any position in any league has them. Some suffer them more frequently than others, fewer in a higher profile situation. Yet he came back for more, willing to put himself in a position to miss, a sign of his strength of character.

Bendtner’s character draws attention to himself. He has the self-belief that good strikers require, the confidence in his own abilities to help him through the hard times. His youthful exuberance will be curbed over time and I would have to agree with Wenger that such is his all-round game, the Dane has real possibilities of developing into a great centre-forward.

Which is just as well since Adebayor’s Mr20% is mouthing off once more, claiming that Adebayor would like to work with Ancelotti and has been contacted by ‘an important club’. Defining the word important would be key to understanding which club because unless they are direct rivals of Arsenal, for all intents and purposes, they are unimportant until the suitcase full of used fivers turns up in Gazidis’ office.

Apparently, Stephane Courbis spoke with Wenger and was not told that the player was for sale but assumed this to mean that Arsenal has ‘economic problems‘ which could be solved by his client moving. For Adebayor, the comments reflect badly in some eyes, further fuelling stances against him. I doubt that anyone would believe him if he issued a denial in the same manner as Sagna. It seems that the only thing he would benefit from in the PR sense would be a summer of silence from Team Adebayor.

I could waffle on about Toure to Manchester City as some seem to think will happen although reports this morning suggest they have offered Everton £15m and chocolate hobnobs for their Board meetings if the Toffees decide to let them have a Lescott. Apparently Everton will not even consider the bid unless Rich Tea’s are thrown in but have refused outright Garibaldi’s. Crumbs! That really takes the biscuit.

’til Tomorrow.