Past, Present And Future

A transfer speculation free morning it seems which is just as well since a night at the gee-gees has left me feeling a bit hoarse. Too much Corporate Horsepitality I think. I did not promise a pun-free zone though.

Martin Keown had some things to say about the defence yesterday, in particular putting to bed the asinine story in As…no, I still cannot bring myself to say his name…alleged autobiography:

I think Ashley was probably referring to the general arrogance of Philippe that may have been apparent at that time. Since then I’ve seen the complete opposite; he was very sure of himself but he appears to have gone the other way and become too critical of himself.

I was asked to work in a mentoring fashion and perhaps Ashley saw something which he deemed not overly respectful. However, it wasn’t something that Philippe demonstrated to me

When the story first emerged, I was surprised since Senderos has never seemed an overly-arrogant person from what I have seen. Well, no more than any other player has to be with the requirement for self-belief.

Keown had words of encouragement for the Swiss international:

If he has been able to learn from his loan move and if he is given another chance, he’s only going to be better. The thing with Philippe is he needs to learn the game.

He’s a highly intelligent individual but at times he’s made elementary mistakes on the pitch. Football intelligence is a different experience to that off-field. What will be fascinating to see is whether he has improved those elements that he needed to.

The frustrating thing with him is that he has the raw materials to be an outstanding player. Too often though he was involved in bad mistakes. As a defender you don’t want to be around goals being conceded – he was.

Which is correct but the biggest impact on his career has been his last four meetings with Didier Drogba where he was bullied to the extent that it had a detrimental effect on his confidence. During 2006-07 and the following season, it was sometimes hard to reconcile his performances with those in the preceding European campaign. It was definitely a case of one step forward, half-a-dozen sideways and three back for Senderos. Problematically for Senderos, I do not believe he will be given a fair chance by a section of the support, every mistake seized upon, every positive ignored.

He may have got that out of his game, but if he’s not given the chance at Arsenal I still think he has a big career ahead of him.

It seems that Senderos is on his way, in media speak at least. It would be surprising if he remained at the club given that Milan had the option to buy him at the end of his loan deal. Who knows, maybe he has improved but with, at a guess, four centre backs ahead of him, his playing time would appear to be limited to the Carling Cup and minor roles covering injuries, etc.

Keown was exceptionally positive about Jack Wilshere:

Wilshire is the one that stands out. He’s got an incredible radar for passing and even when he shifted into a more central position there was only one winner. He’s the obvious player to pick but I think the whole Academy is benefitting from the simulation of tactics from the first team downwards.

A weight of expectation is building around Wilshere that I hope does not get out of hand. When talking of him, some seem to believe he will emulate Cesc in the impact he has on the first team. That is a lot to ask and there is no doubt that he is an exceptional talent. What he needs though is to be brought through almost quietly to allow him to develop without pressure. Having made a handful of appearances last season, it would I think be a major surprise if he does not star in the Carling Cup next time around.

Keown gave credit where it is due:

Great credit must be paid to the staff Steve Bould and reserve team coach Neil Banfield. There was a time when Don Howe was there that the first team’s work was very different to that of the youth sides. Don obviously had established ideas having been in the game for a long time, but that changed under Wenger.

To a certain extent there is a philosophy now that what the first team does in training is replicated by the reserves and then the youth sides. It means that whenever a player takes a step up, he’s in harmony with the passing drills.

That is the core to Wenger’s eventual legacy at the club. The structure is in place for his successors to build upon and the staff know what is expected. The youth policy at Ajax that brought them success down the decades had this philosophy and the coaches at Arsenal now enforce that policy. A good sign for the present and the future.

’til Tomorrow