Arsenal At The World Cup #1: Dennis Bergkamp v Argentina 1998

The first in a series leading up to the World Cup finals in South Africa, less than a fortnight away now: Classic Arsenal moments at previous World Cup finals and no better place to start than the maestro’s last minute goal against Argentina at France 1998.

Sometimes words don’t add anything to a moment although the Dutch commentary on this conveys the emotion of the moment superbly, even if you don’t understand a word of it. Aside from ‘Frank de Boer’, ‘Ball’ and ‘Dennis Bergkamp’.

Summer Fun: The Musical Starring Cole, Gorcuff and Cesc

Gooooooooooooooooooooood morning Arsenal-land! Yep, Bank Holiday here so we have to make our own entertainment as the media has singularly failed to do so this morning.  Curse them for this is the joy of summer, to laugh at the stories, wonder whether there is an element of truth and generally relax. Well, those who take the column inches with a healthy dose of cynicism will; those that don’t have an uncomfortable three months ahead.

That’s not to say that there is nothing to talk of. The Daily Heil reckons that the Daily Star story yesterday about Joe Cole was worth copying. You can sense the air seeping from the latex as it crumples into a dishevelled mess when wage demands of £120k per week are mentioned. And yet, if you recall, Sol’s first temptation was covered with £95k per week so…just keep the salt cellar close by for the moment.

The Sun reckon that Yoann Gorcuff has been lined up for Cesc duties when Barcelona get their man. The fee? £21.5m or €25,296,500. Which is a weird amount that makes the story a little less plausible. Which is the same implausibility that the ‘Arsenal Source‘ should be viewed with but hey, who are we to doubt the veracity of this story.

Competition for summer targets is fierce, Rodellega has the choice of Champions or Europa League football as Martin O’Neill gets Randy and flashes his cash. Bordeaux stand to make around €600k more if they accept the Manchester City bid – noted next to the Arsenal story – and Gorcuff considerably more in wages but the stark choice remains: Champions or Europa League football next season?

Cesc is apparently on the market for £80m but Arsenal know they are only going to get £45m according to The Sun Says So It Must Be True. Little wonder Barcelona think the deal will be done quickly. Of course, the fly in the ointment is that Arsenal would probably have banked the cash already were this the case, given that it is only £5m more than Laporta is willing to pay.

How we could have done with such reporting thirty five years ago when Terry Neill was trying to sign Johan Cruyff. Who knows how the dreary mid-70s might have turned out. I wonder what the Dutchman would have made of Terry Mancini?  Well, aside from a complete arse in training every day.

And on that thought we enter the interval.

’til Tomorrow.

RvP & Theo Wait For South Africa Plane & More Incomings

Technical gremlins this morning have been overcome on a day when World Cup hopefuls are sitting nervously awaiting final chops to squads as national team coaches prepare to submit their final 23′s to Fifa. The one who is probably shifting most anxiously is Robin van Persie, his ankle currently being kept company by an ice-pack following a training incident yesterday when he appears to have suffered a minor sprain.

You can only imagine what must have gone through his mind, especially with the season he has endured. However, it seems that his withdrawal from training was as much precautionary as it was for any deep and serious concern over the extent of the injury. van Persie is at a tournament where I would expect him to confirm his place as one of the great players in the World game.

Having started the season fire, he showed signs on his return that the form would be recovered ready for his national team, too late for Arsenal. Crucially though he must be fit for the majority of the coming campaign to shake off the ‘injury-prone’ mantle that he has assumed.

William Gallas is apparently looking to put his right Pluto into conjunction with Raymond Domenech’s visible Uranus following the decision to overlook the seemingly soon-to-be ex-Arsenal player as captain of Les Bleus this summer. It is hardly surprising that Gallas is not considered suitable given his ability to divide a squad.

However, the question marks over who should be captain is hardly surprising with no one outstanding candidate for the French to choose from. Everyone who wants it seems to be doing their utmost on either personal or professional grounds to rule themselves out. Still, it wouldn’t be a World Cup if one of the major footballing nations did not have problems in their squad.

And so to Theo Walcott. Depending upon whom you choose to read, this afternoon’s fixture in Graz is a chance for him to book his ticket, show he should not be taken or sit around doing his knitting whilst others who know they are going prove Capello right (or wrong).

Divisions of opinion in the media reflect those amongst the Arsenal support. Walcott’s injuries have precluded him finding the consistency he needs to win people over. He has the ability, there is no question of that and to dismiss the performances overlooks his age and relatively low appearances record for Arsenal.

He is only 21 and in five seaons at the club has played 136 times and yet to start 20 Premier League games in any one campaign. He does not score as many as he should but having a big price tag is a burden since he is expected to be the ‘Real deal’.

Earlier this week, Paul Merson observed that Walcott was not a Hleb, Rosicky or Pires. Comparisons to them now are pointless since certainly in the case of the first two, he is not playing in their positions or anything like the way in which they have done so in the past.

Walcott is all about pace and he needs the consistency brought about by regular first team action, only achieved through being fit. To say that Walcott has no improved was a vacuous comment by Merson; he has improved just not become the Henry Mk 2 that the player wants and the media expects. His early career might well stand comparison but to reach those heights, he has a lot of hard work ahead, something he acknowledges and is not shy of doing.

I wonder though if part of the frustration manifesting itself in Merson and Waddle is a recognition that they were less than successful for England and don’t want Theo to go that way. Perhaps in the former but not in the latter.  This could be the tournament where he shows his capabilities, although we can expect a £20m Txiki bid if he does.

Talking of which Barcelona have primed their weekend hacks who have duly obliged with pontification and no progress on any non-existent talks. Joan Laporta claims to want a deal but on his terms which appears not likely to happen before he retires from office. So a central tenet of his whole presidency fails to happen, Cesc left before he arrived and will return after he leaves.

We could feel sorry for him but no, why waste it. The only regret is that last night’s stage invader at Eurovision 2010 did not wear a t-shirt with some witty and pithy message for the poor man’s Berlusconi.

Arsenal are apparently signing Joe Cole, Steven Taylor and a whole host of others which you’ve no doubt read about by now so it’s Sunday and time to kick back with MarioKart. ’til Tomorrow.

Arshavin Weirdness, Cesc & Incomings

There is something very psychedelic going on in the minds of Andrey Arshavin‘s interrogators on his website. This is a public service announcement (without guitars): Whatever zinja has been taking, we should be told. For no other reason than we should know what to avoid because it plays serious havoc with your head.

7. From zinja
As a future engineer, I’m interested in this question: if I stand with my feet on the rails, put pantyhose on my head and throw the ends on the wires, will I be able to go as a tram?
Arshavin: Look out, the tram can catch up with you and if it does, then you’ll go directly to the crazy house and get a quite different diploma

Even by the bizarre standards of the Arshavin website, that is a truly frightening question. If you ever, ever go to a railway station and see that the track or trains have been engineered by zinja, be afraid. Be very afraid. And Arshavin encourages them…Still it’s his birthday so we’ll let him crave his indulgence and he does pay his website more attention than Tomas Rosicky, Cesc Fabregas and William Gallas give their official sites.

To things Arsenal. Yes, it’s still rumbling on with the Spanish media reporting that Barcelona and Arsenal are only €10m apart in their valuation. Txiki Begiristain is apparently constantly emailing Arsenal with offers and what-have-you’s. So often that his emails now nestle alongside the offers of Viagra at a discount (why is it that these discounts decrease as the night goes on – surely they stay the same or increase at the very least to enhance the claims about the product?) in Ivan Gazidis’ inbox. Joan Laporta does not know about this – the Cesc emails, I know not his knowledge of Viagra – as he reckons that the Catalans will not pay over the top for Cesc. Oh yes, you will…

A vaguely pleasant change this morning with nobody else stating that they want to play for Barcelona but quite a few thinking that they may well be on their way to donning the new home kit when it gets released.

None are quite so cocksure as Hugo Rodellega, claiming not for the first time that Arsene has put in a formal bid for his services. You would have thought that Hugo would have learned from the past two transfer windows that we are running around shouting, “Liar, liar, pants on fire” or something equally mature.

You have to give the lad immense credit though; he does a better job of selling this story than his Mr20% whomever that may be. Perhaps he has not employed the services of an agent, figuring that he has a big enough ego to do his own leg work. Still, it would come as little surprise to see him sign a new contract at Wigan in the next week or so which is how a lot of these transfer rumours end up.

It is surprising that Arsene has found time to talk to Wigan about Rodellega. Ivan Gazidis noticed that the manager was a bit down in the dumps following his phone conversation with Cesc and decided to take them on a shopping trip to Harrods. Whilst his wife looked at the designer handbags, the pair nipped up to the Sports department and decided that they liked the look of the Schwarzer model goalkeeper. Arsene had reservations about the age of the product, concerned that it was showing signs of wear and tear.

On a whim they nipped down to Heathrow and found themselves in Castellon where Arsene took a shine to a Lopez, apparently deciding that yellow did not suit the lad and that an £8m fee was perfectly acceptable, wants him to take over from Manuel Almunia. Not too sure where £8m came from but if the media can make up a fee, so can I. Annie though was none too chuffed with his flitting abroad and hauled him back to Harrods, along with his credit card, and showed him the Hangeland she had been eyeing up.

Whilst he thought that a Hangeland showed good durability and looked sturdy, Arsene is nothing less than patriotic and was not wishing to be seen resting on his Lorient’s, whisked Gazidis away to look at a Laurent Koscielny, liking it so much that he immediately tried to buy. Ever the canny money man, Wenger is trying to haggle them down to a better price, the €8m asking fee deemed too high.

He is nothing less than consistent, the Koscielny and Hangeland are both 6′ 5″ stoppers (No, they aren’t. Apparently Koscielny is 6′ 1 which just goes to show how reliable the papers are), carrying the bulk and presence oft-demanded although as Thomas Vermaelen proved, height is not everything. Which should mean that Pape Diakhate is still on Arsene’s radar despite being a meagre 6′ 1″ tall.

There is a myth that never dies in football, namely that the only good central defenders in the air, are those who tower above their opponents. Despite the fact that all of us can name any number of tall players who are useless when it comes to winning headers, rather like the cravings for a certain brand of chocolate that Mrs YW had when pregnant with No.1 Son, this myth never fades.

For Arsenal, the key to the defence will be organisation which is the point Martin Keown was making on ATVO earlier this week; if someone grabs the back four by the scruff of the neck and organises them, the players themselves are good.

Presumably, some of these names will appear on the ‘Transfer Listed‘ section of the official site and that will mean crossing them off the potential signings list as to subsequently have them join Arsenal will mean a ‘tapping up’ charge is in the offing. Actually, a quick glance reveals that Schwarzer, Koscielny and Cahill (from yesterday’s post, come on, keep up) are all on there so they are non-starters. Blimey Arsene, you are running out of targets. Who are you going to spend all this money on.

Still if there is any looking like it will be left over, he could always give some to Rafa Benitez. It would stop him going to Lime Street station with a begging bowl as he seeks to increase his £5m transfer budget. If he needs to increase his budget, perhaps Arsene could nip in with a cheeky bid for Reina…

’til Tomorrow.

Vermaelen Gets The Keown Seal Of Approval And Transfer Gossip

Tommy Gun

After an impressive debut season in the English Premier League, Thomas Vermaelen needs to understand his role more deeply and be able to organise the defence according to Martin Keown. Not that this signals the former centre back’s discontent with the Belgian international:

He’s been outstanding, without doubt, and it’s [only] his first year.

What I’d like to see him now do is grow, I’d like to see him become a leader, I’d like to see him become more vocal. It’s difficult watching from the sidelines but I get the feeling he is still feeling his way into the team. What I love about him is that he attacks the ball.

People criticised him and said he was just five foot 11 but he proved it doesn’t matter. We need him to grow, we need him to understand his role. Once he does that he can bring the rest of the back four with him and organise that line.

There is no doubt that Vermaelen was outstanding in 2009/10, no coincidence that points were dropped in his absence at the end of the season. His demeanour on the pitch is that of a winner and I suspect that he deferred to William Gallas as the leader of the defence simply because of being the new boy at the club, initially at least. That was hinted at in an interview with the official club magazine.

However, I would expect to see that change this coming season as he has adjusted to the pace of English football. Were the vacancy to arise, it would be no surprise to see him made Captain of Arsenal, a position he has held previously at Ajax and for his country.

Leadership qualities are something we have come to expect from Arsenal centre backs. Since the mid 1980s, the successful centre backs, the ones we remember most fondly, have all been strong characters. Those who were not such as Stepanovs, are erased from our memories (almost!), written off as hopeless.

Organisation is the key area that the defence needs to improve in 2010/11. That requires increased concentration from the back four, some of the goals conceded at the tail end of the season were breathtakingly slack-jawed. But once more, it is necessary to emphasise that team as a whole, and without exception, must defend when out of possession. Fewer goals conceded will ensure a sustained challenge for any trophies.

Concentration eradicates the repititious mistakes although as Vermaelen pointed out, that was not necessarily a big problem last season.

It is too easy to say there is a general pattern. If you want to learn from your mistakes you have to analyse every single match and see what we did badly – and every time against Manchester United and Chelsea it was something different, not the same thing repeatedly.

Whilst he talks of injuries and fitness, mistakes which are not repeatedly made are hard to avoid since they are often the result of individuals making the wrong decisions at the wrong times. An inexperienced defence might be able to use that but it is an accusation which cannot be levelled at anyone who is a first choice defender at Arsenal. Even the replacements have experience through injuries to others or representing their countries at whatever level.

Stating The Bleeding Obvious

A headline hogging saga in a Presidential Election season is nothing unexpected and lo, this one trundles its merry way through the global media like a runaway train. Peter Hill-Wood has observed that the manager will have the funds from all player sales as well as his original budget to take down the casino and blow in one evening. Sorry, to review carefully the scouting reports, identify his targets and then sign them.

It is nothing new and under the terms of loans that the club has, Wenger has to be given money to reinvest as he sees fit. On whom and when is entirely his decision and like most of his public utterances, PHW adds little of value. Which ought to mean the insertion of the letter ‘e’ into his initials to make ‘phew’, especially since one of his forays into the public domain has apparently inflamed the situation with Cesc.

How much truth there is in the story is up for debate but there is an air of believability. The words were clumsily chosen, whether Fabregas copped the arse-nal about it is possible and may well have been the straw that broke the camel’s back as far as the player was concerned. Perhaps, in time, the truth will come out.

Transfer Gossip

Elsewhere, Bolton have said Gary Cahill is worth £30m but will look seriously at any offer over £20m. Then they will realise Manchester City and Chelsea are not entering into the auction and probably settle on about £10m which represents at least a 100% profit for them in two years. Simon Kjaer was mentioned towards the end of last season as a possible signing and showed his credentials as an Arsenal player would be impeccable as he suffered an injury whilst on international duty. And we go full circle in this little segment as Bolton want Jack Wilshere back on loan. If Arsene lets him. Which rather depends on everyone else, I suspect.

’til Tomorrow.

RvP, New Centre Back & Can Cesc Remain Captain Of Arsenal?

Good to see Robin van Persie make his international return last night. Actually, it was better to see him come through unscathed and scoring, two goals which emphasise how much we missed him whilst he was injured. Now for him just to come through the trials and tribulations of the World Cup and be ready for the coming season.

Elsewhere, transfer gossip abounds with Laurent Koscielny the latest centre back to be linked with a move to Arsenal, £8m the apparent price willing to be paid to Lorient. Given that the club has included him in the ludicrous section of ‘Transfer Linked‘, we can pretty much dismiss this as a Daily Mail journalist looking around Ligue 1 for a centre back who hasn’t been mentioned so far and could be signed for under £10m. Credit should be given for being original. Per Mertsacker meanwhile has been effusive in his praise of Arsenal in recent days without saying he definitely wants to come to The Emirates to ply his trade.

And so to the Cesc saga. The circus continued yesterday with the first public utterances from the player. His stance is clear: he wants to leave. Carefully though, he refused to say that he must leave, preferring to emphasise that the final decision is Arsenal’s. Whether he will be happy if negotiations breakdown is another matter although I suspect any dissatisfaction with that outcome will be uttered via his father, rather than damage his relationship with the club.

His words were not the direct appeal that Barcelona would have desired, certainly not enough to give them the moral high ground that they would like to hold; they remain in the immoral gutter, peeping through the storm drain. With a fee most likely to reach higher than they are publicly willing to pay, the long game will certainly ensue and quite possibly this could turn into a Vieira-esque summer with more to follow.

Should negotiations ever take place and then break down, the player will be expected to return to The Emirates and perform to the peak of his abilities. According to John Cross, this has already happened with the Catalans being told to do one. According to the report, Wenger and the Board are furious with the ‘tapping up’ albeit powerless to act as the player will be punished which is something the club will be keen to avoid lest is exacerbate his dissatisfaction. This serves to back up Robert Pires assertion earlier in the week that Arsenal will not sell Fabregas.

The question then becomes whether he should remain as Captain of Arsenal Football Club. Much will depend on the squad’s reaction to his return. Whilst they will no doubt welcome him, recognising his abilities as a player, would they react so generously to his captaincy. It would be easy for them to look at him and question his motivation. Only his actions would tell them if he is performing to 100%. If he is then there is no reason from their point of view, to doubt his commitment and therefore follow him.

From a supporters perspective, questions will always remain about his commitment to Arsenal. It is apparent he wants to leave and we have seen in recent times that this can diminish an individuals performance. That is no guarantee of this happening with Cesc and much depends on his personal and professional pride.

This assumes that being Captain of Arsenal means anything. Wenger has stated in the past that he wants eleven captains on the pitch yet there is a role for the Captain to fulfil, to galvanise through words or actions, to put right wrongs that are occuring. That individual needs to be seen to be totally committed to the cause, from the stands at least. That aspect sits uncomfortably with a player who openly wants away.

’til Tomorrow.

Is The Ship Sinking?

Of course it isn’t but to the outsider that could quite easily be construed from the stories surrounding the club at the moment. Tacky auctions for shareholdings; players out of contract looking for new clubs, including one we might rather stayed. All adds up to public chaos even if the private is serene. Well, not serene but certainly not panic-stricken.

Arsene may well have been hoping for a quiet time before the World Cup but his plans seem to be unravelling with player power being flexed. The speculation over Cesc going to Barcelona is no longer guesswork – not that anyone doubted he wants to return to his former club – but Cesc’s father has never been reticent to comment on a return to the Catalan capital and it is simply inconceivable that his comments on Spanish radio were made without Cesc’s approval or do not reflect the player’s wishes.

Add into that mix, Sol Campbell and rebuilding the squad may well be a more involved job that Wenger originally hoped for this summer.

First off, the comments made by Fabregas Senior are of no surprise. His son moved to London at a young age and he acknowledges the contribution of Arsene to the young man Cesc has become. There was also an element of ‘We let him leave to grow as a person you should do the same‘ although the familial bonds are entirely different to the professional. And for the desire to be close to his child, no-one should chastise Papa Fabregas.

However to believe that because the player wants to leave, he should be allowed to is entirely wrong; matters are not so simple. Arsenal is entitled to be recompensed handsomely for pushing the player’s development quicker than would have been achieved had he remained at Barcelona at sixteen.

Trying to put pressure on Arsenal to sell is a tactic which is failing to work, even the Catalan club recognise this. Papa should be turning his desires onto the suitors, telling them to back their words with actions. Failing to see any action on their part should send alarm bells ringing in Team Fabregas rather more loudly than the stubborness of Arsenal. As Phil Oakey crooned, “Don’t you want me?“.

Carlos Vela though put into words the perspective of the player:

He will be going back to his country and it is good for him. It is difficult for big players, they want to win trophies and play in games like the Champions League final. I’m sure he’s disappointed we have not won anything for five years. Of course, it will be sad to see Cesc join Barcelona. He is the star of the Arsenal team and it is better to have him. But it is a decision for Cesc.

There could be some who take issue with Vela’s words but all that has happened is that a view has been stated: It would be better if he stayed but it is up to him. Perhaps Vela could do more, as could the rest of the squad, to persuade Cesc to stay or at least make the decision to go tougher. Barcelona’s players have had no reticence in publicly airing their views about his future, perhaps Arsenal’s could do the same.

It seems that all of the speculation is having an effect with reports suggesting that Cesc is quieter than normal. One wonders if all of the pressure is getting to him, particularly as Captain Caveman noted:

It’s very unusual to see Cesc nervous, but all this is a bit problematic for him because we are talking daily about this topic; his fans, his manager and his teammates must all be respected.

These boys have got more respect than Aretha Franklin. One wonders if the persistence of their desires may actually backfire, the seemingly constant demands may well impact upon his World Cup preparations and if that is the case, there is time for him to be dropped from the squad by Del Bosque and replaced with someone more focussed. And then when the blame game starts, fingers do point back at his potential employers.

Sol Campbell is a tricky situation, once more highlighting the scenario of older players only being offered a one-year deal. In Campbell’s case, he played more frequently than he probably expected and was fitter than many expected. At this stage in his career, you might expect him to be looking for a final deal to see out a playing career that he believes has two years left. In those circumstances, he can hardly be criticised for seriously considering a move that fulfils that desire on paper.

Another aspect is playing time. Wenger is looking for another centre back to replace the seemingly soon-to-be-departed William Gallas and a new signing is likely to be ahead of Campbell in the queue for a first team place. Add Johan Djourou into the mix and Campbell is suddenly the fourth choice, a bit of a comedown for a man who harboured ambitions of being on the plane to South Africa as a playing member of the England squad.

It could be that Campbell has also noted the pace of the Premier League and the quality of his opponents, judging that he might be able to handle the Scottish top flight more comfortably. We shall see.

However, this instance once more highlights the potential pitfalls of the one-year policy at Arsenal. Whilst the fitness concerns about ageing players are not misplaced, there are plenty of examples of over-30s who have played thirty or more games in a season without any noticeable injuries arising. Arsenal will no doubt claim that they have reviewed each case on its merits and someone with the injury record of William Gallas may be unreasonable to a certain extent in expecting an improved contract.

Yet in the case of Gilberto and Robert Pires, was the decision right? The latter is clouded by his injuries early on at Villarreal but they were sustained in challenges and cannot be indicators of definite problems had he remained at Arsenal. With Gilberto, his departure came at a time when Flamini left for Milan. However, with the belief that Flamini strung Arsenal along until deciding to go to Italy, would Gilberto have been tempted to stay with a deal.

In some cases Wenger has got it right but as with the younger players, there are examples of it going wrong and will be more in the future. It appears that Arsenal is the only club that overtly applies this policy, a knock-on from the cultivation of younger players. A balance should be found with more flexibility for excellent players.

’til Tomorrow.