Refreshing Honesty From Jack

“We are not in a crisis, we are only in some difficulties“

Sepp Blatter, surely the outgoing Fifa President spoke yesterday, in the midst of the tempest around the world game’s governing body. Blatter would probably describe the Gulf Wars as civil disobedience if this is merely a ‘difficulty’ facing football at this moment in time.

His words, no matter how ill-advised, could equally be applied to Arsenal. Fortunately journalists attention turned eastwards so Jack Wilshere’s interview has largely flown below the sensationalist radar. There is a refreshing honesty in his words compared with the platitudes normally spun by the squad.

It would on quieter days, quite easily been incendiary for the headline writers for the home truths contained within it. Those truths reveal a professional’s view of gamesmanship. Wilshere may yet find himself in hot water with the FA – if they can drag themselves away from the politicking – when he spoke of the pressure that Manchester United players put on officials,

Not so much keep going on at the ref, but just let them know. You see the players at Man United and they are great at it. They are round the ref.

Too nice. A frequent criticism of the Arsenal squad, Jack wants a little nasty to be added to the armoury. United have a long-earned reputation for bullying officials, something which the football authorities were keen to stamp out some time ago. It was an initiative which has quietly faded.

Competitive spirit ought to see Arsenal follow suit of the United and Chelsea players. Neither side are angels in that respect, both sides have built a fear in visiting teams, the knowledge that officials will likely be swayed in dubious decisions enhances that trepidation.

It is an interesting contrast to the title-winning Arsenal squads. There was no reticence from Henry, Bergkamp or Vieira in telling referees what they thought. Even reputed quiet men such as Gilberto or Lauren were known to be vocal. That is the mentality being demanded with new players.

The voluble nature of those players in the dressing room was an issue last season. Or rather, the absence of it. There is contradictory opinion on that from Wilshere.

We do miss a couple of shouters, but there are definitely some shouters in the dressing room. There have been times at half-time when there have been arguments and we’ve come back out and won. We do miss a player like Patrick Vieira. But there are leaders at Arsenal, the experienced players like Robin [Van Persie].

Thomas Vermaelen is back — that’s great. We’ve got Van Persie, Vermaelen, Cesc [Fabregas]. We probably need a few more big leaders to help us out.

That led to Jack defending his captain, rightly so. Much criticism of Fábregas is based on the opinion of those who do not see the leadership he provides. Wilshere appreciates it, understands the draw of home but put to bed the lie that the captaincy is only in Spanish hands as a sop. The players would not stand for it were that the case.

The lack of silverware is not unnoticed either,

Arsenal’s a big club and we need to be winning trophies and we need to win them to keep our big players, sooner rather than later. A hundred per cent it will be a disaster if we don’t win a trophy next season. We know that. The fans feel it. We feel it. We just need to win a trophy

Is it scaremongering to suggest that players will leave without trophies? Possibly, possibly not. There is a certain loyalty in players like van Persie, Fábregas as well otherwise he would have been in Catalonia by now. That loyalty cannot be taken for granted though whilst a rebuilding process is undertaken.

Silverware is not guaranteed to keep players either, it has to be said.

The key point of it was that Jack Wilshere spoke from the heart, showing an understanding of how supporters feel. Tomorrow sees the transfer window open and an air of expectation exists for the manager to sign the required players that can take a talented but brittle squad forwards, to earn the titles that they ought to win.

It is a tapestry which will unfurl through the summer. ’til Tomorrow.

Delusions, Illusions & Transfer Gossip

Swansea and Reading bring the domestic season to its’ conclusion at Old Trafford. The closeness of Reading to home gives them the edge as far as I’m concerned although it has been some years since Arsenal encountered Swansea. The last meetings took place in the second season of three points for a win in 1982/83 which shows how long ago  it was. As long as both sides follow the shared ethos of Blackpool and West Brom in playing football, they will be a welcome addition to the Premier League. Otherwise it will be a waste of Birmingham’s relegation…

Dominating the headlines are comments by Edwin van der Sar. He believes that Manchester United are closer to beating Barcelona than previously. The delusion – better than any held by Arsenal supporters – comes from the United defence holding out for more than twenty minutes on Saturday.

Arsenal are a bit part player in football at the moment, the imminent arrival of the transfer window will see that change when Arsène swings into action, all of the new signings arriving at The Emirates by the end of this week. See, delusional….

Ricky Alvarez’s move to the club is in doubt, shooting from outside of the area is not the Arsenal way (thanks to @DearArsenal for that one). Highlighting the quietness of news this weekend is Andrey Arshavin thinking he will be stay at Arsenal. It’s a tale given credibility by including a recent quote and having three paragraphs on the website.

Were it not for the Fifa Ethics Committee growing one out of the required set, it would be a quiet day. A full pair they do not possess because that would have meant recommending that the Presidential Rubber Stamp, sorry, Election being held this , be cancelled.

Blatter, unsurprisingly, came out smelling of roses. He assured that outcome last week when he told the world of a failed attempt to bribe him some years ago, one where his honesty shone through. Add into that mix the brazen corruption of his accuser and it just looked like it was a ‘tit for tat‘ complaint.

As it is, suspending Hamman and Warner from any involvement with football, pending the outcome of the full investigation, is a step in the right direction. In the latter’s case, the sound you can hear is the stable door swinging in the wind; that horse bolted years ago and nobody in power cared then. What reason to believe they do now?

And it may have escaped the powers-that-be’s notice but the 2022 World Cup is to be held in Qatar. Unless they rescind the decision, who says crime does not pay?

That all of the accusations came from a longstanding ally of Blatter leaves a lingering smell about this investigation. Previous accusations of vote-rigging have long stained his Presidency and that sums up his legacy. When history judges his reign at Fifa, it will show he presided over rampant commercialisation, greed and distancing of the professional game from the supporters. The World Cup is at the centre of that with ticket prices that beggared belief until Uefa’s recent Champions League pricing policies became evident.

Dick Pound suggests that withdrawing from Fifa if that organisation refuses to reform. The main problem with this solution is that incompetence is not unique to the world game’s ruling body. For years the Football Association, Football League and Premier League have shown utter disregard for the national game. Would letting them loose on the world stage actually improve anything?

’til Tomorrow.

Sunday Gossip & Arsenal Are Shown The Reward For Hard Work

Old Trafford was pivotal to football’s key issues yesterday. Well done to Stevenage, commiseration to Torquay especially with the inappropriate location. A crowd of 11,484 proved the Football League’s folly in dragging everyone to Manchester when more local venues were available, e.g. Ashton Gate, Villa Park, The Emirates, Madejski Stadium.

Was it a warning about the play-off concept. They continue the ‘excitement’ and offer advancement for those who would ordinarily have missed out. The danger is though that fans become ‘footballed out’ by this time of the year, asking them to make a round trip of several hundred miles is not sensible.

The Premier League need to think hard before re-introducing the concept to the top flight. The EPL Board recent discussed introducing this for the final Champions League slot. The teams from 4th to 7th fight for the spot but it impacted on more than the 4th place team. If they miss out on the ECL, the 5th placed team missed out on the Europa League. Too much potential pain for a smaller gain. The financial losses incurred are the motivator for this idea not being implemented not a sense of sporting justice.

At Wembley, the gulf between Barcelona and the rest became evident begging the question, how did they only win 3 – 1? United were second best by a substantial distance. It puts the result at the Camp Nou for Arsenal into perspective, highlighting the impact of van Persie’s dismissal. The Catalans performance also highlighted how far Arsenal have to travel to reach their level. The movement off the ball was superior to that which Arsenal produce, a point that is surely not lost on Arsène.

Yet it is not that simple. The pace of the Premier League is such that a pressing game is not possible. Arsenal would be visibly tiring by the time the last quarter of the game came if they pursued that tactical plan. The directness of the domestic game needs to be married with the passing / pressing game. That happened at times last season but as the crunch came, too many players reverted to type. Confidence shorn, they refused to shoot from distance.

Proof that the biggest hurdle is mental. Alex Song believes it to be the case, his words are nothing new and largely agreeing with the issues that supporters have long believed to exist. The problem with the squad is that they always appear to know what the problem is but do not have the wherewithal to resolve them. That is the biggest challenge Arsène faces this summer.

And it is one that £50m will not solve. Well, it might but nobody is quite sure where the money is coming from. Daily Express hacks believe that it comes from the announcement by the PL Board of their approval by KSE. It was another opportunity for Kroenke to expound his vision for the club, another opportunity spurned. Instead Lord Peter spoke and trotted out the same old lines.

KSE’s policy is curious. This is a PR battle that they stand on the edge of losing. Everyone but the owner is speaking yet those who do the talking have little real power at the club. It is time Kroenke left his Ivory Tower and presented his vision for the club.

Elsewhere, the entire squad has now been replaced in the media. All for 36p net spend. Gael Clichy is to be replaced by Leighton Baines. Barcelona are in London and therefore ready to offer £30m because Cesc is not worth as much now as he was last summer. This despite him assisting them in their pursuit of Champions League glory. Apparently, his replacement is Axel Witsel. And we haven’t even mentioned Eden Hazard. Bugger.

Gervinho is on his way to The Emirates, as is Christopher Samba although can Arsène be tempted to sign Cahill or Mertesacker. Scott Dann of Birmingham City is an outside bet. For £15m according to this morning’s News of the World. Little wonder that Wenger looks abroad when so little ability is available at extortionate prices. Still, this is all to be expected according to Aaron Ramsey, ins and outs are all part of modern football.

That’s it for today. Those who want to follow on Twitter, the icon for that and the RSS feed are peeking over the top of the menu bar whilst you can subscribe to the blog by clicking on the button the right or here.

’til Tomorrow.

Any Of The Current Squad In Your Dream Team & Gossip

World media attention is on Wembley for the Champions League Final. Do not come here expecting a jingoistic support of Manchester United. I hate them every day of the week, feelings that do not disappear in times of European football.

It is a tough call though. Barcelona and Manchester United are the two evils; if someone can come up with a foolproof notion as to which one is the lesser, please let us know. (Thwack! My mother was born in Barcelona. That’s a good enough reason – Mrs YW) Thank you dear, always good advice.

Arsenal have launched their search for the all-time XI to play for the club. It is an enjoyable exercise but comparing players through the ages is fraught with difficulties. The Golden Age of the ’30s exists in diminished memories or on black and white film.

Their playing equipment would probably cause serious injury to many players of today. Arsenal are not renowned as great headers of the ball at the moment, they would be even less inclined to do so were a ball from that era to be coming in their direction today.

It is a quest that brings into sharp focus the current squad’s quality. How many have a genuine case of inclusion? Not many.

Before you get all hung up on this, look at the squad. Fabregas and van Persie are World Class. Nasri and Arshavin lack the required consistency to be considered so occupying the hinterland between ‘Very Good’ and ‘Exceptional’. Walcott and Wilshere have the potential whilst Song is reliable.

Sagna is the best right back in the country bar none, one of the best in the world. The centre backs and goalkeepers? How come no-one wants to buy them? Not even the media can be arsed to link them with a club abroad, no matter how ludicrous such attachments might be.

Yet you do not expect them all to be ‘stars’, nor should they all be. Age is against some , ability others but a team of ‘stars’ does not win much – ask Real Madrid. Even Chelsea’s megabucks teams consisted of reliable professionals and ‘stars’. The Invincibles also highlighted that. This is the balance Arsène must find, one that is not too far away, one that a summer of activity might resolve.

For those who were wondering, my XI would be:

Seaman; Sagna, Adams, McLintock, Sansom; Armstrong, Vieira, Brady, Pires; Bergkamp, Henry

Subs: Wilson; Rice, Keown, O’Leary, Cole; Rocastle, Williams, Fábregas, Limpar; van Persie, Wright

Tempting as it is, a second substitutes bench might be pushing it a bit so apologies to Jennings; Anderson, Bould, Storey, McNab; Ljungberg, Davis, Talbot, Nasri; Radford, Kennedy for your omissions. Fine players one and all.

The key thing to remember is that these players did not all play in the same team. Each era has its star players, the current incumbents time may yet come.

Yesterday saw Arsenal transfer dreams shattered. First of all Pep Guardiola might leave Barcelona and the poster boy of the “Wenger Out” campaign looks to be heading to Stamford Bridge if he does. Or he might take a year off. Which with the age of the Chelsea squad might well be the same thing.

Meanwhile, Karim Benzema is not for sale. At least he doesn’t think so. The story’s credibility is summed up by the media. Yesterday The Sun had Gael Clichy being sold. Their heart was not in it though, only three sentences in the story. This Benzema denial is given the same short shrift. Karim, Hell hath no apathy like a hack scorned.

Charles N’Zogbia was apparently coy on his chances of a move to a big club. He wasn’t really, more embarrassed that his agent had forgotten to plant the story before a journalist asked the question. Christopher Samba is another one constantly linked with the club. Somewhere between a lummox and monster, he will cost somewhere between £8m – £12m which is somewhere between £8m – £12m too much. Arsène rates him though, so who am I to argue?

Elsewhere Aaron Ramsey scored for Wales in their 2-0 victory over Northern Ireland in Dublin yesterday. Cannot tell you about the goal as I did not see it. Nor did many others as the official attendance is listed as 529. And no, I have not missed a zero or zeroes out. 529. A pointless international if ever there was one.

’til Tomorrow.

Transfer Talk & Pearce Directs The Muppet Show

“They ain’t human. Human being wouldn’t live the way they do. Human being couldn’t stand to be so miserable”…The Grapes of Wrath. Or in Arsenal’s case, The Gripes Of Wrath…

The final weekend of the domestic season starts, The Championship play-off final will decide who next season’s relegation fodder will be decided. That is not meant in a patronising way, simply that recent seasons have seen clubs who play football end up in trouble. And none of QPR, Norwich or Swansea / Reading can say they definitely will not end up in trouble. Best of luck to them though in their new adventures.

In the world of Arsenal, out with old, in with the old might be the order of the day. Per Mertesacker is the Commercial Departments dream signing, doubling the cost of a shirt if his surname is printed on the back. Last summer saw his name and Arsenal in quite a few stories, all which came to an abrupt end when he signed a new deal. The suspicion now is that the deal was signed just to allow his employers to extract the maximum fee this summer. Come in Mr Fàbregas, your time is up…

Others this morning are contradictory by nature. Eden Hazard is, according to the ever-reliable Daily Mirror, a prime target for Arsène. Other sources suggest that the winger is staying in France for one more season. Which gives credibility to the suggested bunfight between Arsenal and Liverpool for the vastly overrated Stewart Downing.

Playing the role of Jimmy Five Bellies in this one is Gervinho, whose departure from Lille is by no means certain and curiously worrying as a number of his sentences are in the third person, despite being about himself.

The African Cup of Nations is a fly in that ointment although many will be hoping he signs and then goes to that tournament so that they can bleat in the next transfer window about how Arsène knew the player would be missing for six weeks and he should have signed a 30 goal a season striker.

Talking of which, Falcao’s agent is on something if he thinks Arsenal are going to go anywhere near his client for €30m. And whatever it is, I want lots of it because it is going to make this summer go quickly.

Indeed, Stuart Pearce might well have ingested a similar substance for he has simply lost the plot. There can be no other explanation for his outburst, displaying all the petulance of an eleven year old who has been told they cannot have an Xbox game bought for them,

Every player at this stage of the season would be reasonably tired. Arsenal have not left him out of the side in the last six weeks, even though the stats have said he’s in the red zone.

It is a quote that ends the argument, quite simply because Pearce accepts Wenger was right. Acknowledging that every player would be reasonably tired ought to be reason for him to accept withdrawals with good grace. Too much effort that seems.

Having been a club manager – like all of his international peers – Pearce shows the inherent selfishness that will continue the club v country argument until the end of time. I could rant about who pays the wages but that would suggest that I care what Pearce thinks.

Wenger should take note of one thing though. Liverpool were remarkably quiet over Andy Carroll. Too quiet in fact, suggesting that they did their talking behind the scenes and this is why Pearce has not decried Dalglish. Either that or he is scared of the Liverpool manager. Which for someone who revelled in the nickname ‘Psycho’ is not particularly clever. Which sums Pearce up.

’til Tomorrow.

Forward!

Spikey midfield maestro Limpar Assist, gives you his view of the season…

Feb 27th – A flash of lightening, a roll of thunder… a Foster wallop, a Zigic shove, a checked swing of the right peg and a shout gone awry.

March 05th – The ball sits in the net chalked off and a stonewall penalty denied.

March 08th – Camp Nou. 95,000 screaming fans. 3-2 to the Arsenal. 1 more for the Londoners takes the tie away from Barcelona. Barca need a goal to take it into extra time and two to win the match. 56th minute – Massimo Busacca hands the tie to the hosts. In a split-second.

Four days later exit in the Sixth Round of the FA Cup at Old Trafford.

That was the week that was.

There has been a lot of talk about he final ten games of the season. Soul-searching for some, howling self-flagellation for others.

We will never know how hard that week hit the players – the cumulative effect of those heavy disappointments on morale, on confidence. By that stage of the season bad refereeing decisions were nothing new but you’d be hard pushed to replicate a week like that ever again.

Movement became stymied, creativity dampened, nerves hampered decisions. Extra touches, checked runs; partnerships were frayed with tension. What was natural and joyful became laboured and awkward.

A lot of talk – enough talk. Time to look forward.

What got us within punching distance and how do we build on it?

Nobody watching Arsenal play through the first seven months of the season could have been unimpressed. The team was on the up, full of improvement, ready to challenge for honours.

The skill on show was remarkable. The new challenge of having to pick double-locked defences with two markers on each of our attackers brought about some of the most ingenious, subtle passages of football produced in recent times.

The Chamakh-Fabregas combination at Goodison in November …the finest slide-rule one-two you’ll ever see for Nasri to finish on New Year’s Day in the sleet at St Andrews …the French Player of the Year’s inch-perfect alley-oop in a sparkling win over Shaktar …PFA Young Player of the Year Jack Wilshere’s magic back heel in Belgrade …and this before you start talking about Robin Van Persie. 22 goals in 33 appearances.

Goals from the scarcely comprehendible equaliser in the Cup Final to the audacious, chokingly important postage stamp thunderbolt against Barcelona (remember how Arsenal made you feel that night?). No wonder they wanted him out of the equation – Van Persie has stepped up in 2011, becoming the best all-round centre forward of his generation.

We can postulate on why we couldn’t summon up our best in the face of the hammer blows of March but to deny that what was there in the first place and claim that Arsenal are ‘going backwards’ ignores the reality of the season.

Those who decry progress have missed Walcott’s consistent precision to find the inside foot of the post with his finishing. They slept as Alex Song took responsibility in front of goal with big, barn-storming strikes and subtler ones too!

They can’t possibly have slept through Nasri’s sublime feet scoring double figures in his breakthrough season. Or Aaron Ramsey’s long road to recovery capped with a winner against the Champions – breaking an increasingly irksome little duck against them as he did so. Zzzzzz.

Two young goalkeepers fought and won big personal battles. Johan Djourou’s first full season at the club was encouragingly assured. Laurent Koscielny’s was a riveting baptism of fire that saw him pocket some of the top strikers in world football with magnificent defensive tours de force against Barcelona, Man City, Chelsea and Man Utd.

An otherwise brilliant debut season was marred by a couple of laughable non-penalties wrongly awarded against him – and that checked right peg. His form was rewarded with a first cap for his national team, an astonishing year crowned as he fathered his first child.

Bacary Sagna quietly went about his business, winning, as is custom now, his place on the PFA Team of the Year – the best right back in the country without question. No Progress? He added goal-threat to his CV with a couple of absolute thumpers.

Where we finally lost the league, in my eyes, was with three home draws to Sunderland, Blackburn and Liverpool. We lost 4 points here on refereeing alone but that is often construed as ‘excuse-making’. Dare one mention the absences of our best players – annoying little details that only distract from the objective hard reality of mental weakness, defensive cluelessness and pampered, passionless underbellies.

The goals dried up though. We lost our edge. The team scrapped at the top of the league for 24 weeks, and played gutshot for 4. Have we become worse? Did we go backward?

Wilshere’s assists dried up midway through the season. He tired and his passing became less inventive (Arsène 1 – 0 Pearce is Arsenal’s first victory of 11/12) – but would you say he’s gone backwards? No. You back him to come again stronger next year. That’s exactly what we do with the team that fought at the top all year long only to be defeated at the last.

We will see a different Arsenal again in 2011-12. Tactical innovations will be drawn up to pick the lock, similar tweaks at the back. New players will arrive and young ‘uns will take the step up. The signings are not what turns this group into winners – it is up to these Arsenal players to realise their own potential to win. They came very close this season and the exciting thing is so many of them are getting better with each year.

Forward, Arsenal!

’til Tomorrow

Shared Responsibility & All The Links In The Transfer Chain

The takeover of Arsenal came back into focus with reports of Red & White Holdings being prepared to offer £14k per share. It smacks of a fit of pique by Usmanov, told by KSE to “talk to the hand ‘cos the face ain’t listening“, the Americans would rather he spoke to their lawyers.

The offer to independent shareholders is contradictory to Usmanov’s previous statements. Higher purchase prices than the AST might be able to offer is a strategy designed to eliminate them from the market, at the same time as thwarting Kroenke. Hardly a ringing endorsement of plurality of ownership in the club.

KSE are no better. They have not made any attempt to engage supporters by presenting their vision for the club. They might believe that the time is not right because of the manner of the season’s close on the pitch but silence is not golden in these circumstances. It does nothing to allay suspicions about their intentions.

The time has come for blandishments to cease and genuine plans revealed.

It was light(ish) relief as the summer shenanigans have begun in earnest. New York, London, Paris, Munich, everybody talks about whom Wenger is going to sign. There’s some potential for lyrics there, might need a bit of work though.

Karim Benzema is on his way! No sooner have United spent £18m on a goalkeeper than Arsenal are at it with a £35m striker. There is a touch of the Philippe Mexes about it all, a player constantly linked to Arsenal and frankly summer just isn’t summer without it.

Deemed surplus to requirements by Jose Mourinho, nobody has told Florentino Perez the news of Benzema’s departure, or at least nobody employed by Real. Someone did mention it in passing a matter of seconds before receiving the Spanish equivalent of a P45.

There is no reason to believe that a signing is imminent. A strong signing by United is feeding the desire for change at Arsenal, desire that manifested as chanting at Craven Cottage last Sunday. It shows the depths to which belief in Arsenal has sunk in some quarters.

Arsenal is a club in dire need of some good news, a trip to the Far East is not going to leave anyone – bar those in that region – feeling any better.

Such a signing has not been Wenger’s style. Sol Campbell and Marc Overmars qualify as ‘big signings’ in terms of their stature in the game. Pires and Ljungberg had yet to achieve the elevated status they enjoyed during the Arsenal careers.

It is clichéd but Wenger has form in buying cheaper than his rivals. The club’s financial constraints are a path well-trodden but there is more to it than that.

His previous signings for large fees have not been successful, Wenger’s record as chequered as Ferguson’s. Reyes and Jeffers were to varying degrees, failures but they left a legacy. Wenger is wary of spending such big sums in part because of the risk, something his cautious nature will be averse to.

Those risks may be minimised with a player such as Benzema but not eradicated. His spell is Madrid has not set the world alight yet that is not due to a lack of ability. Something as simple as the wrong club at the wrong time explains it.

Will it happen? Media quotes from the manager mean nothing, actions are more important and with the transfer window a matter of days away, cynicism can be applied from here on in.

Karim Benzema is going to garner more sales / hits than a player from the Argentine with a dodgy Italian passport. The flip side is that if it does not arise, another stick is found with which to beat the manager.

If Benzema does not arrive, Falcao is hot favourite to be the one. £25m is a lot of money to pay for an ageing Brazilian midfielder but at 57 and if he remains fit, the former international will bring much-needed experience to the squad. No, wait, the Porto forward? For £25m? I think I prefer the Brazilian.

How is all of this funded? Well by curious coincidence the media seem to think that the sales of Nicklas Bendtner, Denilson, Abou Diaby, Carlos Vela, Emmanuel Eboue and Manuel Almunia will fund it all. Arshavin, Clichy and Sagna will make up any shortfall. You could not make it up.

In fact you don’t have to since most of that has already been done for you. My own guess is that John Cross just does not rate Diaby. Nor does he have a vivid imagination.

And if all else fails, Alex Song to Internazionale. For £10m. Or £15m if Arsenal ask nicely. That’s what we like to see. A bit of imagination with flexibility over the price.

’til Tomorrow.