You wonder what is the point of press conferences. Well, you might not but I certainly do. On a frequent basis. A series of bland questions are asked, blandishments returned. And don’t those answers get taken so seriously. It’s not as if prior to speaking Arsène puts one hand on the Bible, raises the other whilst solemnly swearing to “tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth” before taking his seat behind the microphones. Perhaps it would be better if there was a pregnant pause between “nothing” and the rest of the sentence. Even better still, end the sentence at “nothing” because rarely is there anything of import imparted. And when it is, you double-take, seeking out the hidden meaning rather like playing a record backwards in order to hear the Devil’s message.
Yesterday’s press conference was no exception, what appears to have been an interesting viewpoint on the pressures of scouting and signing players. Until the manager’s words were surrounded by misinterpretation. And then it was a case of light the blue touch paper and stand well back. Responding to questions about transfers for the umpteenth time, Arsène observed,
It’s very difficult because the level of expectation is very high. People want to see Lionel Messi. They don’t want to see a promising guy. First of all the name gives hope. When a guy has no name people are already sceptical. So it’s much more difficult for us.
I’ve re-read that several times since copying and pasting it into this post. I don’t actually see what is wrong with it. As statements go, that is hitting the nail on the head, firmly. With a 200lb sledgehammer. Contrary to the popular mythology, Arsène does appear to have been listening to supporters. No-one that I have seen has demanded that he sign 16 year olds for the future in this transfer window. Nearly everyone agrees that the squad needs strengthening with experienced, seasoned professionals with a high technical ability. Which is where the comparison to Lionel Messi arises.What?
He didn’t, as the Daily Mirror headline screams, say, ‘Arsenal buy Messi!’ That’s the only transfer headline Gooners want to read moans Wenger“. That’s sub-editorial licence but the reaction from some was to berate the manager for saying that we would not be happy unless it was Lionel Messi announced as the next transfer. Alarm bells should have been ringing in people’s heads when the transcript of the Q&A session did not appear on the Mirror website; they are usually quite quick to post them when something contentious is said. Quite simply, it was designed to draw attention and succeeded in doing so.
Far from criticising Arsenal fans, the manager displayed an understanding of the psyche of football supporters which belied the myth that he is out of touch with people. He tagged the sentences with hope. That is at the core of it all, the signing of a well-known player lifts supporters with the hope that he will deliver as he has done previously. Take two Spaniards as an example to prove the point. In 2003, sixteen year old Cesc Fabregas was snatched from Barcelona for a pittance. Back page news then but he was not deemed to be a saviour, a key player in the side. No, he was one for the future. Fast forward nearly a decade and the arrival of Santi Cazorla, excitement levels were tangibly higher.
You took it seriously though, didn’t you? You took those words quite literally, didn’t you? You took those words without looking at the context.
Red mists were down and it was open season. Or Duck Season, Wabbit Season. Words twisted in a gale force wind, swirling around, the misinterpretations continuing at a bewildering pace with the apparent gross slur on Arsenal supporters who have a long history of giving young players a chance. We’ll park that one for another day, the ethos of the Greed Is Good league has changed that somewhat from the pre-Internet era.
The circumstances of the team dictate the reaction, this time around we do not want to see a procession of young, unproven players. We need to sign proven players who can hit the ground running. Which is exactly the point the manager was making. So when he does give a serious answer, you complain about the answer not taking supporters seriously. But tell me, did you react to the misinterpretation of what was said or the reaction of others who had deliberately misinterpreted what was said.
So to the rumours, gossip and trivia, if you can handle it, of course. Someone whom many rate – I personally don’t but there you go – is Demba Ba. Wenger noted he rated him but felt that Giroud was a similar solution, one that was already in-house. It might have been worse but thankfully the manager didn’t mention Marouane Chamakh but that might have been because he didn’t want Fat Sam to realise that Chamakh isn’t Lionel Messi’s older cousin. He and Squillaci highlight the risks of any signing, as does Arshavin. You can find a player with international caps, an experienced background and a world-class reputation but that guarantees you nothing; these players can fail as easily as an inexperienced youngster. The trouble is, you do not discover this until it is too late. Squillaci and the manager confirmed that he is off, subject to finding a new club whilst Johan Djourou has apparently told Hannover he loves the Bundesliga and is going to join them. Andrey Arshavin is not russian to join Reading or Fulham, perhaps rather sensibly he is waiting until the Summer to see how this season pans out.
’til Tomorrow.
What about diara? Does he get a game at real these days?
ha sahin must have done the worst deal in his life by going to liverpool. He was wanted at arsenal and would have played a huge role, instead he opted for liverpool and now they wanna send him back as they got no use for him.
how thick can you be?
Diaby was certainly looking good and brought a nice balance to the midfield. But it was only a few games, so it is hard to really base a judgment on that. Diaby is also something of a streaky player even when fit, historically speaking. He’s brilliant but can also be very inconsistent. Perhaps he is a more consistent player now, but that’s hard to evaluate given how little he has played due to fitness.
What we need is to get some of the qualities Song and Diaby bring that are missing to achieve better balance. Perhaps there is no player as talented as Diaby available. But Jack/Ramsey, Arteta, Cazorla seem to be lacking something together despite all being really fine players. Maybe Rosicky playing more would be a help.
@Bwood
Diarra is somewhere out on loan or not at Real anymore, I think
btw, George, I think it would have been around 35-40 million Euros (not that it would make much difference to us at that level, but it wasn’t 40 million pounds).
POODLE ,BEGS THE QUESTION ,HOW GOOD IS HE?
And if Real also did not mind not having him?
The exchange rate then was much of a muchness as I recall
@Limestonegunner reading between the lines that indicates that given the resources AW is not exactly scared to splash the cash. It will be interesting to see how the club will manouver in the market ones the “emirate stadium” thing is over. …
this club has never been afraid of splashing anything when there has been money available basically and that is based on histoical facts from before we build Emirates.
Is it so that Emirates, the grand fortess we build to take the club to new hights is what is going to make us fall?
Limestone
We have top quality players in the midfield. If that is really our problem then the issue is not with the quality of the players and adding another arsenal type signing (12M) to mid field is not going to change anything. The only logical explanation for our midfield issues is tactical.
If we don’t have a CF who can create his own shots then we need one we are also one injury from gerv being our only realistic back for the front 3 and that’s assuming Theo stays which is far from certain. We clearly need more quality depth in the front 3.
@georg he was ace for was it dormound? was he not seen by wenger as a cover for Diaby?
Exactly, lucky escape on that one. He would of been another whipping boy and stick to beat arsene with
M’villa anyone
Bill, that is why my other priority (I’m after 2 players!) is a wide attacker/forward, some one with creativity who can set up our finishers and create his own shot.
Do we need another player who insists that his best position is through the middle as a CF (like Podolski, Theo, Giroud, and until today Chamakh?)
And like I said, I would be delighted if we went for Cavani.
George, I think you are right about that–it was a high point for the Euro.
Willian from shakter would be perfect, Chelsea and spurs are after him supposedly. He wants to play in the prem.
Maybe, C. I haven’t watched him enough and have been turned off by the attitude issues. Maybe he has the qualities and is ready to grow up. Certainly would be cheaper than last year.
@ Bill well something is wrong as i have rarely seen us dominate the midfield this year, but those matches we have, has been won by us. so clearly it is a problematic area…
however wheter it is tactics or qualit?
For me we miss some prescence. both jack and cazorla are tiny… atlest it would imo be beneficial to have an alternative in the “diaby moulde”.
If Cazorla was moved to the wing though i would imagin him playing alot like Nasri and arsharvin did in their heydays. ofc that would leave a gaping hole in our midfield…
not a bad word against Gervinho but he actually tackled himself in our last match. I wonder if you get in guinnes book of records for that :p
@Bwood Gooner well after AW publicly courtised Holtby and made Tottenham sign him Willian is up for grabs no? After all tottenhams midfield is filled up now
Poodle, Chelsea are the ones that will compete with wages though. If we really want a player we could always pay more then spurs.
@Bwood Gooner i agree it was half meant as a joke as everyone was so upset as tottenham rushed the holtby transfare to beat of any contest…
Limestone.
“Do we need another player who insists that his best position is through the middle as a CF (like Podolski, Theo, Giroud, and until today Chamakh?)”
How confident are you that any one of those players is the one that would lead the line of a potential PL winning team. The last time that a title team won without a dominant goal scoring presence was mourinho’s Chelsea and they were able to do that by conceding fewer then 20 goals per season. Where players want to play does mot matter. IMO Our best team is with Walcott wide right Podolski wide left which leaves only giroud who is at best a question mark right whether he will thrive in the role of our leading scorer. Besides united play RVP with Rooney and/or Hernandez. We could play with 2 strikers if the club had a little tactical flexibility. Hopefully a second top quality striker would allow us to develop some flexibility. Right now our lack of depth in the front 3 limits options.
@LG
By all accounts he is ready to come to the PL and his attitude is worth taking on IMHO!
Poodle
I agree regarding our issues in mid field but I don’t think another player is the answer in this case. I am 100% on board with adding some more physical presence in mid field but I don’t see that as having as much positive impact on the teams results as adding a top quality goal threat for the front 3.
Looks like we start can to get serious about Joel Campbell as an Arsenal player now. Betis up to 4th in La Liga.
Whoops, got my word order up mixed.
BigAl
How is he looking for them?
Just seen bits and pieces, C – plays wide, and shines in fits and bursts. Got a nice assist tonight. Saw him vs Barcelona and he went off at half-time! Although he wasn’t bad, just that the team was getting caned.
Importantly though, he’s had a run of starts since around early-November and he’s contributing to a team in form. So Pepe Mel clearly rates him.
All going well – he stays fit, and maybe gets a few more goals + a work permit, and he’d improve our squad next season for sure.
I mean, if we were linked in the papers for a winger who’s getting regular matches for a team pushing for Spain’s CL places, people would be well up for it. And we’d be expecting to pay a load of money for him.
Two great things about it – first, is that even though he wasn’t being considered for selection back in September he’s clearly worked hard to get game time.
The other is that it shows a real progression. Last year was his first in Europe and he looked raw but promising. This year he’s a regular in arguably the best league on the continent.
@BigAl
Glad to see him doing well and getting match time. he is a great prospect and sounds like one that we need to get this work permit stuff taken care of. Maybe part of the RVP deal was that Fergie was going to have a word with with the superiors and getting the deal done. Maybe the convo went like this:
Fergie: Arsene I was RVP
Arsene: Give me 25M and get Joel Campbell’s work permit taking care of and you can have him.
Fergie: I think I can do that since they all fear me because they know how much power I have. You’ve seen what the refs do for my club and the FA never punishes me.
Arsene: I was wondering how you get so many key penalties when your players dive. Take care of the work permit and you have RVP.
Fergie: Consider it done! O and if you want Nani you can have him but lets play it up a little in the media.
Arsene: Fine but I still hate you Fergie!
Hah – although the idea of Slur Alex lording it over AW upsets me a bit!
Seriously tho – Luckily Campbell’s been a regular at international level for nearly two years. It should mean that he’ll stand a good chance next summer, even if he hasn’t fulfilled the match quota.
@BigAl
Yea I hope so it would be great to see his finally donning the Arsenal red and white finally I must admit.
Diarra went to Anzhi Makhachkala in the summer. Will probably stay a season then fuck off to one of the Chinese clubs to pull in another fat pay check. The daddy of the mercenaries who has never stayed long enough anywhere to show what he was capable of. Nobody fucks off after only half a season claiming they haven’t had enough games.
Didn’t Diarra claim he wanted to move to get game time as he didn’t want his chances of getting in to the 2008 Euros damaged? AW must have thought he was a real problem as he surely would have just lent him out otherwise.
The breaking news is that an offer is on the table for Villa.
Perhaps the Arsenal players should start speaking out about his dna
So much talk about Villa, it’s as if he’d already on his way! Catalan journo says he wants to come, but not likely in January.
He scored 34 goals two seasons ago I believe. But last season and this, has managed few appearances (not entirely due to having his leg broken in Japan, though that obviously contributed substantially).
He’s a fantastic striker and would suit us down to the ground. Arsène will have to up the offer a bit though. I’m not holding my breath there. Although, hey, we have a real affinity for players who’ve had their legs broken!
It’s got to be good news that Diaby is back in training; he has a lot more pluses than minuses, but woeful fans talk only about his injury record forgetting that there walked RVP season upon season. Arsenal is not an idiot club of course, and there is a reason we are hanging onto Diaby like gold; my view is that the medical or specialists must have told Wenger that diaby’s condition is not permanent, is solvable, but needs more patience.
If Villa comes to Arsenal, for say 14m or so, it is damn good news and rather good business too. We need goals, consistently, and his experience at CL level is invaluable also. Mostly, he would instill confidence. He can of course also play left or right, usually left. I figure he will play on the right, open it up so to speak, and Theo continue in the middle.
Then Theo will sign I suppose.
Then Rosicky will be back in the mix. I’m ready to think Wenger has been holding him back, injury aside, for the latter half of the season push, where his enthusiasm and technical ability make a bigger difference.
Then Song will beg for a return, he’s in trouble.
Then Santos will make a full return, and show what a Brazilian does when fully fit. I would not write off a Denilson return in summer either.
In any event I am sure Wenger is not actually planning to go backwards in the second part of the season; and has some sane reason to envisage a better second half.
Red Kangaroo.
I agree with your point that the purchase of a marquee signing would give everyone a lift. Bergkamp is probably the best example of this and AA as well, even though the impact that each made has been very different.
Someone else earlier made the very valid point that Arsene has a very good track record of finding and making stars. To be honest of our three purchases over the summer I only had an informed opinion of Podolski, I only really got to know about Carzola and Giroud once all the speculation began.
Cast your.mind back and who had really heard about Viera or Anelka. I have not given up hope of Arsene unearthing some more gems, we might have them.on our books already
At this stage, fans need to realise that short of winning the EPL which is only likely if both RvP and Rooney are injured and United start collapsing, anything and everything is still feasible between 2nd and 8th. There is much to fight for. While one can’t write off Tottenham or Everton, we have at least grounds for confidence in overhauling both; Chelsea are blowing hot and cold and with 4 points in it and a little under half a season left, we can get there; City are formidable, a powerhouse of depth, but not that far off if Arsenal improves its scoring potential, and turns too many draws (so far) into 3 points. It’s amazing how quickly a 9 or 10 point lead can become a 2 or 3 point lead in the season’s second period, and open the door for any final results; and everyone’s inspiration should always be Wigan 2011-12 miracle season. There is a Wigan every season.
Zim
I’d say we have to do an Arsenal!
Remember the 08/08 season, in January we were 8 points behind Villa who were in 4th place! In the end Villa collapsed and dropped to 6th, leaving us to somehow cruise to 4th 9 points clear of Everton.
Even more impressive perhaps was just season. At the end of Jan we were 6th as we are now, only level on points with Newcastle, behind Liverpool in 5th, 7 points behind Chelsea in 4th and 13 behind Sp*rs in 3rd!
The fact that we managed to get 3rd is pretty amazing.
It will be close.
We need to do an Arsenal!!
In 1998 Arsenal came back from 12 points behind the league leaders at Christmas to win the title.
C, OOU
I realise he’s only 20, but does he look like he’s going to cut it with us? I ask because his figures suggest he’s struggled to get games and get goals. Of course, there are several reasons why this could be like this, hence I ask the question, but higher numbers in the games and goals columns would be more promising if he is to be considered a 1st team option.
Is he still at the stage where he would benefit from a loan in PL or Championship?
Hi mgk,
At this very moment he’s probably prem loan material – someone in mid-table or smthng. He’s been playing wide in a kind of. 4231, hence lack of goals, though it wold be nice to see him score more. This season he’s gone from being out of the squad to a starter for something like seven games on the bounce now. My reasoning is that he should continue to grow as the season wears on.
What we need once the dead wood has been moved on :-
Goalkeeper to challenge Chez
Left back to challenge Gibbs
Cb to replace Squillie and Johan
DM to replace Song
Striker (top priority)
Possibly a winger to replace Theo who i still believe will go as he still hasn’t signed yet.
I don’t think we should get too excited about Villa, 31 years old and just back from a serious injury has Eduardo written all over it IMO.
Whilst concerned about the cost for a 31 years old, Villa would be the best forward in the squad. So we should get him.
AW quoted by YW: “It’s very difficult because the level of expectation is very high. People want to see Lionel Messi.”
My hypothesis yesterday was that this could be Arsène speak for “we’re going for a really, really big name”. Am I right or what?
Only another twenty six and two third days of the transfer window left
How I will contain my excitement and get through it I dunno
Swansea tomorrow – Mertesacker back in for me, a little rest for Bacary and Theo back on the wing from the start
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