august 4th
Well, I’m sure you’re all well aware by now that Spanish radio station, Cadena SER, reported last night that Arsenal had agreed a £23.1m deal with Real Madrid for the transfer of Patrick Vieira. We’ve still yet to hear anything official from either side, but this brings the story to a whole new level. Cadena SER is not, as some people would like to believe, a Spanish Talksport, but it is probably Spain’s leading radio station.
I told you on July 17th that he was likely to leave and sadly nothing has changed in that respect. The only chance of him staying was the persuasive powers of Arsene Wenger but this time around the boss hasn’t been able to change Paddy’s mind. He’s going to join Real Madrid unless something extraordinary happens in the next few days.
I have to say quite honestly that I’m not even slightly upset about the deal going through either. Maybe it’s because of the long, drawn out media saga that we’ve had to put up with this summer (and the summers before), but this doesn’t feel the way it felt when Liam Brady left. I was inconsolable then. It doesn’t even feel the same as when Paul Merson left, and that transfer was one that was easy to rationalize when you looked at it from the manager’s point of view. Yes, Paddy’s been a fantastic player for us, he’s been a major part of our successes in recent years, but I just don’t feel terribly sad about him going. Is that just me?
I’m more interested in seeing what Arsene Wenger does to replace him. What is he going to do? Make a point of signing a big name, established player like Xabi Alonso or Maniche, or bring in somebody that we’ve never heard of? Is he going to sign a big name centre-half and move Kolo to central midfield? Who’s going to be captain? It’s going to mean our style of play is going to change somewhat. You can’t replace like for like, there isn’t another Vieira out there, so how is that going to affect the team next season?
I also hope nobody feels too bitter towards Paddy. Lord knows there’s a time in everyone’s life when they just feel like a change, and that’s what seems to be the case with him. Yes, Real Madrid have tapped him up big time, but that’s just part and parcel of modern football. Even his silence, which has been frustrating to say the least, is understandable in the context of the whole thing. If he said he wanted to leave it would weaken Arsenal’s hand at the negotiating table. He’s been a big player for us, he deserves our respect and thanks, not misplaced vitriol which would be better saved up and served on opposition players when the season begins.
Anyway, no doubt there’ll be plenty more on this story as the day progresses. Keep your eyes on the news feed for more.
In other news David Bentley’s loan spell at Norwich seems to be going well and he got himself a rather spectacular goal in a friendly against Peterborough. Let’s hope he keeps it up.
And that’s about it. It’s enough though, eh?
