Lots of stuff still bubbling over from the Carling Cup game the other night.
Carlos Vela, hat-trick hero, shows he’s got a good head on his shoulders by acknowledging that young players, despite being given their chance by Arsene Wenger, have to work hard if they want to make it at Arsenal. He also talks about the unity in the team, saying:
We are very close as a group of players. We have a strong friendship – it’s almost like we are a family. You can see that from the way in which the team is playing.
And that’s a big factor in a team’s success. I know we’ve spoken before about how you don’t have to be friends with somebody in order to play football with them, but if you are mates I think it makes a difference. You’re willing to put in that bit extra.
Nicklas Bendter says the display of the youngsters has justified the boss’s decision not to sign anybody before the end of the transfer window. The big Dane says:
There is talk about the strength of the squad and every year the boss says we have the players. They have showed they have the quality to do what is required. We are strong and capable enough. We are top of the table and are doing well.
There’s a long way to go yet though. Bendtner has had a decent start to the season and his game looks to have become much more rounded. He’s got a good eye for a pass and the technique to carry it out, he certainly knows where the goal is and more importantly he seems to be much better integrated into the first team this season. Keep it up, Nick.
And to complete the Carling Cup fun we have young Jack Wilshere being compared to Liam Brady by none other than Arsene Wenger. Well, by none other than other people whose comments Arsene Wenger has referenced, but I’d imagine those people are people know knew or played with Chippy down the years. Anyway, it’s about time we had a new Liam Brady. We’ve had a new Vieira on more than one occasion, a new Tony Adams from time to time and Theo is, of course, the new Thierry Henry, but a new Liam Brady is something else. The manager is aware of the fact you can’t put too much pressure on Wilshere but it’s clear he’s a very special talent. How far he goes is entirely down to him but he looks fantastic and he has a cheeky little scamp face.
And while I don’t want to go too overboard with the Carling Cup win as there’s still a lot of football to be played this season, some of the results we’ve seen this week should put it in some kind of perspective. Fulham, Man City, West Ham and Villa all out to lower league opposition. Other Premier League clubs have merely scraped through so it’s a good sign that we can do what we did on Tuesday night.
The League Manager’s Association has come to the defence of Arsene Wenger after the comments this week from UEFA President Michel Platini. It’s been interesting to see how people have sided with Wenger on this one, even fans of teams who you wouldn’t expect to back the Arsenal boss in any way. I suppose it goes to prove how misguided Platini’s comments are. And for more on why he said what he did and his reasons make sure you tune in to tomorrow’s Arsecast where I’ll have an in-depth interview with France Football’s Philippe Auclair to talk about Platini and our Carling Cup kids.
You might have seen that Chelsea have signed that bloke Mineiro that we had on trial with us. I suppose it illustrates brilliantly the difference between the two teams. Chelsea, short of a player in midfield, will not even consider giving a young player a chance, choosing instead to sign a guy who is basically at the tail end of his career. We had him on trial, didn’t think he was good enough and now he’s signed for Chelsea. How disheartening it must be to be a young player at Chelsea knowing you are never going to get near the first team. Not that I give a shit about them, nits make lice and all that.
Right, that’s about that. Have a fun Thursday, if that’s possible, and I’ll talk to you on tomorrow’s blog.
