Lots going on this morning as the boss held his first real press conference of this pre-season. I watched it on Arsenal TV and he was flanked by Bacary Sagna who was roundly ignored by the press boys until they were reminded he was there.
Of course they all wanted to hear from the boss about the various goings-on, more than anything about the possible return of Patrick Vieira. It does seem as if there’s something to all the speculation as AW said:
There is a football decision and then there’s the psychological impact of a player of that stature coming in. We are nowhere near to making a decision like that. But it is a possibility. We don’t rule it out and we don’t say we will do it. That’s my decision at the moment.
Which is classic, Arsene. We might. But we might not. But it’s possible. Because anything is possible. But you never know. And when something happens you’ll be the first to know.
I’m sure the Vieira song will get a rendition or two during today’s game but I think any decision on his return will be made based on the physical side of things. I know the boss has talked about the psychological impact but it’s difficult to see that being anything but positive.
I’ve said for some time that the best thing for a number of these young players would be to play and train alongside experienced campaigners, and Vieira is certainly that. He could teach them a lot about football, about attitude and desire, and it may just improve them more quickly. Either way the boss will make his mind up but I think whether or not he’s still got the legs will prove to be the most important factor.
He was asked about the sales of Adebayor and Toure and he confirmed that money raised from those sales would be available to him if he decided to go into the transfer market. When asked if selling to a rival for the top four was a factor he said:
I always say when you come to the decision to sell a player you can’t on top choose who you want to sell them to. If they are becoming a main rival I cannot stop it with a decision to sell a player or not. If they don’t buy from you they buy another good player from someone else.
Which is an interesting perspective. In Adebayor they’ve bought an effective striker provided he gets the right service and he’s interested enough to play for you. Could they have bought a better striker with the money they have? Yes, no doubt. Kolo is a fine player but not the same player he was and while a change of scenery may rejuvenate his career the manager has looked at his stats, his performances, and decided to let him go.
So City are stronger but are they as strong as they could have been? That’s the question. The one thing the boss did stress during the press conference though was that we are not close to signing anybody just at this moment in time. Truth or Wenger spin to put people off the trail? I suspect truth.
He would not be drawn on the statement of the Bordeaux president regarding Marouane Chamakh but the whispers are that the Moroccan striker remains a disinct possibility. He’s stressing at all times the belief that this squad is strong enough to challenge next season, both in terms of quality and numbers. I know we all have our opinions on that but I wonder if there’s a bit more to it.
If he talks all the time about how he thinks they’re good enough then adds a player or two to the pack then they’ll think they’re good enough + 2 extra players good which will make them unbeatable! I could be reading too much into that.
Team news ahead of the weekend’s football and the boss confirmed that Tomas Rosicky would be taking part as would Gael Clichy who some reports said would miss the start of the season. Aside from Nasri though the only injury is to Abou Diaby who has a minor knee problem but really you could spin a wheel, pick from any number of niggly little injuries and assign it to Diaby at any given time.
We read about how he’d spent the summer working on his fitness and that’s only to be commended. He knows he’s got to prove he’s capable of playing for Arsenal this season. At some point you have to cut your losses with a player who is hardly ever fit or fit long enough to get into any kind of rhythm. It’s reminiscent of a couple of pre-seasons ago when he was expected to step up and be Cesc’s partner only to spend the time out injured and watch as Mathieu Flamini grabbed the opportunity by the throat.
So far he’s only played against Barnet, the boss says he’ll be back for the Valencia game in a week’s time, so we’ll have to just wait and see.
Today’s game against Atletico Madrid sees the return to Arsenal of Jose Antonio Reyes. I know he frustrated a lot of people with the way he left the club, me included, but on reflection I don’t think he’s a bad lad at all. He was just unable to cope with the familial pressures that blighted his time in England and I hope he gets a decent reception. He’s had some nice things to say about the Arsenal too.
This morning’s Mirror speculates that Philippe Senderos could be on his way to Everton as they prepare to sell Jolean Lescott to Moneybags City. I know the boss has talked about how many defenders we have in the squad but I’d rather we kept a 24 year old Senderos, for this season at least, than a 33 year old Sylvester.
Perhaps his sale might be an indication of further moves in the midfield area. At some point he has to decide if Alex Song is a midfielder or a centre-half. If Senderos goes it does leave us a bit short in that area. Sylvester spent a lot of time out injured last season and in his time at United, Gallas has picked up one serious injury a season ever since he’s arrived so I would inclined to keep him around.
Right, well that’s it. Kick off today is 4.15pm. I will be sat downstairs, beer in hand, looking on with much interest, especially at the way the team lines up. If you’re going have a nice day out and enjoy the football.
Till tomorrow.
