Morning.
Some interesting stuff around today. We could start with this supposed ‘secret deal‘ involving Cesc Fabregas which apparently saw his wages upped and back-dated as well as a special one off payment being made to him. I’m always a bit dubious when details of these ‘secret’ deals come out, it smacks of shit-stirring to me. A ‘boardroom source’ is quoted and that makes me even more dubious. I’m not suggesting it’s not true, it might well be, but the timing of such a leak is odd. And if it is true then I don’t really have any problem with it. If the club are recognising they’ve got one of the best young players in the world and are paying him accordingly then fine by me.
There’s a very interesting interview with Lee Dixon on Sport.co.uk. It’s lengthy but well worth a read and he touches on subjects which have been discussed by Arsenal fans all season long. For example, our defence, and perhaps a specialist defensive coach:
Nigel Winterburn went to Blackburn Rovers and was doing some coaching with Paul Ince; why has he not been asked back? Martin [Keown] is now doing media stuff. He was there but isn’t any more. Tony Adams is out of a job and looking for a managerial role; could he be asked? Nobody has asked me… I think there needs to be some organisation on that side of things.
And the issue of our goalkeepers came up:
I always ask people who have played that position before making a judgement. If its goalkeeping I’ll ask David Seaman and Bob Wilson; they both said about Jens Lehmann that he was a good goalkeeper, neither of them when I asked, have said they think Almunia or Fabianski is good enough. I would suggest that they are right.
And the quote of the article for me is this:
You are judged by your results and in the end the disappointments of this season come down to one thing. Arsenal have been brilliant with the ball and not good enough without it – that sums them up.
I really can’t argue with that at all. Sure, we’ve struggled in certain games to break teams down but that happens to every team. It’s the work ethic we’ve spoken about time and time again this campaign that has cost us. I have to say I like Dicko has a pundit. He’s intelligent and measured yet always keeps his Arsenal hat on. He won’t have spoken about the flaws in our team to stick the knife in, it’d be about identifying where problems are and hoping they get fixed. That part is down to the manager this summer.
Meanwhile Sol Campbell talks about the ‘fantastic talent’ at the club and reckons trophies are not far away. It’s worth noting that he’s extolling the virtues of hard work, ironing out weaknesses on the training ground and cultivating an winning attitude on and off the pitch and again that’s not something all our players have. You do get the sense that some players aren’t that bothered when we lose which also suggests they don’t care enough if we win or not. When games can be won or lost on the smallest of margins it’s always going to be a struggle to win trophies, I think this is why the Wigan game knocked the stuffing out of so many of us.
Looking at some other stories – Andrei Arshavin would like to play for Barcelona apparently. I suppose this will generate more Arsenal in crisis headlines but when you read what he says there’s nothing much in it.
The Telegraph says we’ll have plenty of money to spend this summer and throws the name of Jack Rodwell into the summer mix. It’s not the first time I’ve heard his name mentioned in recent weeks and I think this summer’s spending is going to be interesting for a couple of reasons. Firstly, because we all want to see how the issues in the team are addressed but also because I think the players that are signed this summer will be a clear indication of the manager’s plans for his own future. His contract expires next summer and if he goes out and buys ‘proper’ players then I think we can assume he’s going to extend his deal and stay on.
If we get a Kiwomya – Hartson – Helder type summer then it might well be an indication that he’s thinking this year could be his last. Personally, from what he’s said recently, I think he’s been more hamstrung by the new stadium than he’s let on and while he’s always been prudent he’s been active in the transfer market. Sure, some of them have been a bit Malzy, speculative, cheap deals which might, possibly, produce a decent player, but he has spent big at times. I think he’ll feel he can go out and spend this time around, that he’s entitled to the little windfall having spent so little in recent seasons, and we’ll see a fair number of new arrivals at the club.
Martin Keown told the Evening Standard:
If you look at the age of the team this year then I think they have over-achieved. They are all very young but we can’t keep saying that forever. Arsenal need to buy in a sprinkling of proven quality players and introduce them alongside the current players, and they will drag them over the line.
It seems like we’ve been saying that for an age, in fairness, but the manager has got no excuses this summer. I speak to a lot of Arsenal fans via this blog and I know that many still support Arsene and the job he’s doing. Equally, I know that there are a growing number of fans whose dissatisfaction grows as another season ends without silverware. Personally, I believe we’ve made some progress this season and I’m not going to use injuries as an excuse, but there are clearly issues which have to be sorted out. Unless he chooses to completely ignore those when the transfer window opens I think he’s still the best man for the job.
Of course the speculation about the comings and goings will kick off in earnest sooner rather than later and if you want to keep up to date with all the names you might want to check out the Arsenal Silly Season blog.
And that is about that. Breakfast time here, more tomorrow.
