Some mornings it’s hard to know where to start. Not because of lack of material, but a glut of it.
Arsene Wenger met the press yesterday for the first time since the signing of Danny Welbeck. I’m loathe to add to the madness that has surrounded this story because it’s such an Interlull inspired, nothing else to talk about, loonathon that it really doesn’t merit it.
Nonetheless, the manager said of the deal:
If I had not travelled that day Welbeck would not be here.
Which was fuel to the fire of the conspiracy theorists but what he meant was his early start meant he was made aware very early in the day of Welbeck’s potential availability. That he travelled to Rome with the man who heads the agency that Arsenal used to broker the deal meant he was in touch every step of the way, and if you listened to the Arsecast Extra this week you’ll know Wenger made a 7.30am phone call to get things going.
As for the suggestion that he only wanted him on loan?
At the start the player was only available on loan, but after he became available to buy I agreed. It was quick because it was the last day of the transfer window but I had no hesitation to do it.
So look, if people who chastise a situation where Arsene Wenger has far too much control over everything that goes on at the club choose to believe that he was then so meek as to have a £17m striker he didn’t want foisted upon him, then there’s not much any of us can do with that kind of thinking. My suggestion is to watch the full press conference and make up your own mind rather than lose your shit over some selected quotes.
The much more important thing, to my mind anyway, is that we’ve got a new player in a position where circumstances dictated we really, really needed one, and Wenger has backed Welbeck to make progress at Arsenal. The comments from the new, creepy looking, Man United manager about how he didn’t score the same amount of goals as Rooney or van Persie might well be true, but they don’t tell the full story, do they?
Not that I’m suggesting they’re the same kind of player, but as a young centre-forward, Nicklas Bendtner scored goals for Arsenal when played in his favourite position and not so many when shifted out wide. I think that’d probably be true of most strikers, and Welbeck is no exception there.
Despite Wenger talking up his versatility, there’s no doubt that at Arsenal he’ll be given a chance down the middle, and the manager says:
He can make himself a better player because I can help him. He’s a young boy, he’s not 24 yet and let’s not forget that some players who arrived here at the age of 23 made huge careers here so I hope we can contribute and help him.
His qualities are his team attitude and his pace as well. As you could see with England, his goalscoring too. When you analyse his game you think he has the qualities to play through the middle.
And in an exclusive interview with Arseblog News, Jack Wilshere talked about how things went down on deadline day as he was with Welbeck at England training:
It was interesting as we were on our way to training when he said to me, ‘It might be on that I’m coming to Arsenal.’ From then on I didn’t leave him alone all afternoon. It was seven or eight hours, but he was buzzing!
He also touched on the Man City game tomorrow, and what might be different from previous encounters when, at times, we’ve struggled. His answer:
This year we’ve added a few world class players and hopefully that will make the difference. Over the past few years we haven’t had world class signings like the players we have bought in. It’s exciting.
And for all the guff and nonsense that’s gone on over the last couple of weeks, that’s kinda been overlooked. Yes, we still have that central defensive issue but until we’re faced with a situation when we’re Per-less or stripped of a Kos, then it’s not anything approaching a crisis. In the meantime, we’ve got to look at how to get the best out of Ozil, Cazorla, Alexis, Welbeck and, when he returns, Walcott.
It’s a very decent problem for the manager to have but also one for which he needs to find a solution sooner rather than later. There can’t be any more excuses about fitness or match sharpness now. The season itself is a month old. The Interlull, annoying as it is, should have helped get players up to speed and with Man City tomorrow that’s very much needed.
On that, the injury news is pretty good with Ozil back, Koscielny fit, Arteta and Gibbs in the squad again, and David Ospina in full training. The only doubt remains Aaron Ramsey whose ankle requires further assessment, but other than that we seem to be in pretty good shape. Giroud aside, and Walcott who’ll be back in 2-3 weeks, we seem to be fit. There was even a sighting of a lesser-spotted Serge Gnabry yesterday.
Finally, before we head for the podcast, this from Tim Stillman on the #rainbowlaces campaign, which takes place this weekend, is worth a read.
Now, onto this week’s Arsecast and it’s a bumper two-guest edition. First, I speak to Julian H from Gingers4Limpar about the start to the season, Welbeck, our attacking blend and the shape we’re in ahead of tomorrow’s game. Then I interview Stewart Taylor, the author of a new book about the rather tragic life and times of former Gunner, Paul Vaessen.
The book is called Stuck in a moment: the ballad of Paul Vaessen – and you also have a chance to win one of three copies thanks to our friends at GCR Books. There’s some sheet metal action, all the usual waffle and more.
You can subscribe to the Arsecast on iTunes by clicking here. Or if you want to subscribe directly to the feed URL you can do so too (this is a much better way to do it as you don’t experience the delays from iTunes). To download this week’s Arsecast directly click here – 35mb MP3.
The Arsecast is also available on our SoundCloud channel, as well as via the SoundCloud app for iPhone and Android. You can now also find it on the Stitcher podcasting app for iOS and Android. Or, you can listen without leaving this page by using the player below.
And that’s about that. More from me tomorrow, hope to see some of you over the weekend at the City game and in The Tollington – where you can still pick up a copy of the new book, Together: the story of Arsenal’s unbeaten season.
Until then, have a rainbow one.
