Howdy, a very quick Saturday round-up for you as I’m feeling the effects of a vigorous game of 5-a-side last night. I have aches on my aches and as for my niggles, let’s not even go there.
Speaking of injuries and all that, there’s nothing new to report on who might be fit for tomorrow. There’ll be some fitness tests this morning to decide if Theo Walcott, Nacho Monreal and, most importantly, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain can play. If not we might see some of the fringe youngsters called up again; such as Dominic Bifton-Sousaphone, Mandrake Smith-Bazooka, Nick Tarantula-Clink and Bosco Wasteland-Chesterfield.
I’m sure if called up they won’t let us down.
Speaking yesterday about the upcoming schedule, Arsene Wenger spoke about the impact it has on some players who are used to having time off, saying:
It is a shock to the system, those that are not used to it. The foreign players are all used to a break, but in England there is no stop in the winter. Many of them suffer physically. As well mentally, the players are used to a break over Christmas, to be with their family.
Of course the answer here is that they’re well paid professionals and I’d play all the football over Christmas for £100,000+ a week so why are they complaining about it? They should just get on with it and run arraaaaaaaand a bit. Back in my day you had a couple of pieces of old cardboard as shin-pads, boots made from candle-wax and gizzards, and the ball weighed as much as newly born calf. And that’s when it was dry. When it was wet it was like heading a cannonball. Many a man found himself with a completely flattened testicle after blocking a spaff-blaster of a shot from an opponent but he took a swig of Jameson on the sideline, ran it off, and worried about the blood oozing out of his Johnson later.
Frankly, we’re too understanding about the needs of the modern player. We worry about what they eat, what they wear on their feet, how they travel, do they get enough rest, are the pitches manicured perfectly enough for them, are their living arrangements conducive to good performances, their psychological well-being, and don’t get me started on the science of the human body which allegedly shows that playing all the time causes fatigue which then leads to injury.
It used to be possible to win the league with a squad of 14 hard drinking, chain smokers whose idea of fitness was a few shuttle runs up and down the terraces, a full-blooded 90 minute game each morning, then an afternoon down the bookies drinking pints of bitter before a late fish supper and falling asleep in a chair. Then they’d get up and do it all again the next day.
Now we’re worried that superstars who get paid enough money to never, ever be affected by anything that troubles a normal human are going to be upset because they might miss Christmas in their paradise home where the sun always shines and there’s an endless supply of cheeky scamps ready to fleece tourists?
Go have your pity party somewhere else, fellas.
Meanwhile, there’s talk that Yaya Sanogo could be sent on loan somewhere, which makes a lot of sense. The lad is well behind Giroud, Alexis and Welbeck in the order of pecking, and the occasional run-out in a meaningless game or a few minutes as a substitute isn’t going to do him a lot of good.
I have to say, despite his goal against Dortmund, I’m not convinced that he’s ever going to quite cut the mustard, but what I think and what Arsene Wenger thinks are obviously two different things. He’s had enough trust in Sanogo to start him in big, big games last season where the pressure on him as a manager to get a result was, frankly, immense. That suggests he sees something in the player that many don’t.
Now, I don’t think he’s the useless lumberer some suggest, but I think he’s a long way from being ready for first team football at Arsenal and without first team football somewhere he’s never going to be ready. The word is there’s a Premier League club lined up to take him, which would obviously be best in terms of his development, so we’ll wait and see what January brings.
Imagine our only transfer activity was Sanogo going out on loan. The mirth of it all.
“Look errr … I believe Winston Borgnine-Hamflanger is a central defender of great quality. Yes he’s only 6 but basically if you’re old enough you’re good enough.”
My niggles are at me, so I’m calling it a day. More on the Liverpool game tomorrow and what have you. If you haven’t already had a go of this week’s Arsecast, get it into your ears right here.
Have a good one.
