It’s the final group game of the Champions League this evening, and regardless of what happens tonight we’ve already qualified for the knock-out stages.
The issue is where we finish in the group, and that’s something that’s out of our hands. Because PSG have a better head to head record (they scored two away goals to our one) they have a big advantage. If they win or match our result, they top the group and we finish second. We can still come first, but we need Ludogorets to do us a big favour and take some points at the Parc des Princes tonight.
It’s a bit of a long shot, but you never know. Football, as we all know at this stage, has ways of surprising us. Still, I wouldn’t be putting a great deal of money on it, and all we can do is go out and win our own game. In terms of the squad for tonight, it’s as strong as it can be really, the only change from West Ham last weekend being Olivier Giroud coming back into the fold to replace the suspended Francis Coquelin.
Arsene Wenger says it’s about ‘stability’, and after such a win at the weekend he must be pretty tempted to stick rather than twist to keep that momentum going. Who he decides to start tonight will be impacted by any aches/strains from the weekend, but I do think tonight there is some room for rotation in a game that’s not a dead rubber, but far from one we have to go all-out in.
There was criticism from some quarters last week about not playing a stronger side in the EFL Cup, but I think we saw the benefits of resting some of the ‘big boys’ in the West Ham performance. Similarly tonight, with Stoke at the weekend, there’s the potential to rest some players and still put out a side more than strong enough to win this game.
We have Giroud and Lucas Perez who can come in up front if needed, Iwobi and Ramsey could start in midfield, and if we need to do something to change the game then we know we have established, effective quality on the bench. If it were me, I’d definitely be tempted to change things around a little bit, but my suspicion is Arsene Wenger will pick a team that can go out and get itself into a lead, then perhaps he’ll take players off to protect them a little for the weekend.
It’s a strange Champions League this season because you could top your group and still potentially (at this stage) get drawn against someone like Real Madrid or Bayern Munich. Finishing second though, and you’re looking at Barcelona or Atletico Madrid. We could get lucky, of course, but it’s all out of our hands so all we can do is win tonight, and hope for the best afterwards.
—
Meanwhile, the manager was asked about the contract situations of Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez once again, and confirmed that negotiations are ongoing:
We are in negotiations, yes. The players are 18 months away from the end of their contracts, so it’s normal.
Right now though, the players aren’t involved. It’s the club talking to the agents, and the agents know that they’ve got a great hand to play. Two immense talents heading towards the final year of their current deals, playing in a league that is absolutely awash with cash. And if they want their clients to be paid commensurate with their ability and standing as two of the best players in England, who can blame them? That’s the business.
However, Wenger reckons it’s not all about money, saying that they can get well paid anywhere, but having a club where they feel good is important too:
I believe, personally … maybe I am a bit naïve, but it’s more about getting to meet the players’ needs. That’s about the way the club has values, the way the club has ambition, the way the club respects the players. So I think, for me, that is more important nowadays and an important ingredient for every player to consider.
The money is good everywhere for everybody.
Now, I don’t take this as any kind of sign we’re not willing to pay, simply that if a player feels good at a club, enjoys his football and sees that his ambitions can be matched, is £270,000 a week somewhere else much more tempting that £250,000 a week with us? Of course if it’s £300,000 a week elsewhere and £200,000 with us, then you might have a problem no matter how much he likes it at Arsenal, but that’s a reality every club has to live with – relatively speaking.
When you think about what it would cost to replace either of these players in terms of a transfer fee, wages, and hassle, and how it would look if we couldn’t hang on to both of them, it means Arsenal are really going to have to push the boat out here. And there are things to consider, like the impact paying huge wages to a couple of players has on the squad overall.
While there’s always likely to be some acceptance that the best players get the best wages, if the disparity between them and others is too great then it causes problems. It will push salaries upwards overall, so it’s got to be a consideration. Of course there are ways to deal with it, signing on fees, bonuses, image rights etc, which bump the package up without affecting the ‘weekly’ wage so considerably.
Overall though, this is simply what happens when you have great players. They want to be paid as such, and they know that if you won’t pay them, someone else will. Football is business, it’s just a job to most of these guys, and their careers are short.
In years gone by, we weren’t really able to compete with the teams who paid the biggest wages, and there are still a handful who can do more than we can, but no more than that. The money is there now to do what it takes to keep Ozil and Sanchez, and unless they’re absolutely determined not to say for whatever reason, there’s no reason why we can’t offer them enough for them to commit their best years to us.
—
Right, that’s about that. We’ll have a live blog for you later on, of course, so feel free to join us for that and all the post-match reports, stats, videos and the rest over on Arseblog News.
Sadly, the Arsecast didn’t win best podcast at the FSF Awards. James Blatter Richardson handed out the award to the podcast he himself hosts, the Guardian’s Football Weekly, so congrats to all involved there. Thanks to all our listeners for their votes anyway, and if you haven’t yet had a chance to listen to yesterday’s show, which contains much mirth, check it out below.
Download – iTunes – Acast – RSS
Till tomorrow.
—
Ps – Update on our prints competition. The winners chosen by the random number generator are: Drew Dawson and Tony Huegdon. I’ll be in touch and we’ll get the prizes sent out!
