Kevin Whitcher
So let’s deal with the non-arrivals of Messrs Cahill and Jagielka, as relayed last Monday. My source was good enough for me to trust, although sadly I can’t compromise them by saying why I placed credence on what they had to say. I admit I was inclined to trust the information because I simply could not believe that Arsenal would begin the season without addressing the issues with their defensive personnel. It simply does not make any sense. The manager himself has admitted improvements are required, and yet he has failed to take decisive action so far. If he does now, it will be a case of better late than never, but with five key fixtures before the end of August, it is a huge gamble to leave it until this time to bring in new faces. Still, the alternative – no change to the roster of centre backs – does not even bear thinking about.
So, although I hold my hand up and take the flak for revealing info that did not come true, the conclusion has to be that the deals did not occur because Arsenal failed to do the business. And the only feasible reason for this is the financial penny pinching that the club call the ‘self sustainable’ model. The notion that Financial Fair Play is going to make everything all right is cloud cuckoo land. It’s time to speculate – responsibly – to accumulate. No-one is asking Arsene Wenger to spend £50 million on a Fernando Torres. What fans want is for the manager to get close enough to the asking price for proven Premier League players to secure their services and strengthen the squad. But his inability to do the business the club require has become a long running saga. What influence the board has on all of this is questionable. If Ivan Gazidis had any balls, he would remove the manager from any transfer negotiations on the financial side, but maybe he is happy for his to mess it up once again this summer so that they have justification to sack him. His compensation payment of circa £20 million would be a heavy one, but at some point, the club has to move on, as opposed to the slow predictability of tortuous decline. Is it better to suffer the £20 million cost of dismissing the manager or does financial prudence mean the fans have to endure three more years of purgatory?
Ivan Gazidis faces a Q&A session tomorrow evening as a part of the Arsenal Independent Supporters Association AGM at the stadium. He will agree with all the frustrations of the questioners before stating that he cannot reveal any details about what has gone on this season because it will be picked up by the media and sensationalized. However, there is no dispute that both Liverpool and Manchester United were able to do the business they felt required in the early part of the summer, and the question Gazidis has to answer is what Arsenal are doing differently to leave them in the current situation. To me, it’s a case of Nero fiddling while Rome burns. Penny pinching may have been a necessity between 2002 and 2006 as the new stadium was constructed, but the days when the club cannot afford to splash a bit of their cash are now well behind us. Yet the obsession with financial prudence in the transfer market is stifling Arsenal’s chances of success.
Having said that, such conservatism does not exist when the players at the club renew their contracts. This leads to the situation where Manuel Almunia is on offer to anyone who will take him off Arsenal’s hands, but no mug is willing to match the wages Arsene Wenger decreed he was worth. It has proved impossible to sell Denilson for similar reasons, and one wonders how much of his wages at Corinthians are being subsidized by the Gunners. So Wenger is willing to splash the cash in some regards, buying loyalty, although it generally seems to work with the less talented members of the squad. Funny that.
The Fabregas situation should have been given a concrete deadline of the end of July. The notion that he is not fit to play is a joke. The player should be made to realize that his beloved Barcelona do not want him badly enough to pay what he is worth, and knuckle down to do his duty for his employers. Start by playing him in matches starting from St James’s Park next Saturday, and take him off after an hour if he cannot play 90 minutes yet. And if fielding him in the Champions League qualifier means he cannot represent the current holders until 2012/13 in said competition, that’s tough. Arsenal’s making the group stage is more important than worrying about the Catalans matching the asking price. The player is under contract and is handsomely rewarded to perform for his club, so get your boots on and start earning your money. Face it Francesc, Barca don’t want you as badly as you want them.
Nasri is different. It makes no economic sense not to accept Manchester City’s bid. With that money, a player could be secured that would give the team a guaranteed three years instead of one. No player that is not interested in renewing should be allowed to enter the final year of their contract unless there is no sell on value. It ain’t rocket science.
Arsenal were defeated in Lisbon last night in a stadium which should have felt very much like home, as their own was based on Benfica’s, which opened for business three years before Ashburton Grove. The second half demonstrated that the strength in depth one would hope for from the manager’s ‘best ever squad’ is not quite there. Sebastian Squillaci’s inability to deal with forwards is particularly alarming. Sometimes, you get what you pay for, and so it is with the Frenchman. One imagines the plan is to pair Vermaelen with Koscielny next weekend if the latter is fit. There are those that rate Koscielny, however, I remain unconvinced. Assuming no new centre back does arrive, the hope is that the pair can form a partnership that will improve the goals against column, and in that case, remain free from injury. Johan Djourou has turned into a liability and no-one wants to see Squillaci in an Arsenal shirt again. Ignasi Miquel is too young to do a job. Arsenal are seriously lacking in this position, even if you do have faith Koscielny will come good.
The bottom line though is that an Arsenal squad in need of change is being allowed to slowly continue rotting away. Gervinho and Carl Jenkinson in, Denilson out. Vive le revolution? Wenger is optimistic that he will announce a signing this week. I wish I could share that feeling. With the season not even started I have tried to keep an open mind about the club’s prospects. It’s getting progressively tougher…
Right, on a lighter note, we’ve been contacted by the people from Pizza Hut, and I must have been in a good mood to agree to this, but here goes. By using a print out of this downloadable coupon, travelling Arsenal fans can get 25% off their pre-match meal next Saturday in either of Newcastle’s Pizza Hut branches – which are located in Grainger Street and The Gate (which I assume is the one in Eldon Square). Just google ‘Newcastle pizza hut’ for locations. Remember that this applies to food only, and is valid for both eat in and takeaway. They have asked me to inform you, “If you didn’t already know Pizza Hut offer free unlimited salad with every meal and some fantastic desserts including their world famous Cookie Dough”. So the salad bar is at your mercy. On the pizza front, mine’s a Blazin’ Inferno, although I could be talked into a Seafood Selection.
This season’s first issue of The Gooner went on sale at the weekend and can be bought online here.
