Kevin Whitcher
Where to begin? Well there were plenty of opportunities for players to run to the redsection corner and point above the fans to the corporate box where Thierry Henry was watching the match from, seemingly dedicating their goals to the club’s record scorer. Perhaps it is worth employing Henry in some kind of motivational role as the players certainly seem to be putting in more of a shift, at least when the ball is in the opposition half, than we have seen at many home matches this season. Additionally, the benefits of his advice to Theo Walcott were plain to see. The striker made two of the goals he did not score.
This will have had a dual effect. Firstly, it enhances the case for him to be paid what his agents are asking for. Secondly, it increases the amount of money he will be offered by other clubs. Ultimately, the Walcott situation does seem to be all about the Benjamins, so the suspicion is that were Arsène Wenger to relent and give his blessing to the deal requested by Team Walcott, they might not accept it now. The reality is that other clubs will offer the player more basic wages with a signing on fee of several million to boot. In pure economic terms it’s a no brainer. If you still believe in the concept of player loyalty, then you may harbour ambitions that Theo will remain. For this observer, the only real debate is whether the club are able to get anything at all for the player in January or whether he will see out the remainder of his contract and leave for nothing in the summer. The earlier sentences of this paragraph indicate that we will be seeing a further five months of him in an Arsenal shirt. The club were willing to let him depart last summer when a renewal could not be agreed, but his agents could not find anyone that would give him the wages he wanted and pay the sum his club wanted for him. That will not be an issue in June 2013.
So the conclusion of this is that Arsenal have to change the egalitarian wage structure that rewards squad players to contribute little but the occasional domestic cup appearance. They can afford to pay the wages paid by the likes of the two Manchester clubs and Chelsea, just to fewer players than those clubs. But they can definitely afford to pay four players superstar wages (and this before the new sponsorship and kit deals kick in). It just means that the likes of Squillaci, Chamakh, Park, Denilson and Bendtner (etc etc – the bulk of the latter trio’s wages are still being paid from Arsenal’s coffers) have to accept less. Players need to be paid based on achievement rather than potential. A solid basic wage can be enhanced with appearance and win bonus payments. If players are hungry enough and do the business they can do very nicely. It would also help tremendously if the club stopped buying dud players. The poor return from the scouting system in the last four seasons has cost dearly.
The game against Newcastle was great entertainment, a reminder of many a match in which Arsenal have not defended well but compensated simply by outscoring the opposition. Walcott as centre forward did wonderfully well for his first goal, which was very reminiscent of Thierry Henry, although two further opportunities he squandered before the interval raised questions. His delaying of the pass to the in space Cazorla which would have given the Spaniard a one on one with the keeper was down to poor decision making in possession. However, he made his case and then some in the second half, scoring two more and providing two assists. In fairness to Newcastle, they kept coming back and fatigue was probably a factor towards the end of the game when the goals started raining in.
On days like these, the cheap concession of goals can be forgiven, but I would not fancy Arsenal’s chances against the likes of Manchester City, Chelsea and Bayern Munich defending like that. Still, it’s four wins in a row in the league, with Southampton away to come. Another match a team with serious top four aspirations should win. It’s a results business after all, and as long as the side are winning matches, then the methods are justified.
However, the Gunners’ lack of defensive organisation (and I can’t see this stopping unless there is relevant activity in the January transfer window or on the training pitch, neither of which seem likely) will mean that the remainder of the season is all about the race for fourth, realistically between themselves, Tottenham and Everton. No-one is anticipating the recent run as a springboard to a New Year run of victories that will bring the team back into contention with the two Manchester clubs. It is a bit reminiscent of the 2008-09 season, when so many points were dropped before the turn of the year the club changed policy and bought a superstar in the January transfer window (whatever did happen to that Arshavin bloke?).
One imagines Chelsea will not collapse twice in two seasons and secure at least third. I think Everton are probably over reliant on two players and will not make it. So it’s Andre Villas-Boas against Arsène Wenger in a race for the golden goose of Champions League revenue. Okay, it is difficult for Gooners to get excited about balance sheets, but one suspects there will be goals aplenty in Arsenal matches, flying in at both ends. So no lack of drama at least. Which for a business very slowly metamorphosing into a Disney style entertainment brand seems about right. One thing we can all agree on about Arsène Wenger. He loves his attacking football, and his team won’t lose any matches when they score seven.
The current issue of The Gooner went on sale at yesterday’s match and will be available at away matches and the home games against Manchester City and West Ham. It can be bought online here. There is also an e-version of the issue available to read on your ipad/tablet/iphone/android. The app is free and you can download the first few pages of each issue as a taster before deciding whether or not to purchase the whole thing.
