Premier League Nonsense

Back in July of this year Arsene Wenger went out and spent some money. Instead of signing a defender which the whole world felt he needed he went and signed another wide player. Another one to join the likes of Theo Walcott, Andrei Arsharvin, Samir Nasri and Emmanuel Eboue. Arsenal fans scratched their heads. Why another wide player when we are so painfully in need of doing something about our porous rearguard.

Wenger’s magic touch in the transfer market had seemed to have dried up over recent years with several big money signings, big by Arsenal’s minimart standards, failed to make any real impact. Just what could Gervinho bring to the team that wasn’t already there?

Well he marked his debut, away to Newcastle United, with a red card on the opening day of the season, being suckered in by Joey Barton. A less than stellar introduction to the English Premier League for the Ivory Coast international but perhaps a lesson that needed learning when you consider the quietness and politeness of the current Arsenal squad.

His suspension also meant he missed the horror shows against Liverpool and Manchester United when Arsenal’s paper thin squad was exposed for what it was.

Despite that early set back at St James’ Park, Gervinho has settled in well at the club though it is his skipper Robin van Persie who has been getting all the curtain calls so far this season. But Gervinho has impressed with his pace and directness, his willingness to run at opponents and get to the bye line. A far cry from the pat a cake football Arsenal fans have been used to over recent years or the inconsistency of Theo Walcott.

Gervinho netted 15 times last season for Lille as they went on to win the French Ligue One but Wenger will have noticed the Ivorian international had also provided 10 assists for his team mates. And it’s that form he has replicated so quickly this season with five assists in his opening 10 games for the Arsenal, two coming against Stoke City for van Persie.

When you add his two goals to those assists there is an argument that Gervinho has settled in far quicker to Arsene Wenger’s way of doing things rather quicker than the likes of Dennis Bergkamp, Thierry Henry and Robert Pires and look how their careers panned out.

Now that Arsenal are settling into some form after a shocking start to the season much of the spotlight has been on skipper van Persie’s impressive goal scoring form. Wenger may be happy that continues while Gervinho keeps doing the business off the radar.

# posted by Me @ 4:47 PM 2 Comments

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger ended the Annual General Meeting with a call to the heart of Arsenal supporters everywhere. He understands the discontent and the frustration he told the meeting but he asked for more time and he asked for supporters to trust in him.

Arsenal fans have trusted in him. They have trusted in him for six uneventful years and only now are serious questions being asked about whether he is the man to run the football club in the future. Fans have trusted Wenger and he responded to that trust by fielding dross like Emmanuel Eboue, Manuel Almunia and Denilson, telling us at the same time they were part of the best squad he had ever built at Arsenal.

It wasn’t. Far from it. Of course he’s not going to come out and say they were bad players but it was painfully evident early on that any master plan built around those three, plus others of course, was doomed to failure. The best teams have the best keepers yet Wenger gave us a Spanish journeyman who had never stayed anywhere long enough to become a regular. Until he came to North London.

Winston Churchill had his Wilderness Years before returning to lead the United Kingdom in the Second World War. How will history view Wenger’s Looney Years? Signings like Mikael Silvestre and Amuary Bischoff came in unexplained and left in a similar manner. Beanpole striker Niklas Bendtner was stuck on the wing while he stuck doggedly to the fallacy that Samir Nasri and Cesc Fabregas would stay with the club during the pre season and that the squad was big enough to cope with the new season even though defensive frailties had undermined trophy challenges for as long as anyone could remember.

Wenger is asking for fans to show trust but the current dissent is because many feel that trust has been misplaced over recent years. The Frenchman needs to regain that trust and he can make a start by taking his head out of the sand and wake up to the realities of the game today and not how he would like it to be in the future.

Signing average players to long term contracts has become a millstone round the club’s neck while playing stingy on big name player’s salary demands has seen big names, frustrated by the lack of progress on the field, queue up to leave.

No matter how the club like to dress things up, the 8-2 away to Manchester United was a turning point. New blood was needed, the fans knew it and the media knew it. Only Wenger couldn’t see it. It took Old Trafford to poke the board into action and Wenger went out and freshened up the squad.

Szezsney’s performances in goal, and just as importantly as an imposing Peter Schmeichel type figure between the sticks have convinced Gooners they finally have a decent keeper while Gervinho up front has brought a directness that has been absent for several seasons.

The signings have bought Wenger time. He should use it to regain the trust of the fans.

# posted by Me @ 4:36 PM 0 Comments