The British Core: And Then There Were 5. Errr, No…6. Errr, No…8.
And Then There Were 5:
And Then There Were 5. Like an Agatha Christie novel. But in reverse. It wasn’t a series of murders at Colney House, where Lord Wenger’s assembled house guests are murdered one by one. In fact, while we’re talking about Agatha Christie, have you ever wondered that even after 3 or 4 of the guests have been murdered over the previous 24 hours, everyone still stays at the house because the weather outside is inclement, or because there will be a reading of the Will, or because the detective has forbidden anyone to leave. Personally, I’d be getting the fuck out of Dodge because I am not the luckiest bastard on the planet. I’m not the most unlucky either. If we started with 10 house guests, I’d be murdered around number 5 or 6. So I’d have been out the window after murder number 3 and haring across the moors. Hounds chasing me? I don’t give a fuck. I’m not staying in that bloody house!
And Then There Were 5
Yes, we have a British core now. 5 players signed. And it’s Exciting. The only two I was a little uncertain about at the time of the photo were Jenks, (who I think will very probably make it) and Ramsey (who I was struggling to picture making a position his own in the future.) But 2 small events have changed that. I think we can see the plan for Ramsey now: understudy to Arteta. Not bad, not bad at all.
And with Jenks, it was an even smaller thing. The shot he took when Rosicky spilled the ball near the edge of the Brighton box. He smacked it first time. A really stinging shot. Unfortunately a little too close to their goalie, but still a corker that reminded me he has so much upside to his game to come.
So I feel pretty good about our 5-man British core.
It’s a shame that Theo is obviously holding out from signing. Clearly, as so many of us stated for the longest time, he is planning to dump the club on a Free over the summer. It’s clear Theo doesn’t recognize that he owes the club anything for developing him over the years. You could see it coming though. Cesc, Nasri, Song, RvP…they’re all the same. They get a chance to hit the jackpot and they take it. I had thought Theo was better than that. Maybe I had hoped it. But apparently he isn’t.
You’ve got to give him that. He SAYS all the right things. Always very polite, very professional, wants to stay with the club, is happy here, blah, blah, blah. But it looks like it’s just a big spin job to maximize his deal for who ever wants to get him on a Free in the summer. We’ve seen this movie before.
It’s the modern footballer, you see. They’re all the same in the end. They don’t remember who took them in and made them. And it turns out Theo was no better.
Strange though. I did think better of Theo. One of the things that always struck me about Theo was his relationship with his girlfriend. Met her when he was a kid at Southampton. Saw her at the shopping center. Asked his mate to go up and ask her out for him. They’ve been steady ever since. He bought her a fancy sports car, a 140k Ferrari, for her 21st birthday, like idiotic guys do. But she sent it back. Grounded. Beautiful girl too, of course. But rather than relying on being a professional WAG, she went off to work on her degree at Uni. Now they’re engaged to be married. Seems like a lovely couple. And he seems like a really good bloke.
I’m a sucker for that stuff. I guess I just got suckered again. Football is only about business after all.
Theo’s Curse
And wouldn’t you know it, just when Theo was really going from strength to strength, the fucker is off. The guy’s only 23, but carries the expectations of Goonerdom as if he were an old Pro. “Why can’t he do that every game?” I call that Theo’s Curse, having that thrown at him for the rest of his career. Why can’t he do that every game? Why can’t any wide player not named Ronaldo or Messi (OK, Messi plays wherever he wants) not do it every game? As a forward, you get a few moments every game, under extreme pressure, with less reaction time than any other position on the pitch. And you need a little rub of the green. Playing wide forward is one of the toughest gigs there is to show consistency in. And frustrating as hell, too. The midfielders rarely hit you when you’re open, just when you’re in their eye-line. If only they’d hit you when you when you had the drop on everyone.
Last season when I stuck up for Theo while he got a lot of stick, I’d hear about Bale. I’d hear about Nani. Ashley Young. But most of all I’d have Valencia rammed up my nose. Far more rounded and consistent. He was the poster child for a wide attacking player. The God of Consistency.
Stats for this year:
Now, I’m not going to rubbish Valencia. He’s still a great player. But this consistency thing for a wide attacking player is not that easy after all, is it? Ask Antonio. Ask Nani.
Here is a comparison of the most flaunted and vaunted wingers from last year, when people were knocking Theo. Here are their 2012/13 stats:
Summary Stats
Note: I equate subbing on as 1/3rd of a game ie 33 mins.
GPG: Goals per Game % APG: Assists per Game %
Breakout Details
GS: Games Started SB: Games Subbed On G: Goals A: Assists
Again, I’m not saying these players aren’t really, really good. I’m saying they are really, really good players. And goals and assists aren’t a full representation of a player’s performance. But man oh man do we demand goals and assists from Theo. So…there is your answer on consistency.
And Theo seems to be getting better with every month that goes by.
Gus Poyet on Theo: “The only way to stop Theo Walcott is to shoot him.
Great, Thanks for rubbing it in, Gus. It’s just such a shame Theo didn’t respect the trust and the investment of the club in him.
And it shows that he doesn’t believe in the direction of the club and its vision. So why should we?
And Then There Were 6:
Breaking News: This just in…forget all that shit. Apparently Theo did sign after all. Well, bugger me. I’m not going to re-write all that negative shit. It took me ages. Just re-read it yourselves and “opposite it,” if you know what I mean. Good old Theo. I knew he’d sign.
Well, this is starting to look quite hopeful then.
And Then There Were 7.
Hang on a second. Aren’t we forgetting someone? An honorary Brit: Wojciech Cockney! Have you heard that guy talking? I’m pretty sure he’s the fucker who sold me a dodgy clock out of his wheel barrow, down at the market last Wednesday.
Anyway, yes, he’s Polish. But, so what? He’s gonna leg it back to Legia Warsaw, Cesc-style, because they have the greatest team in the world? Don’t think so. He’s all ours for as long as we want him. Picture a Richard Gere-like Szczesny standing in the pissing rain outside of Colney screaming “I’ve got nowhere else to go. I’ve got nowhere else to go.” Followed by a trail of ever more pathetic sobs.
Here’s what the boy said in this brilliant interview by Amy Lawrence of the Guardian:
Szczesny’s love for his club is plain and uncomplicated. One of the main reasons he wants to win something is to repay those who have helped him along the way. He reels off a list of people who have looked after him since he arrived from Warsaw in 2006. It’s not far off an Oscars speech, encompassing everyone from Bobby Arbor, the scout who found him and watched out for him when he did not speak much English, to Liam Brady, David Court and Steve Bould who oversaw his progress in the youth development, to his landlady Bobbie, Shirley the headmistress who advised him on education, Rob the chef …
“I came here as a 16-year-old boy and everything I know right now, I know from this club and the people who took care of me when I was young. Some of them have had the most influence – of course you have your parents and relatives, but people I have met here have given me so much. It’s everyone. I love this place. I feel I have something I want to give back to them. It gives me a lot of desire to do well.”
Wenger has made a big noise about a young British core recently, but good luck to anyone who wishes to suggest any of them care more deeply about doing well for Arsenal than the big Pole in goal.
And Then There Were 8:
Now you’re not forgetting our little Irish midfield prodigy are you? I know he’s not technically British, but come on, let’s be honest. It’s the same thing. Just don’t tell anyone that I said that. But the boy has talent. I think we’ve all recognized that. I’m not sure this Dubliner could ever supplant in Gooner hearts the previous Dubliner to hold a midfield berth at the club ie Sir Liam Brady, but the boy has skills.
Yes, Frankie Coghlin, has a future at this club. One more understudy to Mikel Arteta, who has shown flashes of skill, pace and physicality that have given us something extra in the midfield.
Frankie Coghlin leaves Biggles in the dirt.
There has been some confusion over his name. Not how to pronounce it, just how to spell it. So much so that the club released a statement on how it was to be pronounced:
“Francis Coghlin. Pronounced [Coq-uel-in].” But some idiot in the Arsenal Media department took that dictionary-style pronunciation explanation as his actual name. What a balls up that has been, I can tell you. To save on re-printing costs, they decided to leave it alone. They even tried pretending it was the Gaelic spelling. Please!
So a team based on
Add to that the players we have on long-term contracts:
Gus Poyet on Giroud: “Giroud was outstanding. He’s big, powerful, can take the ball on the run and oozes class.”
Cazorla, Poldi, Giroud, Arteta, Koscielny, Vermaelen, Mertesacker, Rosicky, and I personally see a period in which stability becomes the norm and in which the vast majority of our players want to stay together to win something.
And I want to see how that turns out. This team still needs a couple of key additions: a classy second striker, some midfield muscle maybe, a back-up keeper, maybe a left back, but it is close to being a contender.
The next few signings are key. Let’s get the right guys. And let’s keep the development production line churning. It’s really starting to pay off.
But, hey, that’s just me. You wanna hang yourself right now and miss it, step right up. I’ll even kick the chair out from under for you, if you ask me nicely. Even if you don’t.
Am I deluded? Have I got my head in the sand? I’ve seen everything you’ve seen. I just see it differently.
Up The Arsenal!
“I’ve seen everything you’ve seen. I just see it differently” top notch, Coghlin!
damn straight, that’s all there is to it, all the doomers don’t need to quit arsenal, or support a new club, they need to see a shrink to fix their depressive outlook on the squad if they can’t see the obvious upward swing we’re approaching
they need to see a shrink to fix their depressive outlook on the squad
oh they’re past that point now…only a straight jacket can save them and a few cocktails the doctors will make…
Nice and positive blog, especially needed what with all the ape-shit-going about the nearing deadline day. You’re quite right, we are finally starting to get some stability into the team, thank Theo’s signing.
Problem is, we’re still depending on the fitness of Diaby, Rosicky, Arteta and Gibbs too heavily to be able to dig deep and get results when injuries mess with our team selection, not to mention tiredness. I’d like to see some quality backup players that you can have hope in adding something different. If we can reach that point with our squad, then we’d probably be able to challenge again. Don’t forget this team is still quite new and after this season I’d expect our game to be much more fluent and consistent.
Oh and mate, you forgot Ramsey’s picture at the end
Great stuff Paul. Love it old chum, You is turning into a statto like me!!!
Haha. I can do numbers. Adding, subtracting. And i have a mate who can do the long-division for me. I can do it all.
Thanks Dave!!
Amazing as always, Mr. Pants. The key for us now is going to be patience, but we’ve already seen that’s a quality in short supply. Also, love the statwork in finding Theo’s contribution. I know you’ve done this before with the Bale comparison, but I’m glad someone finally is treating substitute appearances as a modified quantity, instead of treating it like a full game, which greatly skews the representative contribution that players make. Cheers, and I hope I’m seeing everything you’re seeing through the same filter you are.
Thanks for your blog, enjoyed reading it. Always good to see there are normal people out there in a sea of doom, paranoia and qwerty expertise.
So true, elegantly put. At the start of every season and over the summer, I’m always filled with slightly hollow optimism that “this is the season that we’ll win something!”
But as you point out, it’s different now that we have a large group of long-term players committed to the club. No big stars that will leave as soon as they can, and upset everyone.
Theo could have done this, but he didn’t.
I’m convinced now that we’re just a few good signings away from a trophy!
Nice one Mr Pants; its not pants at all, in fact it’s the dog’s bollocks!
Well done Paul, another cazorla of a write up! Never mind the pole in the goal,have you heard saint Francis of afc talk? He’s more east london than me!
I am still not convinced about Theo. The fact that he rejected a five year contract and signed a 3.5 years smells fishy; I mean, either he is waiting for another pay rise in 18 months’ time, where he would be subject to intense bids as he winds down his contract, or he is thinking of an escape route – if you were serious about staying you would sign a 5 year deal. where play for 3 years then maybe leave. 3.5 years just means he’s not 100% sure and wants to bide his time for 18 months.
There weren’t really any ‘serious’ interests in him during the past couple of transfer windows. Which to me it says his agent hasn’t been shopping him around, or, if he has been, clubs weren’t ready to come up with the serious cash. (We ARE talking about the mother of Mr Inconsistent for 6 years – he’s coming good this year, sure, but who knows if he’s another Emmanuel-who-plays-well-just-before-he-signs-a-contract-Adebayor?) The Mancurian clubs may well be sniffing around like a pack of hyenas that they are, and I am fairly convinced that if Theo keeps up his good work, he’ll be off in less than 2 years to search for that 250,000 a week contract.
I agree with your facts mate. But look what they say. Rather than walk on a Free and maximize his payday, he re-signed for the Club. Thank you Theo. That would have killed morale, questioned the direction of the club, meant he would have been a summer xfer saga, we would have gotten zero for all that investment.
Instead, he has committed himself for this and at least 2 more seasons. At which point, he will either renew when Arsenal’s revenues are much higher, or he’ll move on and we’ll cash in, but will have had 2.5 yrs to plan for it.
Given the alternatives, I’m not sure we can ask too much more from Theo.
Theo keeps his options open, can still have a mega-payday, or if the club really builds a winning team, he can ride the wave. Win-win.
If we’d gotten that from rvp, nasri, cesc and song we would have avoided the sagas, planned their replacements and cashed in.
Thank you, Theo!!
It’s a typically brilliant effort from the P.I.M.P. We’ve got more core than the earth and a bag of apples.
Love that you are always upbeat Paul, a man after my own heart. As you say we need a couple of additions, then we will be contenders. Hummels for me would be a dream for me also Pirlo. Ahh well one can only hope. Terrific as always Paul.
Lovely post…and I agree entirely…very promising future indeed
Fantastic Poz Man!!! I loved the start middle and finish!! I was pleased to read about Theo’s girlfriend giving back the Ferrari!! Shows the girl is about more than money and the fact they have been together so long is wonderful!! They have been together longer than some people have been married!! Lots of credit to both of them they are not the type of people who cut and run and Theo has shown that – he is no umm who was that fellow who was there last year everyone made such a fuss of??? We do have an incredible team and before too very long they are going to prove their worth big time and I can’t wait to see it! They came back strong today but calls went against them and then there was just some bad luck but at least they didn’t lose, which would have been dire! Anyway Poz Man keep these great blogs coming love reading them and I always learn something (or a few somethings) new and greatly appreciate the enlightenment thank you thank you thank you :-))
“the vast majority of our players want to stay together to win something.”
Really? What evidence do you have for that proposition? Whatever in the world makes you think that??? A couple of longterm contracts?? Really?? That’s it? Theo certainly isn’t on a longterm contract – in fact, that’s one of the big reasons he did renew–it’s only a 3 1/2 yr contract. We’ll have to start talks with him all over again very soon.
Yes I’m a negative nellie. I’m baffled as to how you can just blithely assume that we can suddenly out of nowhere stop losing our best players because of…well….what? A feeling? Because you want it to be true? What evidence do you have that the consistent pattern of the last 7 yrs of losing our best players repeatedly will somehow miraculously stop?
Sandra, thanks for commenting!
The majority of this team is between 19 and 27. I was once a guy that age. YOU desperately want to win stuff. So, when almost every player has recently joined, or signed or re-signed it does not seem a stretch to think that they not only want to win, they want to win with the club they just joined, or signed, or re-signed with.
Theo’s 3.5 yr contract is a Win-Win. He will be sold (profitably) or be re-signed (if he likes our progress) in the Summer of 2015. He is smart enough not to take a long term deal when he knows our revenues will get boosted majorly starting in 2014, while giving him a way out if the club doesn’t progress.
So that gives us this season plus 2 more. Not bad. Thank you, Theo.
You can be sure his agent was saying “6 months, Theo, and you’re on a Free, Theo. An effing Free, Theo!” But Theo said he wanted to stay. And apparently he was telling the truth. But Theo is not a charity worker. He re-signed because, in his view, it will be the best place for his career for the next 3 yrs. Theo wants to be a star. If he believed AFC was as doomed as you do, doomed to mediocrity, he would move on. If he thought Wenger had lost it, as you have said recently, he would move on. Why attach yourself to that? Surely, you must agree with that.
If any of these players ie Poldi, Cazorla, Giroud, Wilshere, Ox (who’s father watches closely over his career,) Theo etc shared your assessment of the club’s future, doomed to mediocrity, with a manager who has lost it, and a club with no real ambition, they would escape the taint of it.
The incontrovertible fact (I think) is that, excepting Sagna, all major players are under contract for the medium term or longer, something the majority of clubs would envy.
Our players do not share your assessment of the future. You might be the one who’s right, but they clearly see it differently.
And yes, they want to win together –
Jack Wilshere: “When you finish a career, you look back and see how many trophies you have won so we all want them and we know how much the fans do too,” he said.
“We’re all hungry for it and maybe if we get a trophy this year it can open the way for a few more. We’ve got a good crop of young players and experienced players as well, such as Arteta and others.
“If we get a trophy this year or in the next couple of years we can really build something and be strong in the next few years.
“It’s easy to sit here and say that when we get that first trophy it’ll happen but we know how tough the FA Cup is. We’re still in the Champions League, so we’re in a good position and we just need to make sure we get the results now.”
Wojciech Cockney: “We want to win a trophy this year,” he said. “The fans have been crying for a trophy and we understand that. We recognise the FA Cup is the biggest opportunity for that now. We are definitely going to give it a go. Brighton won’t be easy but a good run can change the atmosphere in the dressing room. If you do well in one competition if gives you a lot of confidence.”
Player after player talks about winning, wanting to win, and wanting to win at Arsenal, together.
And that’s why I believe we have a couple of years coming up, at Arsenal, where we can achieve some relative stability, and settle down to strengthening from within, as well as with a few signings from outside, and give it a real go.
Maybe we won’t make progress but I’m hopeful, with reasonable grounds for that hope, that we will.
I can remember the same exact type of comments about loving the club, wanting to stay and win things for the club from Cesc, RVP, Nasri, Song, etc., etc.
Agreed. I’m sure they meant them at the time. We did try to win stuff, after all. But after a number of years of frustration, and the fact that rvp was running out of time, and Cesc didn’t want to miss the Barca Silverware machine etc etc, they pushed for a move. And the same thing will happen at AFC, if we don’t make real progress over the next 2 years.
What I can’t remember before is a time when the vast majority of the squad had recently joined or re-signed. They are almost aligned at this point. Seems unprecedented. Can you remember an equivalent in the last decade?
no I can’t-interesting point-sincerely hope it does mean something. I just don’t think it’s all that significant. all I see is an argument that we’re rebuilding AGAIN and *again* fighting to win things with players who are committed and want to win things with us. Granted, these players are not part of any youth project. They’re also not quite of the caliber of the Cesc era. Which makes winning things even harder.
To be honest with myself, I’ve been more impressed with Arsenal in the last month than I have been with them during this whole season despite all the bad results. We’ve played some fantastic football against every team although it’s been mainly in the 2nd half, we just need to figure out how to do it the whole game. Ramsey has found himself again and long may it continue, he is one of the standout talents in the league despite what the media & some fans say. Form is temporary, class is permanent, hopefully the Ramsey example will transfer to our defenders some time soon.
I agree with you! I think they are finally geling as a team,better late than never and if they keep improving (hopefully also in 1st half) they could still knock spurs and Everton out of Arsenal’s rightful place!! GO GUNNERS!!
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Agreed. If we can just do a little defending…
True defending seems to be quite the problem hit and miss sometimes its good and sometimes its bad need more work there for sure!! Its a wonderful team though as far as I’m concerned (but then I really don’t know very much)
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PIMP, this is hilarious again. I was reading the bits about Theo, feeling a bit shamefaced on my own account and embarrassed for you because you had clearly lost it and hadn’t realised he’d extended…and then I saw you got me!
When we are good, we are scary. For all Brendan Rodgers’ talk of how they were unlucky not to win, you don’t bring on Enrique for Sturridge unless you are trying to salvage a draw. All we have to do now is learn to a) calm down and b) defend like we defend in training (I bet we are “The Wall” in training.)
As you say, the difference between now and the last three years is the stability and the enthusiasm. We have a mixture of players in their prime for whom this their dream move, the career pinnacle, and young players who are full of enthusiasm and passion for the club. I would add to that, the effect of our improved financial position. Three years ago, we might not have been able to supplement our left back contingent – we’d have tried to make do with TV or Miquel as well as Santos. And we wouldn’t have bought all these readymade quality players.
I will be interested to see what happens with Sagna in the summer. He obviously hasn’t signed, but I would love us to make it easy for him to stay until he retires. If anyone deserves a testimonial it’s Bacary Sagna. Consistently excellent service virtually from his first game to the time his leg was broken. Total professional, leader, tough guy, never a word out of turn, always improving his game even when he had no real competition for his place. All the drama queens and their transfer sagas have taken up our the attention, like the naughty kids occupying teacher while the good kid just gets on with his work. Bit of an off-topic ramble there, but hey.
I am absurdly cheerful.
Great comment, thanks FG. I am very hopeful that we have a window of a few years to make some real progress. And very much agree with you on Sagna. Except the one thing I want above all is a low drama summer, so if he looks like he’s off, then let’s Clichy him. Hope he wants to stay, though.
I’m with yeh, may Sanga retire in Arsenal colours!
I hope Sagna will be staying at the club. I like him a lot and think he works very well with the guys and when he is out injured you can tell there is a big piece missing that needs to be there. I have always found he works very hard for Arsenal, he doesn’t seem to me to be the kind of player who leaves a club that he seems to obviously love, at least to me but then I only get to see him during the games so that is the only impression I can have is that he loves the club and wants to work hard for the team.