From Mutabaazi : Secret Footballer
Hello Myles,
Arsene is just like all Arsenal fans.
They’d pass up a chance at success just for self satisfaction, then back it up with excuses/complaints.
All the fans would have loved Son to sign for us.
The prospect of Alexis and Son on the wings and what it’d bring, even Arsene would love.
But most gooners gooners would hate it since it keeps Ramsey, welbeck, Chamberlain out of the team. Add Theo to that if he failed as a striker.
It amuses me that after 19 years with him, 99.9% of Arsenal fans don’t know Arsene.
They call it dithering, I call it deliberate. That development slot in the squad has to be left open
It doubles as a slot for avoiding confrontation. See Arsene will never tell Welbeck or Chamberlain that Alexis and Son are better than you so you have to train hard and earn your place.
Instead you don’t sign Son, or even Messi if he was available for £10m. You keep that place open and for everybody. Players who have to developed like Welbeck, Chamberlain and thelikes of Campbell
You also have players who won’t get a game in their natural position because someone is playing better. Cazorla forced Ramsey out of central midfield and – sorry gooners -but Jack wouldn’t fair better either.
So stick them wide and rant about learning the game better, versatility and shielding the fullback.
In the end it works out both ways and it’s clearly a win win case. Arsene avoids conflict in his squad and gets to claim he developed a player in case one owns that position (just like Coquelin did) .
As for the fans, they get to see their favourite players struggle week in week out and at the end of the season thump their chests and proudly say “we were one or two world class players away
Bring on next season “. Then the cycle begins
Remember before January it was the defensive midfield role. That’s where Flamini, Ramsey, Arteta Arteta, Wilshere, Chamberlain and Chambers (in that game against Southampton) all played.
When Coquelin accidentally took it up and did ok, the bunch had to shift to another position. Not signing that Schneiderlin boy wasn’t dithering as was the case with Xabi Alonso from Liverpool when he would have “killed Diaby, Denilson and Song ”
Next up? Sanchez will get frustrated with the team and he will be off to Madrid or Bayern to replace Robben.
So the slot will always pop up somewhere and we will still be one or two world class players away from doing it.
But at least we will not be buying trophies like Chelsea, City, PSG and Madrid. How dare they get that one extra world class player and still sign very good squad players.
Myles says :
Yes, he likes to keep slots open.
But I still see him as an academy-raider.
He got Anelka and Fabregas for peanuts and sold them for zillions.
Unable to raid Southampton’s academy, he signed Walcott, Oxlade and Chambers for big money. None of those three have been great or even regular starters over two seasons.
When Coquelin told Wenger he wanted to be Zidane, the manager loaned him to Charlton because he saw him as Makele.
Now Bellerin is a big success, a fantastic player.
Bellerin has made an improvement that’s phenomenal. The best kid the club has had since Fabregas. Most of the others are likely lads who will never be first team regulars.
Although he also sells crocked stars to bigger clubs.
Bottom Line: Arsene FC mostly develops players to be sold to other clubs in lower divisions. It’s a trading operation that makes big profits.