Where was I?
International breaks always mess me up.Where was I before England interrupted my Arsenal musings ?
Oh yes, I was wondering about three things.
I was wondering whether I agreed with Owen Hargreaves.
And I was wondering whether the press reaction to Reading 1 Arsenal 3 was over the top.
And I was thinking that what Arsene Wenger said after the Reading game summed it up for me. He summed up my feelings in seven words.
After Arsenal drew 2-2 with Manchester United at the Emirates, in a game they never looked like winning , Hargreaves reckoned that Arsenal passed the ball around in front of United but didn’t penetrate much.
He said, “I don’t think they created a clearcut chance in the first half. So we did a good job controlling their so-called ‘beautiful football’.”
Hargreaves added, “Arsenal had a lot of possession today, but in the first half they never got into a position where they threatened the goal, besides the header from Gallas which was a set piece. They had plenty of possession, but were never threatening and football’s about winning games and scoring goals. Both of our goals were beautiful pieces of play, while theirs were a bit scrappy and probably not typical of the way Arsenal play.
“It’s great to keep the ball, like they did, but when you’ve got a team that are as good defensively as us, you can keep them at bay. The most important thing is that when you win the ball back you attack. We hit the post and had players going forward to catch them out. With the players we’ve got up front we can score at any time.”
Ever since I read that, I’ve been wondering how much of it is true.
After the 3-1 win at Reading, The Independent’s Jason Burt wrote that, “Superlatives and compliments are pursuing Arsenal more readily than most of the Premier League right now…”
He quoted Reading striker Dave Kitson saying that Arsenal were, “without doubt the best footballing team on the planet.”
Kitson, who was far more impressed by Arsenal than Hargreaves, said, “It’s absolutely phenomenal stuff. Trying to get near Fabregas, Hleb, Rosicky, it’s a tough task. The thing that amazes you most is they are not just passing to each other – they are passing so that person can run on to the ball and then his mind is already made up with what he is going to do next. It’s just magic, it is unbelievable.
“It is not overly quick. Fabregas puts his foot on the ball, has a look, sees what he wants to do and then he plays it four yards in front of him to Hleb. He’ll turn round, play it another four yards, Fabregas has already gone past and so it goes on. Trying to get near to them and stop it – I’m not saying it can’t be done – but it’s tough.”
In The Guardian report of the same match, Dominic Fifield wrote : Arsenal have breezed back to the pinnacle having barely broken into a sweat. Arsène Wenger’s side were given the freedom of this corner of Berkshire last night, their swagger rarely checked by obliging hosts whose mind-set never veered from the utterly defensive. Class was always likely to tell, with the trio of goals crafted so gloriously all worthy of champions.
And that brings us to Arsene, who said, ” Let’s see how far we can go.”
This was it in context : “The best thing today was that we had the nerve to deal with a little bit more pressure, playing after everyone else and with people expecting us to get the points. But we still played the way we are used to. This team can cope with the pressure. We have shown that recently. All I can say is that it’s a pleasure to work with this squad on a daily basis. Let’s see how far we can go. They’re hungry and want to improve all the time and there’s such a great bonding in the team. When you have all those ingredients, and the quality as well, it suggests good things lie ahead.”
Those seven words sum up my view. He quickly developed a new way of playing, he lost van Persie, he carried on winning games, he’s gone 27 unbeaten, and he has built a platform from which he can march into the winter with a vibrant, confident, popular team. And it’s all about : Let’s see how far we can go.
All managers live with their fixtures list. The calendar dictates their training, their travel, their plans, their thinking.
And Arsene always knew that December would be harder than November : he has seven games in December and five are away from home.
On Saturday he plays Wigan without Fabregas, who is suspended for one game, and Flamini, who was injured with the French squad, and Hleb, who has a hamstring. Van Persie is not ready yet.
We don’t know yet which players will come in against Wigan, who want to pay Birmingham £3 million for their manager Steve Bruce. That is the most compensation ever paid by a British club for a manager. But Bruce has not yet finalised the job due to a financial wrangle between him and Birmingham’s owners.
Bruce was on a basic £850,000 at Birmingham but they also pay him a loyalty bonus of £300,00 each summer, plus an image rights bonus of £250,000 every September. Birmingham now insist he returns his image rights bonus but Bruce has refused, so his appointment has been delayed. Wigan have had no manager for two weeks after sacking Chris Hutchings after 13 games in charge.
Funny old game, football. An annual image rights bonus for an old centre half with a broken nose? You couldn’t make it up !
Steve Bruce will be on £2 million a year at Wigan for the next two years.