By Ian Grant
Sunday gossip first. According to the Star on Sunday, Arsenal have bid £2m for Luton’s central defender Curtis Davies, who is London born.
The Observer however reports that Fulham, West Brom and Spurs are interested too.
Meanwhile the News of the World says Arsenal are eyeing Joleon Lescott, hardly a new story but for the fact they have asked Tony Adams to run the rule over the Wolves defender. A bid of £3m from another club has been turned down already, and the asking price appears £5m.
The NoW picks up on the African Nations Cup between 20 January and 10 February with up to 14 days preparation. Arsenal could miss Toure, Lauren and Eboue.
The People meanwhile pick up on Sky Sports story about Arsenal after Adler the young Bayer Leverkusen goalkeeper.
Also Martin Keown has gone into management with Newbury Town and is seeking his UEFA B coaching badge.
Article of the week goes to Paul Hayward of the Telegraph with a long article on Wenger. The salient points are below:
*He has repositioned himself as the champion of the little man. and is now a Member for Traditional Values in the league’s lopsided parliament
*Wenger travels to Stamford Bridge tomorrow as a kind of people’s champion, drawing on his coaching ability to stop Roman Abramovich and Jose Mourinho.
* Arsenal have been demoted to London’s second club by an accident of history: the post-Soviet splurge of an oligarch, who yesterday scooped up a player Wenger had identified long ago as a potential Islington aristocrat, Michael Essien
*Arsenal are an institution built from the bottom up. Chelsea are constructed from the top down.
*In truth, Arsenal have been beaten to the punch on both Baptista and Essien, but were smart enough not to draw attention to their comparative lack of spending power by bleating about Russian or Spanish wealth.
*Man United make Arsenal seem like jumble sale bargain hunters.
*Really the people’s gladiators are Arsenal. The whole bar has shifted up.
*To his credit, Wenger has not called himself a “special manager”, not started unwinnable battles with governing bodies, not allowed any insights into his family life, not shifted off the moral high ground over the Ashley Cole tapping-up affair, not told any of his players they need an IQ test and not appeared in adverts for American Express.
*Could it be that Wenger thinks the Chelsea empire will eventually crumble of its own accord – like its ideological opposite, communism – if Arsenal just hold their nerve and build, coach, invest in youth and stay true to the old ethos of their club?
Meanwhile the Mail on Sunday recalls a couple of incidents during the Wenger reign. One where the lights went out at Crystal Palace along with a bomb scare. Wenger was elsewhere, the players had returned to the dressing room early.
Wenger asked: ‘What is going on?’ he asked. Ray Parlour, in his best Inspector Clouseau [Wenger was nicknamed Clouseau] voice, piped up: ‘There is a berm.’ ‘A berm?’ said Wenger, reeled in, and the dressing room cracked up. He smiled. ‘Raymond, I think you are joking with me.’
One he left his seat to go to the techncial area and went to sit down. But the seat was up and he hit the floor. He now asks Gary Lewin to hold his seat when he goes walkabout.
Word of the week
The old word noggin came back into parlance when McAlpine personnel asked for a noggin of beer after the topping out ceremony at Ashburton Grove. Some will remember the cartoon character Noggin the Nog.
Reuters points out that the centre circle of the new ground will be on the site of the former Council Waste dump. That’s a positive recycling story if ever there was one, even if it was a Waste Transfer Station, not a waste dump as such. Lucky Arsenal aren’t seeking planning permission now with the change in European waste law.
Some people ask why Arsenal went for Emirates Airlines sponsorship. A quote from Gulf Times may give you a clue: Maurice Flanagan said: “With just a year to go until the official opening I know that excitement levels are rising around the world, nowhere more so than across our network of staff and passengers in 77 destinations across 54 countries, as we count down to the opening date.”
Meanwhile Arsenal are set to receive as much as an extra £20m from the redevelopment of Highbury, says The Times after securing planning permission for an additional 154 flats to be built on the site. 711 residential units are to be built instead of 557 (approved in May 2002), an internal reconfiguration of the East and West stands and the redesign of the proposed buildings at the north and south end, which raises the value of the project from an estimated £80m to £100m.
Comment: I’m glad they are so sure about London Property values. The market looks dodgy with worrying predictions fro 2006/7.
Meawhile, still on money, the man heading up the consortium bidding to take over West Ham, Kia Joorabchian is a Gooner. He says he made inquiries to buy Arsenal and was told they were in the £400m bracket.
Who do these people think they are? The Observer seems to know on page 7 today – outlining MSI’s dodgy connections.
These people like to walk in like feudal overlords and take over national institutions, and like old Roman emperors throw bread to curry favour with the populace.
Long live the Football Trust along with its ethical values. There may come a time when the league is polarised between an ethical league and an unethical league, and sponsors like Barclays are under so much consumer pressure, pull out for being connected to unethical practices.