TONY ADAMS said Arsene Wenger is a physiological manager who tends to pick his side on current fitness, current running power.
But he's also, more than any other Premiership boss, a developmental manager who gets his kicks from seeing the young ones improve.
If you gave him £100 million to spend on players he would still sign a load of kids. That is his way. He sees himself as star-maker.
And he loves to convert a player.
He thought at first that Anelka would be more of a Bergkamp than an Ian Wright, but he used him more like a No.9 than a No.10.
He played Petit at left back in one game and it was a disaster but the manager wanted to play at a high tempo and the team had an opening between Overmars and Vieira. Petit made that shirt his own and they won the double.
Overmars could use his pace to get into scoring positions as well as crossing positions, and he could use his brain as well, so the little winger was converted into a third striker.
WHEN Vieira was going in summer 2005 he tried to get Emerson but he went to Juventus.
So he tried to get Julio Baptista.
Now he wants to develop Baptista into an authoritative midfield powerhouse/ match-winner.
Baptista made his name in Brazil as a holding midfielder, an anchorman who won the ball with big tackles. In Seville he made his name as high-scoring second striker and became the main man. And he mostly played wide at Real Madrid last season
So, at 25, Baptista has played all the midfield & attacking roles in football. But in Spain he has been mainly a goalscoring striker.
Signing Baptista was a mission that took 13 months or more, so AW obviously has big plans for him. He will become a powerhouse, a mainstay of the side, in a month or three.
Against Middlesbrough we saw a polaroid snap of the future when Baptista replaced Gilberto.
Arsene never takes Gilberto off. So that in itself was very unusual. He took him off and put Baptista on because he wanted to save Gilberto for Hamburg
I think Arsene plans to have the two Brazilians share that position alongside Fabregas.
That doesn't mean Baptista and Gilberto will never play together. But I doubt if they will start many games together in central midfield. Although they are different, they are too similar – if that is not too Irish
TO BECOME an all-time great Arsenal player, Cesc Fabregas needs the right machinery round him: behind him, in front of him, alongside him. And Julio Baptista can become a big part of that.
We shall just have to see how the midfield develops and finds a good balance between passing, running and scoring, an effective shape that works when Arsenal have the ball as well as when they don't have it.
At the moment, of course, having the ball is not the problem.They usually have 63% possession and don't win.
Still, it's early days. The team hasn't gelled, hasn't settled, hasn't found its rhythm or its cutting edge.
The operation is not helped by the captain saying that playing at the Emirates feels "weird." Thierry said that two weeks ago and I thought he needed a slap. I thought : "Shut up! Think it, say it in private, but don't say it in public. Don't make excuses. Don't say that again. I hope somebody tells him NOT to say that again."
After the Middlesbrough game he said it again.What an idiot ! Somebody, shut him up !
ARSENE said Middlesbrough was like the Aston Villa and City games and I agree.
The three were so similar that they were one long game, VillaManCityMiddlesbrough, from which Arsenal got two points.
Villa had one corner and scored, Boro had one shot and scored.
ON WEDNESDAY, ROSICKY will give Arsenal a cutting edge in Hamburg. His 20 yard shot on Saturday brought Schwarzer's best save.
More of that will set Arsenal on the right path.The team needs goals and the little Czech can score them.
But if Arsene starts Ljungberg, and has Rosicky on the bench, I won't watch the game, so I won't be writing anything here on Thursday morning.