Would Arsene Wenger buy Matthew Upson twice?
Back in 1997, David Dein and Luton chairman David Kohler shared a synagogue and Upson was a Wenger type of player : slim, tall, fast and young. So they bought him from Luton for £2 million.
Upson was the best header of the ball at the club but he was injury-prone. His biggest problem was that he panicked under pressure. In January 2003 he was sold to Birmingham for £1 million rising to £3 million, and in January 2007 Birmingham sold him to West Ham for £6 million. He has worked with a psychologist and improved his focus. Upson has played 12 times for England and scored when Capello’s rejuventated outfit beat Germany 2-1 in a friendly in Berlin.
Arsenal need a tall centreback who knows the Premier League and Upson is for sale.
Wenger has finally admitted what we all knew two years ago: Toure and Gallas together are too similar and too small. Sir Alex allowed him to sign Man Utd reject Silvestre because he’s a crock who can’t play enough games.
Gallas and Silvestre are now out for three weeks and will miss the next four games. ANR readers and some of my friends love to slaughter Gallas, while I always defend him and say he should be playing with a dominating centreback. Almunia says he feels a lot safer with Gallas playing in front of him.
So the $64,000 question now is : How will Arsenal do without Gallas in the next four games?
Normally, I don’t take much notice of what footballers say and rarely read what Arsenal players say, apart from Fabregas. But today I clicked on some Adebayor comments. He says there is some truth in what William Gallas said when he criticised his young teammates for lacking bottle.
Adebayor said, “Someone had to say these things, to make each person face up to their responsibilities. If he had said nothing, where would we be today? Gallas has always been like that. He has experience, he has won titles, played in a World Cup final. He doesn’t throw these thoughts around lightly. He said something because it was necessary to do it. He is indispensable to the team. He is Arsenal’s rock.”
Ade explained why Arsenal can’t hold onto a lead :. “It’s a question of confidence. At the moment, when we take the lead, we are scared. We tremble until the final whistle because the team is young and we have conceded several goals in the last few minutes of matches. We are lacking a bit of luck. Perhaps we will perform better towards the end of the season.”
I read that and think : We are scared? We tremble? Someone had to say these things? Someone had to say these things?
Yes, the manager. The manager should make players face up to their responsibilities. Managers should manage, not tiptoe round a bunch of precious millionaires. If your players are so fragile that you can’t give them an occasional bollocking, they’re wimps who should not be playing for Arsenal. He’s in awe of his players. He pampers them far too much. It’s the psychology of : I’m OK, you’re OK. When that works, it’s victory through harmony. When it fails, it’s a failure of their complacency, a failure because he doesn’t teach defence, a failure by a group who often go to pieces when a match hands them a reality check.
In my view, Arsenal can’t play without Fabregas.
I said that as long ago as 2006 and maybe even before that. They also miss Walcott badly right now. And they will miss Gallas, big time. Bolton is a huge game because Arsenal can’t afford to be three points behind Aston Villa, let alone five points behind them. A 1-1 draw against Bolton would be a very bad result in current circumstances.
Over to you, Robin Bang! Persie.