Mr.Myles ,
I’ve been a loyal reader of ANR over the last 8 to 9 years…Please help me out here…The rumours are getting stronger day by day + he wants number 10 as well. You have to give us a few words on this…some inside information would be preferable although it might be difficult!
Cheers and have a productive 2009..I’m looking forward to it.
rgds
Magnus Kristensen
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Myles replies : I have to give you a few words on this? Some inside information?
Please stop being neurotic. If I worked at Menwith Hill, I might have some inside info, some commercial secrets. But if I posted it online, I’d be locked up in jail faster than you can say… Whistleblower.
I don’t have inside info on when Arshavin will sign. Nobody does. Acquiring world class players often requires long negotiations, and complex financial arrangements have to be put in place for them. And a superstar player is always a risk as well as huge expense. Arshavin is a far better footballer than most of those in Arsenal’s present team but it’s still a risk. He might cost a £15 million fee and £16 m in wages over four years.That’s £31 million.
For me, Arsenal’s priority is fourth place because fifth place would cost them £40m. Yes : forty million quid ! If Wenger thinks Denilson is developing into the next Deschamps, then he won’t buy a defensive, strategic ball-winner like Mascherano or an attacking, tempo-setting presser-tackler like Flamini. Team-building always needs cogs who keep the machine ticking over and Denilson is one of those cogs. The main quality that a cog needs is reliability. A cog needs to keep turning, turning, turning – all week long, all season long. Denilson will never be a tall, exciting goalscorer but if the rest of the machine was properly built with classy components, he might be OK in the long-term.
Whenever you try to build a team there is an element of luck because some things work out for you, some partnerships develop nicely, even suddenly. At other times, Anelka and Overmars hate each other because each man shoots when the other is expecting a pass.
A majority of my Gooner friends are now saying : Arshavin’s a fabulous talent but he’s not what we need. There are only 17 league games left and he’s not gonna play at Hull, so that’s a max of 16 league games he could play in.
But I’m thinking (1) It’s not often that someone of his ability wants to join your club and (2) he’s eligible for the FA Cup and could help Arsenal win it at Wembley. Arshavin could score two goals in the final as billions watch on TV round the world and quickly sell 100,000 No.10 shirts.
I don’t think the pursuit of Arshavin is a charade.Wenger is serious. He wants him. If the Russian is nicked by another club because Arsenal dithered by not offering enough cash, they will look as foolish as they did when not making the Xabi Alonso deal.
But it’s £31 million.
That’s what I’m saying : Arshavin would cost £31 million and have no resale value when he’s 31. So don’t talk about such sums lightly.
My best guess is that Arshavin will sign next week.
I agree that he should have the number 10 shirt. And Sagna should have the No 2 because he is a worthy successor to Lee Dixon and Lauren. When Fabregas got the No4, and Toure got the No.5, I said that was right. Your core players should wear appropriate numbers.
As football becomes an increasingly absurd and obscene circus, where dim young men are crippled and terrified by massive fame and insane money, simple things like the numbers on their shirts become more important because they connect to past heroes and heritage. Shirt numbers, for me, are now much more significant than they were in 1992 when English football sold its soul and its kick-off times to Rupert Murdoch, and millions started to watch in satellite dishes made by Alan Sugar’s Amstrad.
But if I could choose between paying Flamini £16 million in wages, and paying Arshavin £16 million in wages, I’d prefer Flamini. Letting Flamini leave on a free was negligent. Not replacing him was also negligent. If he was at Arsenal now, the team would not be fifth. And Flamini would have made that tackle on Xabi Alonso, not Cesc.
With Arshavin, it’s a wait-and-see job. I’m not a news-junkie, never have been, and I can’t live my life worrying and thinking : has anything happened yet ? I’m not one of those punters who used to switch on Ceefax every hour to see if Arsenal had signed anybody.
If I get a phone call giving me a scoop, I’ll share it, I’ll post it on ANR, although if I think posting it might jeopardise the deal, I won’t post it.
Real football news is rare. Big, exciting news is very rare. In a recession like this one, few big names will move because the big clubs already have big squads, and right now most clubs want to sell at high prices, not buy.
The manager I’m watching is Martin O’Neill because I don’t think John Carew will play for him again. So I’m waiting to see if Aston Villa sign a new striker. If they do, it could be bad news for Arsenal.
Always remember, Magnus, that a league is not about how good you are compared to last year. It’s about how many points you get compared to your rivals this year.