Highlight of the week – an interview with Wenger by Martin Keown.
AW even talks about succession plans.
On physicality or lack thereof since 2004, he said it was a question of availability and players coming through were smaller but still exceptional, for example Cesc Fabregas after Patrick Vieira. He concurs that the players were a little bit less athletic, “but we had to build a stadium”. He added that we can compete and fight for the best players now.
Stat of the week was in the Daily Telegraph which highlighted Ozil has run the furthest in the current Arsenal side since his return on 1 February. In the Premiership overall he is 23rd.
Strange phenomenon of the week: According to the Northern Ireland Sunday Life, brother of a suicide victim in east Belfast protested to Arsenal about the language used by Arsene about the defending against Monaco. It reports that AW has apologised.
Meanwhile, a trip down memory Lane for some, as Alan Sunderland, now 61, re-surfaces from Malta. The Mail on Sunday interviewed him and he talks about a fan giving him a lucky silver dollar before the 1979 final, when he scored the winner.
He retired through injury at the age of 36 having played for Wolves, Arsenal and Ipswich was given a driving ban that hindered coaching opportunities and drifted from jobs in insurance, pubs and letting and left for his holiday home in Malta around 20 years ago and stayed.
From old to young and Robert Pires’s son 7 had his first training session with the Arsenal Youth Academy. He’s called Theo.