By Sir Hardly Anyone
According to interviews doing the rounds at the moment Arsene Wenger believes Mesut Özil is currently playing his best ever football for Arsenal. Which gives us something to look forward to on Friday night for the game against Liverpool, although I can’t imagine he will even be on the beach for the game tomorrow against West Ham.
Caught offside however has its normal mix of news and non-news with the headline “Arsenal fans get very excited, club drop huge perceived hint over extension” and then the sub headings
- Arsenal fans believe series of tweets could have been hint over Ozil contract
- German ace will see his current deal expire at the end of the season
- Excited supporters left disappointed as no immediate announcement
Really? Which supporters? I think we should be told, but all we get after that is, “Arsenal may well have just got fans excited for no reason or possibly even genuinely dropped a major hint that Mesut Ozil is staying.” Oh, stupid fans, naughty Arsenal, serious truth-telling bloggettas. Of course.
So if tomorrow is not a time for another Ozil masterclass, as seems certain, then we shall see more of the products of the Arsenal academy playing, for contrary to the headline above an article in the Telegraph which reads, “Waste is the main product of Premier League clubs’ academies,” Arsenal do rather well out of their academy. Against Newcastle we saw the likes of Maitland Niles, Iwobi, Coquelin, Bellerin and Wilshere, and against West Ham we shall see another group, I suspect.
Indeed even some of the media (whose output we don’t normally find relating to reality in any way whatsoever, and thus rarely mention) seem to agree as the Daily Star runs the headline “Ainsley Maitland-Niles is Arsenal’s future: Arsene Wenger and Hector Bellerin praise star.”
Bellerin is quoted as saying, “Ainsley has done really well. He’s been doing a great job with the chances the boss has given him. He’s a guy that also comes from playing on the wing, he’s been on loan at different teams and finally he’s got a chance to be in the first team.”
OK that quote actually comes from the Arsenal.com site but it is reproduced in full in the Star. I know that doesn’t exactly count as cutting edge investigative journalism, but still, it makes a change.
Staying with academies, “Krystian Bielik is being lined up for a January transfer window move by Birmingham City” says the Birmingham Mail reminding us that “The Arsenal defender was signed by Gianfranco Zola and spent the second half of last season on loan at Blues as they escaped relegation on the last day of the campaign.
“Bielik, who turns 20 next month, featured in ten games for Blues last season, including the win at Wolves and he kept clean sheets against Newcastle and Bristol City. Linked heavily with a move to Norwich in August, a move never materialised – though according to reports the Canaries’ interest is retained ahead of the opening of the window next month.”
Away from the kiddies, even if “Wenger is clear as mud on Ozil’s future” (Arseblog, as usual, being much more realistic with its headlines than most) we do have “Arsenal to battle Chelsea in race to sign 20-year-old winger in January – report”. The embattled youngster in question (presumably another who is not wastage coming out of an academy) is Bayer Leverkusen winger Leon Bailey” who will sign for someone “in January”, according to reports.
Of course footballers themselves like to tell managers what to do – or better still what they should have done. And of course we can all do that, but even hindsight is not always the best guide. “Rooney says Arsenal should have sold Alexis and Ozil” according to the
On the other hand maybe Rooney is just a bit fed up that he has missed out on playing in a team with Ozil in it as the Daily Cannon tell us, “Ozil to join Manchester United in huge Adidas campaign”
Now that also is frightening – the sponsors of clubs start taking control over transfers. Whatever next!
Well fortunately the bloggettas can always tell us because they are sooooooooooooo good at fortune telling – indeed just as good as commentators on Untold Arsenal who write in saying “you clearly think that…” (They always get what I think wrong, but at least pay me the compliment of acknowledging that I do occasionally think).
So 101 Great Goals tell us that, “Pep Guardiola’s Man City is primed for an Arsenal legend next.” Apparently they are going to bring Patrick Vieira back from New York where his team is currently second in the league, 12 points behind the league leaders, Toronto.
Let’s finish with a positive bit of fantasy – as if we haven’t had enough fantasy already.
“Arsenal have reportedly joined the race to sign Leon Bailey, who is also being targeted by Chelsea for a move in the January transfer window. According to a report by Daily Mirror, Leon Bailey is the subject of interest from Arsenal, who have been closely monitoring his progress at Bayer Leverkusen. The Gunners have joined Chelsea in pursuit of the Jamaican winger, with a January transfer battle on the cards.” That’s from Thehardtackle.
Now for a PS…
Even if you don’t have much interest in Arsenal’s history, you will probably have heard that in 1919 Arsenal were elected to the first division. You may even have heard that there was skulduggery afoot and that Henry Norris was at the heart of it all.
The full truth is currently being revealed for the first time in the long running series on “Henry Norris at the Arsenal” from the Arsenal History Society. We’ve just reached the end of 1918, and I can tell you, whatever you have heard before will not be the reality that actually unfolded in that extraordinary period.
Arsenal, 11 – 31 December 1918. A 9-2 victory, the chairman becomes an MP, footballers unionise has just been published, with the story continuing every two or three days. And oh yes, there is definitely some match fixing involved.
Thanks for giving a selected summary of the speculation about Arsenal players present and future, Tony. It means that, as always, I don’t have to bother. Having seen the selection, how glad I am!
I saw the game on “match day choice” and reading some of the comments where it was reported that we are rubbish but was pleasantly surprised by the way we played. There as more purpose in the way we played, shots on target etc, yes the whole match was cramped in so cannot comment on the rubbish part as it was not shown and Ozils goal was a pleasure to watch. Nice
The idea of Ozil and Sanchez is totally unacceptable.How have we managed to allow two players who we pay in the region of 400k per week and would command transfer fees in the region of 150 million to run down their contracts is unacceptable.
AW and others must be held a accountable.Lets face it, we have a history of doing this.No wonder, Dick Law is on his way out.
@Paul,
right on. We ought to have put a gun to their heads or cut of part of a finger. Would have solved the problem.
Seen that in a move, what was it again ? Scarface ? Godfather ?
AW and all the others are really useless and ought to get fired as well.
Send in your CV, they need help
When either one or both and maybe Wilshire leave , I shall thank them in my heart and wish them well on their onward journey in football,as well as in future life. As I did for those who played with pride for us.
I will remember them fondly for having donned our jersey with pride and for having had the guts to fight a very tough battle. And will follow up in their progress with gladness.
‘People May Forget What You Said, But They Will Never Forget How You Made Them Feel.’
Unlike those who left us in trying circumstances or those who choose to belittle the club and manager , or those who just betrayed us for tiny , shiny pieces of silver . Them I don’t care an iota anymore , nor would want to know of their well(or otherwise) being !
As those who have joined the media circus , and who are ungrateful, well there is no place for them in the Arsenal Ark to Arsenal Heaven !
Do say ‘Hi!’ to Lucifer for the rest of us. Hope its hot enough for you ! And don’t forget to take your tainted silver coin to pay Charon the ferryman of the river Styx .
@Paul,
You said “Lets face it, we have a history of doing this.No wonder, Dick Law is on his way out.”
Examples please? I can’t think of us losing any of our star players for free at the end of their contact recently?
Unless you think Sanogo was a star.
Paul, whilst we do seem to have the 2 biggest names running down their contracts in our team, most teams in the PL are in the same situation (but with ‘lesser’ quality players).
Quite a few managers have said that they expect this to be a much more regular occurrence in all the main leagues as the money involved makes it worth the player taking the risk of gambling he won’t get a major injury, against the unbelievable salary his agent is expecting to get for him.