Pires

15th November 2015: Wilshere boost + Henry and Vieira as potential successors to Wenger

Posted on by TremendArse

Sunday salutations. Some good news to begin with this evening as The Mirror’s Steve Stammers has reported Jack Wilshere is on course for a return to full fitness in time for Arsenal’s Boxing Day trip to Southampton.

Having suffered a fractured fibula in training on the eve of the new season, Wilshere’s availability for the busiest portion of the season would obviously be a big boost for Arsene Wenger and the squad, so fingers crossed his recovery continues to progress without any setbacks between now and then.

In the same piece, it’s also revealed that Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is the most likely of our injured payers to be fit for the game at West Brom on Saturday. Hector Bellerin and Aaron Ramsey shouldn’t be far behind the Ox in making a return too, considering all three were recently reported to be likely to make their comebacks immediately after this international break.

Elsewhere, two members of our 2004 Invincibles’ squad have had their say on the possibility of Thierry Henry taking over as Arsenal manager once Arsene decides to step down. First up, it’s Robert Pires, who said:

Can I see Thierry Henry taking over from Arsene Wenger? Yes, why not? He is working on his badges. He’s involved with the U19 team at Arsenal’s academy. He’s preparing himself step by step and he wants to get his badges. Question is; would Arsenal want Henry? It depends on the board, the chairman. I can see Henry, as well as Vieira. It’s up to the club to prepare well for the post-Arsene era. That’s crucial.

Gilberto Silva agrees, but thinks the job may come too soon for Thierry, saying:

Maybe one day he could be Arsenal manager. For Thierry when Wenger leaves be quite soon. Maybe he needs more time, but one day he can do it. He’s doing the right thing working with the youngsters, he’s learning day by day. He knows Arsenal.

Frankly, I’d be flabbergasted if Henry succeeded Arsene in the hot-seat, mainly because he’s got about as much of a track record of successfully managing a top-level club as I have.

It’s also worth remembering than when it was put to the boss fairly recently that Henry might one day follow in his footsteps, he basically said his former striker had a lot to learn. So if we assume Arsene will have a big say on who is named his successor, unless Henry makes huge strides in his coaching career over the next couple of years, it’s hard to see him as our next manager.

Patrick Vieira, who has managed the Man City reserve team and now taken on his first, first-team manager role in New York, is a couple of steps ahead of Thierry in the regard, so perhaps he’s the more likely Invincible to be a contender.

Personally, I would want us to go out and get the best proven manager possible when the time comes, and if one day Henry or Vieira prove themselves as good at managing teams as they were at playing the game, then they clearly become stand-out candidates.

Another short post today, but don’t blame me, blame the international break.

Till next week.

8th October 2015: Stars align to create our formation

Posted on by TremendArse

Like lots of things in life, the formulation of a football team owes as much to chance and timing as it does to carefully considered construction. None more so than our current first-choice selection in my opinion, which, when you scan through it, is full of near-misses, unlikely success-stories and unforeseen captures.

Take Petr Cech, who would even have dreamed the Chelsea legend would swap Stamford Bridge for Emirates stadium a year ago? Or Hector Bellerin, how many gave him a chance of becoming our undisputed first-choice at right-back in the summer of 2014?

If you replace Gabriel with Laurent Koscienly from Sunday’s starting line-up against Manchester United, you’d be left with most observers’ best Arsenal 11 and you could say every player’s success, or mere presence on the list, is a surprise in one way or the other.

Per Mertesacker? Written off as too slow for the Premier League only to become one half of arguably the best central defensive pairing in the league. Indeed, his usual accomplice in pocketing attackers, Koscielny, was considered a liability at the back a few years ago, yet is now rated as one of the best in the business in his position.

Nacho Monreal was never a good enough left-back people insisted, myself included, yet a spell at centre-back last season brought out a more tenacious side to his game, improved his aerial ability and now you’d struggle to name a better left-sided full-back in the division.

Then there’s Francis Coquelin. Renaissance Coquelin more like, from on-loan at Charlton and a failed left-winger in Germany with Freiburg, to statistically the best defensive midfielder in Europe. Mind-boggling. Alexis Sanchez’s arrival from Barcelona – if you saw that coming, even at the start of summer 2014, you’re either high up the Barcelona hierarchy or a big, fat, liar. Ditto Mesut Ozil. Completely out of the blue.

Aaron Ramsey struggled in his early years, enjoyed a stunningly prolific goal-scoring season in 2013-2014, which was completely unexpected after failing to convince for a number of years, albeit very early ones in his career, was booed by sections of the home support and is now playing very, very well in a new position on the right, providing our side with vital balance.

On to Theo Walcott. In all honesty, I’ve been championing his cause as a striker for years amongst friends, and for the last few months on this blog, yet even I’m slightly surprised at quite how quickly and smoothly he’s taken to the role. I thought it would take him a longer stretch of games to settle up front than it appears to have done.

I’ve left Santi Cazorla until last because not only has his reincarnation as a deep-lying, game-controlling, creative yet defensive, all-action maestro been startling considering his past as either a more advanced number 10 or wide player, but Arsene Wenger has also admitted he was uncertain whether the diminutive Spaniard was physically compatible with a fast, ferocious English top flight. Speaking to Arsenal.com, the boss said:

You could question whether he was physically equipped to play in the tough Premier League. It’s true that I had that doubt, but his quality was so big that I was ready to take that gamble. His technical quality, his right foot, left foot, his availability, his vision and the quality of his passing made me go for it. I thought, ‘If there is a team in the Premier League where he has a chance to make it, it’s with us.’ That’s why I went for it.

Arsene also revealed he’d been aware of Santi’s talents years ago and that Invincible Robert Pires, who played with him at Villarreal, had raved about Cazorla’s quality:

After that Robert Pires moved to Villarreal and played with him. Sometimes I asked Robert, ‘Are there any good players there?’. He said to me straight away, ‘Cazorla is a fantastic player’. So Robert was a scout for me! He at least confirmed the impression I already had about Santi.

Anyway, whether it’s luck, coincidence, cultivation or a concoction of all three, our current selection have a mouth-watering chemistry if Sunday’s showing is anything to go by and I can’t wait to see what they can achieve assuming they stay fit.

Finally for today, the FA have fined and warned both Arsenal and Chelsea following the scandalous clash at the Bridge last month when Diego Costa cheated his side to victory, and some of our fixtures around the Christmas period have been moved around for television.

Back Friday.