Just how good enough is good enough? At what point does a player become Arsenal quality? Who decides whether he is world class or just a squad player? And are these judgements set in stone, or can a player move from one state to another? These questions are prompted by two things, the first being a vague conversation I became involved in yesterday about Jack Wilshere, the second in light of the reaction to the possible re-signing of Carols Vela.
I am fascinated by Jack for a whole variety of reasons, and it is possibly easiest just to list them.
- He is only 22
- He has on occasions been hailed as England and Arsenal’s saviour
- He is capable of the most sublime football
- There is a touch of the street fighter about him
- He is a fans’ favourite
- He scored the best team goal that anyone will ever see
- Arsene Wenger has described him as one of the most talented young players he has ever worked with
- He has spent the last three seasons either injured or returning from injury
- He is no longer a favourite of all the fans and some don’t see him as an automatic starter either for The Arsenal, or, more strangely, for England
Not so long ago there would have been little debate about his quality, which would have been seen as top, top, or world class. He was our very own Superjack, and when much else in The Arsenal world was slightly rocky, that at least was certain. But now it would seem it isn’t, or at least it wasn’t to the person I was talking to yesterday, nor indeed to Stuart Pearce who pronounced that Jack wouldn’t kick a ball in the World Cup. I happen to think they are wrong, and maintain my belief that he is an outstanding talent, but the point of this post is not to argue his, or any other’s case (that can safely be left to Twitter and the comments section)but rather to explore what lies behind the judgments that are made about a player’s ability.
Clearly the proof of the pudding is in the playing, but often it is more than that, especially as only a very small number get to see players play for a full 90 minutes with their own eyes. For those that watch whole matches on the TV their view tends to be determined by the shots the cameramen choose to take, and by and large those shots follow the ball. If, say, a quarter of the value of a player to his team is what he does when he isn’t directly and immediately involved in the play, then it is clear that judgments are not based on the full story. Given that even more of those judgements are based on recorded highlights, and that those highlights rely heavily on editorial decision making, with all the bias that such selections inevitably entail, then we can see that most fans’ view of a player is already compromised. Throw into the mix the comments of pundits, who may or may not have an axe to grind (old allegiances run deep, and few past players are totally in love with their modern successors) and suddenly the claim that player X is not world class can be seen to be distorted.
The judgements become even more tainted of course when assessing the value of a transfer target, or when the player in question is being debated in the school yard (yes, I know school yards no longer exist, but what is a comment on football without an appropriate cliché), because then a kind of macho one-upmanship comes into play. Signing Vela is of absolutely no use to that kind of fan. He will not cost nearly enough money (anything under £25m these days is seen as a “Lol, poverty”), he does not come from a well-known club, he has already been dismissed as a failure once in his Arsenal lifetime, his YouTube videos are a little underwhelming, and perhaps most crucially of all, he isn’t talked about in reverential terms by those pundits who are persuaded to talk so glowingly by the agents they spend so much time with. If the dismissal of Vela can be accompanied with a sneering comment about Wenger dithering about in the bargain basement again then so much the better, especially if the twitterliverer of that comment can at the same time proclaim that only he properly understands just what players Arsenal need to even get top 4 again.
So Vela has no chance, and I suspect that a little like Giroud, even if he does come he will spend his life being criticised for what and who he is not , rather than celebrated for what he is and what he does offer. It apparently doesn’t matter that he has improved significantly, because whilst it is apparently fine to say that a player has regressed or hasn’t lived up to his potential, it is not allowed for anyone to improve. And it is that aspect that I find saddest of all, because I believe the biggest obstacle anyone can have to living their life successfully is to settle for a fixed and pessimistic mind-set. The whole basis of coaching is to help a player unlock his potential and find improvement, the whole point of training is to make progress from where you were yesterday. The best coaches dare to see the potential in players, the outstanding ones know how to help them unlock it. Choosing to adopt a growth mind-set is the most positive difference you can make to your life, whether you are a professional footballer, or gainfully employed in some other walk of life or simply waiting to leave school and to find a job that really suits you – or even, like me, just a student of the game.
If Vela returns he will be exciting, as will Balotelli (and the thought of him coming just makes me smile – I don’t think he will, but it would be kind of fun to see what happens if he does, and there is, in truth, only one manager on the planet who I would trust to get the best out of him).
Eighteen months ago, when Jack Wilshere was driving The Arsenal forward to a Third Round Cup victory over Swansea few would have imagined it was Aaron Ramsey who would make the most progress over the next year or so – but he did, and it was due to his courage and determination, but also to the unshakeable and visionary faith of his manager. I would not offer you any odds at all on Arsene Wenger helping Jack, or any of the others he chooses to sign, unleashing that potential too. And while this may well come back to haunt me, I do want to finish by saying that fitness permitting, I believe that Jack Wilshere will be as good a player as we have ever seen at The Emirates.
Today’s post was penned by @foreverheady
Positively Arsenal 
Now the emotion has gone I’m ok with Cesc not coming. He behaved deplorably to get his move to Barca, failed and wants to come back. We have moved on. We have Santi, Mesut and Tomas to play in his position. We also have the trio of youngsters ready to explode to the next level
However unless we bring in quality replacements for Sagna and Fab plus a striker, DM and wide forward one of which must be a marquee signing then Arsene has once again left himself open to vitriol. Gazidis and Lord whoever says we have money. Time to spend it wisely.
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the following are nominees for wolves is sheep’s clothing award in wenger’s era
vieira, ashley cole, adebayor, nasri, rvp, fabregas.
i include vieira because he had the chance to join us but chose city and has since lured many of aur players to city including sagna.
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That’s nice. Made me feel better. We do have a good crew. I think it’s not gona workout for cesc at chelski. He might strangle mourinwhore.
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of all the striker being linked to us, balotelli excite me the most. but that is when i see him play for other clubs. i have this strange feeling that his reputation may cost us a lot since referees only need players like him to vent their anger on us.
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So Fred – hundreds of millions of football fans watching – a night to make history in front of your 200 million Brazilian brothers and sisters.
And what did you do ?
You cheated ……………………. you total total arsehole.
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I like the current squad. They are nice guys. They are Aaron Ramsey, Chambo, Arteta, Poldi, Meet, Kos. The days of shitheads like Adebayor, RVP and Fabregas are over. Let’s get in more good guys. And forgive our Ollie his trespasses. At least I hope his wife does. For his sake.
Mexico v Cameroon. Don’t know enough. Going for my African brothers.
Spain v Holland. Surely Spain?
Chile v Australia….not much hope for the Aussies.
You probably would not believe it but Australia as a people are so ‘up for it’ for this Chile match and for all the world cup matches. My Aussie mate who follows football put it like this. Australians love being the underdog but their sportspeople are good and win at basically everrything in which they compete. Except soccer. So it fuels their underdog sensibilities. Its 8am kick off and all the pubs are open. Not much hope. But that’s not the Anzac spirit, so they won’t be giving up yet, be it Chile, Holland or Spain.
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The convenience of being Cesc Fabregas.
Clearly if he could leave us the way he did, he could have made it most convenient for AW to re-sign him.
Methinks CF is a lil’ b**ch whose primary loyalty is to CF.
Not much different from the rest of the world though his need to stay firmly on the titty is quite exemplary.
Arsenal cannot compete with that level of self loyalty.
So, Chelsea it is because London is where his new family.
An ultimately spineless chap.
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I have a nasty feeling that the Dutch and Spanish will play out the draw tonight Sav with the confidence that they can put away the Aussies and Chile later. Spain really have the pedigree to do that, and LvG has a big ego. A dangerous strategy if it goes wrong. I have to fancy Chile to win against the Aussies but they will go down with a battle – first red card of the tournamnt in that one.
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I wish I had said this;
“I remember when I was a child, being taken to the celebrated Barnum’s Circus, which contained an exhibition of freaks and monstrosities, but the exhibit on the programme which I most desired to see was the one described as “The Boneless Wonder”. My parents judged that the spectacle would be too demoralising and revolting for my youthful eye and I have waited fifty years, to see the The Boneless Wonder join Chelsea yesterday”
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Just going back to the Cesc thing for a moment, and this is mere speculation rather than informed knowledge. David Luiz made quite a big thing about shirt number 4 for Chelsea.. He has just signed for PSG and will be wearing 4, as he is for the World Cup. Chelsea have replaced him with Fabregas, who also has this thing about 4. Is this just serendipity, or might it point to a deal having been set up some time ago. Could Cesc have said to Arsenal some months ago: “However much you want me, I will only agree to come back if you pay me x amount to sign on and £200,000 a week after tax.” Because if he did something like that, then it is a little disingenuous to claim “Arsenal didn’t want me.” For if we claim that the Ozil deal took months to broker, then it is likely that Cesc to Chelsea took some amount of time too.
My feeling, as with so many of these things, is that Arsene Wenger is being publically pilloried for something that is not his fault, and that he is keeping quiet about due to an old-fashioned sense of honour.
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That is magnificent Andy: where did it come from?
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Churchill ( well not the last three words ! )
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Foreverheady, I did not know that about the number 4. I suspect you might be right. He also probably expected to walk back into the Arsenal team and be the main man as well as asking for ridiculous money. His ‘Arsenal could have bought me’ crap is just designed to keep him on side with the gullible fans. Your scenario fits even better with Arsene’s reported stance when questioned about it. What a little shit. Still, it must be expensive to keep his gold digger girlfriend in the style to which she has become accustomed. I’m glad we’re not subsidising them.
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Passenal: what is so sad, and you are magnificent at pointing this out and keeping us all sane, is the way disappointments over transfers can make you forget the real value of the players who right now are more than happy to play for us. Adrian Clarke wrote a really good piece the other day about who we might sign, and I suspect that he probably was given a brief to do so. I don’t know him (of course I don’t) but I like his style and enthusiasm for the club.
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I know Adrian, he is not briefed on transfers.
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I suspect you are right about the red cards, anicoll. The way the Aussie players were going for it in the warm up friendlies was spirited to put it mildly. But what have they to lose. In any case, it shall be most enjoyable to have 7 football matches to watch this weekend.
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Wow! Dex is back and Paul N. Only need Steww to complete the original crew as well as the new members of the positivistas who are all bloody good as far as I can see.
Just letting you know I am still around but am busy as hell at work and rarely get a chance to scan the blog much less post. See you on the weekend though.
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And Frank, let us never forget to pine for Frank.
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What have you done to Frank, PG?
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Nothing Shotta,hes busy,or so he tells me.
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There’s an ear-splitting silence from those who were screaming that we had sold CF to Barca at a give-away price.
How does it compare with the price that Barca have sold him for?
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Should we start a petition to get Steww back?
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Georgaki, yes!
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Just the headline is enough to confirm my contempt. I don’t need to read the article, just the f**king headline:
“Arsenal must land superstars on radar to ease Cesc pain”….
No prizes for which site this is from….
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Is Vela really coming back?
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Sagna signs for city… i always hear arsenal do not have good players, yet so many have signed for great players
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I know the headline is hyperbolic but we do need to sign some pretty good players. We are short in several areas and they do need addressing. Personally I think it was right, for many reasons, not to bring Cesc back. However by not doing it Wenger has made things difficult for himself. If we have a good window then no one will care about Cesc. If we don’t get cover for where it is needed then a lot of people will be unhappy.
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Does anyone have any odds on Bacary or his agent trotting out the line “Well its not a move I expected. I wanted to stay at the Arsenal, and win trophies, but the club were not willing to meet me halfway ………………..” ?
Still we’ve flogged Citeh a few bench polishers in the past – And Bac old son you will have to work your butt off to dislodge Zabaletta.
We shall see who larfs last
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Anicoll, I don’t think Sagna is that type of person. He will not disrespect Arsenal. I am prepared to eat my words but I would be highly surprised. But nothing I have seen in his words and conduct suggest we should worry about him disrespecting Arsenal or Arsene Wenger.
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Oh, 10 minutes until my beloved Indomitable Lions start their campaign. Come on Song! Oh wait…no its for the national team, its fine.
Cameroon and Ivory Coast are the only jerseys I ever bought. Cameroon for their heroics in the old days and Ivory Coast because they had the players that I thought could win it. Still the best African squad.
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Remember Barca wanted rid of cesc and no one in Europe was clammering for him either. His choice of London and Champ league probably meant his options were very limited. If Arsene thought for whatever reason he wasn’t worth the outlay then chelski have a player no one else realistically wanted, that’s a far cry from the first choice they have been in the past. This season seems to be critical for the chavs for many reasons fail and they just might end up even further down the pecking order
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I wonder who is on Nigel de Jong’s list tonight ?
Could be a Chelsea player perhaps
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“Still we’ve flogged Citeh a few bench polishers in the past – And Bac old son you will have to work your butt off to dislodge Zabaletta.”
I expect to see him converted to CB and only be an emergency back up RB, if he even makes it into the CL squad now that they only have 21 places
P.S. I can’t bring myself to watch the traitors parade, so let me know if anything noteworthy happens
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As usual George great read. Now since you know who joined chavski people have been screaming but here is my take on why he wasnt worth it. Please do read and comment. Hope you dont mind my self promotion George 🙂
http://untold-arsenal.com/archives/36146
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I see my prediction for a cautious sharing of points in Natal tonight was bang on the money
She is a cruel goddess
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That was a beat down.
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Anicoll, you and I are great pundits.
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Sagna to City, huh? Shallow and predictable, IMO.
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A team containing 1 Judas was roundly beaten by a team containing another Judas.
Pair of scumbags. Good game to watch though.
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Boom! My Holland beat the crap out of Spain.
Good work Mexico. CONCACAF represent.
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Chelsea just bought a one season wonder in Costa. I didn’t see him link up with Iniesta or Silva once. I don’t feel bad for Cesc going there either. He’s going to find out how different things are when you play in a team full of creativity vs a rigid style with a majority of defensive minded players.
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When AW signed Özil he was roundly criticsed and lampooned as we didnt need another attack minded midfielder. Now he passed up the opportunity to sign another one, he is wide criticised and lampooned, with idiot fans on social media calling for his head…
Give me effin strength.
Although the dutch rat was playing, I have always had a soft spot for Holland, so am chiffed they stuffed Spain tonight.
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Gains
Cost? I really dont see how he is worth anywhere even close to £15m, never mind the £32m the chavs spent on him.
Dean Ashton was a better striker.
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*Costa?
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If Mata couldnt hack it at CFC under Mourinho, I dont see Cesc getting on much better to be hinest. Maybe thats wishful thinking on my part, but I simply dont know how or why Mou is lauded, when he has sold a better and young player in Mata, only to sign a slower and older facsimile.
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Hang on Dex. When did Mata become better than Cesc?
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The Cesc ship has sailed. He’s not the same player and we are not the same team. The sad part was him forcing a move.
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Sanchez would do me. Versatile forward, an Arsenal type player and available for 20 million.
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“Although the dutch rat was playing, I have always had a soft spot for Holland, so am chuffed they stuffed Spain tonight.”
Shame they couldn’t both lose! Not only do the dutch have the greedy badger, they also have the diving old man robben. But it will probably be the usual flash in the pan from them only for the massive ego’s to take over and they self destruct once again.
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Obviously early days, but Chelsea not looking quite so special having signed Costalot and Poisongas after tonight’s result,
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