Twitter is basically a forum for idle gossip, unsubstantiated speculation and general nonsense. I spend a lot of time on there doing just those things and make no apologies for it. Its fun. it gives me an idea of what people think, expect and how little thought many people put into forming their opinions.
Yesterday there was much talk about who might be sold, to whom, and why.
Three names mentioned were those of Theo, Jack and Wojciech. So I am going to give my tuppence worth here.
Theo
Theo isn’t getting first team starts now. That much we know.
Why ?
That we certainly don’t know.
Some people are quick to point out that its because of us now having better players in his position.
Do we?
We have players with different skill-sets, but does that make them better? They have to be better for the team to constitute being “better” . Teams are about balance.Theo offers balance. He brings skills to the table that others don’t. He is faster than the others and he seems to me a better finisher than them.
So do we ignore what is good about him and just look at the negatives?
And what are the negatives anyway?
The old “he doesn’t track back” chestnut ? Perhaps ? That is/might be a weakness. But every player has those.
Does Theo have to start every game ? Have people not been crying out for years that we should start players that suit the game? Well I believe there will be occasions that Theo is perfectly suited to the circumstances.
His contract situation might be a consideration for the club, so he might be sold.But don’t tell me there is a better player with his particular skill set.
Jack
The talk is that City are sniffing around him !
Well why wouldn’t they ?
He is, by some margin, the best English midfielder . He is 23 years old, and only because of injuries, is behind in his development.
His talent is staggering.
His spirit is just what we love..
Right now I feel there are 2 or 3 positions Jack can play in and do a very good job, the problem is there are specialists in those positions that at this moment are better than him in those positions. I’m not sure though that any of them could be as good in as many positions. With time, he could easily settle into what is his best position and go on to be truly world class.
So why sell him ?
Why even consider selling him ?
I don’t believe Arsene will or should.
Wojciech
Currently our second choice goalkeeper. Also currently the holder of the Golden Glove award jointly with Cech.
Cech – the keeper who many see as his replacement,
32 year old Cech, who had arguably a better defence in front of him .
Wojciech can improve, can Cech ?
Arsenal are now in a position that simply because a player is not an automatic first choice, it doesn’t mean thay are not very good and valuable players. There is a 25 man squad, they all can’t start.
Theo had us over a barrel for his last contract, but lets not forget, he did “sign da ting”. He did. He is a lovely young man that has been with us almost 10 years. Who doesn’t remember him being stretchered of against Spurs and holding in up two fingers in one hand and a 0 in the other, without smiling ?
Jack and Wojciech are massive Arsenal fans, I have invested emotionally in them. I like them. I want them to succeed.
I am not suggesting that loyalty and emotional attachment should be the overriding factor in any decision making process Arsene and the club make, but I am saying it should be a consideration.
If your thirst for success blinds you to a value like loyalty, then its a sorry state you are in.
Surly seeing the players we have invested in, both financially and emotionally.succeed at Arsenal is part supporting ?
If its not. it should be.
Simples.
A
Positively Arsenal 
A serious piece there, PG.
I’ve got lots of stuff to do so I’ll cogitate and come back later, by which time the comments section will be full of sage, hopefully. (I wouldn’t even debate these questions elsewhere, inc. twatter).
But essentially, keep everyone. Mek dem fight fe dem place (which they’re already doing). Listen to Arsene’s presser.
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My Compliments, Nice to hear from a fan that actually supports our players instead of looking for the quickest way to move them along on a whim. For me our squad really is within touching distance of a title challenging season and have some real depth meaning that Arsene can focus on specific areas to strengthen in the summer with real quality.
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I had to smile when I read this and compared it with my most recent blog. Seems we are drifting ever farther apart George.
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Its all about balance in a team Stew ! We are a team ?
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From what Arsene says he is reluctant to sell almost any player, ans those he and the club have invested in since childhood in some cases it must be even more of a wrench. The difficulty he faces , and the players themselves, is whether they are content to be part of a squad, used but not a ‘first name’ on the team sheet.
Fair play to those who say they want to play football rather than play for Arsenal.
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I was just preparing to jump down your throat George,
until I read the blog properly!
Absolutely agree, 3 players we need for a true top quality squad – and the three of them may have to realise that they may have to be squad players right now.
Top quality English players are as rare as hen’s teeth (as are Welsh, Irish, Scots too), no way should Arsene consider selling to a domestic rival unless there were exceptional circumstances. – there aren’t and he won’t. Thank the Dennis.
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I believe that many Arsenal fans want Szczesny, Walcott, Wilshere and Ramsey sold as once a scapegoat always a scapegoat,
look at the eagerness and delight to be able to do, how so many scapegoated Ramsey this season, its the same with
Szczesny, and for me this is down to the mantra ingrained in them from a few years ago – we don’t need kids in the team we need Big Money signings.
Theo has never been able to shake of the nonsense quote by that idiot spud Waddle – “walcott has not got a football brain. You still see idiots come out with this, it seems he scored all those goals and got all those assists by chance or by luck.
Wilshere suffers from the big media game of build them up to knock them down, that and his poor injury record.
One of the silliest things I see these idiot whingers constantly level at Szczesny and Wilshere more often than not is that they are arrogant, (really laughable as normally those that accuse them of this are so arrogant that they think they know everything about how and why AFC are not winning everything out there), Now these idiots do not accuse them of appearing arrogant, no they say they are arrogant, I don’t know about you, but how can anyone know if either of them are in fact arrogant, without personally knowing them. By the way why would it be a problem if either of them are arrogant or not, since when did arrogance hinder a footballer,
Szczesny was not the big name big money replacement they wanted for Seaman
Ramsey and Wilshere were not the big name big money replacements for PV4 and Petit
Walcott was not the big name bit money replacement for Freddie
So they will never be judged fairly by the AAA and those who love to have scapegoats
these players are not the only targets as new ones are added every day, jeez Ozil and Giroud still have their haters, and now I see more and more it starting with Coquelin , with FC it goes along the lines of “he is great at what he does but he is limited” and “we need to replace him as he has only done it for half a season so far” and “as good as he is the lad is just not big and powerful enough”, and oh yes the latest one I’ve seen only this week “anyone notice how he fades out of the game in the second half, brilliant in first half v liverpool, but not in the game in the second half and that is not the first time”, and from the liverpool game “where was he when Liverpool created those two great chances in the first half”
Coquelin is not the big name big money signing they wanted etc etc etc
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As much as most transfer talk is commercially driven and often stirred by vested interests (e.g. agents), given its popularity it cannot be ignored as was recently recognized at Arsenal.com. For that reason alone, I think George’s blog is very useful. It is now widely acceptable on the most popular Arsenal blogs and Twitter accounts, e.g. arseblog, to make it conventional wisdom that Theo, Wojciech and Jack are all expendable assets in the transfer merry-go-round. By now the acceptable narrative is more transfers means more success (sic). George has at least made the case that selling any of these players is neither inevitable or desirable. Maybe it will give the mischievous makers some pause.
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We are now in a situation where the club can buy one marquee signing every season (or every window if necessary) and one young squad player plus the usual additions to the U21s. The strange thing is just as we have money is just when there are fewer places in your squad you have to fill.
By the way Theo is not the fastest in the squad Hector is and he has played RW for the reserves, with the quality of the RBs at the club moving the young spainard wouldn’t be the worst decision in the world. However looking at our injury record and the new laws on home growns why would we get rid of Theo, Jack or indeed Szcz.
People used to talk about deadwood and look how wrong they were on that and we haven’t exactly got a manager who likes clearouts. Those who claim to want there old ARSENAL back should remember how quickly the 71 team was split up and what happened there.
Having said all that I do believe in progressing while your winning but its now about fine tuning and not about throwing out babies and bathwater
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wojo is the jim carrey of football …good and funny at first…annoying as the years go by….
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Loyalty and friendship are the two things in life I value most.
I can’t be friends with the players , because I don’t know them, but I sure as hell can be loyal.
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A bit like you Hunter?
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no i was always annoying…it just took you longer to figure out hehe … 😛
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I am actually struggling to thing of players around Europe who I’d want to see joining Arsenal at the experience of one of our own home grown players.
(obviously the star players at Barca, Real, Bayern, Juve, BvB, PSG etc. aren’t under realistic consideration in this.)
We have seen these young fellows grow from boys to men under the Masters tutelage.
I wouldn’t even sell Jenks.
What will be become – like United selling Welbeck? Not for me, thanks.
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wait a minute…. so you agree that he is annoying then….
good!
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Hateful as the day will be,
Some day coming up Mikel Arteta and Tomas Rosicky will be playing their last game as a professional Arsenal player. God (or Lady Luck) knows what the future lies in store for Abou Diaby.
Home grown and Arsenal trained players are gold dust, the family silver.
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He? You? Me?
.
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but welbeck is a humble hard working guy…wojo is a bit of a poser….
am i saying something wrong?
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I will say this a million times,
I don’t want Cech at Arsenal even if Chelsea paid us to take him.
It’s not that I dislike him, it’s just he’s a dead end.
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True – Woj is, but goalkeepers are always a bit weird.
the good ones anyway.
There is a downside to being a extremely well paid, famous young man living in a trendy global city……… apparently.
Something you’re all too familiar with, eh Hunter?
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ok i accept dead end…but the guy is 32..not 57 youre not taking him to be your keeer for the next 20 years…that can be wojo provided he remains serious and patient.
what you want now is reliability …..
obviously wenger will never pay 20m for a 32y.o but who said thats the price? fuck mourinho….petr decides. plus he will be together with rocisky!!!!!!
and it doesn have to be cech per se …just of an equal standard.
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True – Woj is, but goalkeepers are always a bit weird.
the good ones anyway.
like oliver kahn say?
well…….. how far away from kahn’s standard do you feel wojo is ? i count it in light years….. and without even going to attributes like ‘ character, leadership, intensity etc.
is buffon a poser? or a weirdo ? have you seen him go take selfies opposite ac milan fans to taunt them?
is cassillas a weirdo too?
heh funny the last one but truth is i am a weirdo and an annoyance in trivial matters like football and arsenal …not in my line of work or else i wouldnt be here….. goalkeeping is wojo’s line of work..not a hobby…i cant approach my job the way i approach blogs on arsenal…ha…that goes without saying.
yes ok he is young and has lots to improve but if he starts moaning for playing time i say fuck him …ospina is betetr right now and more ready…i feel fabianski was too….
and like ive said shesney could be our oli kahn when he is 30….but are you prepared to watch him lose titles for us till he learns? woudl it not be better to have the personnel that woudl make the titles more secure and at the same time imporve chesney for the long term ? sounds reasonable to me.
admitting chesney might not be ready yet is no crime … nor is it a crime to want him to shut up and get serious…
to be honest i fail to understand the logic of people who dont see that chesney is not ready…
potential is one thing…..application is another. is ramsey a weirdo then that you never hear anything of him ? on /off pitch….??
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Ramsey is Welsh.
how weirder do you need to be?
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lol thats cruel…. i think he is exceptionally normal and serious as a pro…..
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I am all for Woj getting a massive, massive kick in the backside.
I think I have said before on here I’d like to see him working with a more senior older keeper as his mentor. It’s just that I genuinely believe Cech has never fully recovered psychologically from that kick he got in the head (by Stephen Hunt) and is no longer at the very top level.
he has costed Chelsea a bunch of points over the last couple of years.
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Very true.
I’d never criticise Ramsey’s application.
(Not while Kelly is packing heat).
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absolutely ! he can only come if he takes that silly thing off his head. no other way.
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I was even gutted when Arsene let Frimmy go.
Don’t laugh.
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I bet it’s covering up an embarrassing tattoo he got while on a stag party inThailand.
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who? frimpong?he went off piste/track quite easily…… shame…. he will regret as he grows older.
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Both his knees went, one after the other – poor bastard.
He’s just lucky to be playing football for a living now, no matter at what level.
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Michael Gooner @MickTheGooner · 3h 3 hours ago
GOOD NEWS: Arsenal’s U21 game vs Reading will be shown live on Arsenal Player on Monday.
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PG, Steww hates transfer gossip.
Steww, I agree, we do not know who is who, that upsets the structure of the team?
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Over the years I have been gutted when lots of youngsters are let go or sold. Most youngsters that get to the reserves or U21 stage have beaten off competition from hundreds of youngsters and some have already been at the club over 10 years. They all look very good at one stage or another and I so want them to succeed. That is why I get disappointed when they go and angry when fans say they only care about the first team.
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Oh on a positive note contrary to opinion ARSENAL are extremely loyal and lots of the old players are attached to the club in one form or another. Kwamee Ampudu and Greg Lincoln are both coaches at Hale end and there are lots of regional scouts that have played for the club in some form.
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I was glad the club gave McDermott a scouting job.
Liam Brady, despite being ‘retired’ is fully active in the day to day work at the club, stalwart defender of Arsene too on the media.
Pat would be too, as he recovers his Health.
Then there is the magnificent Bob Wilson, why hadn’t he been given a Knighthood yet?
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We really need to keep our squad except they give us grief about going. As a team we get better with playing together… Since 2008/09, this is the next time we are at that very stage, just about to win the PL! … glad flamini and Rosicky are around from the squad… pity about Cesc – he gave grief and left, also hleb…. I think all 3 discussed have much to offer the squad it may actually be down to what arsenal are willing to pay to Theo to retain him – No one can expect a guaranteed playing spot… its about the team first!
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“I train with him regularly and I can tell you that he is one of the best players I have ever seen.”
Robert Pires on Mesut Özil: arsn.al/2yAIzP
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I just tweeted that Ed
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The old adage. Form is temporary, class permanent. There will be times when Wilshere is playing better than Santi. And vice versa.
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http://dailycannon.com/2015/04/burnley-manager-aspires-like-wenger/?
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Arsenal News @__arsenal_news_ · 5h 5 hours ago
Arsene Wenger to reporters: “You want me to play everybody, & on top of that you tell me to buy more players. Those two together don’t work”
“The days of Arsenal being bullied in the transfer market are over”
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eduardo
‘If they had done their job properly and explained the truth about the situation at Arsenal – the stadium move and the restriction that placed on their ability to spend money and compete at the very top level – rather than bang on about how long it’s been since the club won a trophy (11 months) then there’s every chance that more fans would see what a fantastic job the Arsenal manager has done under very unique circumstances.’
rivals fans and media were taunting arsenal about trophyless years as early as 3 years after the invincibles…. people were absurd to moan about titles in the era where arsenal had to repay their stadium. thats bad education and poor behaviour as a fan. but i would place more blame to the weak minded fan than the markets manipulating him /her
ive also heard that owners should have told us not to expect too much…thing is they have built a stadium and want to fill it up…. why else would they build one? would they tell you that things were going to be a bit class b,c for a while and not alpha and risk not selling tickets? hell no…..
it is us who should have read the situation calmly. knowing that prior to wenger we were also a bit sporadic in our title successes, made the moanings about trophies and dominance sound really strange. especially coming from older generations. the younger ones can be forgiven for their immaturity and growing in the era of sensationalism
what has shocked me the most is the strict discipline that the club and wenger have kept. we are talking extreme dedication to the numbers and the plans. absolutely no diversions. no distractions. sell, buy, repeat. they got on with it. they didnt look back ‘ahh the invincbles la la la’. they didnt drop out of europe top competition and lets face it….if it hadnt been for the influx of the money launderers we would have won one title here or there.easily. or if the refs and the f.a hadnt allowed crimes committed against our players
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also, with the amounts of mini transitions and dis-heartening results we have suffered in that period, other clubs would have dropped massively…maybe disappeared between midtable and relegation… cant think of many managers or clubs around us that can do what we do. produce great football as a spectacle to entertain, develop players and either keep or sell for profits, and have a football team that will always be at the top or thereabouts. which means that provided certain uncontrolable conditions ( luck, injuries, schedule) dont go too wrong, you will win it eventually. trophies are a statistic we had to abandon for a while and now we can improve it
privately they all know that wenger is a once in a lifetime world class football manager/technical director/financial principal/planner & developer/scouting eagle/negotiator/….a football scientist …le freak de football professor.. a dream for every owner. to be able to operate at such high levels for so long shows the quality of his work.
yes the media try to belittle him but thats because they play into the that crypto-rightwing propaganda of the foreigners ruining the football etc etc etc……plus they are expected to be shallow and basically make a living as professional trolls. maybe they are paid by people who want in the clubwho knows ?? …what is our fans excuse?
and the peak of absurdity…wenger /arsenal bought ozil cause of fan pressure….mmmm right!
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Arsene buys 2 genuine world class players who were only really cogs in the machine at their former clubs – albeit in Rolls Royce machines.
He strips them down to the raw metal and reforges them into even better players at Arsenal, big time game changers in the most competitive top level league Sky Sports know of.
Yeah, only a really bad manager could do that.
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engineer!!!
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I wrote last night but think it’s boring, so here’s Parlour in a video intvw:
http://www.theguardian.com/football/video/2015/apr/09/ray-parlour-video-interview-arsenal
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Thanks Rantetta!
Ray is coming over to meet the Dublin supporters club tomorrow after the match in our local pub.
I don’t think the poor chap knows quite what he is in for.
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dc
I think he might have some idea. After all, it’s Dublin.I know you’ll give each other a fantastic time. Get some photos, pls.
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