Sat 11th September 2010; 15:00, Emirates Stadium
Archive for General
Why Arsenal Must Persist With Vision: Barcelona & Les Bleus Case Studies
Posted by: | CommentsAs Arsenal are about to finish a fifth successive season without a trophy, pundits, journalists, bloggers and fans have started to draw their own conclusions.
Projections are made for next season, players who should leave and arrive are listed and demands are made of the manager to splash the cash.
Although I agree that some new faces would be welcome, my actual hopes lie elsewhere and are for the long term. Let me justify my optimism by drawing parallels between Arsenal and two other teams.
The first one is close to my heart albeit not as close as the Gunners! The France national team, under the current manager, seem to be playing below their expected high standards.
However, football fans of my generation will remember the days when qualifying for a major tournament was celebrated the way the Spurs fans did the other night for their first league victory against Arsenal in over ten years.
French football went from the dark days of the ’60s and ’70s, when a 3-0 spanking by Portugal or Belgium and a 5-0 humiliation at Wembley were the bread and butter, to the ecstatic and delirious moments of winning the World Cup and the European Championship. Les Bleus did not do so by accident, nor by chance.
In 1972, FFF (i.e. the French FA) decided to create an academy (called INF – Institut National de Football) that would be home to all youngsters wishing to embrace a professional career. This laid the foundations for a systematic and rigorous approach for detecting, nurturing and developing talent.
The first graduates were barely good enough for the average top division sides but slowly INF, based in the small and posh town of Vichy, started to produce flair players. Most importantly, the apprentices received an education so they could find a job should they fail in their quest of a career in football.
Back then it was a crucial factor for convincing parents to send their kids to become professional athletes. The INF philosophy was adopted by the clubs throughout the country, with the likes of Nantes and Auxerre making it a viable business model.
In 1990, the academy moved to Clairefontaine, a small village 30 miles south of Paris. A year later Thierry Henry and William Gallas were amongst the new recruits, followed by Nicolas Anelka in 1992. In subsequent years, other familiar names include Louis Saha, Jeremy Alliadière and Abou Diaby.
The first major trophy won by France was the European Championship in 1984 and was the reward for an exceptional generation of players. Two other pieces of silverware were collected in 1998 and 2000 partly thanks to the art of a genius named Zinedine Zidane.
However, it was the long term vision of FFF that made it possible, by providing the required infrastructure for producing top footballers. INF was the engine that drove French football from mediocrity to excellence.
From its inception to the first tangible results though, almost 30 years passed. French football fans under the age of 40 cannot grasp that but ask older followers and they will tell you that the success was worth the wait.
The second team I want to use for my argument is one we crossed swords with on the European stage a few weeks ago. We were beaten fair and square and we received an indication of the task that lies ahead if we want to reach the high standards we aspire to.
Of course, like many Gooners I wonder what might have been if we had our first eleven fit for both games but that’s another debate.
It is no coincidence that this Barcelona side reminds me of the Ajax of my childhood, even more frightening and possessing more pace. The majority of their key players and their current manager have been shaped in the same mould, imported from Holland to Catalonia by Johann Cruyff.
Thanks to the Dutchman, the genes of technique, movement and vision are implanted into the bodies and minds of the kids who kick the ball at Barca’s cantera.
Cruyff played for Barcelona from 1973 to 1978 and managed them between 1988 and 1996. More than their first ever European Champions Cup, won in 1992, Barcelona are indebted to him for his legacy.
Granted, the Catalan club were never short of money and even in the pre-Bosman era, Cruyff had managed to assemble a side, often referred to as The Dream Team, comprising of Spanish and foreign internationals. However he also insisted in developing the club’s academy and in promoting talented players like Pep Guardiola.
Cruyff’s Barcelona were spectacular but not invincible. The season after having lifted the most prestigious European trophy, they got knocked out in the qualifying round by CSKA Moscow. A year later they were back in the final and the clear favourites, only to be thrashed 4-0 by AC Milan. And yet, they will always be remembered as one of the greatest sides ever.
The Dutchman’s insistence that the teams, at all levels within the club, should play his way, was to become the key to the success of the Blaugranas during his reign and afterwards. Once the desired style of football was mastered throughout the ranks, it became Barcelona’s trademark and identity, something that cannot be lost or altered even when competition gets stiffer or trophies become scarce.
So building solid foundations (an academy along with its supporting
infrastructure) and acquiring a style of play that reflects the football values and principles to which every player adheres from a young age, have proved to be recipes for success in a sustained way.
The catch is that this method requires patience, a rare virtue in the world of professional football.
Arsenal are fortunate enough to have a manager who, not only has patience in abundance, but also has the humility to place the club’s future above his own immediate fate.
Thanks to his wisdom and vision, in years to come, the academy will propel into the first team more players of the calibre of Jack Wilshere and Kieran Gibbs and they will all play the Arsenal way.
Success and silverware will follow, simply because they will be the natural consequences to reward the hard work. Be patient but be prepared because it is coming.
To sign off, I would like to share one of the greatest quotes I have ever come across. It is from Charles Goodyear, the man who dedicated his life to the invention of the process that makes rubber usable at all temperatures. He died in poverty and did not benefit personally from the commercial use of his invention and yet said :
I am not disposed to complain that I have planted and others have gathered the fruits. A man has cause for regret only when he sows and no one reaps.
I am sure Arsène Wenger will never have cause for regret, for we will surely reap the benefits of the Arsenal vision.
A bit About The Author:
Maziar’s love for the Gunners has its roots in his childhood. Born and raised in Iran, Maz discovered the Arsenal side of 1970-71 through the English football magazines. Even after moving to France in 1974 he continued to follow the Arsenal.
Maz works as an IT Consultant in the Telecom industry and lives in London, though his job shuttles him between London and Paris. He attends most of the Arsenal home games and the occasional away game.
He also keeps an eye on the French, Spanish and Italian leagues and like the other writers at Stone Cold Arsenal Towers, he eats, drinks, sleeps and breathes Arsenal and football.
Also, if you haven’t yet, we’d like you to subscribe to Stone Cold Arsenal to receive automatic updates of our content.
Have Arsenal Supporters Lost The Plot?
Posted by: | CommentsSo the run is over. We have finally lost to them lot down the road and I must say, it did hurt quite a bit. Take a step back though, and you realise how frustrating, infuriating and anger inducing it must have been for them to endure 10 years without a league victory.
Let them have their day in the sun; we still have bigger fish to fry. We will always have bigger fish to fry.
However, I am going to say something that may bring me down in the eyes of other Arsenal supporters. Here it goes.
I am jealous of the Spuds. I am jealous of how united their support is behind the team and the manager. We are in a position that they would kill to be in, yet our supporters seem to take defeat as an excuse to turn on the team, to turn on the manager.
Now it would seem the trend is to turn on the medical staff. Suddenly, a team that is in the title hunt and consistently in the Champions League needs a major overhaul. How is this the case?
As I said in my first post on this website, I normally don’t travel into the Arsenal Blogosphere until a couple of days after a defeat. I’d rather not douse the flames of disappointment with the oils of reactionary comment from Football Manager Specialists.
The day supporting your team becomes drawing up shopping lists of players who you believe are better than what your team currently has is the day I want to stop supporting Arsenal Football Club.
Why is there no pride in the project that we are currently undertaking? Our academy is the envy of many, and most if not all Premier League Clubs are playing catch up with us.
Our decision to live within our financial means has resulted in us budgeting towards a future free of debt, whilst nurturing young footballing talents. Why is it so hard for people to believe that once the debt has been serviced, every penny we make can be reinvested back into our playing squad if needed?
I am proud that Arsene won’t be bullied into paying over the odds for players who aren’t worth it. We were after Felipe Melo until Juventus decided to gazump us with an offer of 25million Euros, and Arsene would not go into a western style saloon shoot-out for a player that he did not believe was worth that.
In the January transfer window, the calls for a striker were deafening. I ask these so called supporters who have a shopping list to hand, who could we have bought who would be able to settle in straight away and have a better goal ratio than Nicklas Bendtner has had since returning? That’s 9 goals in 11 games by the way. Not just consolations. Invaluable goals. Match changing goals. Match winning goals.
Wenger refuses to spend unless it is completely necessary and I stand by that. I stand by financial prudence. Manchester United could not afford to keep Carlos Tevez, and bought in Michael Owen on a free. United’s financial instability is starting to impact on their ability to reinvest in the squad, at a time when we are starting to be able to just the opposite.
We were close this season, and next season we will be even closer. We may not even win anything again, but we will be nowhere near closer to bankruptcy. We will not be relying on a trio of bankers to save our club from the clutches of debt with… more debt?
I don’t know too much about the Red Knights, but I don’t know too many people with £1billion to throw at a football club in this financial climate. But that is another blog post altogether.
My point is this. Don’t use the excuse of the manager being tight on the purse strings as a whip to beat him with. Praise him. Calls for Usmanov to hoover up Lady Nina’s shares so that he can be our Eastern European sugar daddy are born out of frustration at our lack of silverware, and not rational thinking as to the future well being of our club.
As fans we should rally behind the team after a defeat, not carry out a post-mortem into the deficiencies of this team and the manager. Defeat should be the cue to come together even tighter, to get behind this team and show them that they have our unwavering support.
It is not a time to jump on your favourite scapegoat. It is not a time to ridicule a manager who has brought so much to our club, and will continue to do so years after he has gone.
Title or not, I am proud of what this team has achieved through the adversity from not only outside but, more cruelly, from within.
Supporters. Let’s Support.
Speaking of supporters, you might have missed us talking about Arsenal ‘customers’ masquerading as supporters. We’ve even broken down the anatomy of your typical Arsenal doom and gloom merchant so that you’re able to pick them a mile off.
And don’t forget that you can find Nyasha at Nashis Arsenal when he’s not writing for Stone Cold Arsenal every Friday.
We thought Darius was anal when he worked on Holloway Road right next to the Emirates and had a fantastic view of the stadium from his office window and took lunch time walks to see the construction and enjoy the magnificence of the finished stadium.
Nyasha and his mates used to steal footballs and cones from the training ground at London Colney before Wenger tightened the security. They have to get their footballs from JJB nowadays (or is it the DW).
Also, if you haven’t yet, we’d like you to subscribe to Stone Cold Arsenal to receive automatic updates of our content.
Profile: Vassiriki Abou Diaby
Posted by: | CommentsIn the next instalment of the player profile series on Stone Cold Arsenal, the spotlight falls on one of Arsenal’s most promising superstars – our midfield powerhouse.
Vassiriki Abou Diaby
Born:
Vassiriki Abou Diaby
11 May 1986
Paris, France
In the last 4 years, no Arsenal player has divided opinion amongst Arsenal supporters and football commentators alike as much as this young man. The Frenchman, who is of Ivorian descent, landed in North London in January 2006, and even then, many had started making comparisons between him and Arsenal legend Patrick Vieira, who had only just left Arsenal for the ’Old Lady’ of Turin.
Saying goodbye to a legend is always a painful task and it was unsurprising that many Arsenal followers and media commentators assumed that Wenger would swiftly look for a ’replacement’ for Vieira. I suppose it was extremely naive to assume that a total footballer like Vieira could be replaced. Players like him don’t grow on trees. Diaby’s billing as the potential replacement for the former Arsenal captain was somewhat nostalgic and perhaps unfair to the young Frenchman.
Before his arrival at Arsenal, Diaby had a patchy career making 12 appearances for AJ Auxerre where he only scored 1 career goal. In addition, he had made promising appearances for a very successful France Under 19 national team, captaining his country at this level during a successful European campaign. By then, Wenger and his scouts had seen enough to convince them that Arsenal was the place for Diaby’s talents.
Diaby had probably the worst start when his ankle was broken 4 months into his Arsenal career in a nothing game against Sunderland who were already relegated from the Premier league. The culprit Dan Smith took Diaby’s ankle out in a needless and reckless challenge that could have ended the career of such a promising footballer. Poetic justice would have it that 4 years down the road, Dan Smith is now a carpenter having exhausted most if not all the footballing opportunities that he had. Nevertheless, his dangerous tackle ensured that Diaby was out of football for at least a year, a period which undoubtedly affected his progress and development.
His next 3 years were characterised by periods of stops and starts as he became a frequent flyer into the medical room at London Colney. Conventional wisdom suggests that players coming back from long term injury usually get niggles as they try to get some consistency. Some would argue that Diaby’s injury prone spell went way past niggles and little knocks and became a habit.
The young Frenchman recently confessed that his state of mind was affected during the last period blighted by injury. At one point he actually thought of quitting football altogether and looking for another career. I guess as supporters, we don’t think enough of what impact injuries have on the mental state of a player who really just wants to play football. It is testament to Diaby’s perseverance though that he kept at it and worked hard to keep himself in the frame.
The one aspect that has been frustrating for any cross section of fans around is that during the last 2 years, Diaby hasn’t shown his true potential either because of the injuries or because of inconsistent form. It’s a catch 22 anyway because without being fit and getting a lengthy run of games, it’s hard to build consistency and form. There have been glimpses of the brilliance and talent that Arsene Wenger has always seen in the young man, but there were also moments where confidence was an issue that affected his overall play. It was a common refrain from fans to hear “If only Diaby can remain fit and show us what he’s made of…”.
As with a handful of players that Wenger has kept faith with in the last few years, there were many fans who were vocal about the fact that Diaby may not be good enough to play for Arsenal. Sometimes though, it’s a good idea to acknowledge why Wenger is the manager and we’re not. The perseverance and hard work seem to be paying off and this season, Diaby has put together a run of games that is giving him the confidence to dominate the midfield and provide a presence and strength that Arsenal needs in the middle of the park. He has slowly but surely silenced his critics and many now accept that he has cemented a place in the preferred Arsenal starting line-up.
Some of his ‘man of the match’ performances have been imperious this season and have illustrated how valuable Diaby is to the Arsenal style of play. His individual shows of brilliance have led to some of Arsenal’s memorable goals of the season, and alongside Alex Song, Diaby is proving to be a dependable and inspiring midfield general.
This season, he is on track to score more goals than he has scored in his entire career, and that statistic alone tells its own story. Diaby for some reason seems to be fond of scoring spectacular goals against Aston Villa. In fact, one of my top 5 goals for Arsenal was a box to box move between Diaby and Eboue on boxing day 2008 when he and Eboue cruised past the Villa team like they didn’t exist before Diaby slammed the ball into the roof of the net.
Video: Watch Abou Diaby’s Goals’s and Assists for Arsenal in the last 3 and a half years.
Breath-taking doesn’t begin to describe that goal at Villa Park – considering how innocuous the move that started that goal was. Diaby emerged from a tussle outside our box with the ball before he and Eboue drove forward at pace in a series of 1-2s that bamboozled the Villa players and left Diaby with no choice but to slam the roof of the net.
I think that with Arsenal’s 4-3-3 style of play, the Frenchman is seeing his best form as the transition player of the 3 midfielders. By transition player, I’m thinking more of a player who effectively moves us from defence to attack and can competently do this in a number of ways depending on the situation. Whether it’s using pace and power, whether it’s using his talent to dribble with the ball stuck to his feet, or whether he emerges from tussles in our defensive third with his long telescopic legs driving him forward, Diaby’s influence in our transitions at pace from defence to attack is very tangible. Think of it as the bridge that weaves us between Song’s defensive influence and Fabregas’s magnificence in creativity.
In recent games, it’s become obvious to see the impact that Diaby has in the middle of the park and how his presence and power help drive the team forward in tight games. They are without a doubt, point saving performances as with the recent game against Everton – where Diaby pierced through the Everton bus parked in front of goal to set up the space for Rosicky our Little Mozart to fire in a last minute equalizer.
Considering Diaby is only 23, this young man is on his way to becoming one of the most influential attacking midfielders in the world. He isn’t the next Vieira, he simply is Abou Diaby. A good 2009-2010 season will for sure nail him a position in the Les Bleus squad for the 2010 World Cup.
Arsenal flying in under the radar
Posted by: | CommentsAny military strategist will competently outline the monumental advantage and value of the art of ’stealth’. It’s the cornerstone of any military tactic in achieving victory when using the 3S’s – Speed, Surprise and Secrecy. The ability to go about your business without your adversaries noticing neither Hyde nor hair of you is invaluable and priceless in a long drawn out marathon like the 38 game Premier league.
So far, I think Arsenal has been fortunate in that expectation for us to challenge in anything is so low that the football establishment is unlikely to notice anything we do, let alone acknowledge it and give the team credit for it. I’ll be honest and say, this lack of recognition about what Arsenal is achieving and the need to take this team as serious title contenders can drive you up the wall. It’s only after being scraped off the ceiling and having time to reflect, do you then realise that actually, it’s not a bad thing after all.
Patience is no longer a valuable commodity in football, and Arsenal certainly doesn’t hold the monopoly of having fickle, ‘Johnny come lately’ glory hunting fans who want success now at all costs. The collective noise of such fans, coupled with the increasingly anti-Arsenal sentiments in the media establishment contribute to the very low expectation that there is for this team to achieve anything of substance this season.
What has been largely ignored is the collective growth and development that has taken place over the last 4 years at Arsenal. Building a team is not an easy thing, and more often than not, there’s an expectation that “buying” ready-made off the shelf players is the ultimate solution – notwithstanding the fact that this cavalier ’cheque book’ style of management has shaken the financial stability of many a club to the core.
Naturally, the progress made by individual players over the last period, as well as the mental strength and maturity shown by the team collectively, have been ignored as factors that are in Arsenal’s favour this season. Amidst the posterior kissing that constantly goes on in the media about the might and power of Roman Abramovich’s Chelsea; or the experience and finesse (or not) of Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United; a small forgotten fact is that Arsene Wenger the Professor is a natural born winner who refuses to sacrifice his purist values of total football for the sake of glory hunting.
Many critics have bemoaned the ability of the constantly touted potential of the young Arsenal team to come to fruition – it’s no wonder they are incapable of noticing when it happens. It’s fair to say, that until a trophy arrives at Ashburton Grove, it perhaps is pointless to expect any credit from the footballing establishment.
It’s for this reason that the manner in which Arsenal has slowly crept into 2nd place without much ado is to the team’s advantage. The team has been largely left alone to get on with the business of consolidating the work done over the last few years, and making sure that they do the simple things right, and in that process, improve collectively as a team.
By the time folks notice what is happening and are forced to take Arsenal as serious contenders, much of what needs to be done to mount a strong and sustained challenge will already be in place. Tis much better to operate this way when you think about it, than to try and force the issue with a largely anti-Arsenal establishment.
Crying over spilt milk
Posted by: | CommentsI have a confession to make. I like Alex Hleb. I like the way he seduces the ball, the way he dribbles and carries it past opponents as if they weren’t there. I like the way he opens tight spaces and creates a move out of nothing.
During the 2007-2008 season, Arsenal had a magnificent start and it was primarily due to the industry of Mathieu Flamini, Tomas Rosicky and Alex Hleb. They created an environment that allowed Cesc the maestro to flourish and it was a joy to watch. When Hleb eventually declared his intention to leave at the end of that season, it was a sad state of affairs for me at least.
Alex Hleb
We had already seen mercenary tendencies infiltrate our team with Flamini deciding that there was greener grass elsewhere, and Emmanuel Adebayor also testing waters with the “Beyonces” of the continental leagues. I wanted Hleb to stay at Arsenal, but it turned out that the lure to Barcelona was too much for Hleb.
It therefore saddens me whenever I read a story of Hleb expressing regret about leaving Arsenal. With us, he had a sure starting place, talented team players and an opportunity to thrive. At Barca, Hleb did no more than warm the Barca bench and it was sad to see him get wasted as Barcelona pulled in a haul of trophies in the season passed.
Hleb laments:
owe him a great deal. No player ever gets worse under Wenger. I developed a better all-round game under him. I became more robust physically.”
Sorry Alex, but you made your bed. It’s time to lie down. Besides, you made way for a one Samir Nasri and it’s hard to see how you’ll take that place back from Samir.
