Campbell's Gumbo Yaya

Two matches against two decidedly different clubs with what seemed to be two different agendas, we know a bit more about this version of the Arsenal, but just a bit. How much can be inferred probably depends on your predisposition--if you love certain players or have blind faith in the gaffer, you probably saw only positive things. If you start from a premise that certain players irritate you, or that the gaffer isn't infallible, then you may be able to find fault.

Mindful that these were only pre-season friendlies designed to develop sharpness and fitness, the actual scorelines ought to be discarded. However...

I felt based on the way the teams were set out for the two games that Wenger both expected a tougher challenge against AS Monaco and may have wanted to win "the Emirates Cup." Nacho wasn't playing centre half in Sunday's match and a few more of what would probably be called "regulars" started as well. Perhaps it was a bit more important to Le Boss, going against his old club, who can say?

Benfica didn't offer much, but that match offered a glimpse of three players who could play important roles for the club this season. Campbell, Sanogo, and Chambers featured and made their presence felt from the outset.

I'll start with Joel Campbell, because I'm predisposed to like him and to hope that he gives AW reason to keep faith with him. Campbell looked great. He does all the things you'd want a player to do based on "the way Arsenal play," plus he does extra things that make one a bit excited over his prospects.  He held up the ball and passed it well, made incisive runs on goal, drew defenders away from the middle, and then there was that finish...oooh, that finish. Nice. Clinical even.

I started getting excited by the prospect of Campbell playing for Arsenal after the MUFC Champions League match last season. He played like a man against a team that Arsenal couldn't score upon in 180 minutes of football. Compared to Wenger's options at that time, I was downright miserable that he wasn't available to come home from his loan spell.

His work for Costa Rica this summer only served to reinforce my opinion of him--he can't be accused of being shy on the pitch, and certainly can't be criticised for "not tracking back and defending," which as I've established is the most important thing a striker can do at Arsenal, far more important than simply scoring goals. There have been (club planted?) whispers among the ITK bloggers about his "attitude" and his "willingness to sit," so who knows about his future, but why can't the visible facts about him simply speak for themselves?

He has improved each of his seasons in Europe. He has played against some of the best club sides in the world and given a fair account of himself. He has become indispensable for his national side, a team that showed fantastic "spirit, quality, determination, that little bit extra" during the World Cup Finals. What's not to like?  Forget the club spin and simply watch the boy play. He's good.

What then of Yaya Sanogo? He still looks like a drunken Mary Poppins on roller skates, but he still pops up in the right place at the right time and manages to bundle the ball into the net in a fashion only slightly less elegant than his celebration dance.

Oh, I know what you're saying--I'm being churlish. I'm taking one of Arsene's pets and slating him simply because I'm predisposed not to like him or believe in him.  Well, you're wrong. I want Yaya to succeed, because if he does, that means he's helping Arsenal, and that's enough for me. If I can cheer Nicky Bendtner, I can cheer for anyone.

Wenger likes Yaya because he reminds him of Adebayor, without the grins after being flagged for offside 10 times per match and with a better attitude toward the game, of course. Wenger likes big, odd, awkward strikers--go all the way back to Kanu and you'll see that Arsene has always tried to have one large goofball to play up front. Perhaps it's because that type of player makes the defence confused, unsure of just what is about to happen. WILD CARD!!!!

Of course, Yaya came off injured. It was fun while it lasted, eh?

Chambers drew rave reviews for his "calm, assured" performance on Saturday. I can't dispute any of that. He's quick, strong, instinctive, and he really is calm. I saw one play in particular that I enjoyed, where he tracked his man all the way to the end line and with no fuss simply booted the ball into touch. It was a mature move, the kind you want a defender to make without having to stop and think about it. He's also good in the air. I don't think this is an insult in any way to Carl Jenkinson, it's just the truth as I see it.

As for Sunday...

Debuchy--he seems to be both more defensive-minded than Sagna was last season, and also more willing to make attacking runs knowing that Chambers was there to cover for him.  He's a crucial piece to the Arsenal puzzle and I've no complaints with his performance.

The Monaco goal--this is where you tell yourself "it's only a pre-season match, it doesn't matter, Koz has only been back a few days" but it was shit defending. I'm simply saying it was shit defending, not that the world is coming to an end. 

I still like Chuba, quite a bit, actually. He has a directness with his play and a willingness to run that would suit "the way Arsenal play."

Sanchez (I can't, I simply can't, refer to him by his first name, being from a generation who can only associate it with Joan Collins) is so wonderful that I'm trying to contain myself when talking about him.  If you saw the match you saw everything he can do, but for me there was one moment that defined what he can be--Ox made a run down the right, Sanchez was slightly off to his left, and when he saw what Ox was going to do (run to the end line and drag back to the center), he anticipated this and peeled away toward the penalty spot to put himself in a good shooting position. Wow. Just wow. Thank you.

The last thing I'll say about Sunday's match--the Arsenal attack looked much, much better in the second half. In fact, everything about Arsenal looked better in the second half. Movement, possession, pressure--everything. Draw your own conclusions as to why, just let it suffice to say that "the way Arsenal play" looked different from the usual "way Arsenal play."

What's it all about, Alexi(s)?

After numerous discussions with fellow Gooners that started back in May, we came to the conclusion that of the available "big name" players (big name? world class? famous? in demand?), the one we'd like to see Arsenal acquire was Alexis Sanchez.

Got that? It wasn't even that we were saying who we'd expect to see come to Arsenal (Loic Remy), it was fantasy football.  Players from various leagues across Europe were mooted, and of all those, the one that we agreed upon was

ARSENAL'S NEW NUMBER 17, ALEXIS SANCHEZ.

I saw him play for Barcelona, and I wanted him to come to the Arsenal. Then that happened.

Oh, there were some other things that happened. The McPoyles (aka Liverpool Football Club) demanded that Sanchez come their way in a make weight deal as return for them losing their best player (and despite his perpetual biting, diving, and tendency to racially abuse black players, let's not deceive ourselves, Suarez was far and away their best player). They also got Rickie Lambert. That's a funny story.

Sanchez said, "Eh, hang on a minute! I don't really want to play for Liverpool. I don't like them, or their manager. I'D MUCH RATHER PLAY FOR THE ARSENAL."

Barcelona said, "Well, there's not much we can do about that. If you can't agree terms with Liverpool, we can't sell you to them." Then Juventus came along and said, "While we're signing Patrice Evra, who most people agree is utter shit, we'd like a bit of that Sanchez business," to which Sanchez and his agent replied, "Yeah? No thanks, really."

My opinion? This is the greatest signing for Arsenal since Dennis Bergkamp. That's almost 20 years that have passed since the other great signing in the club's history. Bergkamp was a superstar.

Yes, in that time, Arsenal signed Sol Campbell and Andrei Arshavin. Campbell was a free transfer, and Arshavin was...he was expensive, but probably not worth the price.

Last season Arsenal took advantage of the availability of Mesut Ozil after Real Madrid needed a bit of cash for the Bale deal. It was a great signing in terms of quality but not the same as this Sanchez deal. The reason being that, as great a player as he is, and I think he's magnificent, he wasn't a player that Arsenal particularly needed. It's great to have a brilliant talent, but Arsenal have a strong midfield in the attacking areas, and Mesut seemed a bit more of the same.

19 years have passed since Arsenal signed Bergkamp from Inter.

You may not remember it, but Bergkamp was not necessarily a brilliant star when Arsenal bought him, but he certainly was not a "typical" signing in the post-Graham, pre-Wenger era. Or hell, it was nothing like any signing Arsenal were making. Limpar? I hate to say it, because old Anders was such a great Gunner, but he was no Bergkamp.

Dennis was a genius, although at that moment he was a bit out of favour in Italy. Some people are mistaken that the story is "Arsene Wenger signed Bergkamp from Ajax." That would be so perfect, but it wasn't the truth. Bruce Rioch, Inter Milan, 1995, etc.

So, then, is Sanchez the biggest signing in Wenger's tenure at Arsenal?  Crikey, he signed some big names at Monaco. Actually, bigger names than he ever signed at Arsenal. I mean, you sign Klinzi and Hoddle, you're making a statement of intent. Fuck those Spud twats. But you understand what I mean.

Given the stakes, taking a "world class" forward like Sanchez from Barcelona, and keeping him from replacing Suarez at Liverpool, is an incredible signing. It fills a need with a dynamic, in-demand player. "Who are you, and what have you done with Arsene Wenger?"  Fills a need? Dynamic player? You mean you don't want to go through an entire campaign with only Olivier Giroud leading the line?

It's wages, not transfer fees, that drive the movement of players.  That's another reason I believe this is the biggest signing ever for Wenger, because I'm confident that Sanchez and his Mr. 20% didn't sign on to be a member of a new socialist order, or an old socialist order for that matter.  If Wenger is willing to blow up the wage structure even more, something is either very right or very wrong in Ashburton Grove. 

Ultimately, Arsenal can't compete with "the big clubs" on wages. If Sami Khedira wants £250k/week, it's unlikely that his destination is North London, despite his desire to drop round Mesut's flat and play the Xbox. Those are Chelsea/Man City/PSG/Monaco numbers. (Author's note: I would be more than happy to be proved wrong by any forthcoming developments.)

Another aspect of the Sanchez signing is that, as of now, no players have been moved along to offset the cost of his acquisition. This has been a hallmark of the Wenger era, that selling almost always preceded buying, or at least was being arranged. It makes one wonder, is he "front-loading" the squad with the cash on hand from new sponsorship deals, just as the club did when the move to the Grove first happened? Buy now when times are flush, go prudent again if the situation worsens?

It seems that the Sanchez signing has created more questions than it answers, at least from an existentialist point of view.  Until more signings arrive to fill the holes left by recent departures, we may not know. Strange delays in the introduction of the supposed new right back Debuchy, another fantasy football midfielder on order "from somewhere" but his identity remains a mystery are what we have. Oh, and the best striker available this summer. We have that, too.

I'm nobody. Who are you?

Summer football, had me a blast. England were great--whoops! That's in the past!

Before the tournament, I picked the Argies to beat Brasil in the Maracana. After yesterday, I have to say that the Peronistas now look like the team most likely. The only blight on their possibilities is the injury to di Maria, one of my favourite players on the planet and other than Messi one of the engines of a side that are solid if unspectacular. They seem organised, disciplined, and talented enough to overcome whatever is set before them.

You feel watching the Argies that they're a bit of Italy light ca. 2006.  They defend with a purpose and players like Mascherano go out to interfere with the opposing attack and have the ability to accomplish that. They're so good that the shower that is Demichelis is completely disguised as a competent defender.

As much as I don't believe that a completely corrupt body such as FIFA would "allow" Brasil to lose this Cup, I think a Germany v. Argentina final ought to be on order. Imagine how conflicted former Nazis would feel! (Are there any left?  I hope not, but I won't let that stand in the way of a good nationalistic slur.)

This is how I feel about Holland: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJ882QYzr-M


As for this blog, and the Arsenal, and all that, I just wanted to give a salute (I give salutes, not shoutouts, because I'm too old to give shoutouts) to the ITK bloggers during this transfer summer. Now, I'm not talking about "self-styled" ITK bloggers. No, I'm talking about the REAL ITK bloggers; those fellows who have been enlisted by the club to distribute the official line about goings on within the marble halls. Wink! You know who you are!

These people are the ones who all trotted out simultaneous columns and posts last year after the FA Cup semifinal that Podolski "couldn't play" because he's a lazy passenger who doesn't put in a real shift and only strikers who defend (Please. I don't understand it either.) can start at Arsenal. Then he scored 4 goals in the next two matches and they all had to backtrack and say, "Er, hmm, well, he did it against shit teams" as though scoring against ANYBODY is somehow not valuable (see "Giroud, Olivier: 27 league goals over the course of two seasons").

I knew that some of these people had close ties to the club and I don't slate them for that. If Ivan called me up and said he'd fly me to London and give me a tour of the training facilities, I'd probably be a complete whore for their drips and drabs of spin myself. That's no judgment, or judgement, against them.

Rather, I simply point out that where Arsenal are concerned, I'm nobody. I'm grateful that Georgina Turner reads my posts, but beyond that I'm literally less than a blip on the Arsenal radar. So nothing I write has been sanctioned or influenced by the club. Therefore I can say "I wish Arsene weren't managing Arsenal anymore" and you can be sure that it wasn't a story planted by the publicity staff.

So what do the hints from the ITK bloggers tell us? Since we know that they're essentially mouthpieces for the club, we can predict that Debuchy is definitely coming to Ashburton Grove, and that Sanchez is most likely not. When one of these insiders tells us "sounds like Higuain rumours" or "don't get your hopes up," it's coming from the club, not their intuition. Because that would be some more intuition.

One of them is the most widely read Arsenal blogger and he's never wrong. The other is "Mr. Rational Statistical Analysis Man" and he's never wrong, either. And one thing you notice about each of them is that they don't ever openly impugn Arsene Wenger. I'm sorry that I do that, because it means no matter the quality of my musings, I'll never be an ITK insider.

So there you have it. Expect Debuchy and some injured teenagers available on Bosman frees to show up this season. Don't believe me?  No problem. Accept the word of those who are truly "in the know."