Monday 9 September 2013

A signing?

Good day to you.
The biggest piece of news today revolves around Arsene Wenger and the matter of his contract.
ESPN reports talks between Arsenal FC and our manager are to be held, with a sum of £15 in the offing. In a nutshell, a two-year deal, worth £7.5 million per year is to be offered to our manager. Question is, does he deserve it?
There were a lot of fans, unhappy at how things progress, in the immediate aftermath of our opening-day defeat to Villa. Most of them wanted blood, demanding the manager's resignation (I was one of those). Arsenal Supporters Trust even released a statement, which viewed any talks of contract extension unacceptable, saying the manager has much to prove, before such talks are even taken into consideration. The only thing, that has kept the manager relatively safe (or, at least, immune to immediate sacking) was a run of four wins he (and the team) racked up, with a North London derby cherry on top. Then, the manager has brought Ozil in. And suddenly, his position is infinitely stronger. One signing, and we're ready to stick to Arsene for at least two more years.
And I think, it's a right thing to do. Yes, we've only brought in one player, who by no means can provide cover for all of the positions we need to strengthen number- and quality-wise. But it's not all about the player, rather about, what his acquisition means, what it symbolizes. Buying Ozil was a statement of intent in more ways than one.
Firstly, we showed, we're ready to fight for silverware. Because of how we've handled our business. Get rid of deadwood and acquire super-quality, Wenger was looking for. We showed, we're not some breeding ground, only producing quality players for sale. We kept the players, that will give it all in every game, and added to that mix. True, we're still a bit short number-wise, but the squad we have is as good as any.
Secondly, we showed, we can do business at top level, which was somewhat of a worry, prior to Ozil signing. We can handle the pressure, bide our time (you are shocked, I know) and bring in anyone we want. Because if we can cope with Real, we can cope with anyone. Dick Law isn't worthless, after all.
And finally, we can persuade players to join us, which is no mean feat. The missing ingredient may well be the manager, something I talked at length yesterday, but whatever it is, we are still a club everyone wants to play in. And all of this is encapsulated in just one signing.
So, by all means, we should keep Wenger. He's proven, he can operate in this new environment, proven, he can deal with this transfer market madness and come out victorious. So sign him. And give him some more money in January. So we can all see him lifting a couple of cups in May.
Until later