Thursday, May 13, 2010

Are we going to kill Szczesny?

Wenger's going to have to decide whether to kill Wojciech Szczesny.

In the past few weeks, we've been linked with Gianluigi Buffon, Igor Akinfeev, Joe Hart, Pepe Reina, Diego Lopez, etc,. If any of these rumours are true, we're going to invest a lot of money on a 'keeper who's going to be charge for quite a few years. If we get one of the young 'keepers, like Hart or Akinfeev, we might have one for the next decade. Young Wojciech might only be 19, but depending on who we buy, he may find that the door's slammed shut on his chances by the end of the summer.

If we manage to get a 'keeper of the calibre of Lloris or Akinfeev, I'd personally lead Wojciech out behind the shed and shoot him myself. We need a great 'keeper at the Arsenal, and I don't see the point in spending £20-£30m on a 3-4 year 'keeper like Buffon when we could get someone who could play for the next decade. There's no such thing as spending too much on a young 'keeper - they're like property, you know the good ones will appreciate with time.

Of course, we're likely to prevaricate, and wait for Wojciech to grow up. Another three, four years, and he'll probably be at the same stage as an Akinfeev, Lloris or Hart. Still, that means three or four more years of watching Almunia flap at corners and Fabianksi suffering emotional breakdowns on the pitch.

It's not going to be a pretty 3-4 years.

In other news, it looks like William Gallas is on his way out of the club. He was demanding a two-year, £80,000 a week contract, and Peter Hill-Wood told him (quite possibly literally) to fuck off. Gallas is likely to sign with Paris-SG, who can't pay as much as we can, but who can offer the attraction of not having to play in front of Almunia.

Peter Hill-Wood said:



It makes me wonder if Peter Hill-Wood is involved in transfer negotiations personally. It would explain why we failed to resign Cole, Flamini and Pires in the past, and apparently have now failed to resign Gallas. Someone should take Hill-Wood aside and quietly explain that the "take it or fuck off" gambit doesn't quite work when the player has better offers from rival clubs.

So on the 345th last day of my 20s, I skipped my run because it's been raining. I listened to The Cure and Jeff Buckley. I wrote a resignation letter, and I'm quite proud of it. Now I just have to decide when it's expedient to hand it in.

Had dinner with an old uni friend whom I haven't seen in months. Had a chat. He hasn't changed since uni. I suppose he's found his niche in life and he's just chilling. Then again, I suppose I haven't changed much, either.

I would never have thought it while still at uni, but I kind of miss it. At uni, you take the people you hang out with for granted, you think they're always going to be there. When you graduate, and go off on your separate paths, it's that much harder to keep in touch. And as Mary Schmich once said, you need to "work hard to bridge the gaps in geography and lifestyle because the older you get, the more you need the people you knew when you were young."

I didn't understand it when I first heard the song, but I'm starting to understand it now.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

top post. Hill-wood needs to leave arsenal IMO. Not just bcos of the gallas stalemate,but also cos he's lost it & spews utter bullocks! When will we have real gunners at the board? Not like I dont appreciate wat has been done in keepin us afloat,bt FFS we are a big club & we shld have & retain d best players. This summer a minimum of a GK,CB&DM are a must if we must retain a minimum of third next season. Ditto: wenger;peter hill-wood;gazidis & d rest of d board.
Signed,
Bobchukwuemeka

ReZnuK said...

The thing is, as you said, Szczesny almost certainly isn't ready yet. He probably needs another year on loan, probably at a top championship side if he can get it.

However, Almunia and Flapianski need to go, at a minimum.

So the problem is who to get in. I agree, a young keeper (24-26) would not be appropriate, especially when we have Mannone sitting there waiting his chance too.

My suggestion is someone like Buffon (if we can get a "good deal"), then you have a keeper who fits all the right criteria:
1. He's not going to be a blocker to the young keepers coming through because of his age, and crucially, they won't see him as such and resent him.
2. He's extremely competent, far more so than Almunia, and we need that right now, not in 2-3 years time.
3. His experience will be fantastically useful in guiding and shaping the two contenders for 2nd spot (Szczesny & Mannone).

If Wenger only bought one role this season I'd say it should be a decent keeper in Buffon's mould.
And a central defender.
And.... well, you get the idea.

WEG said...

Thanks, Bob. I don't get why we need a Hill-Wood at the club, even if he's only there for ornamental purposes.

Rez, I thought about Buffon, and he's great, but he'd probably be more expensive than someone like Lloris or Akinfeev. Those guys have the ability, and are probably going to be, great keepers. Szczesny has potential, but he's got a lot further to go. I'd rather buy someone I'm very certain about and keep him for a long time, than buy someone great now and then hope that our young keeper will be able to step up. You just never know about a kid of 19.