Don't know if anyone as ever posted about why Arsene has not scoped out some Americans? I know the Gunners are primarily French, but just a thought. I saw McBride on Everton and I know that other American stars really could use the great competition and also contribute to clubs on the bubble.
American Frankie Simek plays for the reserves. And I think Arsene has offered a contract to Kobasiyoon (sp?), an 18-year-old attacking mid from Virgina.
Ok, then I am just surprised! Arsenal is THE powerhouse of the Prem and I know there are some great players in the MLS, that's all. Just thought that Americans would be dyingto play for Arsene and vice versa.
At www.worldsoccerweekly.com, there is an audio interview with Arsene where he talks about talent in the US. I don't think he says much about why he doesn't scout heavily in the US now, but he does admit that eventually he will have to pay more attention to the talent in the US because we are steadily coming into our own as a soccer power.
Work permit is the big thing. Simek and Karbassiyoon are both youths who will be able to play with EU passports. The US doesn't have that many senior nationals who can get around the work permit situation that would be good enough for Arsenal. Sure Landon Donovan is great, but I would take Thierry Henry over him six days a week and twice on Sunday.
Wow...never thought of that. Yes, Henry is WAAAAY better than Donovan, but the handful of American stars could only help the Prem and also improve their game at the same time. I didn't know that work permits were so hard to come by for atheletes.
for the record, work permits ARE NOT difficult to come by if you are involved in a trade or profession.. as all footballers are~ phishy
Or if you have a British or EU passport which most young Americans don't have. So they would have to play a certain amount of games for the senior national team to be able to get a WP and most youths players or even young players aren't going to be getting even close to the amount of games with the Nats to qualify.
For a non-EU footballer to get a work permit in the UK, they have to have played in at least 75% of their country's recent internationals (I'm not sure what constitutes "recent", but I would imagine the last year or so). The work permit is then renewed on a regular basis, so to keep on playing in the UK, they'd have to consistently m,ake their national team.
Wow! I didn't realize how complicated it was for foreign players to compete in the Prem. Thanks for the info.