So Wenger looks like he is changing his stance by buying English youth players. Do you guys think this is worth it? So far we have a solid group I guess. Which other English players in the reserves do we have that would come up? http://www.espn.co.uk/football/sport/story/166802.html?CMP=OTC-RSS "I was close to building a team that would have had more than enough quality to win trophies," Wenger said. "Fabregas, Adebayor, Van Persie and Nasri playing together would have been very successful, but we lost them all in a short period. "It's has been so frustrating to see a young player come to Arsenal, make their Premier League debut with us, prove themselves to be top players and then go somewhere else. My judgement on them was proved to be right, but another team is getting the benefit. "The problem has been that there has been nothing we could have done to stop this. I don't want to go back over the reasons why we have been forced to sell these players, but it has been taken out of our control and it is hard to accept." Wenger's transfer misery has persuaded him to change his approach, with the manager who fielded the first all-foreign squad in the Premier League setting his sights on moulding an Arsenal team oozing with local talent, as he seeks to uncover a way to hold on to his carefully nurtured starlets. "It feels like we have had to start all over again after so many top quality players left us, and we are building a new team using a fresh mentality, with a core of British players who should have more association with a local club," Wenger said. "We have Jack Wilshere, Aaron Ramsey, Carl Jenkinson and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain coming through now and they can all grow up having an affinity for Arsenal. Maybe then they will stay here longer if they are tempted to move. "Look at what happened with Fabregas. He was grateful for what we did to him and developed a real love for Arsenal, but he could not resist Barcelona when they came for him as it was his club. This is what happens when you have a foreign player: at some point, he will always want to move on." Read more at http://www.espn.co.uk/football/sport/story/166802.html?CMP=OTC-RSS#PxvAc2MigAmPDeGc.99
It is somewhat true, but its all about wages. Rooney is a boyhood blue, but when utd came with the $$ he turned red
Bingo! Still very worried that only Ox will amount to anything and Jenkinson, Ramsey and Wilshere will just be average or injured far too often (looking at Wilshere specifically).
With Rooney and Everton. Bloody Manchester United came calling, who would give that chance up. Everton are not bigger than Man U (ignoring Mondays game). But for Arsenal its different... we are already a big club. If we can get local talent in the team then they wont leave because who else would come calling at a higher level. Yes wages are the big one but I dont see Wilshere, Jenkinson, or OX jumping that road. Maybe Ramsey but for lower wages
where a player is from is immaterial IMO. I think Arsene prefers foreign players since they suit his playing philosophy better.
I guess philosophy doesn't matter when they keep leaving. However, Wilshere/Ox suits Wenger's philosophy I feel.
Wages are important, but what I think Wenger is saying here is something that others have said of this current iteration of his squad for a while: it needs a homegrown spine. There are no good European clubs that don't have this. When you have a good spine that is less likely to leave, you are much more able to attract and retain quality foreign players.
i don't think it's a change in philosophy. he's said all along that he wants to bring british kids up through the system but it would take 9-10 years to get everything set up so, in the meantime, he bought overseas. wilshere was the first that came fully through the revamped academy system with more along the way.
yeah, this is nothing new. He has been saying this since they started up the new Arsenal Academy in 2002. Its just that these kids are coming through now so its easy to say thats the plan. at the end of the day tho, you still have to pay these players what another club is willing to give.
not really modified as much as it's the fact that he's been trying to get the academy to the point where it produces (preferably local kids) from within and it's only now reaching that point. in the meantime (until that pipeline becomes productive), he's used a lot of international kids to fill in. i mean, i'm sure that he'll continue to snipe the fabregas-type when possible but they'll be the exceptions instead of all the signings coming in from outside.
You guys need a little more zen in your lives. A project is never completed. This is no homeword assignment. It's an ongoing process.
Alas, me old mate, there are new experts, in the forum, ......and we shall just have to learn from them.
I hope I know, I was just referencing how last week the media were all saying our youth project was now over.
I don't want to pile on you, since you're young and sheltered, but you've got bigger issues than football analysis, if you trust the media that much. That said, football was my entrance into media analysis and politics, so maybe it will work for you too...
"Slams palm into face" I dont believe in the media, I read it but I dont believe everything in there. I have been a fan long enough to know what to believe and what not believe. What I said above was a joke and only a joke. Also, this does not apply to you, but ******** my age. I dont need users on here going at me for my ********ing age. I mean there are bloody 18 year olds here and people know they are 18 yet dont go at them yet I am 2 years younger, so what? Does it amaze you all that a 16 year old can use a computer or that a 16 year old likes to talk about football online because all the other people I know at school have no idea what real soccer is except for Chelsea or Barcelona. Oh how dare I.
They don't go at them, because they seem alot less naive than you. You're a friendly chap, who likes to share his opinion, straight off the bat it seems. You'll learn alot around here, especially how to be pessimistic. Anyways, alot of members tend to lurk in the shadows a bit first, to get the feel for the forum. There are a number of things you are doing on this forum, that goes against unwritten customs, which is going to attract attention. I'm just here telling you why you're getting what you're getting. Not telling you what to do
That is so true actually when I think about it. As for being pessimistic, arseblog comments helped me with that before, I just dont express it here. Hopefully we win today and what I did is forgiven. Although... Mannone.