Good result for England yesterday. Head is hurting today – I will blame it on the sunshine rather than the rum I was drinking.

It was the performance of Kalvin Phillips that was most impressive.

Gareth Southgate got criticised when team new came out for “playing two defensive midfielders”; but Phillips performance showed that there are different ways to play two defensive minded players.

With Declan Rice sitting infront of the back 4 in the traditional defensive role, Phillips was free to roam further up the pitch, pressing high.

This meant Croatia were unable to build up from the back. And when Phillips did win the ball back it was often in the opponents half.

It was a similar performance to what N’Golo Kante has put in for France and Chelsea.

Whilst the Frenchman is considered a defensive midfielder, he operates best when he has someone, such as Jorginho, playing in behind.

As Phillips said in his post-game interview, he knows that he has Rice behind him so he can press high and commit himself knowing his team mate is sweeping up behind.

Arsenal played like this a couple of seasons ago when Granit Xhaka was a fairly static defensive midfielder and Lucas Torreira was given a role to push and press higher up the field.

And this might be the thinking behind targeting Yves Bissouma.

Whilst some will see playing Thomas Partey and Bissouma as too defensive, playing the pair could lead to Bissouma pushing up and winning the ball in the opponents half. This will lead to chances created.

Kante has been such a key player to Chelsea, France and Leicester City over the last half a decade. Bissouma could have the same impact for Arsenal. Phillips for England.

Little side step now.

One thing that has bugged me during the build up to Euro 2020 is the way same sections of society have gone out of their way to highlight “how diverse the England squad is”.

These people seem to be acting as if England having a diverse squad is a new thing.

They must be new to football – or just using it to push an agenda – because England (alongside France) have had one of the most ethnically diverse teams for decades:

2021: 11 Players of Colour
2018: 12
2016: 10
2014: 7
2012: 8
2010: 7
2006: 7
2004 – 7
2002 – 9
2000 – 3

It just seems odd that the make up of the squad is being celebrated now, when it has hardly changed in 20 years.

Back in 2002, 39% of the players came from a BAME background. 2021 it is 42%.

Players from a Caribbean, African or mixed heritage playing for England is not a new thing. Those commentating on the make up of the squad are trying to create an issue where there is not one.

Anyway. Have a good Monday. Drink lots of water. Pop a few Ibuprofen. And if at lunch you’re still feeling rough go have a couple of Kopparbergs.

Keenos

Today Arsenal were linked with Brighton’s Ben White. Reports are the South Coast side are demanding £40million for him.

I like Ben White.

He performed well ofr Leeds in the Champions last season, and had a decent season for Brighton in the Premier League this.

He is a ball playing centre back who is a level ahead of Rob Holding, and would potentially make a good partner to Gabriel.

But the link to White has woken up the William Saliba fan boys from their slumber.

Some Arsenal fans have a really unhealthy relationship with Saliba.

They talk about him like he is already a superstar. That he would be one of the best centre backs in the Premier League.

Everytime Arsenal are linked with a central defender, they cry foul play and screa Saliba’s name at the top of their voices.

But how much have they actually seen of him? Probably a handful of games in Ligue 1.

The only time he pulled on the Arsenal senior shirt – in a pre-season friendly against Milton Keynes Dons last summer – he was poor.

Now he is still a kid. Just 20-years-old. So may well develop into a beast of a defender. So I am not writing him off.

But I am also not buying into the hype that is going on.

It feels at times that those hyping Saliba are doing so for the sole reason that they do not like Mikel Arteta.

It is simple in their minds – any player that Arteta does not select regularly (Saliba, Reiss Nelson, Gabriel Martinelli) is a superstar. Anyone that Arteta likes (Holding, Hector Bellerin, Bukaya Saka) is overatted. Average.

Some fans really do have an unhealthy obession with a player who has yet to make his senior debut for Arsenal. The fact he has “fan accounts” is very odd.

So we awake today with Arsenal being linked to a very good English central defender; and instead ob eing excited about his signing Twitter has gone into overdrive hyping up a player that they have hardly seen.

Saliba is not in the French squad for Euro 2021. He does not even get into their U21 squad. The last time he was picked for a French side was in 2019 for their U21s.

So when you break it down, Saliba was signed under Unai Emery and loaned straight out. Arteta was also happy to see him loaned out. Didier Deschamps prefers Kurt Zouma for the senior squad. And Sylvain Ripoll has yet to call him up to the U21.

That is 4 managers. All of whom have yet to give him a minutes play.

I hope Saliba is giving a chance at Arsenal. But he gets that chance when he is ready.

If the management believe Ben White is a better option. We back that.

The biggest worry is we sign White, there will be a group of fans hoping he makes a mistake and costs Arsenal posts so that they continue tweeting their obession over Saliba. they would not want White, or Arsenal, to suceed.

Have a good Saturday

Keenos

Oh and whilst the subject is my little shop….
Anyone for an old skool bucket hat next week ?? pic.twitter.com/MNKnLcEgvV

— 🎗 ///SHE WORE/// 🎗 (@SheWore) June 8, 2021

Rumours swirling around that Granit Xhaka could be off to Roma in a deal worth £20million + add ons.

If the deal goes through, it is a good one all around.

Roma get a very good player who would be well suited to the slower, Italian football. Xhaka gets the fresh start he perhaps needs mentally. And Arsenal get a decent chunk of cash.

A few people have questions the fee, highlighting that Arsenal paid £35million for him so selling him for £20million would be a £15million loss. This is incorrect and a narrow way of thinking.

Xhaka has been at the club for 5-years. His original fee would have been fully amortised across the accounts during the time. That means for accounting purposes, we have no more of his transfer fee to write off.

So from the accounts point of view, the £20million (if paid upfront) will be considered pure profit. We do not have to offset any of the incoming fee against what we paid for him originally.

It also needs to be taken into account that when we signed Xhaka at 23-years-old, he was considered one of the best midfielders under 25 in Europe. 5 years on and his star has waned.

Add in the fact he only has 2-years left on his contract, and wants out, Arsenal can not exactly sit their and demand a huge fee.

I am slightly concerned about Arsenal being linked with Ruben Neves.

He just seems a younger a version of Xhaka with the same strengths and weaknesses.

Neves has a good range of passing, scores the occasional screamer, but is slow across the pitch.

I guess where he is an upgrade is he does not have the “brain farts” that Xhaka does. And if you take away Xhaka’s mistakes, he is actually a decent central midfield options.

Would he be a good replacement? An upgrade? A debate for another day.

Bit of non-Arsenal news and some commentary on what is happening over the cricket.

Ollie Robinson was found to have made some racist and sexist tweets nearly 10 years ago. He made his debut for England last week. He has now been suspended.

Wisden have since “uncovered” tweets from another England player made when he was under 16.

This is going to happen more and more as players breaking through have grown up in the social media world. You will get more sports stars being “exposed” from messages they sent on WhatsApp, Twitter, Facebook, Snapchat, etc has a child.

Now firstly I understand that Robinson was not a child when he made the messages. But he was already a professional cricketer.

So surely he should have been punished back in 2012 and 2013 when he made the tweets. Not 9 years later?

Likewise the England player who was under 16.

We have all done silly things as an adolescent. Whether it is said something we shouldn’t, stolen from a shop, smoked a bit of weed. The question is should you be “punished” for what you did at 14 or 15 when you are 23 or 24?

My feeling is that if the punishment was not handed out when the incident happened, they should not be handed out at all.

It can not be a case of “oh he is in Kent’s second XI, it does not matter what he Tweets”. And then 8 years later “Oh he is now an England international. Lets suspend him for something he said 8 years ago”.

Now I am not excusing the behaviour of Robinson as a 19 year old. But what I am saying is suspending him 8 or 9 years later just because he is now playing on a bigger stage is wrong.

The same will happen in football.

How long until you get someone who has risen up through the leagues like a Jamie Vardy, go on to make their England debut only for someone to find Tweets they made 10 years earlier as an 18-year-old?

As above, more and more players have grown up during the social media era. And as a result these sorts of stories will become more and more regular.

If what they said 10 years ago was not deemed punishable then, when they were a professional, it should not be punishable now.

Punish players for tweeting racist and sexist comments. But punish them when they said it. Not 9 years later just because they have risen to a bigger stage.

The only reason Robinson has been suspended is because he now plays for England.

Keenos