Although the player is widely derided by most knowledgeable Arsenal fans, and probably rightly so, is it fair to knock a man for believing in himself, in his ability and his ambition?
Although eight years without a trophy at Arsenal cannot be blamed on the Ninja haired Dane alone, to quote another news article “the Danish international has been widely recognised as exactly the sort of player who has held the Gunners back.” And god knows Arsene Wenger has signed a few.
Now, true enough, he hasn’t quite set the premier league alight. He’s not really even been an average guff at a world farting competition. But he’s an established international and that must surely count for something right?
I admire anyone who has the guts and determination to strive to fulfil their full ambition and potential, but there can also be the dreamers who wish they could be the best and will never achieve their goal. We’ve all been over the park, pretending we’re Brady, Bergkamp, Henry or Wright. And there in that one sentence we get some sort of answer to the question. Nicklas Bendtner is NEVER going to be anywhere near any of the afore mentioned names. Donatello or Leonardo (The Turtle not the player) maybe, but never a world class player of their ilk.
We are always being told, and I quote Sir Ian Wright “If you believe in yourself and work hard enough, you’ll achieve your goal.” Now, that is easier said than done as surely you need to have the raw talent in the first place. I always believed that I would make it as a professional footballer. I believed I had what it takes, but in truth if I had trained 24/7/365 I would never have got so much as a sniff. I just never ever had the natural ability needed (Although I was probably better than the hapless Gus Caesar). Bendtner obviously had the minimum requirements otherwise he would not be a professional.
So who are we to mock the man’s ambition or self belief?
“How do you envisage continuing your career?” Bendtner was recently asked by Danish publication ‘Politiken’.
“At Real Madrid or Barcelona” came the instant answer. This despite being unable to find ANY club willing to pay him their ever so hard earned wonga to strut his self conceited stuff.
So I ask you all the question again, although I suspect I know the answer already. Is he a deluded Ninja-esque lunatic twat or should we just admire his egotistical self-aggrandizing?
Writing after a defeat is always tough. Especially a defeat where we did not deserve to win, where we have been knocked out of a competition. It can go one of two ways. I can become a depressing emo and write about how useless we are, or I can go completely the other way and be blinded by my love of Arsenal and bury my head in the sand, and find excuses for the loss.
There is a fine line and getting the balance between both is tough. Rather then attempt to get a balance, I am going to write both sides of yesterday’s story.
Wenger’s Fault
Arsenal lost to Chelsea, and there is only one man to blame. Arsene Wenger. The way he treats the League Cup is a disgrace. It is a trophy. A trophy that he has never won due to his disdain for the trophy. We have not won a trophy for 8 seasons. In that time we have made 2 League Cup Finals. Both times his team selection has let us down. And let us not forget Bradford last year.
He dropped 8 players from the game against Crystal Palace. He played Nicklas Bendtner and Ryo Miyaichi. This was not good enough.
Yes, it is a squad game and he should be rotating, but the squad clearly is not good enough. And it is Arsene Wenger who built that squad. In the summer, we all said we needed to buy 4 or 5 players. A goalkeeper. A right back. A top central midfielder. A winger. A striker. And what did Wenger do? Buy Mesut Ozil and get Mathieu Flamini on a free.
And the reason we lost to Chelsea? A mistake by our goalkeeper. A mistake by our right back. A lack of protection in midfield. And playing Ryo and Bendtner. Had we signed the players we needed, our squad would have been stronger. We failed to invest. Arsene Wenger failed to invest.
Top managers have Wenger’s number. They always have. Fergie and Mourinho use the exact same tactics when playing Arsenal. Defend deep. Defend well. Then let Arsenal make a mistake. And Arsenal always make a mistake. Take advantage of that mistake, score, then go back to defending, then pick Arsenal off on the break to kill the game. How often have we looked the better team against another top side, only to lose 2-0? A lot.
Arsene Wenger is at fault for yesterday’s defeat. He has let the fans down by not investing all he can in the team. Wenger Out.
Money Rules
Arsenal lost to Chelsea. C’est la vie. Whilst the performance was not brilliant, a few things must be remembered. Firstly, Arsene Wenger was correct shuffling the squad. Due to injuries, we have a very small group of players. It is therefore important to rest players when we have a chance. And the League Cup is a chance. Over the next 10 days we play Liverpool, Borussia Dortmund and Manchester United. All of these games are more important than the League Cup. The League Cup is the least important trophy.
Even getting top 4 is more important than the League Cup. Do not believe me. Ask yourself a question, would Mesut Ozil of signed for Arsenal we last season we won the League Cup, but finished 5th? The answer is no. The best players are attracted by Champions League football. We can now, going forward, afford the best players, so it is more important that we continue qualifying for the Champions League then winning the League Cup. The better players we buy, the more chance of winning the league. Winning the league is the ultimate goal.
Yes, Chelsea’s B side was stronger than the B side we put out, but it is unfair to compare the two sides. Chelsea currently have 1 injury, Marco Van Ginkel. Yesterday was basically there full 2nd string. Meanwhile, Arsenal had Flamini, Arteta, Walcott, Sanogo, Podolski, Oxlade-Chamberlain and Serge Gnabry (I am excluding Diaby) unavailable for selection. 7 players.
Now if you imagine our strongest starting line up is:
That is a side which is fair superior to that which started yesterday. A more balanced central midfield. More width and pace. And a better striker. We would have performed a lot better, especially in the last 3rd, where we got to with ease but struggled to break through.
And then we have the cost of both sides. The Chelsea side which played yesterday cost them £174.6m. The Arsenal side cost £62.3m. Over £100million difference. Of course Chelsea are going to look stronger, look better.
And the figures are similar throughout the entire squads of both sides. The Chelsea First Team squad cost £332.4m to put together. Arsenal’s meanwhile cost £180.9m to put together. A difference of £151.5m. Chelsea’s wage bill is also £30m higher then Arsenal’s. It should be of no surprise that Chelsea looked better than us on the night when you take into account these figures.
Yes, you could argue that we have more money to spend, but do we have enough to compete? We had around £100m to spend this summer. Even if we spent all of that, our squad would still of cost £100m less then Chelsea’s. As for the wage bill, we have no way in competing. Need I remind you that Arsenal made a profit of £6.7m last year. Had we had a wage bill equalling that of Chelsea’s, we would have made a loss of over £20m. We would be putting our club at risk.
To put something else in perspective, Chelsea have £61.1m worth of players out on loan. Remember the XI which started for Arsenal last night cost £62.3m. Chelsea are clearly at a financial advantage when it comes to their squad, and that came across on the pitch.
That fact it took individual errors for us to lose last night, and for much of the game we competed with them is testament to how good our players are and how well Wenger has done in assembling the squad. Football is all about money. The teams who pay the highest wages, have the most expensive squads, tend to win. The doped clubs such as Chelsea and Manchester City are at an advantage, however our league position shows we are catching, we are competitive.
Last night was a poor defeat. But there is no need to point the figure of blame at anyone. The reason for that defeat is that Chelsea had a better side, a deeper squad. And that comes down to how much money they are able to invest in their squad. Money won.
This week I finally opened the Arsenal Members pack that all Gold, Silver & Red members get from the club as part of the membership scheme. And what a disappointment it was;
A small red and white scarf
A fixture list which was already out of date due to TV changes
Cheap tin badges
A membership book
An Arsenal Foundation book
A buy one get one free voucher for an audio tour
My first thought was ‘what a load of crap.’ My second thought was ‘where is the bin.’
Now I know why the packs are relevant. It is to make it look as if the club is giving something back to the fans. To appear as if the membership cost is not just a tax on buying tickets. But at the end of the day, I pay £1000+ for my season ticket. This year I will spend around £4000 on tickets (home and away), transport (over land and sea), booze and hotels following The Arsenal. A pack which cost less than a fiver to put together is not exactly the club giving back.
Now sending me a pack is a waste of money, as I am sure it is for many fan of a similar age who does not buy programmes, shirt or any other of the crap merchandise the club pedals. The club could save money by having an ‘opt out of members pack’ box that you can tick when renewing your membership.
I would not even ask for money off my season ticket or membership. The pack costs sweet FA so it would be a saving of a fiver. Not much of a saving when I am willing to spend £4000 following The Arsenal.
And the club would not exactly make an earner from it. The money saved from the packs would probably be less than the cost of a weeks wages for Nicklas Bendtner.
So my theory is this. On your season ticket renewal form, there should be a ‘donate to charity’ box that one can tick. Then, rather than me getting the pack ,it go’s to someone who would potentially appreciate it more. Add to the Christmas gifts the players take to a local hospital. Send them to Great Ormond Street. Distribute it to those living abroad who a little bit of Arsenal would brighten their day.
It would cost me nothing. It would cost the club nothing. But it could make the day of someone less fortunate.
So Arsenal, if you are reading this, allow me to donate my membership pack to someone who would actually like it, rather than send it to me to chuck in the bin.
She Wore A Yellow Ribbon 