I find it funny, in a not funny sort of way how Arsene and Arsenal are critised for not winning anything since the 2005 FA Cup victory, yet you do not hear the same criticism of Tottenham, Aston Villa, West Ham etc

Good afternoon once again Gooners,

Life is slowly getting back to normal for me after moving house and although today’s blog is a bit of the late side I thought I’d jump back into it. I did say that I wouldn’t write anything about the West Ham game but I just couldn’t help myself, it is a little late but you can read it here, if you are not already bored of it all.

Tuesday and Wednesday are double footie nights for me this week so that is somewhat exciting. Playing tonight after a few weeks off and tomorrow is of course the fun and exciting Carling cup clash against the red scouse lot from up north.

One of the biggest highlights of that game will be the return of Samir Nasri, I suppose I better go into all that tomorrow but I am excited to see how he slots into the team and more importantly where he slots in. Watch out for the Wilshere and Nasri switches, that is my early prediction.

Carlos Vela is also looking forward to the match tomorrow and should be selected for a start in the front line.

Vela said:

“This competition is very important for all the young players. It is not a reserves or lower league competition, so we have the opportunity to prove ourselves at a high level and that is always the test for a player. It also means that the younger players can use this competition to show the boss what they have learned and what they can do if the get an opportunity in the first team.

It is a great competition for the younger players, they must look forward to this from the very beginning of the season and that reason would explain the hunger and determination that they have shown in pretty much every game they have played in the last few seasons.

Vela himself is a very interesting player, a player that probably hasn’t had as many chances as you would have thought at this stage. Quick, clever and a great finisher I would have expected to have seen more from him since he finally joined his team mates after a succession of loan spells.

Wenger obviously can see areas that he needs to develop before he is thrown into the first team on a more regular basis.

Going back to the competition itself, it is only a matter of time before other clubs follow Arsene’s example of bringing through youth players. Teams like Liverpool will soon understand that they cannot spend the amounts of money that they do every season and not recoup that money when they stand still every year.

I find it funny, in a not funny sort of way how Arsene and Arsenal are critised for not winning anything since the 2005 FA Cup victory, yet you do not hear the same criticism of Tottenham, Aston Villa, West Ham etc. I do not have the figures here in front of me but I do recollect that those clubs have spent more money net than Arsenal in the last ten years or so.

So in a (once again) a funny sort of way, the pundits repeated templated criticisms of our manager is a back handed compliment. It is almost as if everyone else forgets that we have never gone out and spent through the roof on players, especially £28 million flops like Veron or £30 million flops like Shevchenko. It gets swept under the carpet and never to be publicly addressed ever again.

This is another reason why the ‘Wenger out’ cries are so incredibly short sighted. If there were managers who could do what Wenger has done without major investment then all these clubs close to bankruptcy wouldn’t be bankrupt at all.

Cesc Fabregas has touched on that exact subject by stating that our rivals are under pressure due to their mega spending.

Cesc said:

“We are a young team but we are ready and the experience of Arsene Wenger will help to bring the best out of all of us. We remain confident of achieving success.

“Of course we are under pressure to win the title because Arsenal is a big club and expectations are always high. But the other challengers have spent huge amounts of money in recent years to build their squads and perhaps they are the ones who are under the most pressure because of this investment. Arsenal has a long-term vision for the future.

Cesc! shhhh, sweep under the carpet. Arsenal haven’t won anything for donkey’s years. Portsmouth are in a better position, they won the FA Cup not too long ago.

Right, got to go. Back tomorrow for pre match fun and games .

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