I think sometimes one has to move on. In any relationship, if the other person does not want to be with you anymore, you have to let go and move on. It is not easy but...
well at Arsenal football club, there is not one but two players who want to break up with their 'beloved' team. And the club is trying to hang on to them but knows realistically that the best they can do now is to get a good transfer price.
One of those players is Samir Nasri, a French player who came to Arsenal in 2008. The other is Francesc Fabregas i Soler, the captain, a player who played for Arsenal since he was 16 years old.
Why do they want to leave such a great club? Money, probably not. Weather, may be. Trophies, YES.
They both feel Arsenal will not win any trophy under the current trainer Arsene Wenger and Arsene is not going anywhere.
Arsene has been at Arsenal for about 15 years and have won many many trophies. But none since 2005.
Every season, new players come and the hope is in the air that Arsneal will win another trophy under Arsene. His style of attacking football is lovely to watch but his defense has been very hard to watch. Still fans of attacking football root for Arsenal.
So this past weekend, I came to London for the 2011 Emirates Cup. I came to see if the 2011-2012 edition of Arsenal is the same as the last few years or if there is hope for the romantic fans.
When I got to the Arsenal tube station, I saw that the captain Fabregas was not featured on the promotional team poster. I guess the break-up has started.
For the first game of the 2011 Emirates Cup, I sat in the upper North Stand and saw the Red Bull New York beat Paris Saint-Germain 1-0. PSG was still in pre-season form and it looked that way.
For the second game, I moved down. Arsenal vs Boca Juniors. England vs. Argentina.
Fabregas was declared 'unfit' to play. Nasri did play but looked like a ghost on the pitch. Arsenal was in command and soon after half-time, they were 2-0 up.
Then they got cute and looked for the ultimate fantasy goal instead of going for the third goal to put the game away.
Minute 68: Squillaci of Arsenal lost the ball near the their own goal and Riquelme passed to Viatri and he made it 2-1.
If I could have put in a bet on a second goal for Boca, I would do it with no hesitation.
This for me was the downfall of Arsenal and the reasons Fabregas and Nasri wanted to leave: the lack of belief in themselves when their opponents start a comeback.
3 minutes later - more errors from Arsenal defense and Boca Juniors tied the game 2-2.
Boca could have won but that would have been too cruel.
I wondered what Nasri thought after the game. In the second half, he was the team captain.
If I was Fabregas or Nasri, I would stay. Winning trophy is not everything. Playing the right way is everything.
from the Emirates Stadium, Sebastian
PS: before the game, I hang out at the VIP entrance to wait for Leonardo, the Sporting Director of PSG. But no luck. But I did meet a popular celebrity who gave me a BIG hug.
I'm late on this post, but great assessment on Arsenal...
ReplyDeleteI have to say that as an ardent fan, it has been a very hard summer and even more painful time to see the humiliation at Man U.
With regards to the transfers this summer, I think that Gervinho will prove to be a very good if not better player than Nasri. Of the three years that Nasri was at Arsenal, he only had half of a good season and he is not a leader on the field the way Fabregas is as is often demonstrated when he plays in the French national team. The biggest loss to me and one that will almost be irreplacable is Fabregas, but one has to respect his choice. He paid his dues and sweated for the Gunners' jersey, unlike Nasri who truly only went to Man City for the money. If he really wanted trophy, he'd go to Man U... I hope that Arteta and Wilshere can help gap the loss of Fabregas. I agree Arsenal needs a real defence...