WTTGT Writer: Simon Bourne (Site Editor) – Follow Me
Everybody’s favourite pantomime villain, Joey Barton has been speaking yet again, this time to suggest that the opening day debacle between himself and Arsenal debutant, Gervinho, scuppered his imminent move to Arsenal.
The England cap had been linked with Arsenal over the scourse of the summer, with many fans objecting to any such move, but did Arsenal miss an opportunity to add some much needed steel to an otherwise creative midfield?
Barton said: “If I hadn’t played against Arsenal, I may have signed for them.
“There were a couple of conversations [with Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger] but that’s different to actually signing.
“The Gervinho incident happened and there’s nothing I can do about it now. If it happened again, I’d like to think I’d deal with it differently.
“Things happen for a reason and there’s a lesson to be learned from it. Right now we [QPR] sit above Arsenal in the table – hopefully that’s the case in May.”
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While I totally agree with your rules regarding swearing and direct abuse – there seems something totally un-Arsenal like about not swearing at and abusing Joey Barton
While I understand the crave for trophies after six years without any, I think we should not lose sight of the need to develop players at Arsenal. If Joey Barton had been signed, it will hamper the development of Frimpong and Coquelin. These two are coming on strongly and we already have Song in that position. We just need some tweaks in this Arsenal side. We just added a number of new signings and it is inevitable that they take time to gel properly. I have a feeling that this team will still play some delightful and winning football this season when they gel properly and we have our injured players back.
For those clamoring for Wenger to be removed, we should realize that such a move will be tantamount to taking several steps backwards. It will be equivalent to the loss of over a decade in the evolution of Arsenal. It will take a long time for a new coach to establish himself before he delivers. Our impatience will not afford any coach that luxury. Sir Alex Ferguson asked a question with respect to this issue. That question is, if we sack Wenger, who will we bring in to fill his shoes that can give us what Wenger has given us over the years? Which coach can we see in the horizon that will continue in the philosophy of the club?
Let us assume that we bring in Mourinho who has been known to achieve instant results. First of all, our style of play will be sacrificed for sure. Secondly, he will require a lot of money to bring the kind of players he loves to use. He has no time for developing anybody. If anything, some players will have to sacrifice some of their qualities like flair. Thirdly, he will bring in his overtly aggressive style that will mar our image. I know that some of our fans that are calling for the head of Wenger wouldn't mind all of these, but certainly others will. Definitely, over half of us Arsenal fans that still Want Wenger around wouldn't even like to contemplate this.
The only coach that can continue what we have at Arsenal now is Pep Guardiola. I do not think that he is ready to leave Barcelona any time soon. Unknown to many of is is the fact that many clubs and club owners are envying Arsenal's self sustaining financial model. This does not matter now, but will, once the financial fair play law comes into effect. By that time, the value of what Wenger has been doing will become evident for all to see. In an event where the law does not come into effect or clubs find a way around it, we will see the collapse of a number of big clubs under financial burdens. The financial climates in the world today will not give room for emergency bail outs.
I'll like to clarify the fact that this is not meant to save Wenger's head because his head is safe. If we sack Wenger today, many high profile clubs from different leagues in the world will queue up for his signature – unless he wants to call the time up in his carrier. This is more for the long term interest of the club. Let us not be in a hurry to throw away a gem that we mistook for an ordinary stone.