The boss hates the new squad limit rules – it has been well publicised and I agree with him. But, how brilliantly has he stuffed their new rules down their throats – it is rather spectacular…
Arsenal have named seventy players in their squad list to the FA, and none of the 20 are English:
Manuel Almunia, Andrey Arshavin, Nicklas Bendtner, Marouane Chamakh, Gael Clichy, Denilson, Vassiriki Abou Diaby, Johan Djourou, Emmanuel Eboue, Lukasz Fabianski, Cesc Fabregas, Laurent Koscielny, Vito Mannone, Samir Nasri, Tomas Rosicky, Bacary Sagna, Alex Song, Robin Van Persie, Thomas Vermaelen, Sebastien Squillaci.
The new rules are a joke for a start, it is far more important that the issue of mega-spending is addressed, AKA – financial doping. At Man City you have a whole host of English players but they are probably just going to be bumped down the pecking order and make up the numbers. What is more important, allowing clubs to buy in player after player at stupid prices, which will prevent English players getting a game anyway – or implement a pointless rule which is a waste of time and effort. I don’t see what it will achieve as we have already shown a way round it.
For people that have strayed onto this blog looking to kick up a stink; in Arsenal’s 76, yeah that is seventy-six players (not 25), over 30 of them are young English players aged 21 or under – that includes Jack Wilshere, Kieran Gibbs, Theo Walcott, and Jay Emmanuel-Thomas. Just to show we have the homegrown players in the 25, they are highlighted in the list above.
What another stupid set of rules… The FA really are a waste of time and money.
No doubt Arsenal are going to be ripped in the press for some sort of cheating or rule dodging, but this is the same press that champion Owen Hargreaves for England yet say if Arteta is selected it is a travesty. Owen Hargreaves wasn’t born in England and didn’t even play in the country until after the 2006 World Cup finals in Germany. The fact is that most countries have players born abroad that qualify for citizenship and can therefore play for that country – Miroslav Klose, Lucas Podolski, Senna, Higuain, Ryan Giggs and all the way down to Chris Birchall who is the first white guy to represent Trinidad and Tobago since god knows when.
In fact, Owen Hargreaves does not even get classed as a homegrown player in the FA’s new set of rules!
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For those of you who have Twitter, you can now follow our captain who has just joined up. Its an official account and has been confirmed by his sister. Follow him @cesc4official and there are a few other player accounts too though none are 100% confirmed … there is @_denilson15 and new boy @SEBSQUILLACI – this Chamakh account may be real as well… @vrai_chamakh.
How long it will be before Xavi joins and starts chatting him up we just don’t know, it shouldn’t be long I expect before we hear his endless ‘DNA’ comments.
Hello @cesc4official this is Xavi. How is your DNA coming along?
Oh @xavibarca how are you.
I am fine @cesc4official so when are you joining us
you know you have Barca DNA @cesc4official
please @cesc4official please please please please join
You probably see what a mean already..
You can follow me on Twitter for non-DNA stuff, just Arsenal chat really and the like so if you want your timeline filled with endless crap you know what to do.
Thats about it for today. Wonder if the FA are cooking up another stupid rule? Maybe they are setting up a player association to count the moon or how to overload your hair with gel so it looks like you have just been caught up in an explosion at the nearest Brylcreem factory? I’m sure Chamakh would be chairman of that one.
Right, more soon.
Arsenal News 24/7
He’s also making a mockery of the PAYING fans.
@ dollar
Don’t pay then.
I don’t see the issue. The Premier League, and remember not The FA, would have expected big squad to be named. It was up to 25 players in the main squad, with unlimited amount of players under the age of 21. The only thing Arsenal failed to do was name the full amount of homegrown players. If they had to name the full eight, Arsene would have promoted a player shuch as Theo Walcott to the main list.
Maybe the rule should be strengthened to require the home grown players to be available for selection to any ofthe home nations.
I see your point about Owen Hargreaves and Arteta. But there is a difference. The other countries Owen qualifies to play for would have gladly had him in their team. The same could not be said for Arteta.
Owen Hargreaves doesn’t qualify as homegrown becuase he did not play in England or Wales for three years prior to his 21st birthday. If an English player went over to play in Spain when he was 16, came back when he was 23, he would not be homegrown either.
Completely agree. I think Wenger is proving a point to the FA
here is my take http://cescandthecity.blogspot.com/2010/09/arsenes-wicked-sense-of-humour.html
Arsene didnt fill up the quota because theo, vela , and kieran will be above 21 nxt season. there will be space for them next season.
Who cares how much money you spend? Supporting is about passion, love and, well, supporting. Spending money just makes you a customer. And there’s a big difference between being a customer or a supporter.
You have highlighted the situation quite well. A lot of people had hoped the rule would adversly affect Arsenal, but now they have egg on their faces.
I would like the FA to focus on the quality of the refereeing in games, this should be their top priority so that the EPL remains competitive and fair.
Also their should be increased drug testing of players – especially Man U & Chelsea.
‘Supporting’ your club to me anyway, means more than just saying the words I SUPPORT ARSENAL it means rather than paying Sky a subscription (because they give that money back to the other top teams in the league in TV money; for instance ManU Liverpool Chelsea get the most) ….
RATHER than paying Sky so you can laze about at home and watch the games which is NOT really supporting anybody but Sky and through proxy the OTHER TOP TEAMS, to me: Supporting the team means CANCELLING the Sky subscription where possible and making the effort to see all the games live. Buy your home shirt from The Armoury, and get a season ticket or at least see a fair amount of the games at Ashburton Grove (Emirates).
This would put a stop to the endless moaning about Wenger, as people may just realise what he is attempting to do.
He is not interesting in ‘just winning trophies’ he is trying to safeguard the spirit of football in itself. And since Arsenal is the club closest to this spirit it makes sense to also try to win the league with this particular club.
This is why I don’t give a stuff who he puts in goal – I am more interested in the future of the game I love and Arsenal as a long term football club – I don’t want to see it drained of it’s values and personality for the sake of a few trophies. They are nothing but mere trinkets; to a footballing man and an idealist like Wenger and indeed myself -
The REAL trophy is the enduring spirit of fairplay and accepting that defeat is something we should gracefully accept when it comes fairly.
When it comes via dodgey decisions or other ways of cheating like filling your squad with rugby players or superstars stolen from your rivals – it is not really winning at all.
Haha but who cares about honesty!! Fire Wenger get Mourinho like that absolute imbecile was saying to me the other day
LOL Spectrum you daft tart
My cats breath smells of cats food.
I don’t know why everyone is saying that Wenger is taking the p!ss. Every club has named squads of between 60-80 players as theyve all included all their under 21′s. Why wouldn’t they?
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-1308098/PREMIER-LEAGUE-SQUADS-2010-11-Club-club-guide-whos-25.html
Both Puyol and Iniesta have been on twitter for some time and Cesc follows them.
I think I’ve just found Sagna’s Twitter account ! Check this : http://twitter.com/bax310
renan,
you’re a fucking idiot if you think that’s his account.
Martin, what’s this on twitter about us feuding regarding an insurance payout on a player??
Any ideas what player and why??