‘Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to Ashburton Grove for the first game of the new season 2008/09.†The PA announcer cranks up the volume for his favourite part of the day.
‘We’ve just had the team news in and here is today’s line-up: in goal, Ireland’s No 1, Graham Stack. Helping him out in defence are England right-back Justin Hoyte, Switzerland skipper Philippe Senderos, from the Ivory Coast Kolo Touré, and at left-back it’s Ashley Cole.
”In midfield we have Robin van Persie, Spain’s Cesc Fabregas, Patrick Vieira and Thierry Henry on the left. Up front for the Arsenal it’s England maestro David Bentley and José Antonio Reyes.â€
It may be fanciful to imagine that all the European starlets that Arsène Wenger has been reeling in will form the nucleus of his team in five years’ time, but there is a compelling reason why Arsenal are so purposefully assembling a team-behind-the-team.
There is solid logic behind the decision to buy Van Persie and Reyes while they are 20 and full of promise and to import Senderos and Fabregas, two teenagers acclaimed as the best of their age group in recent international youth tournaments. How else can they possibly compete with Chelski’s unlimited millions, or the licence to print money that is the Manchester United brand?
The policy of signing players still in development appeals to Wenger for two reasons: the alchemist gets a kick from seeing potential turned into gold, but, more importantly, the pragmatist knows that this is the only conceivable way that Arsenal can chase honours at the highest level while their new stadium is still being paid for.
It’s a serious business. Their team of international scouts includes full-time employees in France, Italy, Spain, Ireland and Scandinavia, plus the numerous stringers and contacts Wenger has worldwide.
He is clearly taking the long view, as these recent comments on a club website show.
‘We have young players coming through and I will keep some spaces open for some other players next season. David Bentley is the closest to the first team now, but is losing his timing in the reserves and will go on loan to play.
”Ryan Smith has had surgery on a knee injury and could lose six to eight months. Then we have Fabregas in the midfield, Senderos could make some appearances and Justin Hoyte, too. We have young players coming through and I will keep some spaces open for some other players next season.â€
Liam Brady and his staff in youth development cover every major international youth tournament, including qualifiers. He voices concerns about shrinking numbers of high-calibre young players.
‘Kids are switching off from football and switching on their computer or DVD,†he says. ‘Having spoken to people at some of the biggest clubs in Europe at youth conferences organised by Uefa, we all feel the pool is shrinking. I’m talking about countries like Germany, Spain, Italy. We seem to have fewer numbers to choose from, so to bring a boy over from France or Scandinavia has become quite normal.â€
He estimates the number of full-time scholars who come to the club from outside Britain at 20%.
How do they persuade players to uproot at a young age? The sales pitch reflects the vision persuasive enough to keep Thierry Henry happy at Highbury: top-class facilities, a friendly and aspirational atmosphere and ever-improving status on the world stage. Targets are invited to come to grow with the club. As Van Persie said on signing, these ideals are more important than money.
In signing Van Persie and Reyes, Wenger has shrewdly refreshed an area of the team who have — Henry and Dennis Bergkamp apart — grown stale. But how quickly will the new attackers develop? Reyes will end the campaign with a championship medal but knows he is not yet integrated with the interplay practised so fluently by Henry, Pires, Vieira et al. As for Van Persie, he has been told his first season is for adapting and that his big chance to impress is likely to come in the domestic cups.
But buying for the future doesn’t always work out; step forward Francis Jeffers, who arrived with an exciting reputation at 20 years old. Just goes to show that temperament and adjusting to a new club are the biggest gambles of all and that Reyes and Van Persie have it all to do on that front.
And the most promising forward available to Arsenal is set to go on loan because Wenger wants Bentley to benefit from regular games in the Premiership now (evidently more feasible elsewhere). One man who will keep a keen eye on him is Bentley’s idol, Bergkamp.
‘I enjoy watching him,†says the mercurial Dutchman. ‘There are things he does in training sometimes where you can see David Beckham in him and at other times I recognise myself. I just hope he will get the time to develop because I think he is a very special talent. His vision, together with his pass, is quite exceptional. If he takes his time, he will have a very good future.â€
Bentley must first follow the route taken by Jermaine Pennant and Moritz Volz, who established their Premiership credentials this season during loan spells to Leeds and Fulham respectively. In those testing early years, when a young player feels capable of playing in the first team yesterday, he really needs to show his character. It’s about seizing the opportunity, just as Touré did.
The Ivorian arrived for pre-season on the periphery of the squad and performed so heroically that Wenger chose him as Sol Campbell’s partner for the first day of the season. Van Persie, Senderos, Fabregas and company will be looking to make a similar statement come July.
Bentley has been joined in the England under-21s by an accomplished defender in Hoyte, while Ryan Smith and Ryan Garry were regular England youth players until they were sidelined by injury.
Looks as if Arsenal will be the team to beat next season in the League Cup. —