Dines' Days : Up the Arsenal? No thanks!

Up the Arsenal? No thanks!

I REFUSE to get excited about Arsenal's Champions League successes and my indifference extends to the final, should they beat Juventus in the quater-final return leg and then win their semi-final games.

It was bad enough Liverpool winning matches without any English players, but at least the team comprised players from Scotland, Wales, and Ireland.

Arsene Wenger is doing the English game no favours by using only journeymen European and African players in the Arsenal team. The tens of thousands of Arsenal fans who are ecstatic at their team's sucess will no doubt bemoan England's failure to win the World Cup this summer, but doubtless will see no connection between their club not nurtuing English talent and the national side's technical inability to compete with the world's finest.

posted on 29 March 2006 09:20 by Graham Dines

Comments

30 March 2006 22:41 by Peregrine Adler

# re: Up the Arsenal? No thanks!

Yes please, right up . . .

18 May 2006 09:25 by Graham Dines

# re: Up the Arsenal? No thanks!

Graham Dines writes

Re my Arsenal remarks

Well, Arsenal reached the final and yes, despite my earlier blog remarks, I did hope they would win, especiually as Sol Campbell and Ashley Cole were in the team.
The referee's in for a lot of stick but a split second decision - Lehmann off or allow the Barcelona goal. I bet most Arsenal fans would have settled for a goal down and 11 players on the pitch.
It's been a good year for English soccer. My team Manchester Utd won the Carling Cup, Chelsea the Championship, Liverpool the FA Cup, Middlesbrough beaten finalists in the Uefa Cup and Arsenal losing finalists in the Champions League.
All this and the world Cup too. Can't be bad.

Graham