Coming to a football club near you this summer is “The Cesc Saga”… a full action packed thriller that will leave you on the edge of your seat all summer. And yes, this summer it’s all about Cesc. So, before I go any further, let’s listen to what the main man had to say today on Sky Sports News…
“A World Cup is too important to be thinking about other things. I am concentrating 100 per cent on recovering from injury. I have great respect for Arsene Wenger. I have great respect for the club and the fans. Sometimes not even in my house have I felt more loved than I felt at Arsenal. I have had a long conversation with Arsene. It was probably the greatest conversation I ever had with someone in my life. I respect him so much and do not want to say too much. He told me to concentrate on my football and the World Cup. He told me to leave it in his hands and he will deal with my future. It is not up to me anymore. It is now about Arsenal and whoever it has to be. I do not want to say anything else.”
Or watch it yourself here:
There we go, Cesc has spoken and let’s try our level best to analyse this…
Cesc has said some very interesting things in the interview, but still hasn’t done much to clear up what is going on, which makes me believe that there is indeed something happening behind the scenes. My belief is that the Spanish team mates have really been trying hard to sway Cesc’s head and make him believe that Barcelona are the best in the world and Arsenal are the worst and that a move would be in his interest.
Now we know the dialogue from Barcelona’s end has been how much they want the player, but at the same time, they’ve basically used every tapping up trick in the book (surely Platini has to get involved?), but of course, there are two major obstacles in their pursuit:
- Arsenal don’t want to sell
- The player “didn’t” want to go
Whether or not the player does or does not want to go is uncertain, and the statement from his father said something which makes me think it’s not entirely true…
“I understand that people are all discussing this, but one has to understand Cesc’s circumstances. When he first left he said he would not go back, but things happen. Now this interest is mutual. A valuation is the difficult part. I am in the middle.”
And why the sudden change of heart? Well, maybe it comes down the fact that he has a plethora of friends at Barcelona who are winning championships and have also won one or two Champions League medals. Maybe it comes down to the fact that his family, his siblings etc are all based in Barcelona and he goes there a lot. Maybe it comes down to the lack of quality players that he plays with at Arsenal.
What would you do if you were playing with Denilson on one side of you, Diaby on the other, a broken Rosicky on one wing, a still being educated Walcott on the other and a striker in Bendter who can easy just miss 7 open goals against Burnley… You would probably consider your future too… I know a lot of people who are considering their season tickets now (justified or not, a fan should support his team through thick and thin!), but they are, and so is Cesc…
The question behind of all of this, is what happened between Cesc and Wenger in that conversation? Will we ever know?
Two things must have happen. Firstly, Cesc must have admitted that he isn’t sure about his future at Arsenal and of course the topics surrounding that, and secondly, the player – if he were to stay at Arsenal – must have seeked reassurances about key signings in key places this summer.
There is an interesting part of the statement, reading “he told me to leave it in his hands and he will deal with my future”, which means that the relationship between Arsene and Cesc is strong and possibly stronger than we believe. This works two ways – it means players play for Arsene in a different way but it also means Arsene looks after his players futures, even if they aren’t to be at Arsenal. Cite Henry’s departure.
I think the statement is positive in the respect that Arsene is the key man to conclude the process – something I fear will be a subplot to the whole summer – but one thing I think is clear – Arsene is looking to bring in re-inforcements to protect his top talents. Cesc and Song should be playing alongside a superstar established player – and our backup players need to be able to do a job.
Whether Cesc will be with us next season is something neither him or us know. But, I do strongly believe, with Arsene at the helm, we will do what is right by the manager, the club, the player and the fans… For now, I hope we can all do what Cesc says and concentrate on the World Cup… but something tells me, I might be talking about the same subject tomorrow!
And yes, Cesc… you are more loved at Arsenal than anywhere else…
