arsenal

i just read arsene wenger's biography The Professor.

the most amusing part must be Pat Rice's reaction to being shown a photo of Ljungberg making a V-sign after being controversially sent off. "he was ordering two tickets for the scotland-england game"

the book certainly revives fond memories of the anelka-overmars-bergkamp days. wad a scintillating attacking trident.

i think you can say that arsene wenger has so far overseen 4 teams during his reign.

1) the team he inherited from george graham. the defensive one.

2) the team with anelka, bergkamp, overmars, petit, vieira

3) the team with henry, bergkamp, vieira, pires

4) the team with henry, van persie, fabregas.

and we are on the verge of having a fifth team. the one without henry. ignoring the fifth, you can see an evolution. a development of a style which to him is the highest ideal in attacking football. from 1 to 2, he introduced pace and a sharp direct approach. from 2 to 3, the pace remained, but the team became more comfortable with shorter passing. from 3 to 4, the pace is still there, but now the style is even more refined. the passing is phenomenal, the pace breathtaking.

i am interested to see what happens next.

it is not easy to choose the right time to go.
but whatever happens, the life of a club never stops.