Building Rome: Arsenal and its English spine. « Untold Arsenal: Arsenal News, supporting the club, the players and the manager

By Walter Broeckx

Sometimes it is a wise thing to have  deeper look at some things that are said in the media, then repeated by a part of the fans and then because of the repetition it becomes a general accepted truth. Not on Untold of course.

So in the past years people have often said that Arsenal couldn’t win anything because they lacked the English spine. Now when I come to London I usually see people just like me. And I don’t see any difference between their spine and mine. But I’m not a doctor so maybe there a difference. Is there a doctor in the audience?

Seriously though, I know what people try to say when they use the popular expression: Arsenal has no English spine. They just want to say that they need to toughen up. As this is what the English spine is all about.

So all those years without a trophy because of the lack of the English spine. Is there any truth in it? And yes one could say there is. Because for some 4 years now the only English player to have played for Arsenal on a regular basis was Theo Walcott. And as he was more out with injuries from being kicked by other English spine players he missed a great number of games. So yes for years we had no real first team players except Theo who are English.

And we were not good enough to win the league with Arsenal and one English player. We can use all kinds of arguments but at the end of the day the final league table (no matter how bent it may have become) is there and you cannot cancel that.

People have been saying: Wenger must buy Cahill or Jagielka. Both with a firm English spine. People have been saying: we need more English players. People have been saying: we don’t need those soft foreigners any more. I know over here most people said: where ever they come from, we just want them to do their best.

And now since our defeat at Stoke in the third last game of the season we got thrown out of the title race. It was over. So again some people come up with the same argument: the lack of the English spine.

But now something got me wondering. Because for the first time since….er…. since …I don’t know how long in fact we played at Stoke with 4 UK players in the starting line up. 3 English players and 1 Welsh player. Now I don’t want to step on any long toes but I think it is fair to say that when people say we need more English players that they include Welsh players, or Scottish or even Irish players in their description of English. Or was Keane not considered to have an English enough spine? Or Giggs is he considered to have an English spine? And Fletcher is he considered to have an English spine?

So I guess it is fair to say that in the popular opinion Walcott, Wilshere, Gibbs and Ramsey are all considered to be walking around supported by an “English spine”.

And yet for the first time in I think more than 7 or 8 years we had 4 English spine players on the field both in the Stoke game and in the Aston Villa game and we lost both games. Now before some of you come racing out and start spouting violent talk about me as a foreigner blaming the English player for our defeats: I DON’T BLAME THEM AT ALL!!!!

No, I love England. I love people from the UK. I have no problem with them at all.  I usually only meet nice and friendly people in London and wherever I have been in the UK in my life.  So I don’t have anything against people from the UK.

But the fact is there: for the first time in many years we play 4 UK players and we lose two games in a row. And against teams that when we lost before to them it was considered because of the lack of UK born and bread players.

So it is not as easy to just say: add more English players and we will be fine. It is not as simple as the one liners make you believe it is.

But what I do can tell you is that what we are now seeing as nothing but utter gloom and doom. Those two lost games with those 4 young UK born lads in our starting line up will be something that we will remember in many years time from now.

I will be saying in 10 years time: I was there when Theo, Jack, Aaron and Kieran where at the start of their careers. And it wasn’t the easiest of starts. No, they got beaten by Stoke and Aston Villa. I sat there in the Emirates. And look at them now. They have got the support of their manager. They have got the support of the supporters. And they have turned in to world beaters.

Because let us not forget and this is maybe the most important thing to remember: they are 19-21 years old. And they are starting for Arsenal. At the most difficult times of the season when all goes wrong and nothing works. But they will get stronger from this. They will learn. The talent is there without any doubt.

Just look at what Ramsey was doing before his injury and how you can see him slowly getting back to this level. He is just 20 years and missed a whole season.

Just look at Jack. 19 years old and what a season he has had. And he can only get better. The more experience he get the better he will become. And even the bad experiences from now these days are very important to experience.

Just look at Theo. 21 years old and he looks to have been around for ages. Well since this season he has become a more complete player and like he said himself: he is still learning and working to improve himself. Having more goals and assists than the player of the year should ring a bell.

And look at Kieran. The most inexperienced of them all. Looked vulnerable at Stoke but now playing a few games and against Villa he was much better and he will get better. I don’t doubt this at all.

So why don’t we all keep this in mind when we see Arsenal play these days? Yes I know how hard it is when we lose a game. But please do be careful when you start booing players. You might destroy the likes of those 4 lads. They are the youngest in the squad and the most vulnerable for hard criticism.

Why don’t we support those lads who will bring the so needed according to some English spine to our team in these difficult days. Give them time to grow. Give them time to develop their English spine and let us not break them down before their career has started.  Give them time to learn to play the game at the highest level. Just remember Tony “donkey” Adams. He got the time to learn, he got the time to make mistakes and learn from it. What a player he became.

I will support those young lads and will not break them down that easy. Rome wasn’t build in a day not even in 6 years. But once it was built it conquered the world and remained the dominant force for many years to come. So will they.