Today, Arsenal held the usual pre-game press conference, but at an earlier time than usual. Yesterday, rumours were flying on Twitter about the 'early (9 AM) press conference' and what it could be about. Signings? News of the ongoing transfer sagas? Clear, no-nonsense statements about contracts and ambition?
Eh, no. It was a usual pre-game press conference, probably moved because Newcastle is quite a bit away and it would be practical to leave London Colney and hour early...
Quotes from the press briefing has floated around, and I have to admit that I let myself down this morning. Instead of waiting for either a transcript or the video recording on Arsenal Player, I read the tweets of the gathered journalists. Again, high on entertainment value. But low on precision.
After chilling out and getting off Twitter, I've collected some quotes, from my own transcript of the briefing as it is shown on Arsenal Player:
Question: «Fabregas and Nasri in the squad for the weekend?»
Wenger: «Fabregas not in the squad, and Nasri certainly not. I will decide that today.»
Q: «Nasri’s not in the squad. Is he fit 100 percent?»
Wenger: «He’d... he went for the national team. He was sick, and he’s not completely recovered yet.»
Q: «Are there other aspects of his situation why he’s not in the squad? Are you saying it was only then to have been sick? (sic)»
Q: «Nasri’s not in the squad. Is he fit 100 percent?»
Wenger: «He’d... he went for the national team. He was sick, and he’s not completely recovered yet.»
Q: «Are there other aspects of his situation why he’s not in the squad? Are you saying it was only then to have been sick? (sic)»
Wenger: «There are no other aspects why he would not be in the squad. I will decide that today. He can be in the squad, I don’t know yet. It depends a bit, as well, on the other... on the situation of the other players.»
So, contrary to most reports, Samir Nasri wasn't ruled out of the trip to Newcastle. But if enough other players were fit, he wouldn't be picked, is the gist of the last answer.
One of the main dangers with reading quotes is that you can't hear the tone in Wenger's voice, nor see the look in his eyes. It's not for nothing that his press briefings are among the most popular to cover for the journalists themselves.
The most infamous quote from this morning suffers when you haven't seen it on the screen.
Q: «Arsene, do you expect Cesc and Samir to leave the club? By the weekend?»
Wenger: «I expect nobody to leave the club.» (smiles)
Wenger: «I expect nobody to leave the club.» (smiles)
Q: «So you believe they will stay at the club? Those two players.»
Wenger: (shrugs) «That’s a good conclusion from my statement.» (smiles)
These questions are good, to the point and no dithering. But in the tape, I can see that Wenger in a way takes umbrage at the first question. His smile gradually gets broader as he answers.
Of course he never 'expects' anyone to leave his club. On the contrary, someone leaving is a rare occasion - especially someone leaving without being told to leave by Wenger himself.
I believe this is why he also smiles his way through the second answer, even though it's hardly an answer. He's just leaving the question in the air to be interpreted. However, most reports carry only the first of these two answers, and of course no sound or sight of the man.
Another key answer comes right after this, when the gathered press push on for more on transfers.
«I believe the best for us, one day before the championship starts, is not to focus on the possible transfers. I cannot say it will never happen. I do not say it will happen. But at the moment there’s no news, and if we have any news to give you we will... I promise you we will do it.
«What we want today is to focus on the players who play tomorrow, and not on the players who do not play. The players who can help the club to achieve performances are more important then the players who don’t.»
Straight interpretation: this is a press conference about tomorrow's game. Don't get over excited! Arsenal never comment on transfer deals unless they are done.
However, when pushed further, Wenger left a clue which few reports seem to have picked up.
Q: «I know you’re saying you’re expecting noone to leave, but you must be resigned to losing these two, now that you know they want to go?»
Wenger: «I will... We will decide, and I will decide, what is the best for the club. The first quality for a player is to have talent, and the second is to want to play where he is. You know, so it’s very different. You demand full commitment, we are here for this club and to give absolutely everything to achieve things. But that is only possible if you want, really, to do it.»
Here, Wenger lets on that the deals may well happen, but remains clear on that the decision to sell is his own. And he tells us what reason he might have to give a green light to sell Cesc Fábregas and Nasri.
The final answer in the briefing is given to a foreign reporter, again pushing for transfer targets. Wenger replies with the broad view of his squad, talking the numbers instead of the quality of his players (which he would never discuss in public, anyway).
«Who do we want to buy? We don’t know because we have at the moment too big a squad. Too many players. So to add players to play... You know, there’s... there is a strange thing, I don’t believe that people who watch football are still conscious of what is going on in the world.
«We have 350 players in England who have no job. So it’s the promise... and we have a massive squad. And we are not in a position where we are short of players.»
This answer is reported as Wenger's most deluded of the day. 'Doesn't need any new players?!' But in context, he's talking about not signing more than the squad rule allow Arsenal to actually use.
And it's typical of Wenger to return to a subject from earlier briefings. He was and is very critical of the squad rule, limiting him to 8 senior players developed outside the United Kingdom.
Unfortunately, the press more often than not miss out on Wenger's football version of running gags. That's one of the factors in the culture-collision in the press room today. While the reporters are after one-liners and headlines, brevity and clarity above all, Wenger is a football academic with plenty of time and a teacher's taste for lecturing.
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