A Patrick Vieira in his prime would solve many of Arsenal's problems

23 April 2010 18:24
Vieira's Arsenal did not blow two-goal leads with 10 minutes to go in sweet shops like Wigan. [LNB]Emmanuel Adebayor? The lion of Togo is little more than a soundbite in the reckoning of Wenger, a player worthy of discussion this weekend not because of the body of work he left behind at Arsenal but as a consequence of a gormless goal celebration before his former constituents sitting behind a goal at Eastlands. That defeat at Manchester City mirrored the earlier loss at United, and to a degree, the shocking surrender last week at the DW Stadium, where dominance drained like air from a pricked balloon. [LNB] Related Articles'Me and Gallas didn't talk'Manchester City line up £60m bid for TorresMancini backs Adebayor to keep his coolToure warns Adebayor to stay calmArsenal v Man City: match previewSport on televisionWere Wenger to hold his blueprint up to the light, the beady eye of scrutiny would not only illuminate technical shortcomings in goal and at centre forward, but also a hole the size of a gloved fist that Vieira used to fill. That visceral quality invoked by the uber competitor when the house goes up in flames is the attribute Arsenal have lacked most this season, not the embroidery of fancy feet. [LNB]The want of a fireman of Vieira's standing had Wenger casting through his memory box yesterday to 1996, when the Frenchman arrived from AC Milan to form the Gallic axis with Emmanuel Petit of Wenger's first championship-winning team. This was the start of Wenger's shift from the English template. Arsenal retained their English yoke but Vieira slotted in sweetly, melding continental vision with the hobnail boot. [LNB]These were the early days of the high-class foreign import, when suitability or not was established during 90 minutes in the ring with Wimbledon. "When Wimbledon was Wimbledon, you know," Wenger said wistfully. "They hit the wall with him. It was most impressive. England in 1996 was not the England of 2010. When people saw him handling the physical game like he did, and on top of that adding the quality he had and being afraid of nobody whatsoever. It was amazing how quickly he gained respect here."[LNB]Wenger's instinct was right in deciding not to pursue Vieira last summer. He understood that the player seeking his exit from the city of Milan a second time was not the one that set about Manchester United's hold on the Premier League. Would he have that player in his team on Saturday? "Straight away," he said. [LNB]Wenger dealt patiently with the Adebayor issue, sensing how material from his mouth might be woven into an incendiary narrative he could do without. He held nothing against Adebayor for his mad deportment at Eastlands and had no regrets about selling him. "It is not only Adebayor, but also Patrick Vieira and Kolo Toure we will welcome them all back. We have always had the same line of conduct to respect what they have done for us and we want our fans to respect that as well and encourage our team." [LNB]It is the wider structural change represented by the purchase of Adebayor and Toure by their opponents that concerns Wenger most. He talks about progress made this season yet he heads into the final matches seeking to protect third place rather than reaching out for first. He needs to deepen his squad, yet cannot compete with City nor Chelsea or United, despite his claims to the contrary. [LNB]Victory secures for Arsenal automatic Champions League qualification, but with just one year on his contract to run, will third place next season be enough to keep him? That, not the return of Adebayor, is the big issue at the Emirates. [LNB]

Source: Telegraph