So here it is, La Croix D'Or, the Pub of legends or, in this case, the Pub where Arsene gained the knowledge to be able to say "Arsene Knows"! One thing that I can say having visited this Brasserie/Restaurant (no it's not a pub and no there isn't such a thing in France just imitations of the real English establishment) is that it is uninspiring inside.

There was no "Arsene etait ici" scrawled into the bar or any plaques, photos or trophies to give you any idea. Then that is no surprise as it's a completely different owner to those days. However, maybe you could just imagine a young Arsene Wenger not seeing who nicked the Ricard and perhaps trying out a more attractive way of playing cards some long time ago.

At least I didn't get wet today on this second leg of the pilgrimage and, in truth, the cycling was as important as visiting a mere glimpse into the history of our illustrious manager.

..or something along those lines.

I think many Arsenal fans struggled to get through last night's game, it was an odd one indeed. From the continuing coverage on Arsenal's very own "The Truman Show" that is "The Billy Show" to the 59,500 (cough, cough) pairs of eyes watching the new captain take to the stage plus the various side shows - it was an "interesting" evening.

In essence we struggled, unsurprisingly, to play with any fluency or pace and it looked, from the first 5 minutes, that this was always go to be a long evening. During the 90 minutes there were little flashes of potential equally mixed with minor scares but sometimes it seemed that it was like watching an Arsenal game on a dodgy internet stream. Our passages of play never quite got into focus and the players seemed, somehow, to be out of sync with each other on numerous occasions. 

However, for all our flaws in our play last night there was (just) enough effort and concentration to make up for the lack of confidence and experience. That and, for once this season, a little bit of lady luck saw us go through after one real alarm (yet more thanks to Almunia) when Cesc made the most of a (rightly) uncontested drop ball (It WASN'T a free kick Mr. Pleat!!!) to put our own Puss in Pink Boots through to score with a superb finish.

So, as the boss remarked afterwards, we got through and we can hope the recovery has started though with our injuries and a game at Stamford Bridge this weekend we need to hold on to some of any luck going. The Champions League can be left out of our minds until February and we ask our new guy from the Soccer League to sort out one or two additions in January. BUT....

You know what I will take from last night's game, not the sight of Cesc in charge or Willie Gallas's face after he nearly let them into score but the 10 minutes or so of Jack Wilshere. 16 years old and as composed a European début since a young Spaniard probably! He looks too young to be on the pitch with the big boys but that his very appearance is what makes Arsene who he is and what he stands for. Whilst the world of football tries to eat itself with money grabbing agents and even more greedy players there still is an innocence of a young kid wanting to just play. It may not last but the memory will still be there.

It seems the world at large seem to believe that making Cesc captain was the only sensible decision open to Arsene Wenger and the media will maintain the stance until we lose a couple more games, at which point Wenger will have got it all wrong and we're in crisis for eternity. Of course, if we win tonight with a mix of Carling Cup youth and first team regulars then we will be on the right path, things can get back to normal etc.

The strange thing is that the more you read some of the blogs out in cyberspace you realise that a) there's a lot of rubbish (please no comments about my mediocre offerings) out there but b) some of the fans sharing their views on the world relating to Arsenal (or their own particular club) can offer far more common sense and rational thought than much of the media. The blogs tend to more consistent and, as they are not trying to sell papers, offer a more balanced perspective even if (like mine) it's sometimes tinged with bias and the odd nasty comment against local rivals.

It seems that the news of yesterday has cheered up a few, here, but has also been recognised as the first step along a difficult path for this young squad. I also sense that though William Gallas is not Mr.Popular amongst the majority of Arsenal fans right now there is a feeling that his experience and ability are both required. The real question is whether he is a big enough man to accept the decision of Arsene Wenger and knuckle down to the role of a senior professional under a young captain who would like his support in turning things round. Unfortunately the first thing we out of the "Gallas Camp" is from his agent (GOD I REALLY HATE THESE PEOPLE) saying (as good old Kenneth Williams said) that the media has it in for poor old William. Can't they just keep quiet and move on!

Anyway let's hope the young man can lead and inspire his troops this evening.

In terms of the big four clubs this week has been fairly favourable for Arsenal. With a win over Manchester United at the weekend followed by the young guns win on Tuesday night all combined with the other Carling Cup results, we're flavour of the week/day! I'm not sure how journalists get to keep their jobs when the switch and change sides more often than the Italian army. One week Arsene Wenger is on the verge of losing it/his job/the plot and the next he's back to being a genius and Ferguson is suddenly losing it etc...

It would be nice to see a certain level of consistency and you can understand why most managers generally disregard stories in the media and especially the managers of the big four. Journalists (of all media streams) seem to be forever looking for a different angle or story to justify all the different formats they need to support. As a result it becomes harder to find the true gems of a good piece of journalism.

On other fronts many Arsenal blogs are sticking a big two fingers (or similar) to Ray Wilkins for his wonderfully timed comments (see my blog from yesterday) on Arsenal using their kids to "disrespect" the Carling Cup. We saw two things last night that vindicated our approach (not that it needs vindicating) with Chelsea's so called "stars who take the cup seriously" losing to Burnley (a team with Ade Akinbyi of all people) and Liverpool playing their reserves and showing how to truly disrespect the competition by making Spurs look good.

Oh and two other stories to have a chuckle about (even if they are not such pleasant stories) are the one about Chris Morgan (a nasty player who once punched Van Persie and said it was part of the game when he was hit by someone else) who hopefully will be banned after breaking the skull of another player. The second, of course, is a repeat of the Carragher incident at Highbury with Drogba responding to a coin thrown at him last night. Let's see if the FA apply their normal consistency in both cases!

Yesterday I wrote that whatever happens I'm willing (even if others are not) to see Arsene's grand plan right through to the end. It means that on days like this we can rejoice in the glow of a joyous victory but we know that, at the moment, these young guns or, at least, their slightly older brothers will still lose games through complacency or inconsistency. Last night's game gave me even more hope because although Arsene has used the Carling Cup as a training exercise for his younger players for many years now this year has been exceptional. In the past we have seen much older players (like Gilberto or Jens) mixed with returning injured players (Rosicky is scheduled for the Carling Cup 2011) to help the kids. This year the most experienced players have been Djourou & Bendtner who though they have International as well as league experience are both very young.

Does this mean, as suggested in the Guardian MBM (minute by minute - see last paragraph) that these kids will go on and form the greatest Arsenal team of all time by winning championship after championship, of course not. However, you get the feeling that many of these players are special and can achieve more especially when mixed with a "first" team squad of limited age as well. I know I'm being overly optimistic in the light of a wonderful night but isn't that what being a football fan is about, hoping and dreaming for the best but maybe harbouring some doubts.

Arseblog pointed me in the direction of comments made by Ray Wilkins today and, I have to say, that I'm amazed that someone who though sometimes bland and boring could come out with such remarks.  Though he is a Chelsea boy, through and through, he was always generally smart enough to maintain an even balance on other teams yet once he returned to the "new" chelsea where the likes of Kenyon stalk it seems he had to go to the dark side. There seem to be couple of motives for the outburst and they have Kenyon's trademark thuggish boots all over them. One is the need to denigrate our youth system (though not acknowledging their cheque book system) in a week Kenyon said they will concentrate on young English talent and secondly, we play them at the end of the month - so get the first (or second) strike in early. I think even Chelsea fans who knew Wilkins as a player would have been embarrassed by these comments.

They are a bunch of toadying, lying, sly and obnoxiously evil c##ts and let's just hope that all the very good young players continue to realise where they should really go to get the best football education and, more importantly, chance to shine.

Tonight if, as expected, the average age of the team that takes the field is that of the average GCSE student then most Arsenal fans will be happy. It's the Carling Cup you see and the game is sold out due to low prices, fewer season ticket holders, better atmosphere, the chance to get to a game for many and, possibly more importantly for some, the opportunity to see the next generation - the same generation that saw off a hard northern Sheffield United 6-0 in the previous round. From previous experience we've learnt two main things from the Carling Cup: firstly, many of the kids that make the grade learn from playing in this competition and secondly, it normally goes tits up when we play the experienced players during the final stages. So let's stick with the kids whatever and, tonight, we have a tough task against a Wigan side who have played good football this season with little luck (let's hope they don't get that tonight). 

The other, more controversial, side of Arsene's youth policy is his belief that buying in an experienced player at the expense of the youngsters currently in the side actually harms the development of the younger player. In a recent Guardian piece he is quoted;

"It's not easy. You need strength because the easier part is to take a player of 28 and play him. But we went for this way. You build a player like Fábregas and when he's 19, [if] you put a player in front of him who is 26, maybe in the short-term he will do better but you will lose the player. That's why in this policy we have taken, what you say for one, you have to say for two."

I can really see this point and though there are some contradictions in terms of buying in Silvestre and also the fact that young players would not be harmed by one or two senior, experienced players around them, it's admirable even if it has split Arsenal fans. If, for example, you can beat the current Premier League and Champions League holders with a midfield of players aged 19, 21, 22, 20, & 21 then it can work but we get the inconsistency argument. The hardest part, I believe, is not the manager's or fans' patience but the fact that these days it's so hard to keep a group together for long enough to see the fruition of the development they go through together. We are already seeing the rumours of Cesc leaving if we don't win anything and I even saw some rubbish about Theo being targeted. Whether rumours are true is irrelevant because we all know many other clubs can't be bothered to nurture talent but like it ready mixed and will pay the price.

Whilst contemplating the continuing and entirely predictable fallout from the various Arsene press conferences this week I was taken back to the days when I worked in a multi-national European company. Often I chatted with French, Italian or German colleagues who had, in my view though not always their own, exemplary English skills but there would always be confusion during meetings over particular words or phrases and most of the time any issues could be solved after a bit of a debate over the true meaning. Now the real test of language skills came when an individual was tired, emotional or in an arena with background noise. In those situations these individuals with excellent English language skills (who had often lived in the UK for a number of years) were more likely to make a mistake, never disastrous but a mistake nonetheless.

In the world of the press conference (where emotions run high, where reporters are noisy and managers can be tired) every word is grabbed and dissected by the baying wolves but with little consideration of the manager's mother tongue and the impact of speaking in another language. I'm not saying that Wenger doesn't say stupid things sometimes (he has, he will and he'll probably get slaughtered for them) but the use of one word or phrase that can be very contentious is highly difficult to judge when the speaker is using a foreign tongue. For all his linguistic abilities (I think he can speak 5 or 6) Wenger is still using English, which is his third language (growing up in and around Strasbourg would mean German is his second language) and you can tell that he is always thinking as he speaks. Not so much as thinking what he wants to say (he knows that) but to express it in English in an unambiguous manner and he doesn't always get it right.

If you ever see his interviews in L'Equipe, other French newspapers or on French TV(and understand French of course) his phrasing is much more fluid and coherent because there is no second stage to go through - it's much more natural.

So what does all this rambling mean. Well I think the English media have a right to hear the Premier League managers speak in English but they shouldn't be so quick to jump on the words of ANY foreign manager (especially when one word can change the whole context of the debate - see the whole debate on "deliberate", I'm sure Wenger is talking about deliberate fouls and not injury)much more carefully. I'll give you one other opinion, that of Fabio Cappello, he knew that he wouldn't speak in English until he was sure his words couldn't be twisted and as his English is not perfect yet he has to think every sentence and word carefully or the wolves will jump on them.

I've just read the latest comments from Arsene Wenger regarding the game at Stoke and, as is often the case, there is a just argument in there somewhere but it will always get lost in the British media because of the point of the attack. As with other statements he's made in the past (often after a Bolton game!!) the attack will be perceived as an unjust and vile attempt by this foreign manager (who's bloody French for Christ's sake) to get rid of the blood and guts of the good old English game (see this blog for the typical reaction).

In fact I'm convinced he makes these comments for two reasons, one is the pure frustration of losing a game and the fact he lingers over the defeat (these comments are often made 2 or 3 days after the event). The second and more just complaint is that certain players, he believes, make rash and unjustifiable physical challenges on Arsenal players. The problem with this second and valid point is that of proving it to a public who have brainwashed by the media with the "look at how many red cards his teams have" and "he never sees anything when it's his player" campaigns that may have started with rumour but are now perceived as fact. I once delved through the records to look at our red card record and over his first 10 years Arsenal had about the 6th or 7th BEST disciplinary record but the the press never let facts get in the way of a story. On the other point he makes it easy for the media because he does come out with some ludicrous excuses sometimes and, as a result, his good points are missed, never heard or ignored.

Let's just take the challenge on Adebayor on Saturday, the Stoke player did him with a studs up slide on his ankle OFF THE F##KING PITCH and didn't even concede a foul (the ball had long gone out for a throw) never mind a booking, yet neither this challenge or the one on Walcott were discussed on MOTD. Yet in the same game the petulance of Van Persie (and it was f##king stupid) is given a red card. Now I'm not excusing the Dutchman but where's the justice in that.

What I would like Arsene to do is to come to a press conference in a less emotional state of mind and categorically state that he has no problem with sides being physical (a la Bolton /Stoke) within the LAWS of the game but he would just like refs to actually punish (or maybe the FA on video evidence) clear and deliberate fouling (aka Kevin Nolan's "it's all right to give Walcott a kick" comments). 

The other galling point is that he's the most friendly to the media of most of the managers, he always makes himself available (unlike Old fergie) to the press, will answer any question thrown at him, give his opinion and won't eff and blind at reporters when they say the wrong thing (oh that's you again fergie) to him. Of course he makes stupid comments, of course he defends his players when they shouldn't be defended and of course he makes excuses sometimes but then which manager doesn't.

Remember old Jose Antonio Reyes, yes I know it's quite hard but he did, at one time or another, play a few games for the Arsenal and was going to be our highest transfer fee (but never was) , a super star  and would sell us houses in Spain. Well apart from the last one he never quite made it as he was a bit of homesick mummy's boy who should never have left his paella in Spain. Anyway that's not the point, the point is that he was at the centre of the racist storm surrounding Aragones, Reyes motivational needs and a certain Thierry Henry. You will probably recall the story that Aragones tried to motivate Reyes by comparing his ability to that of "that b###k s##t" and team mate, Henry. Aragones even persuaded the oh so tough Spanish FA to overturn his initial paltry fine.

At the time, I think it's fair to say that Arsene was not that impressed with the Spanish National team's manager and let it be known. Now they meet in a competitive match for the first time tonight and Arsene has said he will be polite to the racist c##t. I would rather see him smack him straight in the gob but that is not our man's way. Sadly to say (and this is not to say other countries don't have their problems) the affair was not an isolated Spanish incident and there seems to still be a culture of ignoring the problem in Spain rather than confronting any incidents that occur. It was the same in England all during the 80s and it wasn't a pretty sight.

That's not to say that I could possibly say much against Old Red Nose's achievements, he's won too much over too many years to not have, how would you say it, "professional respect". In terms of longevity and success he's probably achieved more than most (even those from the Anfield legendary "boot room") but he has got that knack of just being so damn annoying. His latest outburst against the press stands in complete contrast to Arsene Wenger's continual willingness to talk to the media and give an honest answer to an honest question (all right I can hear those non-Arsenal fans all saying, "but he never sees anything", that's true but that's a thing most managers do to protect their players).

Wenger is happy to talk to all branches of the media despite the fact that the very same media have branded him as the reason behind England's failure to qualify for Euro 2008, the same guys who love to go on about his terrible disciplinary record (without ever comparing to other Premier League clubs with a worse record over a similar period) and yet he's always there. Meanwhile good old Sir Awex has refused to talk to the BBC, told the written press to f##k off on more than one occassion and even refused to talk to MUTV, his own TV station, at one point and still they fawn over him like a god.

Check out Arsene's latest interview with the BBC here, where he talks about his 12 years at Arsenal and his growing sense of "Englishness"!