In Praise of Aliadiere

However well a club is doing, criticism is never far from the surface in top class football. Recently, in certain quarters, reservations have been expressed about Arsenal’s handling of some of their young players. The loan of precocious talents like Bentner and Larsson to Birmingham, for instance. Or the sale of Anthony Stokes to Sunderland for a reported £2 million after a phenomenally successful loan period in Scotland.

And whenever these arguments bubble up, they are invariably accompanied by a sense of outrage that Arsene Wenger should sell or farm out players of such quality rather than give them an opportunity in the first team, while he persists in playing Jeremie Aliadiere.

Now it is true that Bentner and Larsson have impressed Steve Bruce so much at Birmingham that he is loathe to lose them. It is true that Stokes has been in great demand and potential suitors have included at least two Premiership clubs. And it also true that Jeremie Aliadiere seems to have been around for ages, without really making the breakthrough.

Hopefully his detractors were at Anfield for the Carling Cup quarter final, or failing that glued to Sky’s television coverage – because if they were, and they know a little about the game, they have their answer. Julio Baptista’s four goals would inevitably have stolen the headlines, but Jeremie Aliadiere’s performance was outstanding and a total vindication of the patience his manager has shown him. He took a long ball from Kolo Toure down with exquisite control before beating Dudek to give Arsenal a vital 26th minute lead; he set up two of Baptista’s goals and throughout the game he led the line with remarkable energy, commitment, strength and vision. In short, he looked a real talent. A top player. And an asset a good manager would be extremely reluctant to lose.