All Quiet at the Bridge

Chelsea have been quiet lately. ‘Subdued’ would possibly be a better word. Perhaps they have stepped up the search for Shaun Wright-Phillips. Or maybe the Special One is preparing a statement. He should be, because some would say that in the light of recent events, there’s a lot of explaining to do.

First there was Vasiriki Abou Diaby, the promising young French Under 19 international midfielder who, according to Auxerre’s vice-president Gerard Bourgoin, chose Arsenal because “Arsene Wenger was better than Jose Mourinho, that’s all.”

How’s that for a pain in the ego, but worse was to follow. On 20th January, Arsenal announced the signing of 16 year old starlet Theo Walcott, rightly hailed as the best young English player since Wayne Rooney. He could have gone anywhere and Chelsea would undoubtedly have stumped up the most money, but clearly money isn’t everything. Theo chose Arsenal because he loves the club, he respects the manager and he admires the players – especially Thierry Henry. Above all, he seems like a boy who wants to learn – a boy who is looking for a pitch to play on, not a bench to sit on.

As Oscar Wilde might have said: “To lose one player may be regarded as a misfortune; to lose both looks like carelessness.”