Wednesday, March 16, 2005

Reyes...should he stay or should he go

Once again we hear the rumors that Reyes is unhappy in London and would rather find himself as part of the Gallatico in his home nation of Espana, kicking the ball under the Real Madrid flag. As an Arsenal supporter I continue to scratch my head as to what should be done with him. One day we hear that Reyes is home sick, then we here that his agent claims he is happy and wants to stay: http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/a/arsenal/4351577.stm
Another rumor I heard on Fox Sports World the other day was that Owens would be coming back in return to North London. What to make of all of this?

My take - when rumors are abound that a player is unhappy, usually there is a reason for that....he is unhappy! Any way you spin it, it sounds that Reyes is not adjusting to the Premiership or to the land of boiled meats and dark brown ales. While Reyes remains an incredible talent with maximum upside, it does not make sense for Arsenal to hold on to him. Do I love the idea of getting Owens back...indifferent. I think he is a proven scorer but not sure how he would fit with Henry up front. What I would like to see is Aresnal to move Reyes, preferably for cash to add to Wenger's summer coffer. Then pursue Sean Wright Philips, granted I am not keen on such a move if Reyes stays, I feel the two players have a similar style game but SWP is more consistent. While such a move would bring in a proven Premier league player it would only be the first step for Arsenal, since it would not address their other issues - central defender, goalkeeper and what I call "garbage goal" central striker - see Klinsmann, Van Nistelroy, Trezeguet. All great stikers who make their living collecting rebounds, tap ins, crosses, anything from the penalty spot in....not pretty goals but they count the same as the 35 yard rockets of the feet of Laurent Robert, David Beckham, or Roberto Carlos.

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