It’s 1630 on Sunday November 23rd and Arsenal are all set to kick off at the Emirates against the Middlesex club and here is the starting line up:
Raya
Timber Saliba Gabriel Calafiori
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Zubimendi Rice Eze
Saka Merino Trossard
Now as we stand today Thursday November 13th, given our current injury list, this is pretty much our first choice team. But what else do these 11 men have in common? The more astute of you will have spotted it already, but as a little clue one or more of them will be appearing over the next seven days at matches in at least one of these places: Chisinau (Moldova), Warsaw (Poland), Astana (Kazakhstan), Tbilisi (Georgia), Baku (Azerbaijan) and Tirana (Albania). Now without wanting to antagonise any overseas Gooners, I would not class these as hotbeds of International football and with the possible exception of Poland, none of them are in the top two tiers of the European game. But as you will have worked out by now, these are 11 or the 13 players that will be away on SENIOR international duty in the next week. Norgaard who is off home to Denmark followed by a visit to Glasgow and Hincapie who is treated to a North American duet of Toronto and New Jersey are the other two travellers missing from my starting XI. To add insult to (potential) injury, most of these players are representing countries that have either definitely qualified or which are virtually certain to do so.
I have to ask the question of UEFA and FIFA – why is this being allowed to happen? The PFA, FIFPRO and virtually every other players union and organisation in the world is telling you that the world’s elite players are being pushed too far and risk burnout and/or serious injury. Yet you still don’t listen. Yes I understand that you want to make money and that (honestly) it’s not used incentives for the Executives of the members’ Football Associations nor is it for the upkeep of your lovely swanky offices in Nyon and Zurich (yes, I’ve been to both many times and they are very swanky). It is all gathered together and evenly distributed in the interests of developing ‘the Beautiful Game’ in all four corners of the world. But, seriously, are you blind, are you dumb? You are quite literally killing the goose that lays the golden eggs!
The two biggest administrators in world football need to sort this out and sort it out quickly before something gives. You successfully fought off the threat of the European Super League, but I wonder if you would be so lucky again. The World Cup final tournament is now attended by 48 teams and I’m guessing that it has already been suggested that the Euro 2032 finals has 32 participants. Qualifying for the finals of major tournaments is becoming about as competitive as the events at a North London primary school sports day. Something that the two confederations realised a long time ago and to their credit have tried to address for their own events.
The answer is simple to this is simple, even if some of the detail would take a little bit of thought. Split both the World Cup and the Euros into two. A tier one competition and a tier two. Qualification for either one, or not getting their at all, can be linked as well as being can be based on a performance at previous tournaments. It can be mandated that all commercial partnership deals most cover both tiers and the money generated can be shared out fairly across all 208 FIFA and 55 UEFA member Associations.
If I don’t lose the will to live over the next turgid Arsenal free days I may put a bit more meat on these particular bones and explain how I would do it. However there are better organisational brains than mine out there and I’m pretty sure that Arsene is looking for something meaningful to get his teeth into these days. Until then, it’s fingers crossed and let’s hope that our boys all come back safely and with the addition of a few returnees from injury, we can put a strong team out on Sunday week and send that lot back down thew Seven Sisters Road to N17 with their tails well and truly between their legs.