Something from twitter this evening. I've just read a tweet from the Daily Telegraph's football correspondent Henry Winter bemoaning a debate on Talksport about Everton's Spanish midfielder Mikel Arteta, and why he should play for England. Presumably this is because he now qualifies on the basis of residency. Winter's remark is "Madness. England must develop players, not nick them. Just not cricket". This sort of thing comes round from time to time, in the near past, Manuel Almunia used the back pages to issue thinly veiled 'come and get me' pleas. It died a death because he's not actually any good.
Was Henry paying any attention to the German team at the World Cup? Klose, Podolski and Trochowski: Polish. Ozil: Turkish. Khedira: Tunisian. Boateng: Ghanaian. Cacau: Brazilian. Gomez: Spanish. If it's good enough for the Germans, it should be good enough for us. Are we ever going to start to learn from other sides? Or are we going to continue to be fearful of perceived backlashes of the same old stuffed-shirt bluster from 'outraged of Tunbridge Wells'? It's such a lack of openness to change and improvement that has held English football back to the point where it's an also ran at international level.
Arteta is a scheming, crafty midfielder with an eye for goal and technical ability far superior to those that appear for England on a regular basis. He would easily enhance the English midfield, what with $tevie Me's blunderbuss approach and Flat Track Frank. Was Winter outraged when Owen Hargreaves opted for England (born in Calgary to Welsh father, schooled in Germany)? Arteta would be behind Xavi, Iniesta, Busquets, Alonso and a horde of other equally talented players that litter the Spanish league in the stakes for Spanish selection. If he wants to play for England, why on earth not?
