Wenger's Love of "Belief" & "Spirit"

Arsene Wenger begins answering almost every post match question with two words which are becoming his trademark. As the interviewer lifts the microphone to the Arsenal managers' mouth in anticipation of an answer to the preceding question, you can quite easily predict that the answer will start with the words; "I believe."

The sort of "belief" Wenger talks about in interviews and press conferences are, of course his opinions and convictions on a certain issue, however, he expects his Arsenal team to play with a very different sort of belief. It is the psychological belief with which his players should perform, with a certain amount of confidence and mental strength to trust each-other and themselves, often added to by Wenger with the word "spirit."

Wenger puts a lot of trust in this "belief" and "spirit." He has shown how patient a human being he is in his time at Arsenal, especially during the past 6 years in which Arsenal have won nothing, much to the frustration of the fans. However, despite increasing pressure to do so, Wenger has always been reluctant to spend a lot of money on big, established players and has relied on his youth heavily.

It is his trust in the psychological side of football which he uses as an excuse to avoid the real issue of squad depth so as to prevent the need to spend money on more players. It is frustrating for fans who have shown loyalty to the club and Wenger for so long, yet the clear issue for most people does not seem to register too urgently with Wenger.

The plain fact is, "belief and spirit" will not help an injured player, unable to walk on two feet, nor will it help a team severely lacking in strength in depth. Of course Wenger is right, players need to have a strong mental attitude, with desire, belief, spirit and leadership, but where there are constant injuries during a long hard season, once a side loses games and morale is low due to heavy expectation, the spirit and belief in players needs a little help from new, fresh recruits.

With the loss of two quality players in Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri, as well as the sale of Gael Clichy, Arsenal are lacking in numbers. When you compare the squad size to the likes of Manchester United, Manchester City, Chelsea and now Liverpool, who have all spent big on new recruits despite not losing as many players as Wenger, the weaknesses are clear.

Unfortunately, signing Gervinho, Jenkinson, Joel Campbell and Alex Oxlaide-Chamberlain do not address the immediate issues Arsenal have, and while they have a very decent and respectable first team, when you take injuries and suspensions into account throughout the season, they will not be strong enough to compete against the best.

Fortunately for Arsenal fans, it seems Wenger is making some movement, with rumours of Yann M'Vila, Marvin Martin, Eden Hazard among others in midfield as well as defensive reinforcements like Phil Jagielka and Gary Cahill on his transfer wish list. So while Wenger has more spirit and belief than a priest drunk on vodka, I believe it is quality in depth that counts. Over to you Arsene.

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So, What Does Sneijder Actually Want?

All he has to do, is say; "I, Wesley Sneijder, 27 year-old footballing Dutchman, can categorically deny that I will be leaving Inter Milan this summer." Perhaps then, this epic adventure through newspapers, gossip sites, Twitter feeds and professional bullsh*tters' "inside info", which has taken Manchester United fans from optimism to pessimism and back, but led nowhere really very productive, can end once and for all.

It seems so simple, yet the tangled, messy web which all of the rumours mixed with a touch of fact as well as misinterpreted quotes, has created, continues to spew out further information with no real substance at all. But dare we disbelieve it? Dare we brush it aside as nonsense? For all we know, the latest rumour that Wesley Sneijder is desperate to leave Inter Milan for Manchester United is absolutely true.

The past few weeks have been far quieter on the Sneijder to United front, but unsurprisingly, this week, more has "emerged." Sneijder has suddenly (and privately) changed his tune on a possible transfer away from Italy. Rather than see out the summer as an Inter player, quietly going about his business, he has (again, privately) stated that he wants a move.

He is "depressed," and "desperate" that his dream transfer to Manchester United has not materialised and feels as if he can do something about it. He has finally come to understand that asking for £200,000 per week in wages is simply not feasible, nor acceptable at a club like United, and has offered to lower his wage demands in order to force through a move.

With me so far? Believe any of it? No worries, there's only a little more to suffer through, as the final piece of the impossible puzzle is something Wesley will have to do in order to leave Inter; hand in a transfer request and force his way out.

As I said yesterday on Twitter, although I don't know Sneijder personally, I cannot see him showing the disrespect and dishonour of handing in a transfer request to a club that have treated him so well and that he loves so much. He loves Inter, he loves their fans and he loves the City, we know all of those things, but a transfer request, which is effectively saying; "thanks for everything, but I don't want to be here any more" would not be something I can see Sneijder doing.

Wayne Rooney did it, and look at the uproar among Manchester United fans it caused. Yes, he stayed, but it took a simply stunning overhead winner against United's fiercest rivals to win back most fans who chant his name loyally, and pay his wages.

It seems as if Wesley Sneijder is happy to stay at Inter, and happy to join Manchester United. Lets face it, it isn't a bad choice of clubs to play your football for, but if you really know what Wesley Sneijder wants and where he wants to play this season, you've either been told by the man himself, or are the man himself. The rest, are simply rumours.

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