Arsene Forever

Florentino Perez.

Say that name and most football supporters will all give the same reaction: a roll of the eyes with a scoff of disgust. The Real Madrid president is the man who instituted the 'Galacticos' policy at the famous Spanish club several years ago. It was an ideology that saw the world's best players in every position – or, rather, who Perez deemed suitable to be signed – brought to Real Madrid on humungous contracts with inflated transfer fees that leave the club who sold that player dancing for glee at how badly they've just ripped the supposed greatest club on the planet off.

Arsenal Football Club has felt the wrath of Real Madrid and Florentino Perez, with his "galactico" policy, more than most clubs in Europe. Ever since this ludicrous policy was institutionalised into the Real Madrid doctrine in the summer of 2000 we, as a club, have felt the full brunt of it year, after year, after year. Despite shelling out a whopping €206m on a four players Perez and his like minded associates in Madrid have never been happy: there's always been someone at Arsenal they've targeted.

First it was Patrick Vieira and the yearly 'Vieira-gate' sagas that everyone went through, continually asking the 'will he or won't he?' question that bore everyone to sleep. Perez and Madrid targeted Vieira vehemently for about four consecutive transfer windows, always using the same gimmicks and same propaganda that has worked so effectively for them in the past. Perez and his team of goons are very skilled in upsetting players they want to target, or even players they don't want to target at all.

I can distinctly recall Madrid targeting more than just Patrick Vieira in the last five or so years. Indeed, I can recall them purposely feeling about for Robért Píres, Freddie Ljungberg, Thierry Henry, Ashley Cole, José Antonio Reyes and even Lauren. There might have been more than that, but those are the ones that I recall.

I don't know why Perez and Madrid do this to Arsenal. I really don't. But what I do know is that Perez has an obsession with this club, and what we have become in the last decade, and wants a piece of it. He wants the va-va-voom attacking play, he wants the quick, fluid movement and everything that encompass' the beautiful football that the world loves to watch, he wants everything that was brought together to go the entire 2003/04 season unbeaten. Perez wants that not at Highbury, and in turn the new Emirates Stadium, no; he wants that in Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu.

There is only one man who provides all of that: Arsène Wenger. Naturally, it wouldn't be the same Perez if he didn't, in the middle of sending out feelers for Fabio Capello and José Mourinho, not to mention our beloved boss.

But I don't think Arsène is going anywhere. I'm almost one hundred percent sure that Wenger will be going nowhere – well, at least until 2008, when his contract expires, at least. Why? It's simple. Real Madrid is, simply, un-Arsène. It's not a match made in heaven at all, it's a match made in hell.

The cons of Arsène going to Madrid and the Bernabeu far out weigh that of the pros. He has nothing to gain from it, and a lot to lose. About the only plausible thing for him to gain is to say to his grandchildren one day that he once managed the "great" Real Madrid.

It just wouldn't work. First of all Perez's belief of paying copious amounts of money for what he believes are the best players in every position (read as: the most marketable players in every position) is the complete contradiction of everything Arsène Wenger believes in when it comes to buying players: Wenger likes to buy cheap, young, unknown players and turn them into superstars.

Most of all Arsène would rather sign his own players and not have players bought for him, and then be simply told by the boardroom upstairs "train them". He would probably last as long as José Antonio Camacho did last year, maybe even less, with Florentino Perez peering over his shoulder barking ignorant instructions on how to run the team.

Sometimes you have to wonder why Perez, who seems to think he knows all the ins and outs of football, doesn't just take control of the team himself. It would amuse everyone else at the very least.

No, I really don't think Arsène is going. I don't think any gooner has anything to worry about. If not for the fact that everything Real Madrid stand for is the complete opposite of what Arsène Wenger stands for, there is a little matter of, firstly his contract, but a stadium being built just up the road from Highbury.

Emirates Stadium was his brainchild. Nobody pushed harder for it to be built than Arsène Wenger, and, perhaps, nobody suffered as much while it was in its infancy than Arsène. The restraints put on our transfer budget saw our activity on the market drastically limited. It was long my sneaky suspicion that the reason that we failed to bring in certain players is because they simply couldn't afford to with stadium still yet to return any money.

But we don't have worry, anyway. Arsène will stay. He won't be going to Real Madrid, and he will be here, at the very least, until the end of the 2008 season. I say just enjoy it and be thankful for what this man has done for us.

Long live Arsène Wenger.

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