Vieira more than welcome at ‘Little Arsenal’ & a better loan destination for Wilshere?

I’ll begin with this cracking quote from Antipodean Gooner as he, like us, finds out that Vieira will soon be the 5th ex-Gooner at Manchester City.

If the Abu Dhabi sheikhs wanted our players that badly, they should’ve saved their money and just bought the club

The signing of Vieira will not only sadden a few Arsenal hearts but will also infuriate the red half of Manchester. They had to contend watching arguably the best central midfielder in an Arsenal shirt, but now he will be in the reviled blue of Man City. As a marketing ploy, this signing is incredible as they have managed to piss off two clubs simultaneously with this signing.

Rumours flew around that Chelsea and Tottenham were interested in Paddy not too long ago. Thankfully that didn’t materialise. It still is surprising nevertheless that City have had it so easy. His high wages could have been an obstacle but I’m sure the likes of Lyon, Bordeaux and even clubs from Germany and Spain could have put together a decent packet. All I’m saying is I find it really odd that no other club even mentioned their interest this time unless I didn’t hear about it.

Vieira’s reason for this move is because he wants to play in the World Cup. What happens if he doesn’t make it? Does he retire from International football? Does he leave City for failing him? Time will tell.

Anyway, once Paddy passes his medical, he will be a city player and join his ex-Arsenal buddies Silvinho, Taylor, Toure.

The return of Vieira to the Premier league also means that it is possible for our current Arsenal team to play a team made up of Arsenal’s past. Just take a look at this line up. I wonder how we would fare against this team…

Taylor

Toure    Vieira*    Upson    Cole

Bentley    Sidwell    Muamba   Larsson

Anelka

Adebayor

Moving on to the future, with Coyle’s imminent departure to Bolton, the chances of Jack Wilshere heading to Burnley look slim. I definitely wouldn’t want him gracing the depressing sights of Bolton.

Wilshere is a West Ham fan and there is little doubt playing under Zola’s management will definitely be a benefit for Jack. However, he could do better at Everton. With the greatest of respect to West Ham, Everton is definitely the right club for Jack to improve on his technical, physical and mental attributes.

Firstly, Moyes has a good track record with developing young-ish players. Not only from their academy but also the developments of Lescott, Cahill and Jagielka spring to mind.

In Merseyside, they appreciate flowing football but they also like to see committed players and reciprocate a lot better than West Ham fans towards this. I watched the Everton vs Tottenham game a month ago and the fans just never gave up. They like a young player and on that night, it was the inexperienced Seamus Coleman who was the hero. Training with the Everton players – although a lot of them are on the injury table like us- will also be valuable because Moyles has always demanded a physical edge from his players.

All in all, I think Everton is a better destination than West Ham. With Arteta still not fully recovered from his injury, Jack would be an excellent younger alternative for that playmaker role. I would be delighted to see Wilshere heading towards Merseyside for a temporary move.