Home Sweet Home

In the not so distant past, it used to be that whenever we unearthed a hidden gem or brought a potential world beater through from the academy, we didn't have time to get excited before their departure to a bigger club became inevitable. So at a time when Arsenal fans are waking up each morning to reports of yet another of their star players wanting to jump ship, it is refreshing to feel safe in the knowledge that ours are going nowhere.

Arsenal have played some outstanding football this season, scored some amazing goals and mounted a serious challenge in the title race up until a couple of months ago. But still, the likes of Hleb and Adebayor, who are integral to their slick forward play, look likely to follow the influential, Flamini out of the exit door in the summer.

Hleb has spouted the biggest cop-out of an excuse since Alex Ferguson blamed United's loss to Southampton on the team's grey away shirt, saying London is too noisy for him. And Adebayor has made no bones about the fact that he would like to play for Barcelona. To add insult to injury, the vultures are now attempting to capitalise on the unrest, with it being reported that Barcelona will try to tempt the Gunners with an offer for talismanic midfielder, Cesc Fabregas.

Remember the dark days when no sooner had our best players settled in to life on Merseyside than they were being cherry picked by bigger clubs? Olivier Dacourt and Marco Matterazzi stayed for one season before departing for bigger and better things. Skipper, Gary Speed deserted the sinking ship and Don Hutchison thought Sunderland was a more attractive prospect than the tutelage of Smith and Knox (and it probably was at the time). Nick Barmby went over to the dark side, Jeffers came, saw, conquered and then did one before Rooney followed suit a few years later.

We're obviously a lot better organised now, both as a club and a team, for which Moyes should take a lot of the plaudits. And we have the attraction of playing in Europe again. But then, so do Arsenal and their players still want to leave. So what else is it that makes players want to stay and be a part of the Moyes revolution?

I remember when Ashley Cole, who came through the youth ranks at Arsenal, and had known nothing other than success at the club, decided to leave for Chelsea. He said that one of the main reasons he was unhappy was that the chief language in the dressing room was French and that there was a notable lack of banter. But who cares about that as long as the team is wining, people may say?

Well footballers are human beings and while they are paid ridiculous amounts of money for doing something they love, football is their job and their club is their place of work. So if they're unhappy in that environment, despite their success, there is every chance that they'll cut their losses and leave.

Now I don't claim to have ever been around Everton Football Club any more than occupying my seat on match days and it is dangerous to accept what the players say in interviews as the gospel truth ? of course they're going to say morale is high and that the camaraderie amongst the lads is top notch ? but I'm confident that life as an Everton player is enjoyable.

The first obvious sign is that our players seem more than happy to stay and sign new long term contracts. Mikel Arteta, arguably our star player, arrived as a 23-year-old, who had never stayed at a club longer than a couple of years and yet he insists he wants to remain at Everton because he is settled and feels like he is at home. Steven Pienaar made it clear that he wanted to sign a permanent deal, despite interest from other suitors, again saying he felt at home. And Joleon Lescott, one of the most impressive, young and versatile defenders in the country, has reiterated his desire to remain an Everton player for the long term.

Then there is what we see on the pitch. When we score, every player celebrates together and I can't recall any tiffs between players to rival those of Adebayor and Bendtner or N'Zogbia and Faye.

Phil Neville must be an absolute nightmare to play with on account of his bossiness and constant mithering. But when he scored the other week, the payers' reaction was brilliant. They looked even happier than usual and not just because the game had such great importance. I'm sure they all realise that he works harder than anyone for the team and deserves his moment of glory.

Even Neville, who was at Manchester United for a decade says he is an Evertonian now. What we keep hearing is that the club feels like home for the players and I salute Moyes for creating such an environment. I love reading the tales of foreign players singing English pop songs in karaoke bars on pre-season tours as part of their initiation into the squad because it points towards a togetherness that is extended to the pitch.

If Arsenal lose their key players this summer because they aren?t happy with life at the club, then their loss is our gain and we?ll have every opportunity of dislodging them from the top four next season.

At the risk of tempting fate, I'm confident that on the opening day of the season, none of our key players will have left, the deadwood will be long gone and we will have improved our squad further.

In Moyes we trust.

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