The Mail Bag
Arteta misses out again
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I've just seen that Mikel has been overlooked yet again by the Spanish for their friendly against England next week. Having had the pleasure to see him play over the past few months it seems more astounding than ever for him to be to be omitted.
Again on Wednesday night he proved that he can run a game in the middle of the park, out-shining king of the cards, Alonso and even played off Tim for the final 30 mins. We've been hurt in the past for bigging up our players (Barmby, Gravesen) but this comes at a time where Mikel seems more settled than ever in our side and looks committed to remaining a blue for the foreseeable future, especially now playing in his favoured position.
Yes Spain have a fantastic squad, yes they have some fantastic players but when a guy is bang in form, playing against the top sides for the last month, in the so-called strongest league in the world, then what else does he need to do to get a chance?
I think it's a disgrace and it must be heart breaking for the lad. People have suggested he declare for England but that will never happen, he is too proud of his Spanish/Basque roots to entertain the thought. It makes it more galling when I see plenty of players in the England squad taking it for granted and assuming they've made it, egos like Big Vic in fact, strutting about as if they are the answer to football's problems.
Mikel is a class act, on and off the pitch so I suppose as long as he is overlooked by Spain, the longer he will play with a point to prove.
Niall Clinton, Posted 06/02/2009 at 11:24:35
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My concern is that unless he receives international recognition soon, Arteta will start to think it’s because he plays for (in the words of Clive Tyldesley the other night) "lowly Everton." And then that offer to join the likes of Arsenal might seem more attractive...
He deserves a call up for sure, but I couldn’t care less whether he gets one or not. I fucking hate International football in the middle of the season, players returning injured, getting their heads filled with fellow countrymen saying "you should come join us".
As far as I’m concerned Arteta is an Evertonian first and a Spanish international second.
As far as I’m concerned Arteta is an Evertonian first and a Spanish international second.
Spain?s loss is our gain. He?ll be fresher for the Villa game.
I know we?d like recognition for our boys but Internationals have never done us any favours with tapping up, injuries and changes in attitude when they find out what others are earning.
I?m disappointed for Mikel but not for EFC.
I know we?d like recognition for our boys but Internationals have never done us any favours with tapping up, injuries and changes in attitude when they find out what others are earning.
I?m disappointed for Mikel but not for EFC.
I am with Jay and Bill combined. Seeing his injury-history I think it won’t harm Mikel to get some rest so I don’t mind him not playing in the Spain squad if I look at it short-term. But in the long run I’m afraid Arteta is going to ask for a transfer simply to improve his chances in the Spain squad.
Perhaps the Spanish national coach holds some kind of resentment toward Spaniards that choose the Premier League over La Liga. It's obvious that he is good enough to at least to be in the squad.
I don?t think Arteta would leave Everton for another English club. But unless Everton use all of their influence to promote the guy to the Spanish hierarchy, I can see him going to Athletico within 3 years. Let's hope he gets picked soon.
Can?t say I?m unhappy. How gutted will we be if an Everton player comes back from a set of meaningless internationals with an injury??? It?s one thing if they are qualifiers ? this is just a round of Uefa/Fifa money-spinning......
I?m gutted for Mikel as I really thought he?d get the call this time, especially playing against England and with Fagregas injured but no.
I don?t think it?s because he plays in England, it?s because he doesn?t play for one of the Sky 4. Look at the squad and you?ll see Alonso and Riera in there and in my opinion he?s been much better than both of them put together over the past month. I?m a fan of Alonso (sorry but I rate him) but Riera?s a pile of shit and Mikel should be in instead of him. A first call up for Sergio of Barca too so why not Mikel, unbelievable. Thought Del Bosque would be different, even Guillem Balague said he should be in there.
I?m in two minds with it though. It?s good for us in the way he?ll get the rest and be fresh for Villa and won?t be tempted by the Spanish based players to "come home". But I?m also worried he will soon start to think he needs to play in Spain to get the recognition even though he?s said, on many occasion, that he?s more than happy to be an Evertonian.
The bottom line ? we?ll have to wait and see. But it would have been nice to see Mikel pull on the Spain shirt and come up against Roger and Jags on Wednesday.
I don?t think it?s because he plays in England, it?s because he doesn?t play for one of the Sky 4. Look at the squad and you?ll see Alonso and Riera in there and in my opinion he?s been much better than both of them put together over the past month. I?m a fan of Alonso (sorry but I rate him) but Riera?s a pile of shit and Mikel should be in instead of him. A first call up for Sergio of Barca too so why not Mikel, unbelievable. Thought Del Bosque would be different, even Guillem Balague said he should be in there.
I?m in two minds with it though. It?s good for us in the way he?ll get the rest and be fresh for Villa and won?t be tempted by the Spanish based players to "come home". But I?m also worried he will soon start to think he needs to play in Spain to get the recognition even though he?s said, on many occasion, that he?s more than happy to be an Evertonian.
The bottom line ? we?ll have to wait and see. But it would have been nice to see Mikel pull on the Spain shirt and come up against Roger and Jags on Wednesday.
Look, I love Mikky and I think he is an really great footballer. He has stepped up since his reclaiming of CM but I don't see how he has made massive inroads into being part of the Spanish team. He hasn't dominated any games against the "big four" which basically are going to be the games that the Spanish selectors are basing their decision on.
Again I love the guy but, unless he starts really stepping up against these teams, he is not going to make the squad. He will leave the club in the next few years as he has already stated he wants to return to Spain and play so I don't see him not making the squad as an Evertonian affecting how long he is with us anyway. Up the blues!
No matter how much I love the fella (in a hetrosexual non-gay way) he isn?t good enough to get into their team.
He has only just starting to play the way we know he can but for me still becomes anonymous in the "bigger" games. Consistency will get him noticed, as well as Everton getting back onto the European stage for everyone to see him in all his glory
He has only just starting to play the way we know he can but for me still becomes anonymous in the "bigger" games. Consistency will get him noticed, as well as Everton getting back onto the European stage for everyone to see him in all his glory
I agree with Brian and Tony. A case in point was Wednesday’s game. Until the rs’ sending off he was pretty anonymous.
I do think its a shame he never gets recognition in the form of the Spanish squad, and yes it does mean he will be fresher for us. However I do worry about him dreaming of playing for his country and thinking he may need to be playing for a club in the champions league in order to fulfil it. Especially since his mates over the park play for Spain, in particular the very average Riera and Luis Garcia when he was still there. In an ideal world he can propel us to future Champions league campaigns.
To add some balance; he was pants for the first 15 games of the season. There were many people clamouring for him to be dropped, or at least for him to stop taking the set pieces.
To be an international player you need to show consistency at the highest level. If not to be selected, consider that the national coach wont watch arteta’s 20 odd games this season. He probablt watched 2 or 3, earlier in the season. He wouldn’t have been selected on those games.
And in all fairness - I really dont think its for us everton fans to dictate to the spanish who they should put in their national team....
To be an international player you need to show consistency at the highest level. If not to be selected, consider that the national coach wont watch arteta’s 20 odd games this season. He probablt watched 2 or 3, earlier in the season. He wouldn’t have been selected on those games.
And in all fairness - I really dont think its for us everton fans to dictate to the spanish who they should put in their national team....
I think people are confusing team with squad, I think the majority of us know that he isn’t good enough to be a regular, he wouldn’t get in ahead of the likes of Iniesta or Xavi. The squad is a different matter though, lesser players have got caps for Spain. The likes if Luis Garcia, Alvaro Arbeloa and Ivan Campo spring to mind.
He should be judged like every other Spaniard, does Xabi Alonso boss games for Liverpool against the ?top four?? Very rarely and that is playing for Liverpool, a top four club. The games the top four play are always close, there?s very rarely a stand out midfielder.
Arteta has lesser players around him than the likes of Alonso and Fabregas, he sees less of the ball and doesn?t have as many ?technical? players to link with. You have to be realistic, it?s a fucking hard task. Taking the game to a world class team in a lesser team and ?Bossing? the game. Very few players do it outside the top four and they certainly don?t do it consistently.
What I would say if his performances have been much improved against the top four sides, he?s been one of our best players in the games against Chelsea, Liverpool and Arsenal. He?s been very consistent since he moved into his natural position.
Xabi Alonso is no better than Mikel Arteta, I think both Derbies proved that. Bar long range passing I struggle to see what Xabi has on Mikel. Arteta?s short passing range, technique, skill, mobility, tenacity and tackling ability all come out on top. He scores more goals and he makes more goals in a lesser side and now they can be compared, they play in the same role.
If the likes of Riera, Arbeloa and Alonso are good enough for Spain then so is Arteta in my opinion. I doubt he?ll ever get a cap in an Everton shirt though to be honest.
He should be judged like every other Spaniard, does Xabi Alonso boss games for Liverpool against the ?top four?? Very rarely and that is playing for Liverpool, a top four club. The games the top four play are always close, there?s very rarely a stand out midfielder.
Arteta has lesser players around him than the likes of Alonso and Fabregas, he sees less of the ball and doesn?t have as many ?technical? players to link with. You have to be realistic, it?s a fucking hard task. Taking the game to a world class team in a lesser team and ?Bossing? the game. Very few players do it outside the top four and they certainly don?t do it consistently.
What I would say if his performances have been much improved against the top four sides, he?s been one of our best players in the games against Chelsea, Liverpool and Arsenal. He?s been very consistent since he moved into his natural position.
Xabi Alonso is no better than Mikel Arteta, I think both Derbies proved that. Bar long range passing I struggle to see what Xabi has on Mikel. Arteta?s short passing range, technique, skill, mobility, tenacity and tackling ability all come out on top. He scores more goals and he makes more goals in a lesser side and now they can be compared, they play in the same role.
If the likes of Riera, Arbeloa and Alonso are good enough for Spain then so is Arteta in my opinion. I doubt he?ll ever get a cap in an Everton shirt though to be honest.
Spain and Spanish TVE has a big love-in with LFC at the moment. The world begins and ends the other side of Stanley Park. I watch a lot of Spanish TV news and they will report anything about the city and LFC in particular "El SpanishLiverpool" they are known as. There’s little room for anybody else - Arteta, Cuellar at Villa etc. Even Roberto Martinez (Swansea manager) never gets a look in and he is doing an incredible job. I think he did deserve a chance - Riera? Busquets? Arteta has a lot more to offer than these two and deserved a chance at least: The only conclusion is that he does not play for LFC or Barcelona.
I agree with the sentiments about this being a blessing for us, however. Keep him fit for the FA Cup and get us to a Cup Final - they’ll take notice of him then!
I agree with the sentiments about this being a blessing for us, however. Keep him fit for the FA Cup and get us to a Cup Final - they’ll take notice of him then!
I love Mikky as a player, on his day and on his game he is one of are best if not the best player we’ve got but like what a few others have said previously, too many times against the top four sides he goes missing and is very anonymous, in one of the other derbies he didnt play too well and against Man United, well, not to put it too bluntly, he was shite! the other night versus Liverpool he only really came into the game when they went down to ten men and then when he saw a lot of the ball he didnt really do much with it, he always seemed to play it square, a lot of passes side to side or backwards, never any progressive or forward balls towards the front line, there was a pass from Alonso at some point in the game that put Riera in on the edge of the 18 yard box that Howard came out and blocked, and it pains me to say it because he’s redshite but it was absolute quality, first time, 30 yards, defence splitting ball and that bit of quality showed to me the difference just between Arteta and Alonso, Arteta hasnt got enough of that, if at all in him to spot that kind of thing and then attempt it 1st time and pull it off! so for Arteta to get picked a head of Alonso, Fabregas, Xavi, Iniesta, Santi Cazorla and Senna is a massive ask because there 6 top quality players!
With the greatest respect - your opinion on who should be picked for spain doesn’t matter. The spanish boss picks the team. Who has, or hasn’t, played is also of no relevance to us. Why are everton fans trying to pick a foreign national team? Christ, thats arrogant.
I really don’t know what al the fuss is about.
Why would you want arteta in the team anyway? He’d get injured, or worse still, spotted and lifted.
As for him leaving to go to a spanish team so he can get picked - this old chestnut has been around for 4 years. He’s just signed a new deal. He isn’t going anywhere. If he wanted to go and be in and out or warm the bench or be a star of a spanish div 1 side, he would already have gone. He hasn’t. He has shown loyalty to everton. I have no doubt he will return to spain at some point, but not yet. Not yet.
I really don’t know what al the fuss is about.
Why would you want arteta in the team anyway? He’d get injured, or worse still, spotted and lifted.
As for him leaving to go to a spanish team so he can get picked - this old chestnut has been around for 4 years. He’s just signed a new deal. He isn’t going anywhere. If he wanted to go and be in and out or warm the bench or be a star of a spanish div 1 side, he would already have gone. He hasn’t. He has shown loyalty to everton. I have no doubt he will return to spain at some point, but not yet. Not yet.
Well, ?El Spanish Liverpool? may change in the summer when Benitez is sacked and Torres leaves for a club who might actually win something.
On Mikel, I feel sorry for him because he is certainly good enough for the squad as Conor says, and clearly it would mean something to him to be involved with his country. And to be picked behind Riera who has been rubbish is inexplicable. Oh, I guess it?s ?El Spanish Liverpool?....
On Mikel, I feel sorry for him because he is certainly good enough for the squad as Conor says, and clearly it would mean something to him to be involved with his country. And to be picked behind Riera who has been rubbish is inexplicable. Oh, I guess it?s ?El Spanish Liverpool?....
Fantastic for us, shame for Mikel, that’s it!
COYB
COYB
So the English and Spanish squads have been announced and not suprisingly Arteta is again not in the Spanish squad.... but Riera is! What a farce.
Well done to Jags on his return to the fold, but how is Upson in there ahead of Lescott?!
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1 Posted 06/02/2009 at 14:40:13
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