Arsenal: Question To Arsene Wenger, Are Work Permits Worth It?
First, a question to fans: How many teams have players out on loan to get a work permit?
I can't think of any except Arsenal. The rules surrounding work permits are seemingly cruel and I won't get into the process and details, as I don't know anything about it. So I'll approach it with a little research and just off what I've seen as a fan.
So, how many teams or players outside Arsenal did you come up with?
I'll be looking at what a work permit is and the requirements. Then I'll look at the players we have on loan who need them.
What I Thought a Work Permit Was...
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Using my knowledge of Football Manager, I assumed that players outside the EU would need a work permit unless they played 50 percent of their international matches in the year before.
This was wrong and probably why I ended up paying over the top for players I couldn't use until they were 18.
I also (correctly) remembered that Arsenal tried to get Miyachi and Silva on "special talent visas" last month, only to (wrongly) assume it was given to players who were awesome.
...And What a Work Permit Really Is
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A work permit is needed when a non-EU player hasn't "played in 75 percent of internationals for his country in the two years before the application, while the player's country must regularly make the top 70 world rankings."
As far as I can tell, this is only for the UK.
I'm not sure what the rules are for other countries, but Spain is often a destination as it seems to have a more lenient stance on the rules, with our recent link-up with Feyenoord used in the same mould.
I'm sure we'd have first option on any of their prospects, though.
I'll add that I also thought it only affected players under 18, hence my previous comment, also believing it was stupid as under-18s wouldn't be able to break into their national squads.
There is also a "special talent" work permit that would be available for a young player who is "able to contribute significantly to development of football in the UK."
Which was the basis of our transfer of Silva and Miyachi, both apparently promised by FIFA and both rejected.
What this means? I've no idea. It's not accurate enough and I'd expect only a player of Messi-sized potential would qualify. Both are 18, but Silva has a long way to go if he wants to break into the Brazil squad.
Another point is how Denilson avoided this. Did he get one of these fabled work permits?
Since this is Arsenal, I wouldn't bother with concerning players over 18 anyway. We currently have four players out on loan and it's not looking good that we'll see them soon.
I'm at a bit of a loss to figure out why and how long players need to go to out on loan for until they qualify for a work permit. Is it down to completing the requirement of internationals played?
If so, will we ever see Pedro or Silva?
If anyone can help out, I'll update and credit.
Ryo Miyachi and Wellington Silva
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We'll start with the newest transfers. Both 18-year-olds had been officially signed by Arsenal and looked to be fast tracked with a "special talent" visa, only to be denied and find themselves at Feyenoord and Levante, respectively.
No doubt talented, impressing on their trials at the start of the season, which saw players impressing against non-league, Boreham Wood. However, that's where the differences may end.
Miyachi is a mini-superstar in native Japan but he will arguably find breaking into Japan's first team much easier than Silva's attempt to become a full international.
Seventy-five percent of first team international matches in the last two years? Seems like a lot of work and we may not see them for a long time, though I'm still patchy on the details.
People have speculated they'd only need three years but haven't told me why.
Either way, Arsenal will be looking to repeal the decision and may find leeway in the players age and maybe being a member of the G14 might actually mean something.
If not, FIFA seems more financially orientated recently. (Give me a good reason why Qatar is sponsoring Barca and own the 2022 World Cup without mention of money and I'll retract.)
Pedro Botelho and Samuel Galindo
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Pedro is a player who has been rejected a few times on the permit front and continues to ply his trade in the second division of Spanish football.
That may be all well and good, but he is 21, old for a youngster but young enough to make the team as Sagna's understudy.
While talented enough to be signed by Wenger, he's not impressed with a string of disciplinary problems surrounding his various loans and it may be time to simply cut losses.
Samuel Galindo,18, faces a very different challenge in the international set up, he's already been capped once at senior level for his native Bolivia and looks set to break into the team.
The player caused some controversy as he was part of a scam aimed at saying the 6'3" youngster was much older than he was, though proved to be fake.
He is get a few more caps this season and could find himself at Arsenal, sooner rather than later. In addition to his height, he is supposedly technically gifted and if Wenger believes it, he could be a interesting player to watch out for.
Carlos Vela
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A player who has been with us since 2008, Vela, has had a mixed start to his career. Despite impressing with his pace and penchant for lobbing goalies, he is very inconsistent.
While showing glimmers of hope in his play, he's not impressive when given a chance.
He still looks to have potential but faces playing as a left winger unable to beat the much better Nasri. Even so, he's not always the first-choice sub with Rosicky sometimes deputising.
A big example of his omission was in the recent cup tie against Wigan. I expected him to start but only made a sub appearance, not looking good.
Expected to go on loan, nothing has materialised in recent weeks and that could be tied to a possible Cahill deal, with him acting as a sweetener but also as a "f@&k you" if they don't.
Either way, Vela's days are numbered unless he can prove himself worthy in the next five months.
So Is It Worth It?
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In a nutshell, no.
Wenger has rued not signing Ronaldinho and has been looking for that special talent who become a world beater ever since. Vela is not the player he could've been and Pedro seems permanently exiled in Spain.
These players will arrive at Arsenal after a few years but don't have great experience of playing first team football at a high level. They wouldn't have trained much at Arsenal, so they would need to acclimatise to the UK and then learn the team style.
Regardless of their ability, there's a standard of passing in our ranks.
I'll assume they'd be picking up English over the years, but these players would come in and face competition in an already packed team.
Miyachi and Silva would likely be used as backups on the wing, but we've already got plenty of talent there—more if Hazard comes.
That said, they could become the next Vela, but both show great talent and show pace and trickery that some of our youngsters don't possess.
Arguably, in the two or three years away from Arsenal, we'd be better placed to find a young talent closer to home or at least in Europe and train him at the reserves before shifting him out to the championship.
We'd be able to train them and refine them much more easily and give them the option for a loan when they are ready. They'd also know the team much better and the formation.
One issue is the hunger to make a name for themselves when they return. Competition is a good thing, but I've witnessed a very hungry Vela become more and more selfish. He needs to avoid being sold off, but he needs goals to do so and it's brought a negative mentality.
How will Miyachi and Silva do when they return to find Oxlaide-Chamberlain, a much younger prospect who's been at the club for longer?
Assuming OC makes it—if not, insert Emmanuel-Thomas—the fact that both players play in similar positions and are the same age and play similar styles? Competition will be fierce if the only reasonable slot is as Nasri's deputy.
Let's not forget our feeder clubs. If we do switch to Feyenoord, it would be give them some good experience in a technical league where they could get a good run in a league known for technique and youth.
However, all ties with the Spanish second divisions must be cut. They are not getting great experience there.
Though Levante have Silva, they look like they're going down but there's not much separating the bottom half of the table. A good run could see safety.
I can only have faith in Wenger that we don't lose any more talents or see them wasted, but for now we'll have to watch and see.
