Questioning Quotas: What Will They Do to Arsenal?

The latest storm in English football centers around the lack of Englishmen playing in it.

A new proposal has been put forward by FIFA's Sepp Blatter to limit the number of foreigners on each European club team in order to increase these nations' homegrown talent.

But where would any major league in the world be without foreign players?

If you were to make a list of the greatest players to play in the Premiership, more than half would be foreign. So without question, under Blatter's proposal the English game would lose a lot of appeal and popularity

Of course, the team most under this spotlight is Arsenal. Apart from Theo Walcott, Arsenal have no Englishmen in their starting 11. Up until now, no one has really made too much of a deal out of it. But with Arsenal looking unstoppable at the moment, out of either jealousy or fear managers and players across the league have suddenly jumped on the Quota bandwagon.

I'm sure this has been argued many times by football fans. But I'll have another go at defending the Gunners: Why are there no Englishmen playing for Arsenal? Well...

Price

Rio Ferdinand (£30M) vs. Kolo Toure (£250K)
Michael Carrick (£18M) vs. Cesc Fabregas (£500K)
Darren Bent (£16.5M) vs. RVP (£3.5M)

English players are overpriced and overrated. Arsenal imports cheaper foreigners—as do many other clubs such as Liverpool and Blackburn Rovers.

Quality

English players are not bad in general, but technically, they are not on par to the footballers on Arsenal's squad.

This disparity stems from the differences in training, starting in the under-11 youth teams.  Even at that young age, English kids are put on full-sized pitches, told to win at all costs, and end-up hoofing the ball forward and taking ill-advised chances.

By contrast, foreign kids are put on seven-a-side pitches, and are taught how to control the football. Rather than focusing on the final result, these kids are taught the intricacies of how to pass, how to move, and how to manipulate space, with a special emphasis on honing the speed of mind and use of the brain.

The flaws in the English system are exposed when Arsenal's Carling Cup side defeats full-strength Premier League sides.

The Gunners look abroad to find young exciting players that fit into the exciting style of play. So, instead of Jermaine Pennant complaining that he was never given time at Arsenal, perhaps he should learn to do more than run and cross the ball.

Attitude

Some of the young English players—such as Pennant, Cole, Ferdinand, Reo-Coker, and Bentley—think they are too big for their boots, and have serious attitude problems.

Of course, not all foreigners are perfect, but the ones Arsenal bring in generally have a good attitude, and are intelligent and dedicated to in their training. These attributes are shown by their flawless play and team spirit.

Youth Team

Arsenal's youth team is full of quality young Englishmen. When England's under-16s beat Wales three weeks ago, three Arsenal players were featured prominently.

The under 18s also have many promising players, such as Lansbury, Hoyte, Randall, Wilshere, Bartley—and even a young lad named Tom Cruise. 

So, Wenger has been doing a job promoting and encouraging English talent—it's just taking time to come to fruition.

In the end, Arsenal is an English team run by an English board.

Would we call Manchester United American? Or Liverpool Spanish?

Personally, I believe a system with such a heavy emphasis on nationality should never be put in place, as it would have not only an adverse effect on the Premier League, but an detrimental effect on football as a whole.