http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/30945201 Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has revealed he was unsuccessful in signing a 17-year-old Angel Di Maria due to work permit regulations. The Frenchman wants restrictions for non-European Union players to be scrapped as he tries to sign centre-half Gabriel Paulista from Villarreal. He suggested Home Office criteria prevented him from signing Manchester United's Di Maria nine years ago. "We wanted him to come here," said Gunners boss Wenger. Di Maria, 26, signed for Manchester United from Real Madrid for a British record £59.7m in August. Wenger said: "We had identified Di Maria when he was 17 in an international competition. "But he went to Portugal, and from Portugal he went to Spain. Why? Because he could not get a work permit for England, so that meant you could only get him to England once he was worth a huge amount of money." Wenger needs Home Office approval if he is to complete the signing of Paulista because the 24-year-old is yet to represent Brazil. The Gunners boss has criticised proposals to reduce the number of non-European Union passport holders in the English game next season. He said: "Ideally it would open completely, and anyone could come in." Currently, the work permit requirement for non-EU passport holders is that they have to be an international from a country ranked within Fifa's top 70 and have played 75 per cent of their country's international matches in the last two years. In order to sign Paulista, they would have to convince the Home Office that the defender was an "exceptional talent". The Football Association wants to reduce the number of non-EU players within English football by up to 50%. But Wenger thinks scrapping the regulations would be better for young English players. "You could close completely the borders of the country and play only with English players. What will that do? That will kill the attractiveness of the Premier League worldwide. "The second option is to say 'look we have the best league in the world, so let's produce the best players in the world'. "One thing is for sure, if you put a young player with top-level players, he has more chance to develop. If you put him with average players he has more chance to remain average." I agree with Wenger here, why is there so many restrictions regarding bringing non-EU players over here. Yes, I agree that you have to prove that the player being brought in isn't some dude, but why the exceptional or International ruling? We can give countless examples of players coming in from the EU that have been far from exceptional and were also Internationals. The same can be applied to some non-EU players that were Internationals that were far from exceptional too. When it comes to players, Wenger knows what he's talking about. He is a proper footballing man and has been primarily responsible of revolutionising modern English football. On a side note, what about the story of Di Maria? Pretty sad that we couldn't pick up such a top player early on in his career. Also smart thinking from Le Boss for bringing that one up...
Hardly. Anyway, I agree with Wenger. You can't restrict non EU players to try and improve the English ones. All it would do is make the whole league mediocre. It's another form of 'positive discrimination' (a misnomer if ever there was one) which just serves to restrict the talent base. Wenger is right, the best way to bring on English talent is to get them playing alongside the best players in the world, not sticking him in with a load of average players.
Where's the evidence for that. How has it helped English players over the last 15 years??? I could argue it's actually helped the foreign players more. Maybe what would actually help English players is if more of them plied their craft abroad. But that isnt going to happen.
why isn't it going to happen? There's lots of evidence of English players going abroad and suceeding - more need to do it, so it makes it harder for the press/England selectors/fans to ignore foreign based players. Only way to make the whole better.
The whole 'their restricting our young players argument' is the sort of protectionist argument they used back in the Prem's early days, when there was a quota on foreigners (I believe) and barely any foreigners in the league. The England team was **** then, and the technical ability in the league (for the most part) was dire (besides some great domestic players like Giggs)
You're saying that English players should play abroad to improve themselves, is that not the same as them playing with foreign players in the premier league ? As long as they are playing alongside the best players in the world, then surely it's the same thing ?
Not quite, it's much more. The continental style is so much different. A more technical game, different pace, different tactically. Also, for that reason I'd like to see more English players going at a younger age to develop. Like Fabregas coming to Arsenal, imagine Wilshere going at the same age to somewhere like Villareal's academy or Ajax's for example. One of the reasons why I say it wont happen is bcos of the inflated price of English players but if they go at a young enough age that problem doesnt exist. The problem then becomes the courage and logistics of youngsters making such a move?
