Arteta for England?

[Pringle]

http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11671_6328410,00.html

Very mixed on this 1. On 1 hand i would love it, he would grace our team but on the other hand - he isnt english!

 

[walworthyid]

I'm not really a big England fan but I reckon he would be a fantastic player for us. As for the argument that he isn't English, neither is Hargreaves?

If he qualifies to play for England and would like to play for us, why not pick him.He is absolute quality and should be playing for a better team.

 

[Rout-Ledge]

Not English, but what the hell. I'd be less embarrassed to see Arteta playing for us than Terry, Cole etc. Much less embarrassed. He'd add some class.

 

[mil1lion]

I would love to see Huddlestone and Arteta at the heart of the England midfield. I doubt it would happen though. Too much technical ability.

 

[PT]

The moment the gates are opened we go the route of Arsenal. Also let's be honest, if players of other original nationalities can't get a cap off their home nation, why should England give them the honour of an international cap which would only sit awkwardly with them in their dotage.

 

[Rout-Ledge]

The moment the gates are opened we go the route of Arsenal. Also let's be honest, if players of other original nationalities can't get a cap off their home nation, why should England give them the honour of an international cap which would only sit awkwardly with them in their dotage.

Simple really, Spain have better players than Arteta in that role, England don't. If Arteta wants to play for England, why not let him? We all know football isn't about honour any more.

 

[Pringle]

I'm not really a big England fan but I reckon he would be a fantastic player for us. As for the argument that he isn't English, neither is Hargreaves?

If he qualifies to play for England and would like to play for us, why not pick him.He is absolute quality and should be playing for a better team.

Hargreaves dad is English so he is English. It is irrelevant where he was born or grew up. Hargreaves is English

 

[Rout-Ledge]

Hargreaves dad is English so he is English. It is irrelevant where he was born or grew up. Hargreaves is English

If someone was born to English parents and lived their whole life in, say, the U.S.A, then I'd regard that person as less English than someone who had been born to American parents and lived their whole life here.

 

[PT]

Simple really, Spain have better players than Arteta in that role, England don't. If Arteta wants to play for England, why not let him? We all know football isn't about honour any more.

Therein lies the root of all evil. :razz:

Of course football has honour at its heart - it is at the core. Can you actually imagine buying a ticket for a Euro Championship qualifier, knowing that no "English" player has been selected as a consequence of decent but not decent enough to qualify for their own country journeymen making up the numbers?

It would be the death knell of International football as we know it, played by nations and it's domestically born professionals.

 

[Pringle]

If someone was born to English parents and lived their whole life in, say, the U.S.A, then I'd regard that person as less English than someone who had been born to American parents and lived their whole life here.

There is a big difference between being a British/American Citizen and being British/American. The 2 shouldnt be mixed up. Just as an example from people i know from my job - millions of pakistani people are born in England and live here all their life however they are Pakistani people who are British citizens. If you start going down the route of where you live then what happens if you spend years 1-5 in England, 6-10 in USA, 10-15 in Brazil? There are people who have done this so do they not have a nationality? I am half English and half Irish as thats the nationality of my parents - i am also a British citizen.

Anyhow this is going very off topic.........

 

[Rout-Ledge]

Therein lies the root of all evil. :razz:

Of course football has honour at its heart - it is at the core. Can you actually imagine buying a ticket for a Euro Championship qualifier, knowing that no "English" player has been selected as a consequence of decent but not decent enough to qualify for their own country journeymen making up the numbers?

It would be the death knell of International football as we know it, played by nations and it's domestically born professionals.

Very true. I'd just like to see someone passing well when I watch England :razz:

 

[riversmonkey]

This keeps coming up,

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/e/everton/8934261.stm

I don't see a problem. English cricket has benefitted from KP, Morgan and many other non-English born players over the years. Mike Catt was a pivotal figure in English rugby's glorious World Cup win. If Arteta can add something different, and improve England's midfield, then why not?

The argument surrounding this issue is all about quality.

 

[PT]

This keeps coming up,

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/e/everton/8934261.stm

I don't see a problem. English cricket has benefitted from KP, Morgan and many other non-English born players over the years. Mike Catt was a pivotal figure in English rugby's glorious World Cup win. If Arteta can add something different, and improve England's midfield, then why not?

The argument surrounding this issue is all about quality.

Not really. It's about protecting the integrity of the National Team, despite growing cries to debase it by playing imports, just because they happen to be technically better than their English equivalent.

You could use the analagy of drugs, albeit as stark as that might be. Do whatever it takes to get to the top, regardless of pride, esteem doing the right thing.

If we won the World Cup with half of the team being Spanish, for example, which country is going to be the most proud?

 

[JerryGarcia]

He's definitely good enough but he's Spanish and I don't see why this is should even be an option. Someone said that Arteta and Huddlestone would be a great pairing and I agree but how would you feel if Arteta kept the Hudd out of the team and took his place? I know I wouldn't be happy about it, I'd prefer England to do their best with English players than to have foreigners in the team.


It's crazy talk!

 

[Bobishism]

But would he play for England?

 

[Pringle]

But would he play for England?

He certainly implied that he would!

 

[al_pacino]

he can play for us when he has the right accent.

 

[Wsussexspur]

Simply no!

 

[Azazello]

He's not English, so no.

 

[danielneeds]

The moment the gates are opened we go the route of Arsenal. Also let's be honest, if players of other original nationalities can't get a cap off their home nation, why should England give them the honour of an international cap which would only sit awkwardly with them in their dotage.

I think that is all rubbish tbh. Take Spain, they had Di Stefano playing for them about 50 years ago, when he was about as Spanish as El Tel. Then the recent crop of Spanish talent was shepherded in by Marcos Senna, again, no trace of Spanish in him, but he sure helped the rest of their players develop.

Its horses for courses, atm we lack technical players in midfield who can play with their head up, he is one who is available and qualifies for British citizenship. I've always considered the American model of citizenship, wherebye it doesn't matter if you are born there, as long as you buy into the culture, as pretty worthwhile anyway.