Benzema seems to be already quite mature and wants to stay at Lyon for a while and continue his development in his home environment. Ben Arfa has been a bit frustrated with his playing time but after today i think that will change.

What would be really and truly refreshing would be if these two took a stand for French football and refused to leave the league until either Lyon wins a CL or until they have both reached maturity. A statement from such a talented French duo would be bold and could perhaps signal a new era for the rest of the league.

Of course no club will pay that much for Benzema, so it’s a statement of intent from Lyon, which says: fuck off.

On one hand, these big clubs come in and take the best young players because they convince them that L1 is a poor league, and to be world class, they need to develop elsewhere. But the reason the league is so poor is because those big clubs take the best players.

Clubs like Lyon and Marseille are more fortunate than most French clubs because they have at least some money and more importantly, tenacious presidents. But clubs like Auxerre and Rennes? Not a chance.

Anyway, I’m most annoyed at Arsenal. For all their focus on youth development, they should work on their own academy. All their young players have in fact been formed at other clubs. Yeah maybe Benzema and Ben Arfa could learn from Wenger, but I think his abilities are so overrated. Yeah he did a good job with Fabregas, but who else has he turned from a kid into a superstar?

I would also like to point out that the French greats never “learned” at Arsenal as youngsters. Benzema and Ben Arfa don’t need Wenger’s guidance to be top players. EPL snobs might not believe it, but talent can develop elsewhere.

I’m hoping they realize that together they will eventually accomplish more than either could accomplish apart. (And this is particularly true for Ben Arfa, who I think is the more likely to actually leave.)