Post Olympic thoughts

Since Rio 2016 finished a few weeks ago, two issues have been occupying my mind:

1. The (questionable) success of Team GB
Team GB enjoyed it's most successful overseas Olympics, winning 67 medals. Yet there were many countries questioning their success. Sportspeople from France and Australia wondered how the British cyclists performed averagely in the World Championships earlier this year but roared to success in Rio. Even I was wondering how on Earth did Team GB become so good and hoped there wasn't anything else other than hard work, discipline and the will to win - such as hidden motors or doping.

There have been articles on why Team GB has been more successful than in the last Olympics. Most of the success has down to lottery funding. The poor performance at the Atlanta Olympics in 1996, with just one gold medal won, changed the way British sports was administered. UK Sport was established in order to manage the proceeds from the newly established National Lottery. It used the money to target which sports were the most successful and would benefit from funding. The funds went to sportspeople so they could dedicate themselves full time and provide the infrastructure (such as training centres, supporting staff, etc.) to help the sports people be in peak condition. UK Sport is ruthless in the funding - if you don't obtain your target, your funding will decrease. The only targets were Olympic medals, so World Championship medals wouldn't have benefited British Cycling in terms of funding.

The medal target incentive seems harsh but the evidence suggests this plan has worked. Team GB have increased on the medal count at the Olympics ever since Atlanta - a total of five Olympiads. Compare this to the French Olympic team, which has roughly the same amount of funding but even distributes the wealth amongst all sports federations. That system is fairer but not necessarily more successful.

2. Why aren't Olympics sports not covered or celebrated more?
I have been quite tired of football recently. I have been following football less as I grow older. I still follow my team, Arsenal, with their results and highlights but with less enthusiasm. A number of things have disenfranchised me from the sport.

a) The overexposure of football
Football seems to be the top story in most sports media outlets throughout the year. Most of the stories are inconsequential. They include transfer speculation, injury news, reports on the manager's job safety and so on. I reckon most of the stories are made up or at least have bent the truth.

It doesn't help that the football seems to be always on. Out of 380 games during the English Premier League 2016-17 season, 168 games (44%) will be broadcast live. How can you have an uniqueness for a match when one out of two games are shown on TV?

To ensure there is maximum coverage of all matches, fixtures are regularly moved or played at times which are ideal for TV audiences. This has alienated fans who travel to games. These fans have to re-arrange their schedule and rebook travel tickets, which can be more expensive the later the match is re-arranged. Sometimes you can't arrange travel for some matches, such as Friday night, Saturday evening and Sunday. With all this money from TV broadcasting rights, have the paying fans benefited? No, which leads me to another point...

b) The amount of money being thrown around
The TV broadcast deal, for domestic and international rights, will earn the Premier League £10.4 billion over three years. The Premier League and its clubs will also earn lots more in sponsorship. Yet this hasn't trickled down to the paying punter. Single game tickets range from about £22 to £52 for the cheapest seats. If you want luxury, that will cost you £32-97. Unfortunately, with the popularity of the English Premier League, there are people willing to spend that money and these aren't always "true" football fans, rather people who view the game as a day out or an experience, rather than the drama, theatre and emotions true football fans view the game.

In order to stay in the Premier League, or become successful in it, clubs have thrown ludicrous amounts of money into players. The latest transfer window has seen the English Premier League spend more than £1.7 billion on players. Eight figure sums have been exchange for relatively unknown and seemingly average footballers. The average Premier League footballer will earn around £32000 per week or £1.7 million per year. This is just the basic salary and doesn't include their bonuses.

The amount of hype and money thrown around has disenfranchised me from the sport. So where else can I turn to? With the new found success of Team GB, why aren't these sportspeople more revered or paid better? The media should focus on sports which actually create success. Yet they seem to put the spotlight on the England national football team, which seems to limp to the second round of every major tournament before being knocked out by lesser teams.

If the sporting federations of Olympic sports want to capitalise , there's no better time by riding the wave of success. Encourage youngsters into taking up the sports by offering free introductory lessons, offer cheap tickets to sports events and get the Olympians to turn up to promotion events. Because I rather see a medal winning Olympian rather than an average Premier League footballer.

Arsenal's summer 2015 - who we need to get, keep and get rid off

It's the end of the season in regards of football. Players are all going off on their summer holidays, fans have to console themselves with other sports such as cricket and tennis while clubs are trying to plan for next season by sacking managers and deciding which players to keep.

I know Arsene Wenger or Ivan Gazidis won't be reading this but if they are, this is what you need to do this summer.

Goalkeepers
Wojciech Szczęsny - keep
David Ospina - keep
Damián Martínez - keep

I like Szczęsny - he grew up at Arsenal and is great in the behind-the-scenes videos on the club website. However he is far from being a world class goalie at the current time. He is still prone to the lapse of judgement which was why Wenger dropped for Ospina in the second half of the season. Yet the Pole has great potential and loves the club. However the club still needs a world class keeper to challenge for the title next season.

The availability of keepers will depend on other clubs. Will Chelsea sell Cech to a title rival? If De Gea goes from Manchester United to Real Madrid, will Casillas be sitting on the bench? Will Pepe Reina continue sitting on the bench at Bayern Munich? If we do get another keeper, we will be able to keep all of them happy?

Right back
Mathieu Debuchy - keep
Hector Bellerin - keep
Carl Jenkinson - sell

Like Szczęsny, Jenkinson is a player I like. He's young, full of potential, vocal and an Arsenal fan. However he has been squeezed out by Debuchy and the form of Bellerin. If we knew how good Bellerin was, Arsenal didn't need to buy Debuchy last summer. Now it seems Jenkinson will be moving on.

Centre back
Per Mertesacker - keep
Laurent Koscielny - keep
Gabriel - keep
Calum Chambers - keep
Isaac Hayden - send out on loan

One of the few areas where there was stability and a lack of injuries. Arsenal may need another back-up centre-back if they push on four fronts.

Left back
Kieran Gibbs - keep
Nacho Monreal - keep

I was surprised on the form of Monreal, that he was so good in replacing Gibbs. It is fortunate that Arsenal are blessed with two quality players in this position.

Central midfield
Mikel Arteta - keep (barely)Jack Wilshere - keep
Aaron Ramsey - keep
Mathieu Flamini - allowed to leave
Abou Diaby - allowed to leave
Francis Coquelin - keep

Require a defensive midfielder

I was surprised Arteta were given a contract to continue his career at the Emirates Stadium. He has hardly featured in the past year but that has been mainly due to injury. I am wondering if he can contribute anything next season. Wilshere has to stay fit and improve, otherwise his place in the team is also under threat. Even with the find of Coquelin as a defensive midfielder, the Gunners need another option. Options include Sami Khedira of Real Madrid, as he will be available on a free transfer, and Bastian Schweinsteiger of Bayern Munich, who has been told he can leave the German giants.

Attacking midfielders
Tomáš Rosický - keep (barely)
Mesut Ozil - keep
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain - keep
Santi Cazorla - keep
Serge Gnabry - keep / send out on loan

Require a winger

Like Arteta, I was surprised Rosicky was allowed to stay on. He's a great servant for the club but his appearances will be rare next season. What Arsenal do lack is width, with Oxlade-Chamberlain, Walcott and Sanchez being the only true wingers in the team. Will Wenger try for Raheem Sterling (please don't).

Forwards
Lukas Podolski - sell
Olivier Giroud - keep
Theo Walcott - keep
Alexis Sanchez - keep
Yaya Sanogo - sell
Danny Welbeck - keep
Joel Campbell - sell
Ryo Miyaichi - sell
Chuba Akpom - send out on loan

Require a world class striker

It seems Podolski's career is over at Arsenal, which is a pity since he is very likeable, but there will be many suitors for him. Sanogo, Campbell and Miyaichi are all 22 years old and should be playing regular football but I don't see that the Emirates Stadium. Wenger highly rates Akpom but he needs a run of games and it will be probably at a Championship side. Hopefully Walcott and Welbeck will be injury free to contribute more goals. Giroud is a good striker and will contribute 20 goals per season but Arsenal need more. Wenger might play Sanchez in the middle next season but the better option is to find a world class striker to play up front. Klass-Jan Huntelaar is available on a free transfer, Edinson Cavani doesn't seem to be wanted by Paris Saint-Germain and there's the possibility of Jackson Martinez from Porto but they are older than the targets Wenger usually aim for. More realistically Arsenal should aim to get Karim Benzema, since he is being progressively pushed out by the likes of Ronaldo and Rodriguez at Real Madrid.