Oct 19

On-loan di Santo hopes Blackburn beat Chelsea

• Twenty-year-old is ineligible to play at Stamford Bridge
• Argentinian says he is happy at Ewood Park

Franco Di Santo, Blackburn Rovers’ in-form loan signing from Chelsea, has thanked Sam Allardyce for making him a more complete Premier League striker and hopes his temporary club beat his permanent employers in London on Saturday.

The 20-year-old Argentinian registered his first goal for Rovers in Sunday’s east Lancashire derby defeat of Burnley and produced another impressive all-round display in partnership with David Dunn. The striker made only eight substitute appearances in the Premier League for Chelsea following a £3m arrival in January 2008 and was dispatched on loan to Ewood Park as a result.

Di Santo’s loan move has begun to pay dividends for all parties, with Allardyce desperate for a commanding centre-forward when Roque Santa Cruz left for Manchester City in the summer, to the extent that he will be reluctant to return to Chelsea as planned in January.

“It is good for me being at Blackburn. I am very happy to be here because the manager has given me the opportunity to play,” he said. “That has given me the opportunity to improve and gain experience and I hope to get better and better over the next few games.

“Sam Allardyce is helping me to become a more complete player. I am very happy at Blackburn. I need to improve and gain experience. I need to play games and score goals. If I go back to Chelsea I will try my best but if I stay here I will continue my education. I hope to get back to Chelsea and play. If I go back and don’t play, it is less good for me. It depends on the situation. If I play for Chelsea, I will be happy because they were my first team in England and I always hoped to play in a top team. But if I stay here, I will be happy. I won’t have a problem.”

Di Santo is due to return to Stamford Bridge in January, when Carlo Ancelotti will lose the likes of Didier Drogba to the African Cup of Nations. The transfer ban on Chelsea has also removed any likelihood of the Argentinian staying at Ewood Park. “I hope Blackburn win on Saturday,” said the striker, who is ineligible to face his permanent club. “Now I play for them and want to do my best for them. When I go back to Chelsea, I will want the best for them. Now Blackburn are paying my wages so I want a Blackburn win. I will go to the game because I have a lot of friends at Chelsea and my contract is still with them. I want to go to watch.”

Meanwhile, Robbie Blake believes Burnley are getting a raw deal from referees because they are “a small club”. The veteran opened the scoring in the derby against Blackburn but finished on the losing side. He was incensed that the referee Chris Foy allowed Di Santo’s goal to stand, claiming that the goalkeeper Brian Jensen had been impeded.

“The decisions did not go our way and that is because we are a small club called Burnley,” said Blake. “We are never going to get these decisions – referees think we do not deserve them. It is just one of those things and we have got to roll our sleeves up and get on with it.”

Blackburn RoversSam AllardyceBurnleyguardian.co.uk

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Oct 02

Arsène Wenger sees Thierry Henry returning one day to Arsenal

• Barcelona striker could be back at Emirates in future
• ‘Being a manager is a sacrifice,’ says Frenchman

Arsène Wenger has said that he can see Thierry Henry returning to Arsenal in some capacity but he has warned his fellow Frenchman that, if he wanted to become the manager, it would involve him sacrificing his life. Henry, the Barcelona striker, who made his name during eight seasons at Arsenal, has maintained a love affair with the London club. Wenger revealed Henry follows them so closely that he even watched their youth team last season via Arsenal TV.

Henry said on Thursday that he knew “one day I will go back for sure … maybe as a waterboy, who knows?” and Wenger believes that, like a number of his former players, he has the basic qualities to succeed him as manager. He name-checked Steve Bould, Tony Adams, Nigel Winterburn and Lee Dixon in this regard.

However Wenger, who knows a thing or two about the job’s all-consuming nature, having celebrated his 13th anniversary in the role this week, suggested that nothing could prepare anyone for its demands.

“I can see Thierry coming back because I believe at some stage the legacy here has to go to some people who have had a big influence at this club,” he said. “I have to stop one day and maybe it will be me working with them. All my former players have the attributes [to be the manager] but first of all it has to be a choice of life. Being a manager is a sacrifice of the rest of your life; not everybody is ready for that. Thierry loves the game; does he love to suffer? That’s what he has to show as a manager.”

Although Wenger has an interest in politics, he admits his mind is never allowed to wander too far from football. Even his recent habit of spending three or four days at a spa retreat at the end of a season does not always insulate him from people who want to discuss the game with him.

“No, you always speak about football,” he said. “If you go to put petrol in your car, usually you don’t think about football and then you meet 10 people who speak about the next game. If you go to the supermarket to buy fruit, you speak necessarily with people about football. You do not, of course, count that as working time but you still speak about football.”

Wenger joked that there was one “main bonus” of the job. “I don’t have the headache of telling the missus that I’m watching football,” he said. His side entertain Blackburn at home tomorrow, hoping to extend their run of five consecutive victories in all competitions. At the heart of their effort will be Andrey Arshavin, an increasingly influential player at Arsenal.

“He has a big challenge in front of him,” said Wenger, “because he made Zenit St Petersburg win and, if he manages to make Arsenal win, he will become an all-time great. I am convinced he has all the potential to do it.”

Arsène WengerArsenalPremier LeagueBlackburn RoversDavid Hytnerguardian.co.uk

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