Polish youngster Krystian Bielik says it was the lure of Arsene Wenger that made him choose Arsenal over Hamburg, and also suggested his signing is part of the club’s future planning rather than a solution to any of its immediate needs.
The 17 year old admitted that the German side had made him a better offer than the Gunners, but the chance to work with Wenger and join a much bigger club swayed his decision.
Asked by local newspaper, Gazeta Wyborcza, why he’d chosen to move to London when the Bundesliga side had offered more, he said, “First of all, because of the person of manager Arsene Wenger. He is a legend, the boss as they call him at Arsenal.
“In Hamburg, the team has a very young coach and their target for this season is to avoid the relegation from Bundesliga. This also had an impact. Yes, Zinnbauer assured me that in the new season he would be putting emphasis on the young players, but such plans could be risky. Things may go the wrong way.
“Certainly it will be harder for me to get through at Arsenal, but if I succeed in three or four years, I will be at the footballing top. After all, this is one of the best clubs in Europe and certainly better than HSV.
“I’m going to London to fulfill my dreams. I want to prove to the manager that he did not make a mistake by signing me.
“But it does not mean that my goal is playing in the first team right away. I’m not ready yet.”
He also laid out the schedule for events this week, and beyond, after his journey to London yesterday.
“The initial plan is that on Friday I have to pass the medical. Saturday should be quiet. My parents arrive on Sunday and on Monday I sign the contract.
“To begin with I will stay in a hotel. After two or three weeks I will move with one of the English families that work with Arsenal.”
So, it all looks set, but this boy is definitely one for the future, which is great, so let’s hope the club are working as hard on players for now because after yesterday’s injury updates, we definitely need them.
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Hat-tip to Reddit user Jools28 for the translation.
Maybe we should send him back to Legia Warsaw on loan.
Why does this have so many down votes? Surely this would be a good idea..
Because since he would be playing in the BPL, it would be better to send him on loan to a premier league team, if necessary.
He rarely played for Legia in autumn, they have older and more experienced DMs in the squad. Why would he play in spring, when Legia wouldn’t have to develop him to sell later?
I think Coq and Beiliks will make a great partnership
Genius
Welcome to Arsenal.
Zapraszamy do Arsenalu.
I accidently thumbed that down, just wanted to apologise.
but it hurt his feelings man, what an apology gonna do?… jeez
Did you Bielik’s last name is the same word in Polish as a devastating plant disease? Look up “white rust.”
No. It’s: http://pl.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bielik_zwyczajny
Thank you for that link, a white eagle to join our team, perfect a bird (man) of prey…. Just what we need. But we also need another one, say 10 years older to swoop into the team right now and pick off the opposition.
It’s both. True story.
Wonder if he may get a chance against Brighton in the Cup? Sounds promising and seems to be an intelligent lad. We shall see.
Too soon
Maybe coming off the bench to see what he can do if we are leading comfortably ? Why not.
Good attitude for a youngster alot of em let moves to big clubs go to their heads. Welcome dude!
So he came here because of Wenger, despite higher offers elsewhere. And not the only new signing who had said this.
Would be good for some sections of our fans to remember stuff like this instead of dishing out the bile he gets these days.
exactly mate, well said.
not sure if we would have got sanchez or ozil if wenger was not there.. imagine us coached by david moyes or someone, who at one point was considered better because he was miserly like wenger .. and then imagine which player would want to come to arsenal..
Sure, remember Moyes trying all summer to sign someone, anyone, and only managing to persuade Fellaini? However, Moyes isn’t the only alternative to Wenger. There are managers with just as much international prestige and pulling power as Wenger, and some of them may even have a better record in other respects. Like not having quite so many injuries; like game preparation, tactics and building up player confidence and a winning mentality; like planning and acquiring a balanced squad. Wenger is a fantastic in some respects (but not quite as fantastic as he was 15 years ago, imo); in other respects… Read more »
Take a look at Liverpool for what a team looks like without a top level manager. They couldn’t attract fleas in the transfer market at the moment.
Not many players will sign for a Pep Guardiola’s managed Arsenal, eh?!
No he came Arsenal because of geographical reasons 🙂
I can see Brenda’s press conference already.
dude, he’s 17 and unproven, if he turns out to be not so good, you would be eating your words…
Sounds like a future Arsenal Captain, great altitude.
Agreed. To be an Arsenal captain, one must attain a certain arbitrarily set height.
This explains why Arteta is constantly injured: Wenger just doesn’t like short captains. Mertesacker is captain in all but name.
At 6ft 1 he certainly does have good altitude!
wikipedia said hes 6ft 6 , how tall is he?
189cm
Wikipedia says 6’2″, not 6’6″.
Sounds like a scared boy.
You sound like a cunt
It was a indeed a silly comment but it surely didn’t deserve such a cheap reply. We are supporting the same team after all so why not try to sort out arguments without resorting to insults that we would usually throw at spurs or Stoke.
Come on, it was a fucking funny response!
Had me laughing out loud 🙂
accidentally upvoted you woops.
what does he mean when he says “move with one of the english families”
??
Various families of club staff, I believe, will ‘host’ young players when they come to London. Helps them to settle in and get used to the environment, and they can provide encouragement and morale support if things get tough. The good thing for young Bielik is that London has a large Polish population, so it shouldn’t feel too alien for him if he gets homesick and needs some home comforts.
And there’s this bloke who speaks a little Polish named Sir Chesney hanging around smoking in the showers.
ah right didnt know that, cheers
Seems like a solid signing. Although the part where he mentioned the better offer from elsewhere troubles me. I can understand certain fans’ frustrations with the way we do our business with regards to the (at least seeming) lowballing for players. I know we don’t know half of the real dealings, but sometimes, when half your squad is out “for 3 months”, and with suicidal lack of depth in certain parts of the club…. pay the money!
Pay the money? Hardly seems to matter how much we’re paying when the player is signing for us, does it? If hes 3mill euros, great. Would you rather Wenger had paid 10?
Anyone know what he’s doing Tuesday?
Tuesday Club?
Going for a drink with Craig David
Don’t ask what he’s doing on Wednesday then.
I’m worried for Thursday, Friday and Saturday… he might need a massage before his first training session
Tuesday he is scheduled for an injury in training. I read a description from the Legia manager Henning Berg, formerly a Man Utd defender and Ferguson protege, and if what he Said about bielik is true, then we might have a real gem on our hands. According to Berg, Bielik have no weaknesses, which he Said was extremely rare. And he said Bielik was years Ahead of other playwra his age and he predicted he would have a great career Ahead of him. Now lets hope my injury predictions are wrong and that Bielik can develop in to the footballer… Read more »
I think szczesny would have calmly explained to Bielik how football works in Arsenal over a cup of tea and a fag.
“Never look Flamini directly in the eye.”
“Diaby is not just some guy working with the pitch, one day he played for us”
Try to tell that to Wenger, Bielik!
Would anyone be at all suprised to see him lining up against City at centre half this Sunday?
That would be funny considering he says that he is not ready to play for the first team. Can someone please remind him we have paid good money for him!
It’s never stopped Arsene throwing Kids in at the deep end in the past.
Bielik ” Arsene I can’t swim I’m about as buoyant as a house brick’
Arsene ” Don’t worry lad you’ll be fine you’ll either sink or swim’
Bielik ” blub blub blub blub blub’
Reporter ” so Arsene how did Bielik drown at London colony this week?’
Arsene ” I didn’t see it’
How do I pronounce his name?
Bee-El-eek
No, no, no that wont do. He’ll just have to have a nickname.
It’s not “bollock”
I like that he’s got at least a week long plan
belley
Not ready for first team? Total bollocks. He was in the polish team that beat Germany the other day. 17 or not he is coming in for Brighton we still need smellderlin from the saints though. Can’t believe they are still above us
He was not in the Polish squad that beat Germany.
http://www.goal.com/en-india/match/poland-vs-germany/1653189/lineups?ICID=MP_MS_2
Wowww did just hear Wenger saying yes about Winston reed and bielik?
He can come live with my family if he needs help settling down…
Bielik…boilk…. Coincidence?? I hope so. Hopefully blogs won’t feel like having a technicolour yawn everytime he reports on the young lad.
Will fit nicely in with Zelalem in central midfield!
Probably replacement for missing Diaby as well.
Arsenal is still preferred destination for serious developing young players. We give players the opportunity. Conversely Chelsea and City have poor reputations particularly with exorbitant British players.
If you enjoy self build and development, Arsenal is a top club.
Zapraszamy do Arsenalu
beyond anything, his reasoning and the impressive way that he lays out his logic for choosing Arsenal, his appreciation of the dedication required to be a top professional. for one so young it is remarkable. such attitude is one that I think will see him thrust into the first team quicker than we all expect.
a certain level of maturity is required to make that step up from a promising player to an established player. I am excited in advance for him.
I started my Fifa Pro in the Extraklasa this year (as a DM for Gornik Łęczna) and ended up moving to Arsenal. It must be in the water!
Well last time someone came here to fulfill his dream, that didn’t turn out as expected, did it Joel? Except of course Bielik doesn’t have 3-4 players in his position, so it might work out.
Certainly better than HSV ?
Looks like he’s not too enthusiastic about his signing.
On a complete sidenote..no one is really talking about how amazing a talent Oxlade-Chamberlain is.
That’s because it would be a complete sidenote
So, he’ll have a whole Saturday playing FM15… like me?