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| Cabaye scored on his return to the Premier League in a 3-1 win over Norwich |
ALAN PARDEW recognises Arsene Wenger as one of the great managers – but still insists he missed a trick with Yohan Cabaye.
Crystal Palace face Wenger at Selhurst Park today looking for their first victory over Gunners for 20 years, and the Eagles manager said: "He has introduced to the English game the type of football that has educated managers and coaches, and that is simply the beauty of possession.
"He has also been brave enough to stay with his principles on how football should be played. You find yourself being influenced and intoxicated by what he has made his trademark, the fantastic way he has made players happy when they have the ball.
"He is one of the greats of the game because he has never abandoned his love of pure talent and ability."
But Pardew believes the French professor got it wrong when he pulled out of signing Palace's new £12million star Cabaye.
"A few years ago when I was at Newcastle, Arsenal came in for him, and there was conversation between him and Wenger. Yohan thought he was going," said Pardew.
"The move never went through, and Arsenal definitely missed something there. He might have made a big difference to them, and exert the kind of influence he is showing with us.
"Now Yohan is with us and we are lucky to have him because he is a brilliant player. The rest of our players look at him as the benchmark of the team, they know they have not played with anyone of his kind of level before, and so it inspires everyone to do better, be more professional. If that happens then we will have a great season."
Wenger himself was purring yesterday about one man he did get - Alexis Sanchez.
The winger was playing in the Copa America until July 3 and was given just a four-week break by Wenger before being asked to report to the club's Colney training ground to join with the pre-season preparations.
Initially, Wenger feared it would not be until next weekend's Liverpool clash that he would be able to use Sanchez, but instead brought him on as a second-half substitute in the 2-0 defeat against West Ham on Sunday.
Now he is in line for a start in the trip to Selhurst Park to face Crystal Palace as Arsenal go in search of their first point of the season.
"What he does is what everybody should do," Wenger said. "You wonder if he has created a beach at home, and runs along the living room. He is a hyperactive guy. He needs that to be happy.
"I am a bit worried, but on the other hand, I knew before the start that once he is here, he would be difficult to stop. So I gave him a long enough break.
"He works extremely hard in every single training session to show that he is ready.
"He made 52 or 53 games last season, plus the Copa America. That means somewhere he has an instinct that shows how far he can go.
"It is difficult - in March, April, May, you could see he was a bit jaded. This season, he knows what is expected from him, and he will do better than last year."
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