Fenerbache v Arsenal:LUIS ARAGONES is known as the Wise Man of Hortaleza, but it is doubtful Arsene Wenger considers him in such deferential terms.
It is four years since Aragones, the Fenerbahce coach who was then in charge of Spain, sparked a diplomatic incident with his bizarre attempt to motivate the striker Jose Antonio Reyes (with Arsenal at the time) for an international fixture.
His words continue to influence British public opinion against him. "Tell that black s*** (Thierry Henry, Reyes' then Arsenal team-mate) that you are much better than him," growled Aragones, to a somewhat startled-looking Reyes in full view and recording distance of Spanish television cameras.
"Don't hold back, tell him, tell him from me. You have to believe in yourself. You are better than that black s***."
Wenger was appalled. "I find that sentence completely out of order and non-motivational to Reyes," he said then.
And as the Arsenal manager prepared to take on Aragones at the Sukru Saracoglu stadium it was clear that, like Henry, he might have forgiven but he has not necessarily forgotten. No extra spice will be required tonight at a ground in which a frenzied atmosphere is standard, but Wenger chose his words carefully when the sub-plot of Aragones was raised.
"Will I shake hands with him? Why not?" said Wenger, who has not spoken to Aragones since the Reyes flashpoint, even though Cesc Fabregas played in his Spain team. "He is not a racist, I have that information. Samuel Eto'o (the Barcelona striker) came out and said that he had him as a coach and that he was not racist at all. I think he wanted to motivate Reyes during the training session, but it was a very clumsy sentence."
England took on Spain in a friendly at the Bernabeu stadium in November 2004, shortly after the Aragones controversy, and the black players were subjected to racist cat-calls. The unsavoury climate prompted Henry, who is now at Barcelona, and the Manchester United and England defender Rio Ferdinand to found the Stand Up, Speak Up anti-racism campaign.
The issue is back in the spotlight as England are scheduled to play Spain in an away friendly next February, with the English FA saying they do not want the game to take place in Madrid.
"Everybody is responsible for his own behaviour and if you are a public man, you have maybe more responsibilities," said Wenger, "but what happened during that game between Spain and England was not the only time it happened in Madrid. It happened in other circumstances where Aragones was not involved, so it looks to be a deeper problem.
"What I was more sorry about after was the attitude of the Spanish Football Federation (who reluctantly fined Aragones €3,000). I put the incident on Aragones' side as regrettable but the Spanish Football Federation didn't act strongly enough."
Aragones took the Fenerbahce job after leading Spain to victory in the European Championship in the summer and he has inherited a team laced with Brazilian flair. Roberto Carlos is the most recognisable name, but the creative midfielder Alex is the most potent.
Then there is the crowd. Wenger has never taken a team to Turkey, but he knows what to expect.
"It will be extremely hostile but if we play well, we can silence the fans," said the Frenchman, who will field an unfamiliar back four because of injuries to captain William Gallas, Kolo Toure and Bacary Sagna. "I'm not worried about my defence. We have to play, to dictate our game. We don't have a team that is built to defend. We have a team that attacks."
Wenger believes that a win tonight would put them in a "very comfortable" position in Group G.
"Three points and we are virtually through," he said. "I want to qualify as quickly as possible and I still feel we can win the Premier League and the Champions League. I will do everything I can to achieve that."
Guardian Service
