Arsenal Banter Archive January 12 2015

12 Jan 2015 19:14:29
Sanchez may prove to be the best signing we have ever made, yes his ability and goals are invaluable this season but the most important thing is that work rate and effort.
Carzola is back to his best and working like never before Ox to be fair was already there on the work front as was Welbeck but some others need to take notice, theirs a new Sheriff in town and he don't take kindly to critters with a lazy kinda nature, no siree

{Ed025's Note - tell it to that varmint ozil..

He's against henry tho. He'll be top10 with ease probs top5. Henry veira tho. Campbell on a free etc

He's forming a posse judge Ed and any slackers will be strung up for the towns folk to spit their chewing bacca on, pa ting, to good for em if ya ask me pardner

12 Jan 2015 21:19:00
I'm worried about you G62 :-)

Me too Dags mate :-) you still ride sidesaddle cowboy?

I'd say he's been sipping too much bootleg liqueur

{Ed025's Note - moonshine you mean cowboy..

Yeah that's the stuff

12 Jan 2015 22:42:35
I love wearing cowboy lingerie.

The silky bra's are on me.

Mertesacker can deffinately do the Indian rain dance, he's got the moves I've seen the pose a couple of time already :-) :-)

That's actually quite funny Dags :-) no it really is

12 Jan 2015 23:49:30
Agree G62, lol

12 Jan 2015 18:26:08
It may just be me but when Ospina plays we seem far more assured at the back.

Thoughts?

Ask again after ther next 4 games. Personally I don't think two games against average sides at home tell us too much.

He's small for a goalie. Time will tell. Looms decent. I'd keep him and sell the smoker

{Ed025's Note - smokers are people too you know!..

Eds lol.

12 Jan 2015 22:49:39
Ospina is a top keeper.

He hasn't been tested yet, Sunday will tell us a lot.

Felt much more secure with Ospina between the sticks. I am generally not a fan of short keepers, but he is definitely a better option than immature Szczesny, whose demeanour on the nech against Stoke was shocking, slumped back in his seat, like a 15 year old. He needs to grow up fast and work hard on all aspects of his game or run the risk of becoming another Bendtner.

Im told a lot of people at the club don't like him robbie. he walks around like he's worlds number 1.

his dad comparing mertesacker to a rhino. harsh on a rhino there top speed is very fast

{Ed025's Note - thats probably not true...but you know what they say...theres no smoke without szczesny.. :)

Plus a rhino wouldn't duck either

Eds lol. 337 lol

12 Jan 2015 17:54:36
What do you think of the TOTY?
David Luiz is in there. Why?

Personally don't see di Maria either. Still does it really matter, no not reallý.

12 Jan 2015 23:00:55
Ridiculous.

Hummel's instead of Luiz.

And, don't know why Di Maria and Iniesta are there and not Gareth Bale.

12 Jan 2015 16:10:42
My take on Yaya Sonogo, he has made 11 appearances for Arsenal in 2 years yet he gets so much criticism. He doesn't make the bench and isn't close to our first team but there so much hate towards him. If he was playing every match, if he was constantly putting in bad performances, if he was stopping players getting into the first team then I would totally understand.

Yes he is extremely raw and no way ready for first team football but he is a young kid, give him break.

For arguments sake just watch the FA cup against Wigan and tell me he didn't make a difference? we were so bad in that game until Sonogo came on. Tell me that he didn't work his socks off againts Bayern when we went down to 10 men. Tell me he was really awful against Liverpool in the FA cup.

He had one bad match against Leicester where he missed ONE chance and everyone is criticizing him.

I'm not saying he should be a first team regular, I'm not saying he going to be world class, i'm not saying we need to hail him. But getting shot down after 11 appearances, not even playing or making the bench is a bit harsh for me.

People shouldn't judge a player so quickly, you are right, give the kid a break, he has never come on and hid either.

Scores for fun in the French U21s. .

He's an easy target because he cost nothing and currently lacks a bit of fitness (which is probably why he cost nothing) but in 11 games he's put in more of a shift than Poldolski has in his whole career.
Perhaps he should go on twotter and say nice things about us, he could be as poor As he liked then people would forgive him anything

{Ed025's Note - good stuff G62..

It wasn't sanogo s fault he came into the team, because the striker we have wasn't hacking it, it wasn't his fault he was thrust into the team early because of squad depth, it wasn't his fault, that maybe he hasn't been given time to get used to the step up. It would be nice to think he can go to another prem club and play and progress like jenko. The lad has talent, but his level has not been found yet.

{Ed025's Note - fair point steve..

12 Jan 2015 14:44:02
If we are considering a big money signing I would love it to be Morgan Schneiderlin, Southampton would miss him more than any other player but I would love to know what sort of financial position they are in, in the last few seasons they have sold a lot of players for big money and signed some real bargains.

I know the ed's don't like to discuss finances on here so I won't hold my breath, but I wonder what sort of offer it would take, if any amount.

For me, Morgan Schneiderlin and Winston Reid would make me very happy.

{Ed025's Note - for me reid is average 337, hes better than per but thats not saying much, spyder would cost big money i imagine mate, my guess would be in the £25m range..

I just think Reid would fit our style of play, and TBH I can't think of any top class CB's that would be available to come to us, plus I know AW will never pay big money for a CB.

As for Schneiderlin, £25m would be a bargain right now.

{Ed025's Note - for me 337 van dijk would be a better shout, he would cost more than reid, but imo is a far better player..

25mill well spent eds

cant see wenger signing a player to start centre back. most likely a bench player to fill in :(

Cant see Southampton letting Schneiderling go for any amount, particulary in January, and especially to a rival for the Champions league spot. They have ambitions to make the top 4, so selling a player even for £30m to a team that will replace them in the CL spot would be financial suicide. if they qualify for the CL, which is more likely if they keep their players, they will earn that £30 mil anyway, and still have Schneiderling to keep of flog for £30 anyway. If he was your asset, what would you do?

337 you might be right about them missing him, but they whooped us without him.

I don't think they'd sell schneiderlin until the summer window, where I think if he is still after a move and they haven't qualified for the CL then they will consider selling.
Like Ed25 I would prefer van dijk to reid, but since it's january I'd gladly take either.

Epping, they may feel their achievements for this season are a success, remember they lost so many players last year they were struggling to put out a 5 a side team, they may feel that staying in the EPL is their achievement this season. Also bare in mind they also have other top quality midfielders and may find a large offer attractive, who knows until you try?

Steve, my point exactly they were able to beat us without him because they are strong in midfield talent, I'm going to call them and offer £25m :-)

337 I would think saints expectations for this season have risen greatly. i'm not sure he will be going anywhere this window. i'm not sure wenger is clever enough to do a man u on Southampton, re rvp.

12 Jan 2015 12:41:58
Giroud is talismanic for Arsenal
Ozil is not good enough for Arsenal
Mertesacker is not good enough
Podolski is not good enough
Sanogo could be a big player for us

Do these comments seem normal to you blokes? Considering we scrapped 4th last season, haven't beaten a big team in the league for a while and we are currently 5th.

I am worried that good players fail to fit into our system and substandard blokes like Giroud manage to get cult followings. I wouldn't mind if we were winning an average of a trophy every two seasons thereabouts, but not when we have been defending 4th place for as long as we have been

At this rate, I am worried that one day we will get Messi or Ronaldo but still they will not be able to our "winning" style of football

Giroud is good but not great.
Ozil is not strong enough for the EPL.
Mertesacker has lost it.
Podolski is a great goal scorer but can't be bothered.
Sanogo, who knows.

IMO for what it's worth :-)

The reasons why we aren't beating big teams is the standard of some of our players and the lack of knowledge and lack of use of tactics. Just for comparison how many of the present team would get in the invincible team. On present form only possibly sancez and cazorla. Can't see any of the back five, midfield or strikers. On the bench maybe, ramsey, ozil, kos, wiltshire, ox. No stikers and not many defensive type players. So yes we are getting used to mediocrity. that's why we aren't proggressing.

Where would ozil go if he were to be sold?

Bayern, Barca are the only names I can think of who will give us some sort of a return on what we paid, and i'm not sure either of them want him

PSG? They were mad enough to pay top money for Luiz

I really hope he bucks his ideas up, before he signed for us I watched him a few times and he looked world class, he looks like he can't be bothered now. It's as if Madrid forced him to come to us and he did'nt want to - At least if he smiled or had some sort of expression on his face it might help.

{Ed025's Note - im with you 100% 337..

12 Jan 2015 09:54:57
Benik Afobe scores 19 in 21 for MK Dons, and yet we sell him. Yaya Sanogo is still in the senior squad. Something is wrong.

{Ed025's Note - afobe is playing in the 3rd tier though alex which is a significant difference mate, im sure arsene knows what he is doing fella..

Agree with ed, if we bring this guy back he won't get a game. It is very different in the EPL.

Who knows, if he turns out to be a future star we may have first options to buy him back.

Jay Emanuel and Henri Lansbury were both outstanding in the championship when on loan from us and Jay Simpson looked like a sure thing but the championship is a world away from the premier league and league one is several Galaxy's away .
Swap Both players over and you'd most probably be saying the same about Sanogo now, if he was doing it for Hull or CPalace on loan then I'd agree 100% but we wouldn't be letting him go if there was a realistic chance of him being the real deal, hope he goes on to prove me and the club wrong.
Oh this time last year people were demanding Joel Campbell's return but not too many shouting for him this season

Here's an idea, let's loan Sanogo to MK Dons and see how many he scores?

{Ed025's Note - i will set that up today 337.. :)

Thanks ed, unless you want him at Everton?

{Ed025's Note - no thanks 337, he is only a kid though mate and has time to improve, we dont see these players day in day out, so have to trust the managers judgement on these things, one thing i am sure of is that he knows more about this than the rest of us..

Sanogo is older than lukaku ffs. and the ox. for me he's never making it here

{Ed025's Note - but he never cost £28m DG..

I was only saying because u said you don't want him he's just a kid. I remember we let eisfeld go and people thought he was 18 19.

his france youth record is good but so was nugent was once a good u21 player lol

Depending on their strengths some players develop a lot quicker than others, sometimes it's size, sometimes it's their football brains but most importantly they need game time.

Jenkinson is benefitting massively from playing regular football at west ham, had he stayed with us and Debuchy hadnt have been injured it might be a very different story. Look at chambers, I think we should have loaned him back to Southampton but instead he's been played out of position and it has set him back hugely.

Funny enough 337 I was talking to a mate of mine this morning who is a West Ham season ticket holder and he says Jenks has gone renegade on us and wants to stay with them on a permanent basis now.
Shame because the lad bled Arsenal if you cut him pre August, that the gamble I know but I do think in the years ahead its one we will come to regret taking with Jenko

He's probably saying that whilst he's there so the fans love him, give him the chance to come back and play every week for us and a pay rise and he will be back don't worry

13 Jan 2015 09:18:17
Did someone just say the Ox will never make it at Arsenal?

{Ed025's Note - cant say i heard that mate..

12 Jan 2015 06:37:59
Excellent performance & result yesterday. Sanchez aside, I was particularly impressed with Bellerin & Coquelin.
Awful performance by the referee, who should have sent Arnatovic off for the deliberate push that dislocated Debuchy's shoulder. Jon Moss the ref, is clearly overweight and can barely run. Many of his decisions were poor and he allowed Stoke to continue playng rugby. Indeed Crouch should also have been sent off for the use of his arm into the face of Monreal.
With Debuchy likely to be out long term and Gibbs once again injured, Wenger must sign a defender. I can't belive we started the season with only 6 first team defenders, fortunately Chambers has proved a success & can play at CB, as well as RB, whilst Bellerin has improved significantly. He still needs to work at the defensive side of his game, as his positioning looks suspect at times. Ideally I would like to see us sign Subotic, but realistically Van Dijk could fill the gap. I would seriously consider Mings, as Monreal clearly lacks the pace necessary in the Premier League. A defensive midfield player such as Shneiderlin or Sissoko is a must, to replace the truly awful Flamini. With Coquelin stepping up to the challenge, one of the two would be sufficient. However, by the start of nest season, Flamini & Arteta needs to be replaced to challenge for the PL & CL.

Couldn't have put better myself. Cb is top priority, I wish we could bring back Jens from loan too. Somehow I get the feeling we might need to wait for a DM as coquelin is doing a job and we are still paying the wages of arteta and flamini. But in my opinion this will be the first position addressed in the summer when prices are less inflated.

I think you will all be very disappointed and that it is likely we will get someone journeyman on the wrong side of 30 as a gap filler as Wenger likes his starters and is not about to demote anyone in January. Sorry to break it to you.

That said with the lads getting healthy it seems a stroll to 3rd which improves on last season and maybe a deep run in the CL.

12 Jan 2015 11:10:28
I don't get all the hate on Monreal. I thought he had a decent game yesterday. Afterall he is only a second choice LB. We all want to have 2 players of top quality in every position but only teams like City, Real and Bayern can pull that off. I get the criticism of Monreal when he struggles at CB, but again that's not his fault. Wenger should of gone into the season with more than 2 CBs.

Also I don't think Chambers has been that impressive at all. He was good initially but has been destroyed whenever played at RB. Debuchy and Jenks should be first choice (with Bellerin loaned out) and Chambers should play at CB where he looks more comfortable and maybe given a shot at CDM.


I agree Coquelain has looked decent recently, he's overtaken Flamini in my opinion. Hopefully we sign a top Cdm and release Diaby and Flamini. i'd prefer it if we kept Arteta one more year as he's very experienced and a good leader.

Another thing, where has this talk of Sissoko for cdm come from? Firstly he's not a natural defensive midfielder. He plays LM/RM/CM for Newcastle. He also isn't good enough for Arsenal. He'd struggle with the passing aspect of out game. Schnierderlin, Wanyama, Bender, Khedira or even Gundogan would be great. But not average and unproven players like Sissoko or William Carvalho.

Monreal did well

AFC_Bacon, I am sure Jens actually retired and is not on loan anywhere. In any case much as we loved him I don't think he would seriously challenge Sir Chesney or Ospina for the No. 1 GK slot at his age :)

I think he meant John Jenson Kafka :-)

Although i'm not sure he would solve our DM problems at 79 years old

{Ed025's Note - but probably more athletic than flamini 337..

You're being very catty today ed, i'm revoking my kelly brook offer now!

{Ed025's Note - dont do that 337..im banking on her..yes banking.. :)

I reckon you made a decent deposit Ed.

Respect guys please! She will be home soon and I don't want her to think i've been discussing her with my mates!

{Ed025's Note - mums the word...

Is her mum a looker as well Ed. I suppose IN for a penny, IN for a Pound. :)

{Ed025's Note - knowing my success with women epping, she will look like bella emberg..

That's it now you two, that's the mother in law, I'm reporting you to ed01, I would report you to ed02 but he seems busy at the moment ruining ironmike and co on the west ham page, now that's good entertainment!