Arsenal Banter Archive February 15 2016

15 Feb 2016 11:59:08
So what a weekend,
Snatch a winning goal in the last min that kept us in the title race is just brilliant.
Spurs beat city and also kept the pace is very interesting.
I'm not too worried about the man u game, no dis respect but they ain't doing so well these days espacially at defending.
I think the game against the spuds will be vital. It is also a must win game I think.

15 Feb 2016 19:24:28
I'm hoping that our win over Leicester will knock the wind out of their sails at least for a bit. The title race is so open between the top four right now, it's anyone's game. City have come from a 6 and 7 point deficit at the same stage to win the league. Tottenham look scary and Leicester are Leicester. I fancy our chances now that LeCoq is back and Santi should be back soon too! Obviously Welbeck being back soon is a big boost if Giroud or Walcott gets injured, god forbid. But yes, you're right, there's no need to worry about United. 🌝.

15 Feb 2016 20:59:30
Ne last time we beat them they went on a ten game unbeaten run, don't hold your breath. We beat them because they werea little naive the way they went about us but I have been nothing but impressed with their team and us spurs and city can do nothing about it but try and keep with them. Their run in is a lot more straightforward than all ours and that's a fact.

15 Feb 2016 06:59:27
Great result and superb to see Flamini as an unused substitute.
Having Coquelin and Welbeck back is a bonus and hopefully Cazorla and Wilshere will be back for the run in.
The Ox and Walcott looked more like their true selves.
We need a win at Old Trafford and I would like to see Walcott, Giroud and Sanchez upfront, with Weklbeck continuing his comeback with another late substitute appearance, if necessary. I feel much happier with Coquelin back and it will be interesting to see him play in tandem with Elneny, who looks very promising, although I doubt we will see him play much part until next season. This pair give us much needed mobility in front of the back four.

15 Feb 2016 13:15:11
Some of ox passes yesterday were shocking.

15 Feb 2016 14:04:38
The Ox's distribution, and general end product, has always been in question but it won't get better by sitting on the bench. With his pace, power and unpredictability, he is one of those players who can make a goal out of nowhere. Unfortunately, he is also one of those players who can go for weeks without making a goal.

15 Feb 2016 20:24:44
He's always on the edge! I think Joel Campbell has played better don't know why he has been dropped.

15 Feb 2016 05:00:07
I keep seeing stories (well the same story reported by a hundred different outlets all trying to put their own slant on it really) about how Wenger went along to scout Kante. Then they include quotes from him talking about how good Kante was. So why did he not sign him? What happened? That was the kind of signing Arsene built his Arsenal sides on.

For me Leicester remind me of the way Arsenal were when Wenger first appeared, fresh, exciting and filled with well-scouted players that he took a chance on. Nowadays he is buying ready made players like Cech, Ozil and Sanchez. Great as they are, it is not what brought him success initially so why the change?

Has age made him risk-averse?

15 Feb 2016 06:57:09
I agree ed it's like he doesn't trust himself anymore.

15 Feb 2016 08:08:19
Yet he signs Elneny for the same money?
I'm not saying Elneny won't go on to be another Kante as I don't know anything about him really but I personally think Arsene hasn't wanted to rock a happy boat by bringing in players who might force out those already here, just my opinion.

15 Feb 2016 08:29:20
I just think the rest of the leauge has caught up in regards to scouting. There's only really bellerin that I can think of in the past few years and taking a Barcelona youth is a no brainer anyway.

15 Feb 2016 11:38:24
Football has changed, scouting alone can't bring a lot of success anymore. He tried to do that for a few years (mainly due to financial restrictions) but we all know how that paid off. In the last 2 seasons he have had financial freedom for the first time in a decade. Add to this his urge to win the title at least one more time before he retires and you can totally understand why he is buying more expensive players.
one more point, Le Coq is a product of his scouting teams isn't he? Hasn't he been as important as Mesut and Alexis or Cech? Can't we say the likes of Bellerin, Ramsey, Gibbs, Chambers, Ox, etc. are also show that he still seeks young talents?

15 Feb 2016 14:12:08
Because the media and fellow gooners absolutely hound him everytime he makes a signing that isn't a 'marquee signing'.

The fact that Arsene likes to buy young players, often from a french league, that nobody has heard of or haven't proven themselves in the PL has almost become a joke - as if Arsene should be embarrassed for doing this.

If we bought Kante, we'd have had the same pessimism as Elneny, Sanogo, Bielik etc at first and people would be wondering why we didn't buy someone like Carvalho, Schneiderlin or Bender.

Also, I know it's often used as an excuse but the club have generally just completed a transition period from Highbury to the Emirates and purchasing players such as Ozil, Sanchez and Cech wasn't considered an option until recently, as we were being as frugal as possible.