Arsenal Banter Archive July 17 2014

17 Jul 2014 21:57:21
Outside chance that SK could sign a new deal with Madrid

17 Jul 2014 22:27:16
Can't see it mate, seeing as they have signed Tony Kroos.

But, you never know.

Agents in there working all three parties.

Between us, Madrid and Chelsea I reckon we're least likely to get him but you never know

He'd be good but there are other options

17 Jul 2014 23:37:52
Khedira and Kroos will be the next midfield duo with Xabi taking a backseat

If Sami stays

17 Jul 2014 21:32:28
Not over keen on new blue strip.

I think we will look like a bunch of Thunderbird puppets.

Fab.

Oi that's the first one my missus has liked so shhhhhh before she sees sense and won't wear it for me :-P

{Ed025's Note - ok trev...F.A.B.

17 Jul 2014 20:51:42
Tony Krool has just signed for R Madrid wonder if we will see SK leave now?

17 Jul 2014 21:10:53
I was thinking that earlier mate.

Fingers crossed.

17 Jul 2014 21:15:48
Add to that the rumour that James Rodriguez has signed for them for £63 million, they must be selling a few.

Di Maria and Khedira the likely movers.

17 Jul 2014 19:55:58
Ed002, I know u guys dnt like talkin bout th money part of transferes but is th amount quoted by th media for Balotelli as being £14.5 million true or is it just media nonsense? Wil really appreciate it.

{Ed002's Note - I have no interest in discussing money.}

Dont suppose you could lend me £50 quid could you Ed002?

17 Jul 2014 20:42:38
Ed,

You know that £2,000 I owe you?

Woohoo.

Balotelli is of NO interest to Arsenal

17 Jul 2014 19:37:09
It seems Thursdays are transfer announcement day!

Last Thursday was Alexis Sanchez.

Today is Mathieu Debuchy.

See you all next Thursday for .?

17 Jul 2014 20:35:53
Remy Thursday?

{Ed025's Note - shrove tuesday, and ash wednesday come first dags..

17 Jul 2014 20:53:54
Ed,

I heard you nearly signed Demba Ba.
Think you dodged a bullet there mate.

Surely you mean they Dags! Ed025's a self confessed gooner now mate

{Ed025's Note - i feel like ian thorpe now G62.. :)

17 Jul 2014 19:17:21
Get in there Monsieur Debuchy.

Great signing.

I am as happy as Larry, whoever Larry is.

17 Jul 2014 21:24:53
Larry Grayson?

{Ed007's Note - There are two commonly espoused contenders. One is the Australian boxer Larry Foley (1847 - 1917). Foley was a successful pugilist who never lost a fight. He retired at 32 and collected a purse of £1,000 for his final fight. So, we can expect that he was known to be happy with his lot in the 1870s - just when the phrase is first cited.
The alternative explanation is that it relates to the Cornish and later Australian/New Zealand slang term 'larrikin', meaning a rough type or hooligan, i.e. one predisposed to larking about. 'Larrikin' would have been a term that Meredith would have known. The earliest citation of that is also from New Zealand and also around the time of the first citation, in H. W. Harper's Letters from New Zealand, 1868:

'We are beset with larrikins, who lurk about in the darkness and deliver every sort of attack on the walls and roof with stones and sticks.'}

17 Jul 2014 23:47:33
Wow 007,

I really didn't know that.

Thank you.

17 Jul 2014 23:33:26
Not usually how 007 sends people to sleep, but effective nonetheless.

17 Jul 2014 18:23:31
The Diaby talk is very interesting. For me, he's a great player but history has shown we cannot trust his ability to stay fit, not his ability. To rely on him as a piece of the team doesn't make sense given his history - If he comes good fitness-wise then it's a bonus, but we can't count on him to be fit for any length of time. Shame as I think he has the potential to contribute a great deal.

17 Jul 2014 19:20:04
Great post matey.

17 Jul 2014 19:45:22
I am a Diaby fan BUT he is not a CDM

Hence we struggle with him against a top midfield. Even if he is fit he is not our answer. He us a good box to box midfielder who is more energetic attacking than tracking back.

A good squad player bug not whist we need in the side - I want the Southampton CDM or someone similar

18 Jul 2014 01:06:04
Arteta wasn't one either. If given the assignment he can be dominant. IMO

17 Jul 2014 18:19:35
Hi all. Long time reader, first time poster.
Debuchy official. I have to admit, I was getting worried about how long this was dragging. Glad it's done, great player.

Welcome CG. Just got back from a holiday in Vancouver and the Rockies. My word you have a beautiful country.

18 Jul 2014 01:04:24
Glad you had fun. I'm on the other side though :)

17 Jul 2014 17:50:09
I think we should give our young lad Semi Ajayi a try as the 4th cb, rather than look for a new young untested cb. I had noticed that towards the end of last season he was featuring in the 1st team training sessions more regularly, duly down to how he has impressed with the reserves since he came in from Charlton.
He's a tall strong presence at the back and a youth international for Nigeria he could be another one of Wengers marvellous projects already within our team just in need of a fine tune from the professor.

17 Jul 2014 17:46:06
Diaby should go guys, no good saying he was great at Anfield but missed the other 30 odd games, he is injury prone full stop, talented yes but a waste of a squad place IMO

SORRY

17 Jul 2014 19:47:51
Agree - he is not defence minded

Lazy tracking back, not the best tackler and not disciplined to protect the back 4.

Against a weak side he can play that role and we get away with it. Against a decent side - he is found out.

Yay, i'm staying over here with you two

17 Jul 2014 15:35:36
Now with ginter gone to Dortmund that leaves us with Williams and hinteregger from eds list of targets and that tells me were only going to have 3 CBs going into the season. Williams just signed new contract and said he wants to stay at Swansea and I can only see hinteregger coming in if the verminator leaves. Hopefully I'm wrong verm stays and we get another CB.

What do you lot think?

.

I'm worried about a CB depth. We can't buy great players to be our back ups as they don't want to join.

We need to have better youth at CB but we really don't. Honestly wouldn't be surprised if Jenko is our 4th CB next year.

I think jenks is going out on loan though so that would be that option gone. The perfect answer to our problem is javi Martinez class DM and can fill in at CB. Would love him at our club.


.

17 Jul 2014 13:14:03
The Diarby debate has got me thinking (which is rare), do we all have blind spots with certain players where we choose to only see either the good or bad parts of that players game, depending on how our preconceived rating for them is?

I want to open this up slightly more, with a question. What do people think of Theo?
There seems to be an assumption that he walks straight back into our team upon his return. However is it just me who thinks, based on his previous performances, he is at best just a handy impact substitute? Many seem to have rose tinted spectacles based on his superb performance against Spurs, but seem to have forgot how many times he was completely ineffectual before that? Its annoying to me, because as an Englishman I really want Theo to push on and do well for both Arsenal and England, and let's be honest he appears to be one of the more approachable and seemingly intelligent members of the English footballing fraternity. So why am I having doubts about his ability?

Many frequently point out that Podolski is a liability when it comes to tracking back, so why is that any different for Theo, who let's be honest couldn't tackle his way out of a fishing rod shop. Most talk on here is about how Jack needs to push on, but before that I seem to remember that same talk about Theo. So what do people think, did the Spurs performance show us what we really have, and to expect going forward, which is a confident player with scary pace who will dominate down the right for many years to come, or was the Spurs performance just a one off, from ultimately just a one trick pony (albeit a very fast one!) i.e no control, no tackle, just the ability to kick the ball past a full back and use his pace.

What do others think?

Theos had some bad games but when he played last year in January he looked like a new player to me, he was so good.

12-13 is what I think. If he's banging them in, I don't care if he gets back.

LOL fishing rod shop.

He's good on his day, not consistent enough and one of the members of the squad you know will be injured at some stage of the season.

I'm not English so I don't have rose tinted specs in regards to nationality.

For me it's because I know what a huge weapon he can be with that pace and running.

When he's in the team the opposition have to plan for him and that can open doors for others.

He needs to be the spear head in the transition from defence to attack. We win the ball back in our own half and Walcott is a very good outlay to punish on the counter (where as Pods not as quick and should be getting back to do more)

It could also be that Podolski plays in front of gibbs who loves to get forward, while Walcott played in front of the more cautious Sagna

It will be interesting to see how Theo and Sanchez are deployed in the same team next season but I think most people are right to be more concerned about Jack at the moment.

The guy is his own worst enemy

17 Jul 2014 14:33:26
On the theo part I must say he is a starter for me. His pace just causes so much trouble. And his finishing has improved so much. Teams hated playing against him.

For me Theo is severely underrated (ask Messi), he is a game breaker which is rare, missed in Arsenal and England and the arrival of Sanchez to occupy the defense will only make Theo better. Granted, better finisher than crosser but we have Santi and Mesut for that now.

17 Jul 2014 14:48:17
It's a great question Epping and we certainly missed him because of his pace, he has shown some sublime finishing at times too, consistency an often used word is what comes to mind most with Theo. If he adds that to his game then he will be a hugely valuable 1st team player in my opinion.

The thing is you can look back and we have the same old same old arguments over nearly every player.

Jack - needs to step up and stop falling over
Giroud - needs to score more and stop poking his tongue out
Mertesacker - too slow
Gibbs - to many injuries
Koscielny - prone to costly mistakes
Cazorla - doesn't do enough, lazy
Ozil - fails to show up for big games
Diaby - glass ankles
Vermaelen - not as good as he was
Szczesny - to cocky
Ramsey - murdered until last season
Podolski - not a striker and doesn't track back
Sagna - always out of position
Jenkinson - never make it at Arsenal
Arteta - too slow
Sanogo - hopeless

All things people say about our players on a regular basis, we just want everyone of them to perform like Ramsey did last year but all season without injury and we may be happy. Well apart from maybe Jelfy ;-)

Jesus jenny

17 Jul 2014 15:22:41
Theo is an average player who stands out because his pace.

He would be better used as an impact sub. Dramatic change of pace in the last half hour is very difficult on the back line.

He has shown at times some amazing bits of play but far and few between I think. Would like to see greater consistency at a higher level from him.

My money is on Sanogo to turn good Jen

17 Jul 2014 16:05:29
Sheeny,

Totally disagree, for me, Theo is irreplaceable.

He is much more consistent than what he used to be.

Forget last season as he missed the majority, but season before last he was the major factor why we finished 4th, scoring 17 goals in the process.

I genuinely think, if he stayed fit last season, we would have won the league.

Jenjen, great post.
Sheeny, 6/10 see me after school for detention and lines.

(Sheeny, you are the 2nd person I have had to give detention to in the past week, the other being G62, and I had to ground Saint and send him to his bedroom earlier today. Headmaster Dag's expects more from his class).

Jenny, you are star pupil of the week. See me after school for your extra special prize, but don't tell anybody.

17 Jul 2014 16:18:16
NE Gooner,

That's not what I think of them that's what various posters have said about them. Point is there always seems to be someone to moan about and most are hard to keep happy.

If that was what you meant by Jesus!

17 Jul 2014 16:19:31
My money is too Sheeny despite what others think. :-)

It was. I just looked at the big list and thought that what your thoughts were! Maybe I should have read it properly.

17 Jul 2014 16:53:01
Dags,

That really did make me lol, can't wait, I love extra special surprises! :-)

17 Jul 2014 18:07:48
Sorry Headmaster. :(

Three lashings?

17 Jul 2014 18:51:36
Hey no probs NE, I love all our guys, especially now NB has gone :-)

17 Jul 2014 19:11:07
Hehe Sheeny ya perv lol.

Don't forget your uniform Jen x

Jack - needs to be sold next year if he get injured or doesn't step up
Giroud - needs to score more and stop poking his tongue out
Mertesacker - too slow but reads the game ok
Gibbs - class
Kos the boss-class
Cazorla - doesn't do enough, lazy
Ozil - I could have spent 42m better cesc for one
Diaby - pmsl nuff said
Vermaelen - not as good as he was
Szczesny - rubbish
Ramsey - works hard and loves us
Podolski - beat finisher we got
Sagna - can't cross to
Save his life
Jenkinson - my boys got more chance of playing there and he's 10
Arteta - loves us and that's enuf for me
Sanogo - pmsl utter crap my mans better and she's dead

Jen this is my response lol

Jenkinson - my boys got more chance of playing there and he's 10.

Arteta - loves us and that's enuf for me

wow selective aren't we? jenks is a die hard arsenal fan, he bleeds red and white cannon balls with football stitching.

but the spanish arteta who came for trophies get a pass for being a committed professional?

Iam sure Iam aloud my own opinion aren't I!!

{Ed025's Note - you are jelfy..

17 Jul 2014 12:37:31
Hence the diaby discussion I honestly think that if Diaby returns to 100% fitness and can stay injury free for the majority of the season we don't really need a new dm.

At the same time this is not realistic, and a new dm allows more rotation wich will lead to more rest for diaby, in that way the risk of him getting injured also will minimalize.

I hope to see a fit Diaby at the start of the season. He can potentially be our very own Yaya.

17 Jul 2014 12:32:40
With Ginter gone to Dortmund, and Lovren at LFC how does this affect our CB targets?

{Ed002's Note - It means there is one less. There has never been interest from Arsenal in Lovren.}

17 Jul 2014 10:49:25
If we don't get Khedira are Lars Bender and Morgan Schneiderlin our only other options?

17 Jul 2014 12:27:30
No we've already had Diaby back fit basically a new signing don't worry.

There are more players in the world, but it seems that these are the players we are targeting.

If we don't sign any of them, I'm sure that Diaby will feel like a new signing. Right?

16 Jul 2014 15:54:46
Ed002, do Arsenal have any interest in Sime Vrsaljko? I rate him highly.

{Ed002's Note - No. Get used to Debuchy.}

17 Jul 2014 08:12:44
If Diaby stayed fit, he would have been as good and influential as Patrick Vieira.

17 Jul 2014 08:34:06
you might be stretching a bit there dags , vieira had personality and drive on the pitch , and a winning mentality , also a nice little nasty streak , I have seen diaby play very well but I have to be honest I ve never seen him show these other qualities! ( yet)

To many ifs, he is no good to anyone on the injured list. I never been impressed with his contribution on the pitch. let's get a player that can contribute and not disrupt .

Steady on Dags, is that your honest opinion? Hope not mate. don't get me wrong Diaby is good when fit but to be as good as Viera and as influential is a bit much mate.

Viera was a great leader, great footballer and character.

Diaby. well, we will never know.

Its impossible to call the Diaby thing one way or the other as he has only played 20+ games in a season twice in his carrer so far.
Potentially he could have been world class but equally he could have ended up at spurs via Crewe Alexandra.
I like the bloke and remember some mom performances and some not so good ones too.
He can not be considered anything close to world class on what he's been able to show in an injury plagued career but we have seen enough to know he is far from rubbish, sadly the jury is still out on how good he is or can be

Agreed, DG, now he would be a great league cup player and super-sub. Don't think we can rely on him for much more - its all a bonus at this point.

AW's loyalty usually pays off.

17 Jul 2014 09:46:36
I'm with you Dags, some others see what they want to see :-)

Also, some people may shoot me down for this but, if diaby stays fit and plays well until january I believe we should sell him. let liverpool or some other big money wasting club buy him and let's sit back and watch the injuries roll in. with the money we get from him put it towards the next big signing.

No doubt in that. Such a shame.

Would agree 100%. He's been desperately unlucky with injuries. There's been games iv been to when he's played and you can see the similarities to Vieira. I really hope he can stay fit as he could play a big part within the squad.

I don't think there are many players in the premiership, and certainly at Arsenal, who have Diarby's natural ability to run at and 'go around' players. I remember seeing him virtually walk past players, leaving them almost on their backside. a great asset to have in any team. let's hope we finally get to see some more of this.

17 Jul 2014 12:20:38
Rick,

was being serious mate, maybe a slight stretch, but I don't think he would have been too far away.

I totally agree with Dags, Diaby is a fantastic player. Diaby was going to be the next Vieira

17 Jul 2014 01:39:41
I remember a few years back, Wenger (I think) said; when fit, Diaby was the first name on the french team sheet.
The man has it all the be one of the best midfielders in the prem, just injuries have held him down.
I don't think he'll ever be fully fit, but if he does get a run going, I guarantee you will change your opinion!

17 Jul 2014 00:25:15
When pressed on signings whilst in Brazil, Wenger said he'd be signing players from the French national team. Debuchy looks to be one of them. I have heard Wenger waxing lyrical about Pogba. Anyone think there's a chance of Wenger signing him?