Arsenal Banter Archive May 20 2014

20 May 2014 20:56:59
People talk about this season being the best ever premier league title race, well next years promises to be even tougher closer and more exciting.
Much will depend on who does what this summer in both keeping as well as adding quality in there squads and even top four is going to be a bigger battle than ever before.
chelski city Liverpool utd as well as our selfs will all have a very real tittle challenge as top of their agenda and Everton will make up 6 teams who will all see Champions league as absolute minimum next season, its going to be more difficult and more exciting than ever and what every one does this summer in retaining and adding will have a big say come next May

Totally agree- this summer window was always going to be important for us- that hasn't changed. Wenger and co really need to do some good business.

here's hoping.

Can Chelski keep Hazard and by that elusive striker who was to blame for their total failure last season?
Will city keep Yaya or will another club come in and tempt their biggest asset away with promises of making his 32 second birthday the biggest and bestest yet?
Can Liverpool keep Saurez and fix thier defensive wows enough to cope with a CL + PL campaign?
Will the big utd rebuild go right first time?
Can Everton replace their loaned players of last season with even better to make the step up to the CL
And by far the most important question, will Arsene buy the Quality needed to add to an already very good sqaud to make it great?
The two teams that get it most wrong will pay a heavy two year price for doing s, has one widow ever been so important to so many? I'm excited already

It always gets better because you look forward to the future and just reminesense on the past.

20 May 2014 20:23:19
Wenger said last summer if cesc was up for sale we would have 1st refusal
Wenger will snap him up if he's available

Cesc is a gooner

Bring him home arsene

WB malaga

Why does wenger not buy malaga to be the transfer negotiator?

i mean not only would we be linked to superstars, but with his persistence, we would have a star studded lineup.

get in there malaga

20 May 2014 18:33:07
To Banbury and Steve r,

Boy's I hear where you are coming from, you want the best players on the planet, but we are not Man City and we don't have some rich sugar daddy to buy us toys.

What's wrong with players like Serge Aurier? check out his stats. He compares favourably with some of the best right back's in world football, Philip Lahm, Dani Alves, Zabaletta, Ivanovic, Seamus Coleman.

Sagna is going and IMO Aurier will be a great replacement.

You basically want 11 world class players in our team, I hear you, but it won't happen.

Man Utd dominated English football for years.
How many world class players did they have in each team?
Cantona, Giggs, Scholes, Keane, Rooney and RVP.

Yes, Barca are the exception to the rule and possibly Real Madrid, but we don't have their finances or pulling power.

You don't need 11 world class players to win the league.
You need a mix of class, experience and good decent youngsters.

Players like Aurier come into the category of decent youngsters. You could add players like Schneiderlain and Remy and Gundogan and Pogba and Draxler to the same list.

IMO, Wenger will spend, but you are expecting huge changes to the team and a huge outlay.

I like you two boys. You both love Arsenal and have a great knowledge of the team we all love, but I feel you will be a little disappointed if you expect Wenger to go cash crazy and sign 3 or 4 world class players.

Keep it real boys, keep it real.

Great post mate, couldn't agree more.

The whole is greater than the sum of it's parts. :)

With all due respect dags, why did we buy jenko, he's same age as aurier, who ever he is, a good player with good stats from a foreign league. He might turn out to be world class, he might not. We have one young lad waiting for a chance and you want to buy promise. Experience is leaving, replace with experience. What do we really know about him, except he has promise. We don't need to gamble. You tell us to get real. Buy the best for the job, not leave us with two inexperienced rbs.

Yean that's a realistic perspective.

Its not even having enough money- its availability i.e. do they even want to move and secondly do they want to join us? The competition for top players is fierce.

If Ramsey and theo stayed fit and you added Benzema/balotelli,, etc Bender or similar- I really think we would've won the league or at least been very close. would these players been worth another 7/8 points? I believe so.

I would be happy if we signed Benzema/Balotelli, a bender, javi Martinez, etc and Griezmann or similar and replacements like Aurier, CB and GK.

I think that would be a great summer window and these players could be realistic targets.

20 May 2014 22:58:28
Great post Dags.

I mean look at Liverpool? They came so close to winning the league and Suarez is their only world class player. No disrespect to Gerrard who is very good. They had youngsters who stepped up, such as Henderson, Coutinhio, Sterling, Flanagan and Sturridge.

I honestly think if we kept all our squad (minus Sagna) signed Aurier who would slot right in, Schnierdlin to hold down the midfield and Morata/Remy/Vela to chip in with more goals and add something different.

We don't need Benzema, Draxler and Pogba. that'd cost excess of £120m. Wenger knows what he's doing on a budget.

Buy a young inexperienced dm, with bags of promise yes, no problem. If he doesn't settle or needs a season or two to bed in fine, we have experienced cover. If he turns out to be the man great, but don't gamble.

Sorry detroit but I am expecting at least 1 world class player out of our signings, preferably Benzema with Sneiderlin/Bender, Tello and Richards to replace Sagna. Maybe someone like Ruddy to replace Fabianski?

20 May 2014 18:07:16
ADRIAN DURHAM: Arsenal don't deserve Aaron Ramsey. his stage is the Champions League final like Gareth Bale, not the FA Cup final

This article infuriates me! Saying he's too good for Arsenal and how it's a "no brainer is Bayern come in for him" this man obviously knows nothing about football!

I urge everyone here to give it a read. And guys, bite your lip and hold onto your thigh because my blood is boiling.

As I said earlier, pick and choose who you read and listen too, its a free country. The more people that read it, is doing the post justice. Me ill steer clear after the warning.

I thought journalists were supposed to take an impartial and unbiased approach to their work. Even sports journalists. To be honest, I've never taken Adrian Durham seriously ever since he said that the 03/04 Invincibles were overrated. But this is seriously pathetic. It's nothing but bitter, overly opinionated, unprofessional drivel. I mean let's be honest, the Daily Fail and Talkrubbish Radio aren't exactly hubs for upstanding, professional sporting journalism excellence. But this guy isn't even funny! He not even worthy of a TV panel show. How this muppet is still allowed to 'write' about sports seems a great mystery than where Jason Puncheon went during that one match.

I think I remember him writing something similar at this stage last year, or perhaps I dont! Like most journalists Aaron didn't rate worthy of his time 12 months ago but now he deems him fit to grace his poisonous column so he can spread his venom by using Aaron's name.
If there was a champions league of journalism this bloke wouldn't make the Europa league cup qualifying rounds

Fellow gooners, why oh why do you listen/read what this man says, he hates everything we stand for. me, I turned talkspite off years ago and am happier for it, it really is total rubbish.

Where were they when everyone was slagging him off and the club plus AW stood by him.

He loves the club because of how the club treats him and the love the fans give him. The only risk is if we don't push on and continue out accent to greatness at the top of the league where our hard work, talent and values should place us

Where is that Stuart Robson guy now? Surely it's time for him to pipe up also.

The strange thing is that Durhams` partner and son are gooners! his hatred for some reason is Wenger not Arsenal. There`s something suspiciuos about his constant tirades and ability to find a negative in anything Arsenal related.

Can't see him leaving and I absolutely love him.
But if he did leave, he's worse than Van Persie.

20 May 2014 15:18:32
So with aurier coming in and sagna out.

it looks to me like wenger is going to be using a rotation system with the full backs next season.

gibbs and monreal haven't much between them this season, and I think gibbs will improve if fit.

Jenkinson and Aurier, Aurier is proven to cut it, jenkinson has proven he deserves a place in the 25 man squad, but again I feel will improve. both are lifelong arsenal fans :D

this will mean more of the same attacking full back stuff we've seen this season but with more equal grounding means they can be rotated more often and more seamlessly.

If wenger buys a solid DM to sit with mert and kos to hold off attacks whilst we get back then I can only see our defensive record improving. Flamini is ok, but needs to really team up more with mert and kos than attacking players.

the only risk is IF jenkinson cannot cut it defensively and leaves the BFG exposed to pacy wingers too often.

this could be countered by buying a backup CD who is younger but still has a large presence to maybe put in against the REALLY pacy sides who have had us with our pants down before.

in midfield attacking wise we are set. I think ramsey ozil are starters, theo on one wing and chamberlain on the left may work, if not then we need a true winger on the left.

up front giroud will be better, more players coming in around him, his problem is the same as ozils, no players running in the box or wanting to be direct.
ramsey is, theo is, podolski is. sanogo will improve and is a great prospect to learn from giroud.
but I feel we need a pacy flair striker, a fox in the box if you like. it would change our way of playing in some games and if sanogo is to be our next big player, perhaps him learning to hold up the ball from giroud and finishing from a prolific fox in the box then his potential might be reached.

in total I think we need at least 3 new players, aurier in rb. a new DM and a striker. though if we have a chance at a world beating LW we should take it.

also a free GK would be nice from somewhere.

Good post mate.

Cheers mate, but honestly I didn't say our flair striker would be remy dags?

20 May 2014 13:51:02
Lots of comments recently about Cesc and whether or not we should re-sign him if he became available. I must confess as much as I was a fan I did at times feel that as he took over as our star player it seemed to coincide with our play becoming more narrow and slower than previous years. now its not often that I can ever say this, but there was an interesting comment from Jens Lehman in a Mail Online article on Friday (he was talking with Jamie Rednapp and Martin Keown). This is what he said about Cesc. "The big difference was when Cesc Fabregas came in - he played two or three touches. With Vieira and the others they only had one or two touches. But when Cesc came in, Freddie Ljungberg barely scored again because his runs were timed on one or two-touch football. Cesc was a fantastic player but it changed our game and our rhythm. The fewer touches you need the better". So I guess to answer my own question, as much as I don't want to see Cesc in a Manchester United or Man Ciy shirt, I hope that he stays at Barcelona rather than making his way back to us, as we already have enough 3 touch players in the team these days, we don't need another. What do others think?

If cesc is coming back then I say we have to say goodbye to mikel.

Really interesting post Epping and not something I was aware of, for sure we need to be a bit faster and a little more direct going forward so two touch football is better than three to achieve this. Food for thought on both Cesc and other targets.

20 May 2014 13:22:50
Who would take back ashley cole?

{Ed007's Note - Cheryl wouldn't anyway.}

I said it earlier, i'd sell ineffective monreal get cole on two year contract and have him and gibbs fighting it out. can't beat quality and that's what he is. Also he doesn't need 5 games to get to match fitness, he can come in when he's ready.

20 May 2014 15:00:16
Maybe Crystal Palace, he had a spell there on loan in his early career.

Lol Ed007, I like that

My heart says no but my head says yes, I'm still astounded he's not going to the World Cup.
If Baines gets injured Woy is going to regret not taking Cole.

Great reply Jenny :-).very good. Time is a healer and in terms of success he is perfect for Gibbs cover.

Shaw is better than Cole now. Less experiences yes but on pure talent, I'd have taken Shaw.

If Cole accepts are relatively low wage -for his mercenary standards - I would have him back.

20 May 2014 12:55:09
Seeing a lot of people post the transfers they think we need, so with £100m to spend, here's mine:


GK - Caballero - £5m
RB - Aurier - £8m
CDM - Bender - £20m
LW - Di Maria - £35m
ST - Balotelli - £25m
ST - Vela - £3.5m

CB - Stones - £12m (if Vermaelen leaves)

20 May 2014 10:15:30
My friend just sent me a link to an article "written" (although I use that word loosely) by Daily Fail journalist.

He wrote: 'I thought Ramsey was world class against Hull City in the Cup final, but I couldn’t help feeling that when ITV were trumpeting their Champions League final coverage from Lisbon this coming Saturday, the Arsenal midfielder belonged on that stage, rather than doing what Ben Watson did for Wigan last season.

And all those Arsenal fans who were laying into him as he was making his way back form injury, have no right to grudge him what he truly deserves.'

Just laughable how much stick we get.

Anything that comes from that newspaper must never be confused with Journalism. Wouldn't even put my chips on it.
Flybo

20 May 2014 08:27:23
Who is going to be captain next season?
Arteta? He looked SO much older this season, way to slow sometimes.

I would think it would be Mertesacker.

Personally I'd make it Flamini (if Wenger started him more.) He seems to be the only player we have that isn't afraid to bark orders and the other 9 outfield players and he sure as hell doesn't mince his words when he thinks one of us is being lazy or playing poorly. Failing that, Mertesacker with Koscielny as vice Captain.

Obvious to me his taken on the role at country level, he was by far our best player this season even after spending most of it in the medical centre, and that's "Super Ramsey".

Id agree on ramsay if it didn't affect his style of play. Sometimes captain can be a burden others a spurr.

Mertesacker Captain
Ramsey Vice Captain

Wilshere future vice of Ramsey. Lol