26 Mar 2018 22:03:14
We have just re signed a player who can't get a starting place, can't even get in front of xhaka and is a bench warmer. Says it all really.
26 Mar 2018 22:29:47
But he's cheap Steve.
Probably only get's a measly £40,000 per week.
26 Mar 2018 22:32:53
Now I agree with you post apart from the very last bit. He’s a very happy benchwarmer who puts in a shift and is disaplined. You need the odd player like that. A utility player with a good attitude is what he is. Once we improve the team the bench will improve.
26 Mar 2018 23:28:16
Seriously - we extend contracts and people moan, we don’t and they moan then we offer a tougher deal to an I jury prone player with a great talent but a poor attitude and we moan. - do we just moan!
Can we get a moaners page like the team page and a rise tinted glasses page so you can pick your poison?
27 Mar 2018 00:00:24
Elney cost us 5 million and is now worth?
Xhaka and Mustafi cost us 34 million and are now worth?
It's far from the worse contact we've given out and although the lad will never win a premier league title he's full of effort.
27 Mar 2018 00:22:04
Sy, you moan, i'm stating a fact, the guy is not good enough for a new contract. he's bang average at best and that's not often. We should be outing players who aren't good enough, not rewarding them.
27 Mar 2018 01:13:59
Steve your comment a bit harsh mate, El neny is a very good squad player and he plays his heart off whenever he is on. He is far from the best and what we need but still a good squad player to have. I can’t recall he’s been at fault much whenever he played. And you can’t have the starting 11 and the sub all messi and ronaldo.
27 Mar 2018 07:17:47
Xhaka And mustafi cost us nearly £70 million g62 😂. Steve who would you like to be on the bench?
27 Mar 2018 07:34:52
I could play my heart out every game but it doesn't make me good enough! I like the kid personally. His eagerness to make forward runs and his work rate is brilliant. However, his quality is poor and is far from the sort of player a club like Arsenal needs in their midfield!
27 Mar 2018 08:10:13
Elneney like Perez should never have been signed by a top premier league club neither were of that quality to begin with.
Xhaka and Mustafi were both quite highly rated before they arrived but like all our signings of the last 5 years baring Sanchez have become much worse players at Arsenal than when they arrived.
Given the state of our squad what else could we do but give Elneney a new contract? On what we've seen in an Arsenal shirt he's far better than Xhaka at Arsenal and Iwobi too.
If we let every player go who wasn't good enough for a premier league challenge we wouldn't be able to put together a 5 aside team and that really isn't an exaggeration of how poor we are.
I challenge anyone to name 5 players who would get in the Spurs or Liverpool starting 11? Ok 4 then? What about 3? Anyone?
{Ed001's Note - what do you mean should never? They weren't! ;-)
27 Mar 2018 09:01:21
Very good point Ed, it's me age mate :-)
{Ed001's Note - oh shoot sorry, I was being ageist not taking into account your many years on the planet. It must be all this time editing the Arsenal site, I am being corrupted by the rampant ageism you all display!}
27 Mar 2018 09:25:19
We are an old bunch there is no getting away from it Ed mate but only Saga can remember Spurs being champions, apparently it really did happen.
It's just a shame moving pictures weren't around at the time to capture it.
{Ed001's Note - Sanogo must be as old as Ed025 then! He remembers talkies.}
27 Mar 2018 09:44:38
That's nothing, Dags was the resident piano player at the Romford Odeon during the Charlie Chaplin films.
{Ed001's Note - that I do believe. Maybe he could join Ed025's band. They could call it the Flintstones as they were all born in the stone age.}
27 Mar 2018 10:15:59
A rock band then? :-)
{Ed001's Note - oh god even I never sank so low as to use that 'gag'.}
27 Mar 2018 14:18:46
The reason Al Ninny shouldn't get a new contract is, he shouldn't have been signed in the first place. Like many others, who are holding this club back.
28 Mar 2018 17:01:21
Thoroughly disagree with that Steve. We will never have 22 worldies in the squad. Every bride needs bridesmaids, and that is exactly what Elneny is for us. He is not a name that should be regularly in the starting XI i agree, but as a squad/ sub he is perfect. He is an international, cost only 5mil, and i would say he is worth considerably more now, unlike Xhaka. He seems happy to be in the squad, works his socks off when he plays, and covers a few different positions. Again, given a different manager, who knows what more he could offer? Personally, i would prefer to keep him in the squad and let wilshire go. For me its not Elneny holding the club back, its quite simply our first XI. let's be honest, if our central midfield pairing was Kongogbia and Jorginho, i am sure you would be more than happy for Elneny to be in the squad as cover!
28 Mar 2018 18:59:37
EG, we aren't going very far signing players for the bench, with sitting on the bench quality. For me his ambition must be questioned, if nothing else and arsenals. He has been at the club 2 years and has never looked like becoming a starter. He obviously is a good quiet professional, who gives us no problems. Is he going to help us of the bench, i doubt it. Our ambitions are being brought into question again. Wenger says he only buys players who can improve us. Perez, Gabriel, Cambell and Al ninny, don't fit that bill.
29 Mar 2018 13:56:39
That's my point Steve, its not these type of players we need to worry about, its the quality of our starting XI that needs improving. For me, the only question over Elnenys role in the squad is; Is he holding back the promotion/ develoment of our own youngsters? If by giving Elneny a new contract means the likes of Mainland-Niles and Rene-Adelaide are held back playing in their preferred positions, then by all means let him go, but currently, as our 3/ 4th choice CM, for me, he contributes more positives than his cost. Who's sitting on the bench, and their reasons for doing so will never win us any competitions, but our starting XI will. For me, picking up players for a snip such as Elneny should just mean we have more in the budget to go out and get these "top top" players Arsene talks about so much for our starting XI. Sadly it is here where we are being badly let down. As for being happy being on the bench, who knows if Elneny is or not, but surely that's still better than having a player on the bench who is ultimately not good enough for the starting XI, except in his own mind, where he believes he is the star of the team and so becomes massively disruptive when he doesn't get picked?
{Ed025's Note - i love goggle box G62..
{Ed002's Note - Well Steve, I think there is a lot of sympathy unless you are a real international team supporter - as most international sides are method type sides (Germany as a good example), just on the edge sides (like England, France and Italy), successful but not entirely sure why (Spain), or flair (Brazil, Argentina on occasion ...) but with mixed results but often better to watch. So frustrating I can understand. 
