Arsenal Banter Archive September 02 2014

02 Sep 2014 22:40:39
Ed025 do you ever sleep?
I noticed you were on here replying to posts until the wee hours this morning and then back at it bright and early again.
Thats dedication mate

{Ed025's Note - or very sad G62.. :)....no mate i love talking football and banter, i enjoy the guys and jenny(where is she by the way)on these pages, i think you have a really good crew..

02 Sep 2014 22:56:39
Ed,

You are truly dedicated.

Always a pleasure to have you overseeing the Arsenal page.

You are a credit to your 'profession'.

{Ed025's Note - cheers dags and G62..

Plus I guess 5 hours without ba kebab can seem a long time sometimes mate :-)

Yeah nice one mate, always keap it light hearted and fun so cheers

The eds are amazing, dedicated and witty, well nearly all, I don't think ed 02 gets any sleep. Only joking.

02 Sep 2014 22:20:51
Hi Eds - great job you do. Do you know of anu out-of-contract defenders who we might be interested in?

{Ed025's Note - theres not many good ones out there biggy..

02 Sep 2014 22:13:03
It's ok guys you can all relax, and this is why; I have decided to give Le Proff the rest of the season to prove me wrong about his undoubted arrogance, shortsightedness, stubbornness and that zip he can't work. On top of that, after much deliberation and Goonerising, I have decided that Danny" I hate Manchester United more than you"! Welbeck will smash it in the Premier league this season and probably resign Giroud to a short, sharp trip over the Channel to immerse himself in arguably, some of the finest food and wines known to man. Bonne chance tout le monde!

WILSDEN
is that any way to speak about our gretest manager, i'm lucky to have been here when Wenger managed us.
2014 fa cup,,

02 Sep 2014 22:52:59
WG,

I think most of us are 'unhappy' we have signed Welbeck, compared to other strikers we were linked with, but I think it was either Welbeck or nothing.

I have a sneaky feeling he will pay dividends mate.

Dags
Falcash 350k a week not for me mate i'm a realist.
Remi, yes we missed a trick, but he wants a warm seat to count his lout
Welbeck i'm hoping will be hungry to prove people wrong
A Lot of top people on radio are say he could be a top signing

Decent shout Welshy boy

02 Sep 2014 23:16:25
Agree welsh,

A good move for Danny and maybe an even better move for Arsenal?

Arsene is arrogant and its a shame because if he could just take a little advice now then or even stop to think maybe I'm not always right in all in think we and he might have a much better record for these past 10 years

02 Sep 2014 21:43:31
Something got me thinking earlier (steady Dag's).

We have a lot of players at Arsenal, who divide opinions, even amongst Arsenal supporters.

I call them 'Marmite' players, because you either love them or hate them.

Probably the most talked about players amongst us are Jack Wilshere, Abou Diaby, Mesut Ozil, ya ya Sanogo, Olly Giroud and Lukas Podolski.

We talk about them, dissect them, some say they are great, some say they are crap, they should be dropped, they should be sold.
They should play left/right/middle/behind striker/as the striker/etc etc etc.

We argue, fight, quarrel, moan at each other, agree, disagree and sometimes pretty much come to blows regarding the above players.

And guess what?
I think Mr Daniel Welbeck will be added to that list.

Ding Ding, round 1.

{Ed025's Note - thanks for your thoughts dagmite.. :)

02 Sep 2014 21:53:33
Ed,

I need to sit down mate, have come over all dizzy :-)

Yeah, but don't you love it tho? Imagine if you liked all of the players or had no opinions which differ.

It would be like supporting spurs, where the whole club knows EVERYONE is rubbish except the goalie

02 Sep 2014 21:18:46
That ssn clip. you know, the one with the err. how to put this, female stress reliever.


funniest. Thing. Ever.

makes up for the rest of the window and then some

02 Sep 2014 19:45:33
To all those bleating away because they are disappointed we haven't adopted a galacticos policy like man $hity, utd & dirty russian money chelski.

Welbeck scored 6 from 9 starts last season and has a better shot to goal conversion rate that Giroud.

Ultimately only time will tell but I think he'll be a seriously useful addition to the squad.

02 Sep 2014 22:24:00
Let's hope so mate.

Agree 100%, realistically we were never going to bring the likes of Falcao to the Emirates, he is on stupid money, and injury prone.
Welbeck may not be the big name we were all hoping for, but with the signing of Alexis Sanchez and the return of Walcott soon, I think Welbeck will fit in very well.

02 Sep 2014 22:36:02
Agree Braintree.

02 Sep 2014 20:26:45
Everybody in a slightly better mood today? :-)

A bit since I vented lol. I see the Eds are moving long winded angry rants directly to the other posts page. Probably for the best. Appreciated your comment mate

02 Sep 2014 21:29:32
Pleasure UG,

Just like the rest of us you sounded like you weren't in a giggly giggly mood, lol.

02 Sep 2014 19:29:36
Man united fan here in peace

Just wanted to say that I think a Welbeck will prove to be a good signing for you. The lads got a lot going for him. He is quick, strong and had good work rate. He will also be good in a high pressing game as he will run all day long. The only part of his game that let's him down is his finishing and to be fair, if he gets 5-6 months run in the side as the main striker he has potential to improve that. Don't get me wrong, he needed to leave us, with Rooney, RVP and now Falcao in the side, I am glad to see him go. I would just of rather sold him to a team who in my opinion is our competition for 4th spot this season. I hope it doesn't come back to haunt us!

Anyway all the best Danny!

02 Sep 2014 20:34:30
Fair play to you mate.

I think the general census of opinion among the Utd fans is that Danny is a very good player.

Maybe this move will be as good for him as it is Arsenal.

All the best mate.

Stand united
Take a site bud thank you for you kind comments
i hopr the lad does well

02 Sep 2014 17:49:26
I honestly think Welbeck can be the new Sturridge. Both similar types of player and both had no opportunity at their clubs. Sturridge actually plays at Liverpool and look at him. Quite excited to see what Welbeck can do!

Let's hope so

OK so 24 hours on, we are all divided it seems on Welbeck, so I will put my two pence in. The PROBLEM with the Welbeck signing is quite simply he is not of the quality we are all screaming for. Arsenal have been searching for a striker for over a year! We have not managed to capture: Higuain/Benzema/Suarez/Rooney/ Cavani/Balotelli/Origi/Costa/Mandzukic/Lewandowski/Remy/Lukaku and now Falcao! All of these forwards have been available at a point in the last year. Arsenal have signed none of them! The question is why? Why can't we get them in? Its clearly not always going to be wages is it? If we can spend 42.5m on a creative midfielder, surely we can spend what it takes to get a quality 20 goal a season striker? But we haven't. We have signed a prospect and expect to challenge for what with that prospect?

As for those hoping for the Sturridge effect:
He is not like Daniel Sturridge at all! Sturridge is an out and out goal scorer, those of you who think he was terrible at Chelsea are wrong. Imagine playing Ian Wright/Andy Cole/Alan Shearer on the wing? that's what Chelsea done and the effect was he was non existent as would those other players mentioned be in that circumstance. Once he left and was played up top he did exactly what he was doing at Man City but better.

When you watch Arsenal first 3 league games its obvious where the problems lie, the exact same places they were 12 months ago! and nothing has been done. While the likes of Van Gaal and Mourinho addressed their weaknesses before and on deadline day. Our manager was in Rome refereeing a charity match!

That says it all for me.

For the record I'm not anti Welbeck he is far better than Sanogo and has a great work ethic. But when you want to win the Prem or the Champs league you go and get a striker that will net you over 20 league goals a season. Sanchez will be a beast but I think he is the same as everyone else, he will need a season. Additionally the longer Wenger takes to solve this problem the less and less we will get out of Ozil, who in my opinion is going backwards at Arsenal. He needs a quality striker, who stretches defences and to play through the centre, until that happens he is a luxury that we don't seem to miss when he is out.

02 Sep 2014 20:37:41
Did you sleep OK Witty?

And how's the season ticket going?

Lol, bless ya.

As seems to be the case mr gooner, we have midses trick again and failed to sort out out problems. People can gloss it up all they like but the manager has failed again to plug the gaps.

LOL agree with you DG, ww has ranted like a 10 year old who hasn't slept. And yes please answer the question abt the season ticket. For all we know your not even london

{Ed025's Note - where a supporter is from is immaterial aman..

02 Sep 2014 17:34:26
So now that everyone has had a deep breath, how we feeling?

Personally, it's not the fact we signed Welbeck. I'm sure he will do alright for us.

It's more what we didn't do! We cried off for a CB and a DM but Wenger will live or die by the decisions he makes and clearly he sees Diaby, Arteta and Flamini enough to hold the DM this season. Especially as Arteta is now captain.

As for defence, we will be fine as long as no-one gets injured. EVER. Or suspended. EVER.

So, everybody start crossing fingers and toes!

I'm ok with Welbeck also I agree we are very close to being in trouble defensively, our new right back looks as though he could serve a suspension or two.

Maybe Arsene has plans for January?

I can't say I was overwhelmed by Danny Welbeck, but perhaps that was because I'd hoped (prayed?) for Falcao, for example - but not on those wages - or even a Benzema. But on reflection, I'm thrilled he wanted to join us and like others have said, he's one of us now; leaving United (for him) for us, must have been a wrench since he'd been there since he was 6, or 8. Imagine if that was Jack leaving us? But give the England 23 year old a chance!I'm delighted we have him.

More of worry is why on Earth did we sell our fourth choice Centre Half Ignasi Miquel for a paltry £1.5m on deadline day, when we are already short in that department? Why? He may ultimately have not made the grade for us, by why sell him then? And we are already short? I can see Debucht being pushed into emergency Centre Half at some point when inevitably we are short due to injuries and suspension and Bellerin being pressed in to Right Back. We should NOT be a "make do and mend" squad any more. I'm all for cutting our cloth and not paying £346,000 per week for a player who is yet to prove he over his ACL (much as I'd have loved Falcao) but we should have been able to find a Centre Half to replace TV5 and not leave us so exposed.

As for a DM, let's not even bother getting started.

Yours, semi pleased overall
(Sexy) MF

Totally agree Greeny.
Wellbeck we can't really complain about. He's faster than Giroud and Sanogo, his got a bit of skill on the ball and can finish.
Defensivly, midfield and at the back it's so naive of the club. Arteta isn't the answer, Flamini isn't either. Ones slow and ones a walking yellow card. Then we have diaby whose a walking bandage. Wilshere has been played deeper but his performance at home to Besiktas showed his best position is more advanced.
I fear we will once again get found out defensivly, and that could well start against City next week.
The decision to not strengthen or FAIL to strengening these areas is ultimately what will prevent us challenging the top 2 positions. 3rd will be tough 4th I see at best.
Worst case scenario 5th to me then Wenger should get the sack.

02 Sep 2014 20:22:56
I personally think Wellbeck is a great signing and found some of the nonsense posted in the last 24 hrs embarrassing at best.

But your fight it's what we didn't that is the bigger problem, Flamini is a good back up but Arteta for me is a liability and when he got the armband my heart sank in all honesty, I knew no DM would be bought and the king at giving away dangerous free kicks in the last 10 mins of games was the first name on the team sheet.

I have no doubt Danny will be a success tbh, hopefully we will all be saying Girouwho sooner rather than later.,

Let's get behind Wellbeck, yes we are disappointed we've clearly not addressed areas that needed addressing but there is nothing we can do about it now

Hi Dr Green and co, I have no problems with Danny at all he adds to our attack which I didn't think was too weak any way and the lad certainly ain't work shy.
For me and I hope I'm wrong no Dm means no top two challenge and probably another 4th place scramble
, but hey ho it is what it is and when all said and done we're all Gooners thick or thin.
As for January Banbury mate AAAHHHHH please don't remind me :-)
As Stanley Baker said in Zula to Michael Cain
" do you think I could stand this madness more than once "

Banbury January is too late, the ship may have sailed again. You've said it yourself, you don't get great signings
in jan. Kim kallstrom is waiting.

{Ed025's Note - you need to get over it now steve..spilt milk and all that.. just enjoy the ride mate and support your club..

Look here ed 025 i'm not happy unless i'm having a good moan, don't pick me.

{Ed025's Note - moaning is frowned upon, especially by cool gang members steve, consider your application invalid.. :)

Ill start my own gang then and ill have special tee shirts printed. MOAN UNITED.

Ill start my own gang then and ill have special tee shirts printed. MOAN UNITED.

02 Sep 2014 17:31:23
Will be interesting to see if media bias against Arsenal remains.

We have more "British" players than any of the top 6 big teams.


Theo
Welbeck
Wilshere
Ramsey
Gibbs
Oxlaide
Chambers

Funnily - I suspect we will still be seen as the non-english english team.

{Ed002's Note - There is no media bias Billybob. Supporters of Liverpool, Spurs and Manchester United all suffer the same paranoid delusion.}

02 Sep 2014 18:11:49
I reckon Liverpool have a few more
Sturridge
Sterling
Lambert
Henderson
Johnson
Lallana
Allen
Possibly Flanagan as well

I don't think there's any media bias against us. In fact, apparently Wenger has a great relationship with an awful lot of journalists, and therefore generally gets an easy ride in the papers. I don't think anyone ever goes over the top at arsenal. At most, we get some abuse from shock jocks on the radio, but I take that as a compliment.

P.s don't forget Stevie G, he's not retired from club football just yet Bergamp5353 lol, in fact before we let Wisdom, Kelly and Robinson go in the summer we could have played an all english 11

No goalkeeper between us, but if we shoe horn Joe hart in maybe Woy could go all out with a 3_4_3 set up something like this,
Joe hart

Jon Flanagan
Calum chambers
Kieran Gibbs

The Ox
Jordan Henderson
Jack wilshere
Adam lallana

Theo Walcott
Daniel Sturbridge
Raheem sterling

With the pace, skill, and work ethic in that team, we could maybe get away with having no goalkeeper .

Kind Regards

YNWA

03 Sep 2014 01:13:40
haha not a bad side Mick!

02 Sep 2014 17:21:34
'Nuff respect to Falcao's agent, but Welberk's agent is a genius. Taking a player from been arguably 5th choice striker at a "struggling mid table team to possibly first choice at a top four champions league PL team is sheer work of a genius. Bruv, I rest my case.

Mofaya, I shall note your name and return to remind you about your ridiculous comment, struggling mid table team. Whatever happens at United it won't be 9 years before we win a trophy. You should perhaps have referred to Arsenal as a team that celebrates finishing 4th.

Danny is a good lad, I really hope he stars for you

02 Sep 2014 16:25:58
So Dags,
neither of us ended up with Loic ha ha
Hope ya had a great summer mate lol

02 Sep 2014 19:59:34
Hi Simon,

You are right mate, let's hope it doesn't come back to haunt us, because the only beneficiaries would be Chelsea.

Hope you all good mate.

02 Sep 2014 15:04:07
Anyone as interested as I am to see what Mr. Wenger will say about signing Danny Welbeck, especially after saying he wasn't going to sign a striker and was saying about a month ago that we are still a bit short at the back and open to business there?

Also someone tell Jack/Chambo/Chambo to get a picture of him with an Arsenal shirt like Per and Podolski did with Ozil last year!

Early Prediction:

DW23 to be the first legend in that number since Sol!
(Predo) - 18 prem goals 24 goals all comps.

I'm interested, but I'm more interested in what Sir Alex has to say about it. Sadly I doubt that will happen.

Its already done, but its not in an Arsenal shirt, as they are practicing for tomorrows, needless game.

02 Sep 2014 14:05:13
I'm not sure how many will agree with this BUT

I think a lot of the frustration comes from the fact that we were top dogs by a mile before we moved from Highbury and it has taken us a lot longer to get back up to that level, let's be honest we were feared before we moved down the road.

IMO I think Wenger is very slowly building his squad up to be at that sort of level again, I think the next window he will spend his money on the back four rather than other departments, we have most of the players on long term deals and they are all fairly young . I think he believes that we covered the back four last year and he can do the same this year and is trying to spread his cost.

I am still of the belief we need an superstar upfront BUT prices have inflated so much why would we pay the daft weekly wage Man U are for Falcao for just a year? If Giroud and DW get 40 goals between them then they have done their bit, the midfield should chip in with another 30 at least .

Lets wait and see.

Let's be honest when was the last side we could field a full strength side? 10 months, 11 months ago.

02 Sep 2014 14:42:00
Makes a lot of sense mate. And when you put it that way I think a superstar striker will be the last thing on Wenger's shopping list. Build a solid squad foundation and then finish with the cherry up top.

Unfortunately I think that with the current crop of top strikers in world football, we have completely missed the boat. None of them are getting any younger or have already been signed by other Europeans clubs on long term deals, and with age as a factor I can see the only sensible investment being Benzema, who is 25 or 26 if I'm not mistaken, and though he's just signed a new deal, Real are always looking for someone better. So should he become available to us he still has some decent mileage in him. Or we may still be in with a decent shout of signing Bony in the next few windows

Failing that happening in the next few windows, we're now having to wait for the next generation of superstar strikers to emerge. The likes of Destro, Ibarbo, Martial, and Mitrovic. Who knows Welbeck may yet become a part of that new generation.

The latter is Wenger all over. And if he plays his cards right like he had done with so many other young talents. I think I can be patient for a few more seasons for us to be on top again.

Banbury mate. injuries are part and parcel of the game. so why is it that arsenal have this excuses of first team player out with injury.

if its been 10/11 months since a full strength team as you say, so assuming roughly the team has 1 or 2 injuries every month. why is that we can't have adequate cover.

having said that, from what I see, we seem to be well equipped except for defense, not all world class players but we have the group to win titles, not everyone can be madrid and $hitty

2rb, 2 lb, and 3 cb. I expect chambers to cover the cb position with nacho and debuchy stepping if required, I don't see wenger risking him in cdm position at all

arteta flamini are not the best choice of course, but with wilshere chamberlain and ramsey we have defensive minded players who could be dedicated, with for e.g rosicky playing in the b2b role

i believe we also have coquelin, has failed to impress but could play minutes against weaker teams

with the exception of giroud, all should be available after the break

its all upto arsene in keeping the players fresh and playing them in position, playing either of ramsey or wilshere and either of cazorla and ozil will keep them all fresh and up to pace,

it baffles me why poldi, campbell and rosicky didn't see a lot of game time in the first few matches, hopefully he will use them better and stop freezing players out of first team action

Banbury mate. injuries are part and parcel of the game. so why is it that arsenal have this excuses of first team player out with injury.


Mr D

Haven't got a clue what you are saying

02 Sep 2014 13:55:29
Since the dust has settled and I got some bacon in my system I'm feeling slightly more optimistic about Welbeck and our window as a whole. I just keep thinking about Walcott being fit as part of a front three with Sanchez and welbeck. That is one blistering strike force right there, bound to have a lot of defenders struggling to cope.

A lot of people are of a mind that Welbeck will prove that he is a goalscorer with us. And with The service that Ozil, Cazorla, Ramsey and Jack can provide, I think he might just prove it as well.

Banbury. I just wanted to clear something up about my stupid statement before. I probably should have chosen my words more carefully, but it was said brashly, in the heat of the moment, but it is my honest opinion on Giroud. I rated him very highly until around the second half of last season. He dropped his work rate which until then was fantastic, and his, first touch, composure on the ball, hold up play and finishing we're mediocre at best in my eyes. His link up play and passing we're still fantastic but that was only one aspect of his game. He really needs to step up and get back into the form he was in at the start of last season, and more importantly, start turning up to the big games of the season.

But even at his very best, which is damn good when he's in the mood, he'll always be a yard of pace short of being a top striker who can win us more trophies.

02 Sep 2014 13:03:58
Eds. Is it possible we can call jenkinson back if we have an injury crisis? So do we have to pay the loan fee back or something? Just wanted to know how it works. Would really appreciate your reply.

{Ed002's Note - Assume not. It will be fine.}

02 Sep 2014 12:49:18
Just my thoughts.

Transfer Window. Success or failure?

Compared to other teams? Possibly a failure.

Compared to past Arsenal Windows? A success.

We normally lose quality, ie Fabregas, Nasri, RVP and bring in inferior players.

That doesn't happen anymore, so for me, a successful window.

How successful?
Ospina/Fabianski. On a par.
Debuchy/Sagna. On a par.
Chambers/Vermaelen. Big plus due to age, versatility and injury record.
Sanchez. Major plus.

As somebody pointed out yesterday, ( sorry, can't remember who), if we bought Chambers, Ospina and Debuchy early, and Wenger than bought Sanchez yesterday, we would have all been dancing in the streets.

That's not the case, so we have the added bonus, although vital, of signing Danny Welbeck.

Am I happy?
Well, you all know I love Loic ( that's Remy to you lot), but I would settle for Welbeck.

Prior to yesterday, I would have hated Welbeck as a Goober, but being eternally optimistic, you have to look on the bright side.

When we signed him, I took a meander at the Manchester United pages, and they are genuinely gutted at losing him.
The census of opinion is, he was played out of position on the wing.

We need to play him as an out and out striker, ala Sturridge, to get the best out of him, and if anybody can, Wenger can.

As Banbury has pointed out, now is the time to stop messing about with players and positions.
Get a player, ie Ozil, and play him in his proper position, ie behind the striker.
Same with Sanchez and Cazorla and Wilshere.

Big disappointment for me?
No Defensive Mid, no enforcer in the ilk of Vieira or Petit or Silva.
So Arsene, make a decision, stick with Arteta or Flamini (in my opinion not good enough, as last seasons multiple thrashings proved) or get Calum Chambers in there to do the job.

So, not the best window from an Arsenal viewpoint, but not the worst.

Top 4 contenders? Yes.
Title contenders? No, but would be overjoyed to be proved wrong.

Lastly, all you boys who say you will send back your season tickets. Really?

I have supported Arsenal for over 40 years, boy and man, thick and thin, summer, winter, rain, sleet, snow, ice, travel strikes, diarrhoea, flu, cold, broken left leg, death in the family, down to my last dollar, Shrewsbury town on a wet/windy Tuesday, half the first team out, having to go to work straight after the game, soaking wet, crowded trains/buses.

Give up your season ticket?
Do me a favour, my heart bleeds for you.

Its not cheap, but its a privilege, no its an honour, being an Arsenal supporter.

02 Sep 2014 13:32:42
You were lucky,

When I was a pup supporting Arsenal I was the runt of the litter, always last to get food, hand me down dog coats, walks in the rain, red raw paws from walking to matches, they don't allow dogs on the tube.

Don't even go there with dog squits, my mum dying when I was only 142, eye nearly taken out by a cat, run over by black cars at least 5 times.

Ended up in a dogs home, no one visiting me, but I've been there for the Arsenal, that's the life of a true gunner.

Apart from that agree with all of it. Lol.

Good posting Dags nearly supported as long as me :) think a certain George Swindon was mng when I started. But you are right play em where they play best please it ain't a lot to ask

02 Sep 2014 13:39:28
Gunners

Whenever you feel pessimistic about Welback just remember you could have only had sanogo or worse Zigic

DG you are so correct in the end of your post. People should stop complain and just back up team

For the very first time I TOTALLY agree with all you have said. LOL X

If you think about it the squad we have is the strongest we have had for years and he can now afford to give some players a rest ( midfielders / attackers generally) .

I have a couple of mates who are die hard Manc, they are gutted that we have DW they cannot believe they have let him come to us .

I feel happier today than I did yesterday .

Great post, I love your positivity. If I didn't live half across the world, I would certainly be at every game supporting no matter what happened. As I am quite a young fella (somewhere in the 20's) I do have a plan to save up some penny's and try the England living and part of that plan is to go where Arsenal goes. I want to do a season and go to every single game no matter where it is. I am jealous of all you all getting to go to games whilst I sit here in front a TV in the early hours of the morning. It's definitely a privilege and an honour to watch the Arsenal live and it offends me that some of you want to give up and get rid of your tickets. A lot of Gooners live overseas and would love to watch at the emirates every week. Enjoy it and appreciate how big this club actually is!

Top Post DG our squad honestly speaking still looks good enough for a top 3 place, yes ahead of utd. All the headlines were sealed with Falcao but if we got sanchez yest we did be dancing on the streets as you said.

Supported the club through thick and thin, and will continue to support it players and Manager alike.

02 Sep 2014 16:38:41
I would of preferred to sell welbz to spurs mate, I think that says it all.

02 Sep 2014 20:24:37
Unlucky Chris, lol.

Fair point Reet :-)

02 Sep 2014 12:38:22
The instant reaction after the window closed was mostly rashly worded dissappointment and hate, but that's how these forums work out I guess. More balance and consideration in the posts to enjoy this morning thank biscuits.

I've decided that I'm excited about the Welbeck signing, and positive about what he can bring already, and the improvements he can make to his game given the chance. It's possible that he'll be played out of position and not find his feet, or that he'll not be a good player at all for Arsenal, but let's get upset about that when it happens surely?

I worry us supporters sometimes prioritise being right about our opinions on players, tactics, money over just enjoying being a football fan. Some of you on this page might have watched most of the games Welbeck has played for club and country, and respect if your negative opinion derives from such attention to the game! I can only say honestly that the few times I've watched him play 90 minutes, he's looked very useful. In our system of involving all the front players in the build up, I think he'll be strong and technical, and over Giroud he has a bit of pace for the quicker pass aswell. a lot of hate because we feel we want a blockbuster 30 goal striker, and he hasn't done that so far, but I definitely haven't seen him as the striker in a team yet, so I can't say. We could have spent a lot of money both in fees and wages bringing in Balotelli or Falcao, but there would still be unknowns about how they'd perform in the team wouldn't there? It seems that some are more concerned with the profile of the player over the likely job they could do for the team. Unless Balotelli (or whoever it may be) scored 30 plus goals this year to make up for the drop assists and team cohesion he wouldn't be worth it. After that its just a matter of faith, and supporting your team.

Some great debate about not signing another defender or a defensive midfielder, and I think the consensus is that everyone is worried about it! It is obvious we were in the market for both right up till the end of the window though, so who knows exactly went wrong. It seems likely that too much money being asked by the club, massive wage demands by the player, or unwillingness to commit to a squad position were the big reasons though (probably our top target though, Bender, just wants to stay at his club. Fair play!). I'm fairly relaxed if that is the case, but personally I enjoy the team building project. From recent windows I can think of a lot of clamour for M'vila, Yanga-Mbiwa, Diame, Parker off the top of my head. Hardly ever does the expectation match the performance. In the long run Wenger was correct to take the flack on these guys.

Anyway, I love reading the posts, good or bad. Hopefully in the end we all come here because we love our club, and are slightly addicted to football. let's leave the hate for something important in the world, enjoy watching our passing polish up, and get ready for January!

02 Sep 2014 13:08:27
Damn fine post Ned.

02 Sep 2014 12:16:57
Let's all get behind Welbeck, I believe he is going to be a huge player for us and there's no dout he will give 100% another British international

One you can be sure about Wellbeck is he will put a shift in without doubt and unselfishly run all day for us. 5 Live mentioned last night that when played as central strtiker his conversion rate is not too bad at 25% so scors one out of 4 chance, Same as sturridge actually. Mayge tegh conception that he is a poor finisher is a bit misleading. If he turns out like Sturridge we will not be complianing.

I actually think he will help us create space for the likes of Ozil to play in as he will always run in behind.

02 Sep 2014 11:00:29
Hi all chelsea fan here in peace! I would just like your view on wenger! For me I love watching proper footy and arsenal are a joy to watch at times but as a outsider looking in its clear as anything that all u need is a world class striker! My question is.

1. Why is wenger neglecting that position
2. Why are you so supportive with this bloke
3. Would you rather not win the fa cup and see wenger go
4. Wenger or mourinho

Not here for a argument just intrested on your views

Hi Pinky,
I would say we need more than a world class striker, and that has never been the Wenger way, he has always nurtured young players into the world class talents they have become,
1 - I don't think its a case that he is neglecting it however the club is run in a way that allows it to grow and be competitive with clubs with more financial power than us, with this in mind while the transfer fees are no linger an issue for arsenal to pay, the wage demands of these players is.

2. Wenger has done wonders for arsenal and we are all very grateful for what he has achieved and continues to do so @in wenger we trust' (not to cause an argument but if Chelsea kept a manager for longer than a season you would learn to appreciate them more)

3. Winning the FA cup got a huge monkey off our backs, it give the players confidence and now the press can concentrate all thier abuse at tottenham, utd, Liverpool.

4. for me its wenger, I don't think there is another manager who could have done what he did over the last 9 years, kept us competitive, champ league football (not even utd have done what we have done) taken all the abuse, restraints and still produced great football, great players. Everyone seems to think Wenger has underachieved, however I put it the other way, we have not had the best team in the league for years, not spent the most money, not had the best squad, some seasons prob not even the top 3/4/5 best squads, yet we have consistently been in the top 2/3/4
and not Chelsea, Liverpool, man utd, Everton, Tottenham have done that so I would say he has overachieved at some points.

02 Sep 2014 11:47:55


1. Seriously though- Yeah we have needed a striker since RVP - we have Alexis, Walcott scores goals, as does Giroud. Will see what Welbeck can now bring. Not forgetting Ramsey loves a goal.

2. We support the bloke because we are not fickle like your lot and he has done a lot for us in bringing us champion’s league football year on year whilst managing tight budgets and building a new stadium. And finally getting us a cup – what did Chelski get last year?

3. We aren’t Chelsea Fans. (You’re probably older than your own club anyways)


4. Wenger, Mourinho (although a top manager) is an arrogant S.O.B

02 Sep 2014 11:48:19
Why did you pop over to take the pi55 yesterday then and can you confirm that you are indeed the pinky whose not sure if he supports Chelsea or Tottenham/Liverpool, can't recall which other one exactly?

02 Sep 2014 12:14:13
Pinky,

If you didn't take my boy Remy, than we would be ok.

Now, pi55 off back to your own site.

PS, only joking mate.

02 Sep 2014 12:20:54
GunBReal, you my friend just made me swear and shout at my machine. I agree 1000% of all 4 points. actually scratch that 2000%. You are a realist, so when you see people comment h*** Wenger and the board, we still have to appreciate the achievement we have done with above average players in the squad. . CONSISTENTLY

02 Sep 2014 13:10:31
Apologies Gunbreal,

Didn't add onto my post what a fantastic reply that was, nail and head come to mind. :-)

02 Sep 2014 13:12:27
GunBreal,

Top top top response.

02 Sep 2014 10:16:34
Right guys and gals, time to calm down a bit, there’s way to many negatives flying about the site today.
Let’s start at the back – Flappyhandski departed and was replaced by a quality goalkeeper in David Ospina – this is an improvement. Sagna left and was replaced by Debuchy, so far he looks to be an improvement, if a little keen going into the tackle. While I admit it was perhaps a little naïve not to have signed another defender I must say Chambers looks the real deal and getting £15M for an injury prone liability who could have gone for £0 in 12 months was somewhat of a masterstroke by the board. I’m concerned with Miguel leaving we are now incredibly thin on the ground as far as CB’s are concerned. The only other area of the team we drastically needed to address was up top, where we added a truly world class player in Sanchez and a vastly experienced 23yo who has been part of a team that has largely won it all – yes he’s no Falcao but he is a useful addition to the team and given a run of games upfront could become very handy indeed. Look at the squad now versus last year and tell me what looks better? We have shipped the deadwood and now have a squad of very good players, the depth of City or Chelsea might not be there but our best 11 will give anyone a run for their money. We’ve just won two trophies. We’ve just qualified for the champions league again. We’ve had a crap start to the season but are still undefeated and have shown huge resilience in fighting back against Everton. It’s typical form being an Arsenal fan for everything to be terrible and the world to be against us. I’m slightly more optimistic and can see us having a great season and can see Welbeck being a great addition to the squad, for Arsenal and England. So cheer up guys and gals, it could be worse. It could be much, much worse….

Fantastic reply mate, if only there were more supporters like you around 10/10

One the 'masterstroke' comment; yes, getting £15m for injury prone player in the final year of the contract is great, IF we were a club in financial difficulty (we are not) OR if that money if used to replace we better. Which if saying TV5 was overvalued @ 15m, we should have been able to do.
We did not. Now left very thin at the bad, I would deem this possibly the worst aspect of our transfer window.

@Creels - Yes I admit I am concerned by our lack of depth at the back. Touchwood Mert looks quite stable but Kos is prone to an injury and/or suspension meaning Chambers, Monreal or Flamini has to fill in at the back.
On a whole though I like the look of our squad a lot more than this time last year so have to consider myself happy - It's a fine change for Arsenal fans to winge about who they didn't sign rather than who they had to sell!

Overall very good squad.
We'll get goals from all over, and midfield, even withouth 'powerhouse' CDM, can still compete with any in the league.
However, having to rely on Monreal/Flamini as back up CB is far from ideal. Both of these players are only the back up in their ACTUAL positions, let aone a non-prefered one.
Man U, City, L'pool, Chelsea front lines would be licking their lips at that! Get the bubble wrap out for Mert & Kos!

02 Sep 2014 09:59:43
Decided that I would save my self pain and frustration deadline day and take the boat out sailing again then anchor up over night. Got into mainland today to check and see for a suprise.

I think shock is the word, all though when I see the pictures of the transfer movers and saw Welback I just knew we had signed him.

I so hope he proves me wrong as I am not a big fan. I would of rather Remy (altho not a big fan also), much to Dags taste. Even I think the Kop had a steal getting Mad Mario at 16m then us Welback.

But hey ho he is a Gooner and we have to get behind him all the way and we needed a striker better then Sonogoal.

Good Luck Danny and I hope you prove me wrong.

Not ranting just stating my opinion and if you are a Welback fan then I am happy for you other gooners, I was just hoping a little more. Maybe not marquee but just a little bit better is all.

02 Sep 2014 12:55:54
I'm pretty certain we will see the centre back partnership of Monreal and Chambers some time in the premier league this season. Can't believe we've gone into a season with only two established centre backs.

02 Sep 2014 09:37:00
The city game was always a big game but after yesterday it got much bigger, win and all will be forgotten very quickly but if we were to get turned over heavily so soon after not addressing our problems in the window it could be depressionvile for us for some time.
A nice 4 0win with Danny boy getting a couple of debut goals would be a perfect tonic :-)

02 Sep 2014 09:32:31
I'm irritated by the negative fellow Arsenal fans comments. Last season we won the FA Cup & finished 4th.
This season we have won the Charity Shield (or whatever it is called nowadays). We have qualified for the group stage of the Champions League & are unbeaten in the League.
We have made five quality signings. It could be far worse, look at the Toot!
It is extremely difficult to compete with the financial clout of Chelsea, Man City, Man U & even Liverpool.
Lets get behind Wenger and the team, rather than whinge about the signings we haven't made.

Good post Robbie but it doesn't explain why we didn't address the DM position the best we could, I know Pogba etc were out of our league but we could have aimed lower and still improved.
To have no money and have to make do without is understandable but I was lead to believe we had funds available?
I don't see how Arteta and Flamini will cope any better this season than last in big games, sorry but I don't

Hi Gunner62 - I agree with your comment. I am not impressed by either Arteta or Flamini at the top level. Neither player would get into the squads of Man C or Chelsea. As for the defence we are so short numerically. We only need a couple of injuries and we will be in big trouble. Midfield and attacking-wise, we have so many options, particularly with Welbeck on board.

I'm glad Danny is a gooner Robbie he wasn't my first choice but he certainly won't make us weaker, going forward I don't see too many problems but defensively it's a worry.
You don't need the best players to be the best team but you do need a manger who accepts that and is willing to adapt when playing the big boys and come up with a game plan to beat them.
Arsene won't abandon his principals even for a day so we will always struggle when we don't have the best team on the day.
People sometimes point out wins against Bayern and Baca in one match but we fail to accept didn't win the tie over both legs.
Sorry if it sounds negative it's just my opinion on how things really are

02 Sep 2014 09:10:58
I think we have to be honest with ourselves and say that on paper it looks like we will be fighting it out for 3rd or 4th with Liverpool utd Everton and Spurs.
Liverpool looked good at the weekend no question but do have to face the problem we've already had to face of coping with CL and PL football in the same week.
Utd have closed the gap from last season on paper at least, whether their new players gel or new manager can turn them round is another thing but they certainly won't be weaker.
Everton proved last season what a good side they are and have a manager who is very good tactically.
Spurs if they allow him to finish the season also have a very good manager who could potentially make them 4th place challengers.
Us well we are stronger than this time last year but with, our opponents being stronger to hasd to be to stand still, my main concern is Arsene and his inability to change his beliefs to adapt to the modern game, that's a problem

02 Sep 2014 09:04:02
I for one am disappointed with the window. And I believe even though we got Welbeck, there were better options available and I do not mean Falcao nor Cavani

But, what's done is done. Welcome to the Emirates Danny. Most people do not have much belief in you so this is a perfect opportunity to endear yourself to the Emirates faithful. Wish you goals galore mate

Onwards and upwards, COYG!!

02 Sep 2014 07:50:18
as much as i'm trying to take the positives i'm struggling to come up with them and this is the final straw for me

we've needed for 8-9 years (i don't count song and arteta) a CDM - what have we gotten 2 mediocre players, whilst paying the highest fees in the land

we've needed a new striker even with van persie sitting on the bench for 10 years what have we been fed giroud sanogo and now the final insult welbeck - I shake my head with this he's not a bad player has anyone actually watched him play, or I must be watching through different glasses cause he ain't a striker and 16 million surely balotelli would have been worth an equal punt but welbeck Joke of a signing


so f*** wenger and the board I for one ain't spending another penny on arsenal not one they can go forth and multiply

season tickets in the post back to them with a letter to explain I am no longer prepared to take the s**t sandwich they are feeding me

there are no excuses for the management of this club now financial new dawn and we have 2 senior centre backs, a left back that can't string 10 games together without a holiday and a right back that is 1 tackle from a red card, this is pure mismanagement and its like he's at the roulette table praying no injuries

2 injuries away from a crisis and this is ok? I call this incompetence on a massive scale given our injury record I think he needs a psych eval

and don't get me started on the defensive options in our team.

I fear for the next couple of week citeh chelski

so in short wenger and the board thank you for the wake up call the money I save from going to the emirates and away games will now sit firmly in my pocket and not your grubby mits

a very disgruntled and p**sed off gooner

As much as I understand and agree with much of what you say. Don't be rash and say your sending a season ticket back. You pay that money to support the TEAM, hopefully through thick and thin. You should be going to the City game to do that and cheer on the players who wear the shirt. Yes be upset with the manager and the board but don't stop supporting the team. If you do you in a way you become as bad as the people running the club and with all due respect they won't give 1 damn that you send your ticket back. There's a queue of over 65000 fans waiting for a season ticket.

We can all be disgruntled about the clubs transfer dealings but right now all we can do is support the TEAM. I'm as p***** off about things over the last decade as the next person but I won't stop my support.

OK let me be quite blunt to all of you who are not happy with how this transfer window has turned out.

remember a few summers ago? squillachi, Bendtner, almunia, djourou, park chu young, chamakh?

now think to this window and you see ozil, sanchez, ramsey, ox, cazorla, giroud, welbeck, mert, kos, debuchy, gibbs.

yes they don't stand out as world beaters, but its the team that counts, and while it may seem easy to throw 150 mill and make your problems go away, there is a way to build a team, and I trust wenger with that, through all my frustrations.

why should we pay 30mill for carvalho? what if he does not work out? why not wait on Lars bender? Marco Reus? Hummels?

Wenger will bring the right players, without the need to spend for the sake of it.

are we short? YES

but its a long season with another window in 3 months.

we have come so far, let's go the extra mile, we might not be paying over the odds, but its a good thing to be the one standing against the pack.

its not always about fitting in. i'm happy with the transfer business, we have not added for the sake of adding and we have minimal risk.

we won't have any CDM's next season so I expect wenger to get one soon. its only a matter of time, and i'm sure he wil prove the buy was worth out time.

Great post Lakerville! The right players were not available in this window. Man U also didn't buy a much needed CB or DM, so that to me is saying for those positions, the market was rubbish. I'd rather Wenger buy smart then buy rubbish and you can not write off Welbeck until you actually see him get some games under him in an Arsenal shirt. I have faith in Danny and he needs our support and so does Wenger.

Sensible post lakes . Totally agree.

It has not been a terrible transfer window, at least knowone major has left that wew were not expecting and we have in Sanchez a real game winner that can do something special.

Like you say it could and really should have been better with holes left in our sqaud still unfilled. We desperatly needed a CB or atleast a DM that could fill in at CB. I would have liked Louis Gustavo who could have done that. I guess it is difficult to convince a stright up CB to come in and then say your are backup to Mert and Kos, hence why we lost out on Manolos

Maybe Micah Ricahrds Might have been worth making punt on, again how coudl cover a coupel of positions. We are short in the back 4 department now. I suppose Flaminin can fill in at LB like he has done in past but seeing Monreal at CB is a worry

I think it was silly letting Jenks go on loan as he could have filled in at CB aswell with his height we may have to recall him, Not sure how difficult that is.

02 Sep 2014 10:36:32
Surely, Aulderwerld (spelling) could have been signed, at least on loan. I get missing out on the Greek centre halves as one wanted 1st team and the other was too expensive. Wasn't Nastasic available too? I just can't fathom how Wenger states we are short at the back, yet nothing is done. It makes no sense!

Goodbye g74 you won't be missed, we don't need fickle fans like you at the club.

Excellent post Lakerville!

Come now Trev, Gooner74 loves the club just like you and I. He is frustrated like many of us and by "voicing" his concerns, doesn't make him fickle. He wants to see the club do well as we all do

I don't mean to be personal or to insult and maybe my post was an immediate reaction and not well thought out but if I was to take us not getting a player or selling a player eg a cdm this year or selling Henry/van persie like that I would have stopped following the club years ago, yes it does hurt and it's not nice but the club has a plan and sometimes it doesn't work out for various reasons which we will never know but we need to move on and be strong and support the club through thick and thin.

If we had bought welbeck during the summer and not alexis and then yesterday we got alexis I have no doubt things would be very different on this page today, it's all relative in its own way.

02 Sep 2014 07:12:44
I can't and hope Campbell does not go out on loan. Our strike force is really pathetic now with Giroud out of the game, not saying it was the 'Dogs nuts' before but I think Campbell gives it an option.
Will Sanchez be our main striker?
I believe that's what Arsenes plans were for him so yes I can see that happening. If and I mean If Theo gets back to full fitness maybe that is another plan for him to sometimes play as a striker maybe putting Campbell on the wing. Why not?.
I'm not too convinced with Theo's injuries only the other day I heard that it was not too clever to be honest. Am I saying that I heard that he may have an ongoing problem? Well yes I did hear that and from somebody very close to the team. We all live in hope.

02 Sep 2014 07:00:20
It is what it is. To be fair and I know I made some negative vibes about Welbeck but I think I was caught up in the emotion of the day. Like most of us a bit dissapointed that we couldn't spend on a couple of big name players.
But in saying all that I don't think Welbeck is a bad player at all. I agree with a lot of what I'm reading on here Welbeck had been played out of position and as any players will tell you from amateur to professional you need consistency.
That said we now have 2 weeks for him to bed in with the team what with the Internationals coming up and hope he doesn't get injured. On the Falcao disappointment I'm hearing he is going to get £340,0000 a week! at United.
Would we really have paid that? No, not in a month of Sundays and I don't blame Arsenal at all.
Just goes to show what I have been saying for ages top players want to play in the Champions League unless they get offered money that is so ridiculous they can't turn it down. Now United have 2 new players that are there for the money and not for anything else I think it works out between Di Maria and Falcao around £550,000 a week! getting on for £2.4 million a month! for 2 footballers I don't know if that's without bonuses but none the less it's obscene. Matter of fact I sometimes have to detach myself in supporting a sport that endulges in producing people that end up being treated like demi gods its a bit ridiculous when most of us can't even afford to go and watch a live game. Something is seriously not right with that.

{Ed025's Note - im with you golds, its obscene the amount of money some of these players are getting, some hard working people are having to use food banks to eat, and cant afford to heat their houses, never mind the ones that dont have houses and thats just this country!..there are people dying of starvation in this world and a football player is getting a reported £340,000 per week, its disgusting!...rant over..

Well said gentlemen! will still fork out for my boy's new kit though. ho hum

Ed025.Question is where will it all end.?
Will it be when the presence of the ordinary working man is no longer attending the live games and the stadiums become fully corporate seats.
Then the attendance in the stadium plummets because corporate seats are being given away as freebies to clients to drum up business where most of them only go for the pose anyway and haven't got any interest in the football in the first place.
I can see that happening. Otherwise all you will see on the pitch will be tumbleweed. What ordinary football supporter can honestly afford a couple of season tickets year in year out. What is it at Arsenal £2200 for a pair of the cheapest? Work that out per game. Madness.

{Ed002's Note - Long gone are the days of the cloth-capped, hobnailed-booted, chimney sweep making his way, rattle in hand, to cheer on his team at the Emirates on a Saturday afternoon. I have explained before that there will be changes, probably within the next 10 to 15 years, which will force the restructuring of all of the leagues in Europe and likely do away with the likes of UEFA. You will have the opportunity to see the likes of Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Juventus and the other major European sides play in week-on-week regular competition at The Emirates, Stamford Bridge etc.. You will have the opportunity to visit Milan, Barcelona, Monaco, etc. every couple of weeks to watch your team play - if they make the cut. If you want to don your cloth cap, have a pint of wallop with your chums before going off to the local match, perhaps one of the sides from the suburbs will have survived so you can go and watch them?}

Ed that's a brilliant reply and a reminder to us all that in the grand scheme of things yesterday was that important at all.
For most of us football is an escape from the harsh realities of the world and let's face it people need distraction to stay sane these days.
Bankers footballers to name but two groups want more and more of the world a wealth and every time they get it someone less fortunate has to take less to make it possible.
The cake is only so big and while the minority insist on taking an ever growing slice the masses have live on less and less.
Ghandhi was right about western civilization, it really would be a good thing

I once read a book called the 'The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists' By Robert Tressell.
This is all sounding so familiar.

02 Sep 2014 10:08:39
Anyone else think that an all day pub session with ed002 explaining more details on things like this would be fascinating?

With half empty stadiums as you won't find 60,000 millionaires who are football fanatics to fill the grounds Ed002, once its beyond the masses football is finished, it needs the paying public more than they need it.

{Ed002's Note - You have a shock coming. There will be a pan-European breakaway. Discussions were held as recently as last Wednesday.

As for the masses, qu'ils mangent de la brioche.}

02 Sep 2014 10:42:46
Good thinking croydon. Ed002, when should we meet at the Monte Carlo marina to board your yacht? Can't wait to hear your thoughts on football, politics, philosophy and quantum physics.

'You will have the opportunity to see the likes of Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Juventus and the other major European sides play in week-on-week regular competition at The Emirates, Stamford Bridge etc. You will have the opportunity to visit Milan, Barcelona, Monaco, etc. every couple of weeks to watch your team play'

And here IMO would be the death knell of football. Lovely places to visit for a holiday but who cares a t*ss about those football teams. Who wants to sit in a ground with only a home set of fans, and never going to an away game apart from a few hardy travelers who can afford to travel across Europe every other week. If I want that I might as well go and watch American team sports. It still beggars belief how we have managed to allow a Swiss organization to control OUR game, and the thought of a european wide league, no doubt under FIFA control, would just about put the nail in the coffin for me.

{Ed002's Note - Actually it would be far from FIFA's control and could eventually spell the end for FIFA as well as UEFA. You may want to live an undisturbed future but that is not going to be the case - things move on. Arsenal left Highbury for the Emirates. Bigger and better. Football is big business, like it or not. We have seen elite leagues be formed in a number of countries already - we have seen the growth of the Champions League, we have seen revenue from television make an enormous difference in some countries, we have seen owners come from Russia, the Far East, the Middle East, the United States. It is changing and will continue to change. And Arsenal will be part of that change as new opportunities and new revenue streams become available.}

02 Sep 2014 04:33:10
I'm not going to just moan about our transfer window. I actually think we did very decent after all, even when is not 1th place quality enough.
Anyway, i'm worry looking at our defensive forces, week at least in number.
Eds, do you think AW could sign a free agent for that work? I've seen names like Bramble or Gallas poping up on twitter.
Not a classy move, but what the hell. what do you think?

{Ed001's Note - I would be surprised if he did that. Unless a higher quality defender than those is available on a free.}

02 Sep 2014 00:20:12
Ed any chance of jenko being recalled, we only have 6 defenders!

{Ed001's Note - I believe they paid a loan fee to take him, which means no, unless they have decided to alter the rules for this season. I will have to check, I haven't had time to compare last year's FA handbook with this year's version yet, to see what has changed.}

02 Sep 2014 03:21:00
I guess we have to give Wellbeck the benefit of the doubt. In 89 percent of his games he's been played out of position and we can only hope he's actually been bought to play where he's meant to. Fergie also rested him very highly as a striker. If it turns round for him like it did for Sturridge then none of us can complain. and we'll be doing the national team a massive favour of we do help him turn it around.

I'm still gutted about this window though. We've missed the boat with so many players that would have improved he squad and provided a lot more depth. Yes we signed Sanchez who is world class. But our other 3 buys before deadline day were all essentially replacement buys since Fabianski, Sagna and Vermaelen left. So really we're only two players better of than we were and in this league that just isn't good enough. Our lack of depth in defence is still shocking.

Sure in my opinion if we had kept Walcott and Rambo fit we'd have probably cruised to he title last season. but the manager can't go staying his hand in the transfer market based on that. We crumbled due to our lack of depth in defence and our lack of strength and steel in the middle of the park. It just baffles me how this still hasn't become apparent to him!

I've always supported Wenger but I do really think his days are numbered before every arsenal fan turns on him. Tactically he is weak and was out foxed far too many times on the day by other managers last season and has done the least of any premiership team to strengthen this season, and we've had five matches and been poor and lucky in each one!

It's just blatant naïveté from Wenger, and a woeful lack of ambition from the club as a whole. Looks like all this stuff about the stadium being fully paid off and puma helping us to sign players was just more bs to rope fans into renewing their season tickets again.

Please prove me wrong Wellbeck!

Agree. I am pretty sure this will be the year we will miss out on CL because of our lack of defensive options. Letting Vermaelen and Jenks go and sign one player as backup makes our transfer window pathetic really.

02 Sep 2014 03:04:37
I'm happy to see the window close so we can get behind our team and know who we are supporting. let's remember we have had no big losses of players this season, our team from last year has only been improved. With Walcott back think of the speed in our front three, three runners for our midfield to thread balls through and three players in front of Ozil for him to reignite.
Let's be positive, our team needs positive fans!
COYG!

02 Sep 2014 00:59:26
I hate stats but they show last season - in a poorly performing Manchester United team - Danny Welbeck was the fourth most prolific striker in the whole league in goals per 90mins (excluding penalties). Only Aguero Suarez and Sturridge above him. Remember he was played out of position as well. We have bought I feel a decent striker! What does concern me is the fact we have Two proper central defenders for the whole campaign and one is injured at the moment! Forget having a pop at Danny Welbeck get behind him he is decent not the donkey many persons on here think he is.It is the lack of defensive numbers that could well be our undoing .That is the area that has been woefully neglected I am afraid. COYG

Heres a stat for you. he's scored 20 goals in six years for man u. You say he's been played out of position, but only last season, he's not a donkey or a bad player, but he isn't a goal scorer. When it was announced two weeks ago man u didn't want him and he was available, I don't remember one post for him to come. The club never pursued him until yesterday, so why.

02 Sep 2014 02:18:02
Personally think Welbeck is a quality signing. People should wait to judge. He is not a top quality player yet but at Arsenal as a striker and hopefully with more confidence he could flourish. i'm just buzzing we actually signed someone. He has bags of energy, can be very direct closes down efficiently, runs in behind the defence, has pace to burn just needs to get more goals which hopefully he can do for us. Also when Giroud is back he can play left wing as well which is a bonus, which in turn hopefully leads to more Ozil in the central role.

02 Sep 2014 05:06:25
Giroud is a flipping donkey, nothing close to the quality striker we need. I'm hoping Welbeck can have a good run for us and replace him as our number one striker.

CIG

Stupid statement

02 Sep 2014 01:38:15
To be honest I think if Wenger can teach Welbeck to express himself in the striker role he could be a class player for us. The boy does have bags of ability/potential though he isn't what I would consider really young anymore. I reckon Wenger knows how he wants to mould this young lad. Time will tell I say and good luck to the lad.

02 Sep 2014 01:18:34
Good a striker has been signed, but what about the complete lack of depth on defense?

Mertesacker, kos, chambers, Gibbs, nacho, debuchey, belerin. not bad with flamini able to fill in at left and right back and nacho playing a bit in the centre.alls not lost my friend.im sure the boss will address the situation come January .

02 Sep 2014 01:00:28
fair enough welbeck wasn't exactly what we all wanted but how can people judge him already when he hasn't kicked a ball for us yet.
look how things turned round for sturridge when he joined liverpool.
i think he will suit our link up play and he at least deserves a chance before people run him down.

If you needed your striker to give his all, run around and get behind defenders, he's decent. If you want a goal scorer he's not. let's hope he doesn't frustrate and wilt like some of the other deadline day strikers.

02 Sep 2014 00:31:16
Hypothetical question of course but,

If United has offered us Van Persie, for the same sort of fee, instead of Welbeck, would you have taken him back?

No way! Persie has not had a shot on goal in the last 3 games or so!

In a heart beat.
He is exactly the kind of striker we are lacking.

02 Sep 2014 00:20:35
Chin up lads, Welbeck is hardly a bad player and he's young enough to be a high potential player.

I think Hayden will earn promotion to the first team this year, and while we are a bit short at the back, we still have the excellent Chambers is easily good enough as third choice.

Feels a bit short but we're all overreacting because of a slow start. Alexis needs time, our WC winners need time, and the team just needs to play together and we'll forget all the doom and the Wenger-Out-Brigade will quiet down.

02 Sep 2014 00:11:24
Please mr Usmanov buy stingy Stan out and pump some SERIOUS cash into arsenal FC

Not the kinda cash that buys hope, but the kinda cash that buys players that put fear into opponents


Tired of arsenal slowly becoming second rate

02 Sep 2014 00:08:13
Late news in of a new signing - We have a new CM, the new Vierra. His name is Diaby, lots of potential and needs a careful owner

So that's the midfield sorted now!

Hopefully defence and midfield can last till Dec when we will have to add