Arsenal Banter Archive September 02 2016

02 Sep 2016 18:15:47
We have a squad that is capable of winning there is no question about. The question lies in whether we have the mental toughness to handle the pressure months and fixtures, which we have failed miserably at over the years

People like to moan but when you look at our starting eleven it's very
strong and very few have better if any at all ( my opinion ) . We are strong in all areas of the pitch now, with a quality supporting cast. Ability wise we are up there with the best, its the mental side that's got a huge question mark hanging over it.

And this Perez bashing is getting boring, how can you pass judgment (good or bad) on a player you've never watched play? He is an Arsenal player now so we should be fully behind him. Writing him off before he has even kicked a ball is madness, every signing is a gamble and there's no guarantee that all the other designer names bandied about would have been a success at our Club.

02 Sep 2016 18:45:59
There are players such as David Silva, Arjen Robben and Antohny Martial who were far more expensive and with stats that weren't as good as Perez's. He may be a world beater, he may not. It depends on how he adapts. One thing is for sure, he is tough as he has managed to stay away from injuries (touch wood) .

02 Sep 2016 19:27:51
This Perez thing proves my point at the beginning of the summer when people was morning about missing out on mahrez/ Kante last summer. We moan far too much when we bring in unknown players. Some people are doing it with Perez now. Give him a chance!

02 Sep 2016 20:21:37
Yes let's give Perez a chance he could prove to be the bargain striker signing of the summer and unknown quantity. Personally I would have liked more of physical up Top CF to challenge Giroud as I think we will still be relying on him to be that hold the ball up man. Perez looks to me a more nimble fast striker that will more likely rotate with Sanchez/ Ozil/ Iwobi in the wide positions when we need more pace. Interesting to say how Wenger juggles them all when fit.

I think Xhaka or Cazorla alongside Elneny or Ramsey
then Ozil or Ox ahead as the AM

then Sanchez right Perez left Giroud up top with Walcott, Iowbi and wellbs when back fit on bench

A lot of midfielders can rotate around positions. We have lots of options and would want to be Wenger when/ if they all fit.

I have a felling Wenger has finally taken a pragmatic approach with Wilshire with all his injuires and has given him a opportunity to sell himself for a transfer. I think he is a sgood a goen personally shame as seemed a real Arsenal guy but ultimately you have to be pragmatic and think best for the squad as whole and not have squad place taken by a very injury prone player that you may not use everygame anyway.

03 Sep 2016 05:31:48
It's hypocrisy at it's worst D16. People were saying Arsene has lost his touch because he didn't sign Kante or Mahrez when they were unknown, He tries to do that with Perez and there's mass hysteria the Man and the Club can't win in some people's eyes.

03 Sep 2016 10:21:13
If Spurs signed Perez last June would this page have been in uproar at us missing out on a player none of us had ever heard of let alone seen play? Of course not wed have probably laughed at them.
I think a bit perspective is needed here, let's wait and see him play before we even start to class him in the sake bracket as Mahrez or Bentner.

03 Sep 2016 10:27:36
If we maintain pressure on the ball, movement off the ball. Stay focused and don't get savaged by injuries the we are just as likely as City, Utd or Chelsea

So yes - if the players really want it every time they pull the shirt on.

03 Sep 2016 10:34:34
Positive - you are so right.

If Wenger had signed another tiny French technical player or a cheap Vierra or a striker from division 2 then lots would be moaning yet one season later they moan we didn't buy them and now moan we buy similar buys. Same ones wanted Kos rested then moaned didn't play him or moaned we didn't play X as rested yet we play Rambo and he gets injured - like life. Some just like to moan and are never wrong as they sit in the crowd and never really make any decisions or offer real solutions. In life they are probably the assistant to the assistant and moan but never get in the hot seat to make a real decision.

03 Sep 2016 12:27:41
What is Arsenal's best 11 Call Me Positive? Think Arsenal probably have the 4th best 11 in terms of overall individuals quality. Perhaps your teamwork is one of the best as your side is pretty much the same as it was last year.

03 Sep 2016 19:43:57
Fuser I think our best eleven is up there with the very best in English Football. We have no real problem position other than striker, which we hope to solve with Perez. Our defence is rock solid, the myth that we don't defend well is exactly that and the stats back it up.

Cech
Bellerin
Mustafi
Koscienly
Monreal
Xhaka Carzola
Alexis Walcott / Perez
Ozil
Giroud.

03 Sep 2016 20:34:43
Stats are very funny things positive mate and are so easily twisted to suit any case you wish to promote, politicians are famous for using them all the time to hide the real facts mate.

03 Sep 2016 20:40:43
You user name sums you up, the best 11 in English football lol. Utd, city, Chelsea, spurs and maybe Everton have better squad than you.

03 Sep 2016 20:56:14
As always Raver you go to far mate, if you'd stopped at Chelsea you had a case then you just got ridiculous as always:-)

03 Sep 2016 22:20:47
Why gunner, most of spurs would walk into Arsenal and a lot of Everton would walk in also. If your 11 is so brilliant why haven't you won the league in years and will never lift the European cup.

03 Sep 2016 22:45:47
Harry would get a game Raver but who else seriously mate?
Keepers not much between them
Full back's:-)
CBs :-)
MF :-)
Ericson or Ozil :-)
Like I say Harry would get a game mate.

03 Sep 2016 22:47:05
Sorry CMP, but I feel you're still pretty weak at LB, ST and then depending on how well Perez and Mustafi settle in could be CB and RW. Certainly rather far from the best 11 in terms of individual quality. Think City/ Utd/ Chelsea would each probably only take 1 of your starting 11, but at least 2 of each of theirs would get into your team.

03 Sep 2016 23:28:13
We have the best young midfielder in the country gunner in deli alli lol.

04 Sep 2016 09:16:31
Good luck with best young this that and the other never mind challenging this season look at our potential talk Raver mate :-) we had 7 or 8 empty seasons waiting for our potentially brilliant young players to deliver and although some did go on to win titles sadly it wasn't with Arsenal that they did it mate, you've got a decent side that Poch gets the best out of but as individuals your players are strictly Spursday night league material mate.

04 Sep 2016 07:41:12
He looked great at the euros lol.

02 Sep 2016 13:44:58
While I think that finding a central defender was important, I think that Xhaka was the most necessary piece of business for the team in this window, and I find it puzzling that a number of people, news outlets, pundits considered the purchase excessive.

Last season when Cazorla was injured, we were worryingly poor at transitioning from defence to attack and when teams pressed us high up the field, which they increasingly did, we found it far too difficult to break through our opponent's midfielders to get the ball to our danger men. For an attacking team like Arsenal, where defensive strategy plays second fiddle to our attack, to not be able to regularly get the ball past midfield was simply not good enough - there was always the threat that teams could win the ball back or intercept stray passes to counter-attack the back four, and we looked weak in area where we should've been strong.

While Wilshere's decided to play elsewhere, we did and do have a well-stocked midfield, but none of them seemed able to do what Cazorla did so effectively before he was injured. With his quick feet, quick turning circle and accurate passing, he could turn midfielders and feed the attack, while none of Coquelin, Elneny, (then) Flamini, or in my opinion Ramsey could play the same deep creative role - I think that Ramsey is a good player, but for me his passes are often too risky to be made in deep areas and his intelligent runs are pretty useless as a deep playmaker, so I prefer to see him in the final third.

With Cazorla now thirty one and with no-one else to replace him in that role if he gets injured, I think that Xhaka was more necessary than a striker or a winger, and arguably a central defender (though I concede that some people won't agree there) . I think that Wenger bought him as a replacement for Arteta that is (hopefully) better at defending - someone that can protect the back line like Coquelin but is also creative and accurate enough with his passing to start attacks from deep, which is essential for a team like Arsenal.

There's little point buying Higuain to wait in the box if we keep losing the ball in midfield.

02 Sep 2016 18:54:00
Fantastic post roverston, completely agree with your analysis. I'm looking forward to some great football this season coming. Wenger is disgracefully mocked as a football coach, and I think he's targeted very wisely types of player to improve our overall control of games in different scenarios. Xhaka was first pick in his role, and snapped up quick, and I'm delighted for the reasons you give.

02 Sep 2016 20:08:21
Good analysis and our level definitely dropped while Cazorla was out of the team like you said Cazorla was the best equipped at getting that head up quick turning and finding a through pass to get the attacks going quick enough. Hopefully Xhaka can be similar. I kind of see him as a cross between Le Coq and Cazorla. Ramsey is definitely much better further forward as he makes good late runs, definitely not deep lying same with Wilshire. Elneny is good but more box to box power runner with the ball so better alongside a Cazorla or Xhaka. Le coq is more no nonsense DM but has not got that same quick vision as Cazorla so is needed when we need more physicality in the game to match the oppostion.

Yes for me Xhaka or Cazorla have to start every game if fit so rotate between them with either Elneny or Le Couq alongside depending on the situation. Ramsey can rotate with one of the wide men or Ozil.

02 Sep 2016 20:30:22
Top post Rover.

03 Sep 2016 00:46:40
Ramsay was better in the cazorla role when beside arteta - it really is a partnership. Cazorla was great with Le coq and hopefully builds something beautiful white xhaka! The partnership is so important.

None better than viera - petit, then viera - Gilberto.

02 Sep 2016 12:12:03
I'm still unhappy about M. Wenger and his continued tenureship. Accept he is here for the rest of the season at least, but yet another summer has passed by in embarrassment
• In releasing Wilshere (aka The Emporers New Clothes) two days before the end of the window, and with him potentially returning with only a year left on his contract, we have said goodbye to £30m in today's lunaticly priced market. Did Wenger wake up until Sunday morning and think, "I know, we could let him go out on loan! " as if receiving a blinding strike of lightning.
• With - (deep breath) Elneny, Coquelin, Xhaka, Cazorla, Wheelchair, Ramsey, Iwobi, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Campbell, Ozil, Sanchez, and Theo plus a couple of promising youngsters, - vying for midfield - why oh why (aside from poor old Campbell out on loan again) did we not review this and take a big breath and get rid of/ sell some of the following who seem either to be on the periphery or relatively ineffective as they are persistently underperforming or played out of position: Wilshere: Ramsey: The Ox: Theo: Campbell. I'm talking selling, for cash, money, not dribbling about sending them out on loan hoping that some other coach will re-skill them in a way that reverses Arsene's de-skilling.
• If we'd raise c£30-£40m selling one or two of the above, however nasty a taste it leaves in the mouth, maybe we could have spent £50-60m on Aubameyang, Lewandowski or Griezeman.
• Why keep Debuchy?
• Why sell Gnabry for £4m our most promising (aside from Iwobi) graduate from the youth team
• Why loan out Szczesny - just get rid of him
• And lastly, if we ended up paying £35m for a Centre Half who we started chasing 6-8 weeks ago, knowing the club wanted £35m, why leave it until deadline day? Why? It is of course supposition and speculation, but if we'd had Mustafi alongside Holding v Liverpool, we may not have lost. We may have done still, but say we'd drawn, or even won? We'd now have 5 or 7 points, not be 5 behind Citeh, Utd and Chelski already. And whilst I am on that, why "rest" Koscielny against Liverpool when he was fit to play?
• Stop hoping that a 27 year old journeyman who had one "good" season last season is going to be Thierry Henry MkII. I'd have had Sturridge ahead of Perez, despite his injury proneness and dubious attitude.

I'm sure I'll get some stick for being so negative and I understand this. I want to be positive and I want us to win the league this year. But it ain't going to happen under this regime.

Grumpy Max.

02 Sep 2016 13:13:03
On a positive note max, Wrighty has said:

Former Gunners striker Wright explained why he can’t wait to see Xhaka in action against Arsenal’s big Premier League rivals.

“He was fantastic. He was absolutely magnificent. That’s high praise to liken him to Mani [Petit], ” Wright told The Sun Goals podcast.

“Xhaka’s passing is just fantastic. He has this bite about him. I’m desperate to see him in a game against the other top three.

“He is going to be biting in. That’s what I -and Arsenal fans – want to see. He controls games against the Watfords but against those [big] games, I can see him biting in.

“He’s going to be a top, top signing for us. ”

He seemed positive about Perez and lots of good stuff on Mustafi - so cheer up there

In Jack - who would buy him given his record and attitude? I think a year away is good for him and resale value

On Gnarby - clearly we got the best deal possible, tried to sign him but that's life

Hopefully a good result at the weekend will turn that frown upside down

😀.

02 Sep 2016 13:16:16
You just sound bitter mate to much what ifs.

02 Sep 2016 14:44:29
Max a lot of strange decisions but we will just have to see if they were correct.

02 Sep 2016 20:08:21
Apart from Gnabry, I think we've had a good window.

I am happy.