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31 Dec 2012 18:22:18
Happy New Year to Stoner, who spends a lot of time on the United site, and his fellow Gooners. Looks like you might be mounting a challenge soon, especially if Ebeneezer decides to spend some cash for a change.
AJH
31 Dec 2012 18:05:27
I think Nasri was close to staying, but 175k per week was too good to refuse from city.......I think this is the danger with Walcott.....If Liverpool come in with 100k and we offer 80-85k he will stay.The fact that sturridge is close to a move to Anfield makes me feel that they wont be in a position to buy both, plus Ince.....but Chelsea are in need of a forward.....if they come in they could offer 100k-130k....That would be him off in my view......City and Utd both have 4 forwards, so unless they want a wide man, i think its unlikely....Juventus are favorites to sign Llorente so i dont think they will be in for him......I think another problem Arsenal have is the possiblity Walcott earning more than Wilshire, who for me is an inferior player.(Theo, that is)So if chelsea dont come in, he will stay.....km
31 Dec 2012 17:22:07
why not go for ryan shawcross? before you boo him down for ramsy, hes a regular for stoke with with loads of experience, tall strong no-nonsense typical english centre back that w've lacked, hes 25 and hes just broken into englands national team.... much more solid than our current center-backs
I agree very solid. look what happened when he missed the southamton match with stoke, they let 3 goals in at home, which never happens these days at the brittania to be fair.
NI Gooner
Being football fan meaning you has a tie with the player, how can you see them in one same dressing room? Even chris cole have reservation with ramsey view when wanting to bring shawcross to wales.
Whatabout wenger? this will never happen, wenger treat them like his own child, would he bring shawcross and relive the scar for ramsey? I dont think so.
31 Dec 2012 17:12:26
I know i have posted about us needing a defensive midfielder but i do feel an older player is better option rest of this season and maybe next as i do believe Coquelin will fill that role very well for us with just a little guidance personnally some like Essien or Mascherano for 18 months to mould Coquelin and were sorted.
Buy 2 wingers in form of Capel and Zaha. No striker needed in my opinion if walcott stays. Is the Lopez link a genuine one?
Holmesy
31 Dec 2012 16:15:24
Quick question:
Do people here think Luke Shaw is much of an improvement on the young left back we already have in Meade ?
I've watched Meade a few times, and aswell as lightning speed, he is quite smart at reading the game. I personally think that if santos is off, and we are in need of a LB to challenge gibbs, but not be too good for the bench, then Meade is our man.
If we are to buy a new LB that is better than gibbs, and to be our main LB (Which i doubt wenger would do), then ok, Meade isnt the Answer.
Daniel
Instead of an out and out LB, perhaps a more versatile player who could play as a center half too would be a better shout, eh?
i like Meade and he's played well when given a chance so he deserves a shout and we have the likes of Djourou and hopefully The Squid shipping out so perhaps another cover with just Miquel stepping up would warrant a new CB as well.
Gibbs still has a long way to go to be considered as good as cole and clichy. meade has even further to go, he has never even played a premier league game. if meade was as good as shaw, then we would have had other teams bidding for him, no team has even showed faint interest in loaning him. gibbs is similar, no big club has ever expressed an interest because he simply isn't great.
honestly, us arsenal fans are often blind beyond our own players. wilshere is the only youngster that has through in the last 5 years, yet every season there are a dozen kids that are gonna set the world alight..
Dan,
Gotta say I agree. Not very familiar with shaw, but obviously him being compared to Bale and Theo is a big deal.
However, Meade has looked every bit the part from what I've seen and I think he has the potential to be better than Gibbs within a year or two.
Adv. with Shaw is we can use him now, but I'd rather we go for Baines and let Meade develop.
Btw...also think Yennaris has top potential as well.
US Gooner
Well, as Shaw is not available to you, you had better come up with a plan B, hadn't you!
Shaw staying at Saints, Walcott off to Chelsea.
Don't delude yourselves, there are better options for players these days than Arsenal.
Well arsenal definitely are the better option(When the option is staying at saints, that is)
31 Dec 2012 15:37:21
not sure if this is true or not but i've heard that theo has been given two weeks to sign or he'll be sold.
gooner mark
That wouldnt surprise me, Wenger isnt going to want to lose him on a free
1404
31 Dec 2012 15:25:57
New lb is needed
31 Dec 2012 16:27:32
Yes, as Santos will be sold. But all the people thinking we will chase Baines etc are wrong. Gibbs is number 1 so we will get a backup. So it will be Shaw or Jetro Willems.
31 Dec 2012 15:23:55
Southampton fan here ................................... Please please don't Sian Luke shaw because he is brilliant
Another Saints fan here-don't worry lad, he's staying at Saints. Just some silly papers trying to win a friend with Mr. Wenger.
31 Dec 2012 14:05:58
Tbh guys i think we should stick with the 451 formation with the Arteta, Wilshere, Caz in centre and two pacey wingers out wide Chambo and a new winger with Theorny{theo} upfront banging in goals.
I think we have a massive advantage then any other team when we play this formation becuase we make it so hard for our opp-nts to get the ball and we rip them to pieces from the counter attack.
All I think we need is a world class winger who is young, pacey, skill, strong and can cross the ball someone like Ben Arfa?Narvas?Nani?Holtby?Cavani? we also need a better defence midfielder someone like M'Villa?Belhanda?Wanama? but I don't know who we would drop in our mid'3.
What do you guys think?..
D
Cavani would be exceptional....too good for us. chelsea bound, or not at all.
Cavani is a striker, Navas gets homesick (therapy gets him to go on international duty but no more than that) and Belhanda is an attacking midfielder.
But i do agree that we need both a DM and a winger.
Nick.
Cavani is a complete striker. He can do anything by his own, create his own chances, phenomenal dribbling and a perfect shot. It's a shame he's way to expensive for us.
31 Dec 2012 15:22:41
The winger i would go for is Nico Gaitan
31 Dec 2012 13:43:56
Does anyone really know whether Walcott is trying to see out his contract to leave for free or does he want to stay. So many conflicting stories at the moment. Many thanks.
Seems like he's being badly advised here by his agent. he could stay here, get payed well although it's not the silly money other clubs might offer (but certainly well enough for the other youngsters and class acts like Cazorla, Poldi, Arteta, etc.), make a name for himself and *knocks on wood* earn a winner's medal or two.
realistically, he isn't going to move to any "big" club and get a starting berth and the support he gets here and since we are still in Europe, none of the Champions League teams would opt for a move now while he is cup tied, so this should be more of a downer from a footballing perspective.
getting him to move now, or hold out towards the end of Jan when his agents have spoken to most parties interested would mean a better payday for his agent and moving on a free when the signing-on bonus will be crazy high will seem a better option financially.
it's hard to tell whether he wants to move or not but the agent definitely holds massive sway here. unlike Na$ri and Ca$hley who were clearly looking for a pay-raise, Walcott's situation seems less certain from his side.
psychocyst.
31 Dec 2012 13:39:19
Happy birthday for yesterday nick!
Happy birthday for tomorrow Jack!
Let's celebrate these significant bdays with yes Arsenal? Yes!
Btw loads of interesting posts, wish i could have posted more but my computer monitor died on me just in time for xmas so I'm only able to see the site when other people's laptops are available.
Tomo I don't want to see any tinkering with the team - we all know Southampton can rival many teams going forward but suck in defence and I would like to see some consistency - if it aint broke don't fix it Wenger! Our game the other day was brilliant, it was hard to pick out a stand out performer - our CBs were excellent, we all know Gibbs was clearly at fault for both goals to an extent but Sagna got rinsed by Obertan ffs I mean this has to stop from him, it's happening way too often. The free kick was some odd defending from Jack who seems like he cba defending this season from what I've seen so far haha. But Theo was exceptional, The Ox worked so hard, Podolski was an absolute machine, Arteta was immense, jack was brilliant in the middle - oddly, i thought Santi was really poor for most of the game, was awful in the first half and anonymous in the second apart from his ball to The Ox. Koscielny was excellent and that was amazing to see. Gibbs was brilliant going forward too. So I would love to see the same line up start against Southampton, and I hoe we destroy them tomorrow!
Metal Gooner
Thanks Metal, and I agree with the rest of your post too, COYG.
Nick.
I'd rather we concede 3 and score 7, than go back to our lack lustre attacking at the start of the season, and risk a 1-2 loss.
Daniel
Daniel not sure what you're driving at but i agree, I would rather exceptional attacking displays scoring 5 goals + than winning 2-1 and being left with loads to complain about!
Metal Gooner
31 Dec 2012 12:33:11
Banter...
In a perfect world:
Djourou + Arshavin + Chamakh for Cabaye or tiote.
:)
Who's the 4th cb then? we all love squillaci!
iceman
Tiote. forget cabaye, we have arteta
31 Dec 2012 12:04:25
Just looked in to my Crystal Ball,
Walcott to sign a new 5 year deal and score more goals this season than RVP.
Well here's hoping anyway.
I think it may be broken
31 Dec 2012 11:26:28
when giroud came on against newcastle i notised how good a partner ship him and theo would be because when walcott plays teams play deep because of his speed but when giroud plays they play high because he is slow so when he came on newcastle didnt know whether to play high up the pitch or deep and they just got ripped apart then
Agree. I think a Giroud and Walcott CF partnership will work well. Its always good I reckon to have one physical big good in the air striker and one fast pacey striker alongside as this means the opposition are unsure weather to drop back to avoid space for walcott to run into or push up to move Giroud away from the box area. This uncertatinity is what creates space and may force errors of judgement on the opposition back 4.
For me a 4-1-3-2 is what will work best for us Giroud and Walcott up top, Carzorla, Whilshire and Ox behind them in the 3 then Arteta as the Dm for now until we buy a bigger more physical athlete in that position.
Once such a player is purchased (Can't rely on Diaby being fit no more I am afraid) we can rotate more between Ox, Wilshire, Arteta, Cazorla, Rosicky, Ramsey and Arsahivin(If still here) in those 3 midfeild positions and Podolski and Gervinho can rotate with Giroud and Walcott up top.
This gives lots of versitility and options in those attacking positions and means we can keep a high level of stamina levels with rotating players a bit more to avoid fatique.
The key signing is the physical stay at Home DM.
31 Dec 2012 11:13:32
Why does everyone seem to think we should get a forward? Im intrigued by why so many people are down on our present crop.
Compare the fwds goal stats of the big four:
Manchester city - aguero 9, dzeko 9, tevez 7, balotelli 3. Total 29 goals.
Manchester united - van persie 17, hernandez 10, rooney 8, welbeck 1. Total 36.
Chelsea - torres 14, moses 3, sturridge 2. Total 19.
Arsenal - walcott 14, giroud 9, podolski 9, gervinho 5, chamakh 2, oxlade-chamberlain 2. Total 41.
So chelsea might need a new fwd, and city could do with replaci
31 Dec 2012 11:32:16
Much as that looks good it is somewhat unfair to compare 6 of our players against 4 of Citeh's and Utd and only 3 of Chelski's.
I appreciate it still looks good but a bit lop sided. Personally for now I would be happy like most with CDM plus back up for Shez and Gibbs with a CDM the priority.
Stoner
Giroud has scored 10
Mmmm, you have included 6 of our players and only 3 or 4 from the others?
Would like to agree but you could include Mata ans Hazard for Chelsea etc.....
Just because we have competent support from the midfield doesn't mean we're firing goals up top. not to mention that numbers have a way of lying sweet nothing in our ears.
the league position and the fact that we're outta one cup tournament already and facing the German giants in the other, don't lie.
forget about a new big-name striker for a minute and think of Chamakh, NB52, Park and Gervinho (i include his name because
A] he's *insert random insult here*
and B] the club's official site categorizes him as a striker) to replace/upgrade on.
the new signing/promoted youth doesn't have to be a regular first-teamer, but should at least bring something of an option to the squad.
i don't think a really big money signing such as Falcao, Cavani, etc. (although i'll accept it with open arms and dance with joy before waking up from that dream) is necessary, but we could do with better options than the ones we have now.
special mention to Suarez- i hate that grunt but if any of you have seen him play recently, he's been the rare player in red who just tries to score with sheer skill and drive. as a club, they're playing terribly right now at times, but the buck-toothed monster has shown unstoppable drive and the footy skills to boot that's got him scoring well this season. we need something like that, even if it is just something we thrown on at the 65 minute mark.
psychocyst.
Replies a bit hasty, maybe he/she has a point - even if you take Chamakh and Ox out of it to even things up this does look good.
337
Well you make a good point to an extent, Theo has already scored more goals than he did last season and Giroud and Podolski are weighing in nicely and should have a reasonable tally by the end of the season. However, if you're going to include Chamakh, the Ox and Gervinho then you have to also include Mata, Hazard, Ramires, Valencia, Silva, Nasri, etc etc for the other teams. At the end of the day our strikers are not doing too badly in their own rights but they could be doing way way better, we've had a whole handful of poor game this season. When you look at goals scored, we're on 39 - the same as chelsea, one better than City and 3 better than Spuds - but united have scored 50 league goals!
But they have more points than us and that's the most important stat.
Wot about tye stat utd are top and u aint even in the top 4, theres a stat that doesnt lie
I think the need for a cf is less than our need for a DM and LB, i'd even say we could do with another creative midfielder before we start looking at CF's..
AG
Why include Mata? Then we could include Santi on Arsenal. You could include Hazard and Ramires (has played on the right wing) but that wouldn't make much difference either.
Guys do you not know anything about Mata? He is played as one of 2 forwards as much if not more than a midfielder - so yes he should be mentioned! go look at a chelsea formation, he's played as a striker as much as a mid.
Thanks for the replies guys! Was going to explain wwhy id picked out those players to compare; they are each teams fwds who have scored goals. For some reason wiki describes the ox as a fwd but even if you discount him we look good up top. A similar comparison between the top 5 scorers of each club brings us out on top as well.
We clearly are missing something, but im suggesting a cf shouldnt be a top requirement as opposed to a dm.
Sorry for not signing the original post, pressed send by accident!
PWR Gooner
31 Dec 2012 04:08:39
If West Ham really want Chamack as rumoured, we should offer the swap for modibo maiga, maybe even throw in a million or two, or even a loan swap with options to buy. he is going to be a class centre forward, fast and tidy, very henry-esque. marseille are interested in him to replace remy when he eventually leaves.
demba ba wasn't too highly thought of at west ham, maiga will be better once he moves on, and now is the best time to pounce before he has settled into their first team.
Whilst all the big spenders leftback focus is on where cashley will go, and whether baines will move, arsenal really should move for luke shaw before the competition gets stronger. get him competing with gibbs and settled into our talented british core asap.
No team needs zaha right now - that is to say he wouldn't be a cert to start for any top 6 team right now - but the club that gets him will send a clear message that they mean business in the future. His best opportunity for game time during his development is at the arsenal, and he would just bed in with our british lads so well. Like i say, he wouldn't necessarily start for us this season, so could allow palace to hold onto him for their promotion push, but get the deal done now.
Mvilla is underperforming with a weak team, getting panned by the french media somewhat harshly, is still available, and likes arsenal. the price was wrong in the summer, hopefully it is right now.
finally, theo has to be kept.
january in:
shaw to replace santos
mvilla to replace coquellin
maiga to replace chamack
zaha to replace arshavin
replace the following in the summer: djourou, bendtner, gervinho, denilson, park, frimpong, squillaci(free), diaby(free), flappihandski(free), mannone(free) and sagna (unfortunately, but only for an offer of more than 12m, otherwise let him run his contract out)
need 1gk, 1rb, 1cb, 1 box2box cm, 1 attacking mid
redgoon
Mvilla to replace coquellin? thats really confused me.......
1404
So to the people that disagreed, do you think a french international is going to come to us to sit on the bench have the occasional last few minutes of games and the remainder of his football be in the reserves?
And i though UTD fans weren't very knowledgable.
Wenger is more than happy with our midfield in imo, i really don't see him signing M'Vila, a wide player maybe and a striker possibly if we lose a few players.
1404
This is an interesting debate - i agree buying Zaha is an investment in the futurem and we've spent that money on similar players before. Wenger is obviously aware that Gerv, who was meant to be a first team mainstay by now, is of to ACON and as per last yea, will need at least 2 weeks rest should they do well again. So that's two months without someone who despite being generally shocking is sadly still the man we play when we can't play Theo or The Ox. He is poor but significant so if we do sign Zaha, imo a way better version of Gerv, and increase our British quota, that would be great, and is likely. We are certainly the best club for him and he would undoubtedly see game time with us this season for sure.
As for lb, I think we all want some international top quality player to come in but lets be real, if Wenger was not going to block Gibbs' progress last season he sure as hell is not buying someone to start ahead of Gibbs this year. So Luke Shaw is again a viable option probably. To have a core of Gibbs, Shaw, Jenko, Jack, The Ox, maybe Theo, Zaha, that's a significant portion of future England stars and if they learn to play the Arsenal way and we indoctrinate them with that style over the next 3 or 4 years then England could have one hell of a slick-passing team in the future with a style to combat the top Euro teams for sure. food for thought.
M'Vila for Coquelin - who knows. Again going back to Frimpong being English Wenger seems keen on that so he may have more of a future than Coquelin who could leave at the end of th season because he has no international future whilst he is a bench player. M'Vila is someone we have looked at seriously enough times so if we shifted Le Coq, brought in M'Vila (baring in mind Arteta will probably not be starting every game next season) this makes sense as a move. Coquelin is young though, 21, so he may decide that staying at Arsenal is best for him despite his noises about leaving if he doesn't get game time. Hard to call but M'Vila for Coq and keep Frimpong on ice could make sense as Frimpong's younger.
I know why you're saying Maiga for Chamakh, the guy has real potential but what about our young forwards and also Campbell? I think if we were to sign another young forward e.g. Maiga that would signal the end of Afobe's Arsenal career for sure. Is Watt still with us? Surely he has no future with us either?
So imho i would say Shaw, M'Vila/another DM and Zaha all make sense be it this Jan or the summer.
Thoughts?
Metal Gooner
Thoughts?
Quite simple, you are an arrogant "person"!
So, Arsenal snap their fingers and attract all the best young English talent? You can forget that happening with Shaw. He loves it at Saints, is playing in the EPL each week and is a lad who knows the opportunities given to him by Saints academy system. He is going nowhere this season apart from refining his game playing with Saints.
The only LB development you will get from Saints is a lesson for Gibbs tomorrow.
Thoughts Metal Gooner?
You can always find some real bankers on the Arsenal site-but then my hearing is not like it was!
1404, sorry mate if wasn't clear...
Coquellin only gets a few minutes now and then because he isn't very good, he lacks vision, speed, strength and composure to play in the middle of the park. He is better suited to right fullback, but his positioning and crossing would have to improve a lot.
Mvilla would replace him in the squad, and then his qualities would show and he would be rotated with arteta and wilshere a lot more, both of whom shouldn't be playing two full games a week in a team that relies on high energy midfielders with a lone striker.
Metal - I see your point mate, unfortunately our youth coming through are not as good as the club tells us, from your posts I know you know this too, fact is every striker has taken a back seat to chamack, who isn't good enough, so by default chamack and everyone behind him in the pecking order should be shown the door. i have heard very little positives with regards to anyone we have put out on loan in recent years, they all seem to come back worse...
redgoon
31 Dec 2012 02:39:22
Hopefully at the Southampton game Gibbs will be wide awake and not be sloppy at the back, he's starting to remind me of Evra.
I really think we should buy and new lb, cdm, wing, st
I would like to see at Arsenal any of these players.
M'Villa
Nani
Zaha
Lescott
Please stop with the Lescott thing, are you his agent? He is rubbish, what do we want him for? To keep Kos company on the bench?