25 Jul 2014 20:45:13
I have been lurking on this site since the beginning when football rumours branched out the individual teams.

Firstly a big thanks to the Ed's who make the site what it is and their knowledge and patience.

My first post unfortunately will be a controversial one.

I was watching the Invincibles documentary and it brought back some great memories, but shows the fall from grace that we have had since then. Mostly due to our top players going for a quick increase in salary/immediate titles (bought through money rather than hard work and determination).

However I believe we are very close to the success of previous years. There are two main areas that we need to strengthen and we will compete, not only with the Chelski's and Man s**ty's, but with everyone in Europe.

We need a new DMF and a striker.

I'm going to be very frank, with the talk of Wilshere becoming our DMF, I believe we will struggle in the premier league this season. We have majorly strengthened our squad with recent signings, but Jack isn't made for that role and was cause the team to lose games through cards/suspensions. I have actually been unimpressed with Jack for the past few seasons. He shows signs of world class talent, then gives the ball away to the opposition, or makes clumsy challenges or aggressive challenges that show his lack of composure and ability to handle pressure. When he burst onto the scene, I truly thought we had a star footballer that would be the best in the world one day. So where do I see him fitting in? I believe he should be competition for Ozil, and giving Ozil a rest when needed.

Up front we need a world class finisher. I am a big fan of Giroud and everything he brings to the team, but he is not the world class player to lead this team to glory. If you were to look around the league, where would you see Giroud fitting in at United, Chelsea, City? I don't think he would get a look in at any of those clubs. And across Europe at Barca, Real, Bayern, PSG, Juve. could you see him starting above any of their current strikers? His goal scoring record last season was good, but he also missed a lot of chances that a world class striker would have put away.

The reason I have been so critical is because it frustrates me when people (myself included) obsess over potential signings (Khedira to name one) then when it looks like it won't come to fruition, list reasons why we are glad that we never signed said player. Then name current members of the squad who could do the role anyway.

We get so worked up about great players being linked is because we know we are SO close to major success. It only takes a few new faces to come into the club for the dream of a world class Arsenal team to actually become a reality.

With a true DMF and a world class striker, I firmly believe that we will not only win the premier league, but at a canter. We could also do some major damage in the champions league, if not go on to win that too.

{Ed007's Note - Welcome aboard, buddy.}

1.) 25 Jul 2014
In my opinion not controversial at all. Totally agree on the wilshere thing. defo not suited for a DM role for a whole plethora of reasons. And while I like giroud as well, he's also not good enough to be our main man (though a DM is needed more). Maybe the part I disagree with is the win it at a canter part and the champ league part :p you're underestimating the opposition.

2.) 25 Jul 2014
25 Jul 2014 21:34:38
Welcome Goth,

Good post matey.

3.) 25 Jul 2014
25 Jul 2014 21:37:32
The reason I deemed it controversial is because Wilshere is a "proper gooner". Someone who has came through that you really want to be a world beater. It would be easier to criticise a foreign player than one of our own.

In terms of at a canter, I firmly believe that. The opposition is good, but we were the team to beat for a good part of last season. With the signing of Sanchez only makes us stronger. Add two more world class players and we'll be unplayable. The beauty of arsenal is that we have nurtured our talent for a long time. So the whole squad plays as one. We might not have the depth of city, but we're not a team of individuals.