Arsenal Team Talk/Gossip/Rumours Thread 2011/2012

Radharc na Sleibhte

As long as he isnt RVP replacement

Surely RVP will be happy to see this deal done

Redzer7

He'll be a sub, he'll score week after week coming off the bench and Wenger will stick with Hamilton and Gervinho, wait and see .

Radharc na Sleibhte

and I thought my post was pessimistic......!!

Frisbee

Delighted with that. Anything that keeps Gervinho away from the starting XI is fantastic.

HazDanz

Redzer7 wrote: »

He'll be a sub, he'll score week after week coming off the bench and Wenger will stick with Hamilton and Gervinho, wait and see .

I will be very suprised if that is the case. He'll be starting on the wing imo. Too talented for an impact sub.

Frisbee

Frisbee wrote: »

Delighted with that. Anything that keeps Gervinho away from the starting XI is fantastic.

cson

RVP 11 wrote: »

Did you see Gervinho on Saturday? Worst player on the pitch.

Initially I was all for giving the guy a chance but the more I see him the more I'm coming around to Frisbee's line of thinking. The guy isn't cut out for EPL. He's a Fifa Street footballer is the best you could say about him.

thorbarry

For his first season at the club I thought Gervinho did quite well, well before he went away to the ACON.

He is a lively player and always tries to take players on and dribble around them. He has got a few assists this season as well.

meriwether

cson wrote: »

Did you see Gervinho on Saturday? Worst player on the pitch.

Initially I was all for giving the guy a chance but the more I see him the more I'm coming around to Frisbee's line of thinking. The guy isn't cut out for EPL. He's a Fifa Street footballer is the best you could say about him.

Wot?

Come on, give him a chance.

He lacks composure at times, but his raw materials are good, pace, power, direct, can pick out a pass.

I was very pleased with him (within context) pre-ACN.

Kylo Ren

would you say you'll play him and RVP up top together?

Redzer7

Keno 92 wrote: »

would you say you'll play him and RVP up top together?

IMO I don't think so, I reckon he'll be played out wide but I see Wenger finding it hard dropping somebody already in that position.

meriwether

I thought Saturday was a good microcosm of where we are now.

The team played well, however we didn't win.

We are obviously too reliant on RVP. We need a second and third striker, if for nothing else to have someone off the bench, or even change formation (wot? Not the 4-5-1!!).

We were without Arteta and Walcott, and TBH, we really missed them.

We substituted their offensiveness with an awful lot of hard work in the centre, there was plenty of closing down, harrying etc, and fair play to the lads, I love to see that.

We just need that extra bit of class up front. Hopefully Podolski can offer that.

I was impressed with Rambo, BTW. Gibbs was also good going forward.

meriwether

Keno 92 wrote: »

would you say you'll play him and RVP up top together?

If this is Podolski you're talking about - I'd love to see it.

However, it would appear that we don't have a midfield good enough to go 4-4-2.

We just aren't solid enough defensively, hence we need the extra man in midfield.

When we had Henry/Bergkamp up front, we had Vieira and Petit in mid, with a back 4 that contained (variously) the old back 4 from George Graham, to Sol/Cole/Lauren, etc.

Vieria and Petit were so world class we didn't need a 5th man.

The one person we have never replaced adequately is Vieira.

cson

meriwether wrote: »

I was impressed with Rambo, BTW. Gibbs was also good going forward.

So was I, shouldn't have taken him off.

I think Ramsey could come good yet for us.

Redzer7

meriwether wrote: »

Gibbs was also good going forward.

Yeah I was saying this to a few of my mates the other day, he's turning defenders with ease.

kronsington

at least the signing of pod has been confirmed. i'd like to see anothe name brought in before the euros. do people think arsh will return or is he finished with us for gooD?

greendom

meriwether wrote: »

If this is Podolski you're talking about - I'd love to see it.

However, it would appear that we don't have a midfield good enough to go 4-4-2.

We just aren't solid enough defensively, hence we need the extra man in midfield.

When we had Henry/Bergkamp up front, we had Vieira and Petit in mid, with a back 4 that contained (variously) the old back 4 from George Graham, to Sol/Cole/Lauren, etc.

Vieria and Petit were so world class we didn't need a 5th man.

The one person we have never replaced adequately is Vieira.

How about M'Vila ? - I think he could be the one to emulate Patrick

Redzer7

kronsington wrote: »

at least the signing of pod has been confirmed. i'd like to see anothe name brought in before the euros. do people think arsh will return or is he finished with us for gooD?

Funnily enough I forgot all about him, has anyone seen him play any games over there since then?

meriwether

greendom wrote: »

How about M'Vila ? - I think he could be the one to emulate Patrick

I'll be honest with you, I know nowt about him, bar what I read linking him to us.

What I want to know is, what are we going to do with Song/Frimpong/Coq if Mvilla comes.

I've been impressed with Coq and Frimpers when I've seen them.

Song is Song, however he doesn't inspire confidence in me as a DM.

cson

Arshavin won't wear an Arsenal shirt again imo.

If we get anything like £10m for him it'll be a massive result for us.

My one concern is that this is our main bit of business for the summer, I said it in the match thread on Saturday but for us to kick on we need to get rid of the deadwood and add somewhere in the region of 5 players [Poldi included]. The team looks tired and its a direct result of using only 15/16 players the whole season. You need a squad of 20+ guys you can call on to do a job - United are fantastic in this regard.

By all accounts we're pretty serious on M'Vila so that'd be a huge bonus, though I'm struggling to see what AW will do with Alex Song then. We probably need someone creative in the middle too. Snapping up the likes of Hoilett on a free wouldn't be a bad idea either.

Nuri Sahin

Poldi should be playing centrally, either leading the line or just behind the main striker. His days as a winger are past him.

Redzer7 wrote: »

Funnily enough I forgot all about him, has anyone seen him play any games over there since then?

I've not been watching any Russian football this calendar year, but going from what I've read and heard he's doing very well back there. I know he put in a MOTM performance against CSKA Moscow a few weeks back too.

meriwether

Redzer7 wrote: »

Funnily enough I forgot all about him, has anyone seen him play any games over there since then?

Keep him where he is.

He represents where Arsenal went wrong in the last few years - all the ability in the world, with no application.

amiable

meriwether wrote: »

I'll be honest with you, I know nowt about him, bar what I read linking him to us.

What I want to know is, what are we going to do with Song/Frimpong/Coq if Mvilla comes.

I've been impressed with Coq and Frimpers when I've seen them.

Song is Song, however he doesn't inspire confidence in me as a DM.

M'Vila is so much better than those players it doesn't matter what you do with them.
If Arsenal have a chance to sign M'Vila they'd be mad not to.
IMO he could turn Arsenal in to title contenders if Arsenal keep RVP

amiable

cson wrote: »

Arshavin won't wear an Arsenal shirt again imo.

If we get anything like £10m for him it'll be a massive result for us.

My one concern is that this is our main bit of business for the summer, I said it in the match thread on Saturday but for us to kick on we need to get rid of the deadwood and add somewhere in the region of 5 players [Poldi included]. The team looks tired and its a direct result of using only 15/16 players the whole season. You need a squad of 20+ guys you can call on to do a job - United are fantastic in this regard.

By all accounts we're pretty serious on M'Vila so that'd be a huge bonus, though I'm struggling to see what AW will do with Alex Song then. We probably need someone creative in the middle too. Snapping up the likes of Hoilett on a free wouldn't be a bad idea either.

Hoillet wouldn't be free but he'd still be a bargain

meriwether

cson wrote: »

Arshavin won't wear an Arsenal shirt again imo.

If we get anything like £10m for him it'll be a massive result for us.

My one concern is that this is our main bit of business for the summer, I said it in the match thread on Saturday but for us to kick on we need to get rid of the deadwood and add somewhere in the region of 5 players [Poldi included]. The team looks tired and its a direct result of using only 15/16 players the whole season. You need a squad of 20+ guys you can call on to do a job - United are fantastic in this regard.

By all accounts we're pretty serious on M'Vila so that'd be a huge bonus, though I'm struggling to see what AW will do with Alex Song then. We probably need someone creative in the middle too. Snapping up the likes of Hoilett on a free wouldn't be a bad idea either.

I completely agree re the squad size issue.

We were unlucky in some resepcts this season - all 4 FB's injured, for instance, Wilshire out, etc.

But our attack consists of one of the best players in the world, and 2 really really bad ones.

You can't hope to compete over the course of any season with a lack of resources like that.

cson

meriwether wrote: »

I've been impressed with Coq and Frimpers when I've seen them.

Song is Song, however he doesn't inspire confidence in me as a DM.

Frimpong needs a season out on loan at a Premiership club, something similar to Wilshere.

Coquelin is an excellent utility player and I'd be keeping him in the squad.

As regards Song, he was maturing into a really good DM about 2 years ago whereupon he was obviously told to start moving forward and adding the assist side to his game - you'll notice last season and this season he's got more goals and assists than at any other time in his career. I think AW wanted him to become some sort of hybrid DM/AM and its just turned out that he's neither one or the other right now.

cson

amiable wrote: »

M'Vila is so much better than those players it doesn't matter what you do with them.
If Arsenal have a chance to sign M'Vila they'd be mad not to.
IMO he could turn Arsenal in to title contenders if Arsenal keep RVP

M'Vila is an amazing player alright, I'd be delighted to have the team selection headache that'd come with signing him.

Still think he's Real Madrid bound though, I'll be genuinely surprised if we get him.

meriwether

amiable wrote: »

M'Vila is so much better than those players it doesn't matter what you do with them.
If Arsenal have a chance to sign M'Vila they'd be mad not to.
IMO he could turn Arsenal in to title contenders if Arsenal keep RVP

You've seen a bot of him then, I take it?

He certainly sounds good.

greendom

At 21 he's already clocked up 18 appearances for France as well as over a ton for his club. I'd be delighted to see him at the club and it would be up to Coquelin and Frimpong to prove their worth.

cson

meriwether wrote: »

But our attack consists of one of the best players in the world, and 2 really really bad ones.

That's too harsh on Walcott. He's not going to be world class but his assist and goal ratios for the past couple of seasons (taking into account time he's missed through injury) are comparable to similar players at the big clubs.

amiable

meriwether wrote: »

You've seen a bot of him then, I take it?

He certainly sounds good.

I've seen quite a bit of him.
Best way to describe him is he can tackle and break up play like Vieira but he's better on the ball.

Frisbee

Gervinho has put in one, maybe two, performances for us that were above average. The rest have been 'mah' or downright poison.

Yes it was his first season and he needs to adapt. But he doesn't look in any way like a footballer, he's a clogger of the highest order imo. All he had going for him was the ability to stand his man up and go past him from a standing start and then have zero end product.

Since the ACON he hasn't even been able to do that. He's not good enough to start for us, and the longer we persist with him the longer we'll suffer for it tbh. Actually tbf to him he puts in a good defensive shift too.

Him pulling out of that free header the other night because he was afraid Begovic was going to challenge him summed him up tbh.

meriwether

cson wrote: »

That's too harsh on Walcott. He's not going to be world class but his assist and goal ratios for the past couple of seasons (taking into account time he's missed through injury) are comparable to similar players at the big clubs.

I was more talking Park and Chamakh, i.e. the strikers, as opposed to Walcott.

When we had Freddie and Pires (too excellent attacking wingers) we also had Henry/Berg, plus, at various times, Kanu, Wiltord, Wreh, Boa Morte, Reyes, Suker (and, um, Franny Jeffers and Kaba Diawara).

That was a serious squad(s) with serious options and competition.

meriwether

amiable wrote: »

I've seen quite a bit of him.
Best way to describe him is he can tackle and break up play like Vieira but he's better on the ball.

He must be awesome then.

Arsene, sign him up!

tayto lover

cson wrote: »

That's too harsh on Walcott. He's not going to be world class but his assist and goal ratios for the past couple of seasons (taking into account time he's missed through injury) are comparable to similar players at the big clubs.

With the supply he had his percentages must be very low.

tayto lover

Frisbee wrote: »

Gervinho has put in one, maybe two, performances for us that were above average. The rest have been 'mah' or downright poison.

Yes it was his first season and he needs to adapt. But he doesn't look in any way like a footballer, he's a clogger of the highest order imo. All he had going for him was the ability to stand his man up and go past him from a standing start and then have zero end product.

Since the ACON he hasn't even been able to do that. He's not good enough to start for us, and the longer we persist with him the longer we'll suffer for it tbh. Actually tbf to him he puts in a good defensive shift too.

Him pulling out of that free header the other night because he was afraid Begovic was going to challenge him summed him up tbh.

Yes indeed. That and Gibbs pulling out of the 50/50 in their area really summed up some of our players.

ImpossibleDuck

Robben apparently refusing to sign a new contract, what say ye? :P

Any hope in the world?

Also, bloody delighted at the Poldi confirmation! In response to the central vs winger discussion, i think it'll be a mixture of both. If we're playing a considerably weaker team we can afford to drop a man from midfield and play two up front; It would definitely help when we can't break down teams who park the bus.

While I'm sceptical about signing M'vila, he does seem to be our only chance to sign a 'world class' player. Maybe we should just take a punt, as good as Song is, he's shaky at DM. And we could do with a good defensive anchor for when (if) Wilshere comes back.

Podolski + M'vila + consistent half-decent RB cover: doesn't sound unreasonable to me.

If we really want to show we mean business I'd say add a quality attacking midfielder to that too.

Redzer7

ImpossibleDuck wrote: »

Robben apparently refusing to sign a new contract, what say ye? :P

Any hope in the world?

Also, bloody delighted at the Poldi confirmation! In response to the central vs winger discussion, i think it'll be a mixture of both. If we're playing a considerably weaker team we can afford to drop a man from midfield and play two up front; It would definitely help when we can't break down teams who park the bus.

While I'm sceptical about signing M'vila, he does seem to be our only chance to sign a 'world class' player. Maybe we should just take a punt, as good as Song is, he's shaky at DM. And we could do with a good defensive anchor for when (if) Wilshere comes back.

Podolski + M'vila + consistent half-decent RB cover: doesn't sound unreasonable to me.

If we really want to show we mean business I'd say add a quality attacking midfielder to that too.

Imagine that...

Robben - Van Persie - Podolski
M'Villa - Song
Gibbs - Koscieiny - Vermaelen - Sagna
Chesney

Some team that'd be!

Oranage2

Great new about Podolski but I think he's play slightly wide.

We have so many players who can play central midfield that i think it will be hard for Wenger not to play the 4-5-1 (4-3-3) formation.

Arteta, Rosicky, Diaby, Ramsey, Song, Wilshere and young players like Coq, Fringpong plus some I'm forgetting.

As for Gervinho I think he's a donkey. Decent at beating players from a stop start but that's it, I dont know how many times i've seen him fluff at the ball inside the box.

Not sure if we need M'villa, I havent watched much of him and I cant remember Wenger ever splashing the cash on a defensive mid, too much hype anyway for him to come.

Hank Scorpio

If ye can hold onto RVP and get Wilshere fit I think Arsenal will be strong title contenders next season without doubt, Podolski is a excellent player and will make your attacking play much more efficient. You also got really solid defenders, Vermalean, Kos, Mert, Sagna and Gibbs if he can keep fit will be excellent. He's been very solid lately. I agree with whats been said about Gervinho never looked like a proper player Luckily you have a little gem in the Ox!

Mr Blobby

Redzer7 wrote: »

Imagine that...

Robben - Van Persie - Podolski
M'Villa - Song
Gibbs - Koscieiny - Vermaelen - Sagna
Chesney

Some team that'd be!

Not really....... your missing a player:D:D

I think this would help.

Podolski - Van Persie - Robben
- Wilshire -
M'Villa - Song
Gibbs - Koscieiny - Vermaelen - Sagna
Chesney

Redzer7

blobby360 wrote: »

Not really....... your missing a player:D:D

I think this would help.

Podolski - Van Persie - Robben
- Wilshire -
M'Villa - Song
Gibbs - Koscieiny - Vermaelen - Sagna
Chesney

That was my original idea
Knew it was missing something :pac:.

cson

cson wrote: »

Did you see Gervinho on Saturday? Worst player on the pitch.

Initially I was all for giving the guy a chance but the more I see him the more I'm coming around to Frisbee's line of thinking. The guy isn't cut out for EPL. He's a Fifa Street footballer is the best you could say about him.

Give him time i reckon. he has more or less played on the wing and seems to be good at holding the ball up. just needs to work on the final delivery. Hleb needed a year or so owing to the physicality of the EPL

ImpossibleDuck

Not sure we can afford to be giving Gervihno time, he's showed, in my opinion, that he's not cut out for the Premier League.

Mr Blobby

ImpossibleDuck wrote: »

Not sure we can afford to be giving Gervihno time, he's showed, in my opinion, that he's not cut out for the Premier League.

I wouldn't say that.
Personally I think he needs a year to get settled in, just like Koscielny.
I remember Koscielny's first season with use and he did not play well at all.
But this season he's been our best CB.
All Gervihno needs is time to fit in.......

greendom

blobby360 wrote: »

I wouldn't say that.
Personally I think he needs a year to get settled in, just like Koscielny.
I remember Koscielny's first season with use and he did not play well at all.
But this season he's been our best CB.
All Gervihno needs is time to fit in.......

Now I think you're being unfair on Kos. He did make some high profile mistakes but also showed plenty of what he's doing this season. His 2 performances against Barcelona for example, were absolutely heroic.

As to Gervinho, the jury is out. He has shown glimpses but they've been far too infrequent. He will be given another season - one not disrupted by the ACN. Let's hope he proves his worth

Snakeblood

greendom wrote: »

Now I think you're being unfair on Kos. He did make some high profile mistakes but also showed plenty of what he's doing this season. His 2 performances against Barcelona for example, were absolutely heroic.

As to Gervinho, the jury is out. He has shown glimpses but they've been far too infrequent. He will be given another season - one not disrupted by the ACN. Let's hope he proves his worth

The ACN is on next year too. I liked Gervinho when he started. I think he might come good anyway, he certainly seems to put more effort in than Arshavin, he (hopefully) just needs confidence to push him on.

Mr Blobby

greendom wrote: »

Now I think you're being unfair on Kos. He did make some high profile mistakes but also showed plenty of what he's doing this season. His 2 performances against Barcelona for example, were absolutely heroic.

As to Gervinho, the jury is out. He has shown glimpses but they've been far too infrequent. He will be given another season - one not disrupted by the ACN. Let's hope he proves his worth

Maybe i was being a bit over the top with Kos.

But i think gervinho needs time to settle and gain confidence.
Not that us signing Podolski would help with that

greendom

Snakeblood wrote: »

The ACN is on next year too. I liked Gervinho when he started. I think he might come good anyway, he certainly seems to put more effort in than Arshavin, he (hopefully) just needs confidence to push him on.

So its on every year now - who knew ?

G.K.

cson wrote: »

Frimpong needs a season out on loan at a Premiership club, something similar to Wilshere.

Coquelin is an excellent utility player and I'd be keeping him in the squad.

As regards Song, he was maturing into a really good DM about 2 years ago whereupon he was obviously told to start moving forward and adding the assist side to his game - you'll notice last season and this season he's got more goals and assists than at any other time in his career. I think AW wanted him to become some sort of hybrid DM/AM and its just turned out that he's neither one or the other right now.

Coquelin shouldn't be shoehorned into being a Utilty player. He could be immense as a DM in his own right.