Arsenal Talk/Gossip/Rumours Thread 2013

Mickeroo

gosplan wrote: »

What (some) people don't realise about the invincibles was that it wasn't about the defence but about Gilberto.

Gilberto who was also in front of the defence for the champions league run of 05/06 when Arsenal set the record for clean sheets and players like Senderos, Eboue and Flamini featured heavily in defence.

But it's not as simple as 'play a holding midfielder' and everything works brilliantly. They were teams with Pires, Henry, Fabregas, Cole, Bergkamp and Ljundberg unlocking defences. The talent we had at the time and the first team we could put out was comparable to anything in the world. Thus we could afford the luxury of a holding midfielder, and the holding midfielder is a luxury because you're taking an extra player from the attack and adding it to the defence. Real could do it with Makelele because of their line up and we could do it with Gilberto because we didn't need anyone else to attack.

With Arsenal currently, I guess the opinion is that if we're struggling to unlock defences, then giving them one less player to mark will make that harder and probably isn't worth it.

Yeah, I remember Viera went through a fairly poor patch when Gilberto had a long injury because it restricted his forward movement a lot.

gosplan

danlen wrote: »

I think it has waaayyy more to do with both tactical set-up and, to a lesser extent, mentality than it does player quality.

Consider Utd's team (currently the best in the league). No one can convince me that on an individual basis:
Rafael is better than Sagna
Evans is better than Koscielny
That a midfield of Carrick, Cleverly, and Kagawa is better than Arteta, Wilshere, and Cazorla.
And up to this year, we had their best player as our main forward. Yet we still were miles off them.

Quality of the individuals cannot be blamed on our poor performances, that's a cop out.

The tactical set-up and organisation is not appropriate for the modern game. There a several problems but one example, in my opinion, is the lack of pressing high up the field. Barca, Bayern, and the German national team are probably the best I've seen at this moment in time and it's no coincidence that they are also the most dominant teams around.

Of course, you need talent to be as good as these teams but this is the only way forward in the modern game, especially when you are playing teams that you should be getting 3 points off.

Very good point. I think we're very fragile mentally.

In a way I think it can be summed up by the actions of the club. At board level and through our transfers, we never acted like we want to win things at any costs. Once the club's priority shifted to something that wasn't trophies, the players' mentality followed suit.

To give an example. Utd lost the league last year on goal difference. So they sign Kagawa(normal) and then RVP(not normal). They broke their recent transfer policy to spend 25 million on a player with no resale value because that was what the team needed to compete in the league. The club has no other goal, or at least they're all secondary to this.

At board level, we make do and hope for the best. Therefore on the field, the players make do and hope for the best.

It a simple thing and one identified by any company or organisation as crucial. What is the ethos of the club, why does it exist? What's our mission statement?

Man United exist purely to win trophies.

Arsenal exist to .... what exactly? Develop players? Make profits? Build a new stadium?

The problem isn't just the lack of a DM but it's a big part of it. We didn't just have Gilberto sitting in front of the defence for the odd time we lost the ball. Remember what counter-attacks looked like? We could dominate a match without the ball back then.

tayto lover

G1032 wrote: »

This is an absolutely absurd and ridiculous statement to make.

Who did he inherit from the 2006 Champions League team defense?
Not any of Jens Lehman,Lauren, Kolo Touré, Sol Campbell, Ashley Cole.
That's the defense that went 11 champions league games without conceding a goal and the defense of the only Arsenal team to ever appear in a European Cup Final.
Its also the defense that went 49 league games unbeaten. You cannot go 49 games unbeaten in the FPL without getting the defensive side of things right.

Never got the defensive side right??? Rubbish.


Am, he bought Campbell.
He bought all the Invincibles bar Bergkamp and Cole. And he is the one who made Cole the player he was so he might as well have bought him.
So he did win the league with a defense he assembled himself.
Sometimes I wonder..............

So why isn't he fixing the defense now then?
Why hasn't he fixed it for the last number of years?
Has he lost the magic?
Is it his reluctance to spend money on decent players?
Is it his training/tactics or does he just not see the problem or doesn't know how to fix it?
Is he too easy on blaming defenders who are not doing their job?
If he could do it once then why not again?

wandatowell

As much as Arsene annoys me, I still love the guy.


He's the definition of a "club man".

gnfnrhead

jordainius wrote: »

The only 3 he didn't buy, that were inherited were Keown, Bergkamp and Parlour.

I'd argue that Parlour and especially Keown were only bit part players by then too. Bergkamp was the only one who played a big part imo.

tayto lover wrote: »

So why isn't he fixing the defense now then?
Why hasn't he fixed it for the last number of years?
Has he lost the magic?
Is it his reluctance to spend money on decent players?
Is it his training/tactics or does he just not see the problem or doesn't know how to fix it?
Is he too easy on blaming defenders who are not doing their job?
If he could do it once then why not again?

£££££

or lack thereof.

A top quality defender would cost in excess of £20m these days. That wasnt the case ten years ago. We're not in a position right now to be able to go out and spend such large amounts on one player.

The zonal marking system (at least I think thats why it is supposed to be) doesnt help either imo.

Marty McFly

gnfnrhead wrote: »

£££££

or lack thereof.

A top quality defender would cost in excess of £20m these days. That wasnt the case ten years ago. We're not in a position right now to be able to go out and spend such large amounts on one player.

The zonal marking system (at least I think thats why it is supposed to be) doesnt help either imo.

The money argument in all honesty is bollocks look how much City spent on Kompany 20 million you do not need, and anyone who keeps banging the money drum is talking out of there arse. We have a massive wage bill and spent more on the likes of Arshavin and Gervinho than City did on Kompany, we got Sol Campbell on a free and Toure for 500,000 money never seemed to stop us before.

We used to be great at finding players of Kompanys caliber these days we still sign the unknowns or players of great promise we just sign the wrong ones, or we sign the right ones but we aren't helping the development for some reason they seem to stall with us for examples look at The Ox who while more raw last season had a better season or to Walcott who has never quite reached the heights that everyone expected.

I know people will state Arsenal and Wenger changed the game when it comes to finding talented players and other clubs started copying our format but the problem is not only did they start copying our format they started wiping the floor of it with us. We should never have gone so stale, if our scouts aren't doing it anymore why have they gone so stale? Why have they been allowed to continue in this way? This is a scouting network that obviously watched Gervinho and Santos.

As for zonal marking why are we still using it when it clear day still aint working its Wenger and his stubborness once again to admit he may have been wrong.

AdamD

Marty McFly wrote: »

The money argument in all honesty is bollocks look how much City spent on Kompany 20 million you do not need, and anyone who keeps banging the money drum is talking out of there arse. We have a massive wage bill and spent more on the likes of Arshavin and Gervinho than City did on Kompany, we got Sol Campbell on a free and Toure for 500,000 money never seemed to stop us before.

We used to be great at finding players of Kompanys caliber these days we still sign the unknowns or players of great promise we just sign the wrong ones, or we sign the right ones but we aren't helping the development for some reason they seem to stall with us for examples look at The Ox who while more raw last season had a better season or to Walcott who has never quite reached the heights that everyone expected.

I know people will state Arsenal and Wenger changed the game when it comes to finding talented players and other clubs started copying our format but the problem is not only did they start copying our format they started wiping the floor of it with us. We should never have gone so stale, if our scouts aren't doing it anymore why have they gone so stale? Why have they been allowed to continue in this way? This is a scouting network that obviously watched Gervinho and Santos.

As for zonal marking why are we still using it when it clear day still aint working its Wenger and his stubborness once again to admit he may have been wrong.

I completely disagree. For every Kompany, City have had 4 or 5 complete flops. We can't do that, or at least our board won't fund that. Its been said 4/5 times now, Wenger has flops, but so does every other manager. The difference is that Wenger isn't given or isn't willing to spend money to replace those flops.

Marty McFly

AdamD wrote: »

I completely disagree. For every Kompany, City have had 4 or 5 complete flops. We can't do that, or at least our board won't fund that. Its been said 4/5 times now, Wenger has flops, but so does every other manager. The difference is that Wenger isn't given or isn't willing to spend money to replace those flops.

Im not using City as the benchmark, im using Kompany as an example to show you don't have to spend 20 million to buy the right players , something we used to be great at with the likes of Anelka, Toure, Vieira, Petit etc these were all players bought on the cheap even for the time they were bought and players who were big players for Arsenal these days we don't do that, we still sign them kinda players we just seem to sign all the wrong ones more so than not.

Fuzzy_Dunlop

tayto lover wrote: »

Yes Arsene bought such brilliant defenders as --

Stepanovs
Bischoff
Danilevicius
Silvestre
Senderos
Squillachi
Santos

We have to stop buying defenders whose names begin with "S".
These are a few off the top of my head.
We were also linked with many like Kompany, Cahill, Verttonghen and many others but they were a bit too expensive i'd say.

Bischoff isn't a defender, for one.

gnfnrhead

Marty McFly wrote: »

The money argument in all honesty is bollocks look how much City spent on Kompany 20 million you do not need, and anyone who keeps banging the money drum is talking out of there arse. We have a massive wage bill and spent more on the likes of Arshavin and Gervinho than City did on Kompany, we got Sol Campbell on a free and Toure for 500,000 money never seemed to stop us before.

We used to be great at finding players of Kompanys caliber these days we still sign the unknowns or players of great promise we just sign the wrong ones, or we sign the right ones but we aren't helping the development for some reason they seem to stall with us for examples look at The Ox who while more raw last season had a better season or to Walcott who has never quite reached the heights that everyone expected.

I know people will state Arsenal and Wenger changed the game when it comes to finding talented players and other clubs started copying our format but the problem is not only did they start copying our format they started wiping the floor of it with us. We should never have gone so stale, if our scouts aren't doing it anymore why have they gone so stale? Why have they been allowed to continue in this way? This is a scouting network that obviously watched Gervinho and Santos.

As for zonal marking why are we still using it when it clear day still aint working its Wenger and his stubborness once again to admit he may have been wrong.

Kompany was almost five years ago. Football and money moves too quickly to be able to make a direct comparison. What top quality center backs have been signed by anyone in the last year or two for small fee's?

Koscielny cost us about £8m nearly three years ago. You wont be getting much better value than that these days.

Marty McFly

gnfnrhead wrote: »

Kompany was almost five years ago. Football and money moves too quickly to be able to make a direct comparison. What top quality center backs have been signed by anyone in the last year or two for small fee's?

Koscielny cost us about £8m nearly three years ago. You wont be getting much better value than that these days.

Of coarse it comparable, they bought a player known to have great potential and watched him flourish, Kos is nowhere near his level to be honest.

Recently Mbiwa and Vertonghen will they be top class I dont know but time will tell but these are the players like Kompany we used to sign and get the right ones these days once again we still sign them kind of players but we more often than not make the wrong choice.

gnfnrhead

Marty McFly wrote: »

Of coarse it comparable, they bought a player known to have great potential and watched him flourish, Kos is nowhere near his level to be honest.

Recently Mbiwa and Vertonghen will they be top class I dont know but time will tell but these are the players like Kompany we used to sign and get the right ones these days once again we still sign them kind of players but we more often than not make the wrong choice.

Thats the issue. We cant just sign everyone and hope they work out. City can afford to sign a load of players as it wont hurt them if they dont work out. Look at Adebayor and Nasri for examples that are close to home. They paid way over the odds for both, and neither have worked out. We cant afford to do that due to the prices players go for nowadays. If you want top quality, you have to pay top money for it. Something we cant afford right now.

We took our chances on Chamberlain and Jenkinson in recent seasons. Both are now first team players and Jenkinson very likely first choice in the next year or two.

Marty McFly

gnfnrhead wrote: »

Thats the issue. We cant just sign everyone and hope they work out. City can afford to sign a load of players as it wont hurt them if they dont work out. Look at Adebayor and Nasri for examples that are close to home. They paid way over the odds for both, and neither have worked out. We cant afford to do that due to the prices players go for nowadays. If you want top quality, you have to pay top money for it. Something we cant afford right now.

We took our chances on Chamberlain and Jenkinson in recent seasons. Both are now first team players and Jenkinson very likely first choice in the next year or two.

Once again ill say it, im not using City as the benchmark at all, I was giving Kompany as an example. Yes they can afford to do that but what Im saying in the early days of Wengers reign he got it mostly right with players therewere some duds but were are the Vieiras, Petit, Anelka, Toure even Henry was seen as a big gamble back then he mostly got it right.

These days sadly he get more wrong than right meaning every new signing has no time to settle in why because the player he signed before them to fill that role was a flop. Either he or his scouting network or both have lost there eye for talent or for what is really needed to help the team progress.

Jenkinson, Chamberlain, even Gnabry might do but because of his previous attempts we cant be patient with them we need them now and I really do hope they make the grade.

HazDanz

Wenger will be given money this summer for the first time in a long time. See what he does with it and based on that we can judge.

He's going to have to redefine the defence and bring in an enforcer and a target man and be cut throat with his culling. Arsenal needs to be at the top, after all the hard work he put in to create what Arsenal is it would be an awful shame for the man to fall on his own sword before he gets a chance to flex some muscle in the market.

tayto lover

HazDanz wrote: »

Wenger will be given money this summer for the first time in a long time. See what he does with it and based on that we can judge.

He's going to have to redefine the defence and bring in an enforcer and a target man and be cut throat with his culling. Arsenal needs to be at the top, after all the hard work he put in to create what Arsenal is it would be an awful shame for the man to fall on his own sword before he gets a chance to flex some muscle in the market.

But why are we constantly being told this but nothing big ever happens?

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/arsenal/9876493/Arsenal-back-Arsene-Wenger-with-70m-to-spend-in-summer-as-fans-anger-mounts-after-FA-Cup-exit.html

Marty McFly

Marty McFly wrote: »

Now Luzhny was a player I always liked in an Arsenal shirt.

James Beattie was banging in goals for sport in 02/03 but Luzhny didnt give him a kick in the cup final that year.

Luzhny struggled at the start but it could be alot to do with a change of environment and culture. Ok players have certain limitations but i gave Gervinho the benefit of the doubt up until this season because players need time to adjust to the pace. Hleb was another slow starter

farna_boy

Marty McFly wrote: »

Once again ill say it, im not using City as the benchmark at all, I was giving Kompany as an example. Yes they can afford to do that but what Im saying in the early days of Wengers reign he got it mostly right with players therewere some duds but were are the Vieiras, Petit, Anelka, Toure even Henry was seen as a big gamble back then he mostly got it right.

These days sadly he get more wrong than right meaning every new signing has no time to settle in why because the player he signed before them to fill that role was a flop. Either he or his scouting network or both have lost there eye for talent or for what is really needed to help the team progress.

Jenkinson, Chamberlain, even Gnabry might do but because of his previous attempts we cant be patient with them we need them now and I really do hope they make the grade.

I don't think that the highlighted bit is quite right. A lot has changed since Wenger was out buying the likes of Henry etc and probably a lot of that has to do with how well Wenger did in the market and how good our scouts were. When other teams saw what value and talent was out there, they changed their scouting networks to mimic ours.

When you add super rich clubs into the mix, it gets even worse. If Wenger say found the next Henry in some lowly division in France or even saw a player in Ligue 1 who looks like he may be the next greatest player on the planet and goes to sign him, you will immediately have anyone in the club or associated with the club or his agent leaking it to the press in order to get more money for themselves, the club or the player. Most clubs realise (that we are looking to purchase from) know that Arsenal will come in and only be willing to pay you a certain amount, whereas a richer team will be able to come in and essentially double whatever Arsenal offer.

Why do you think Wenger only does business at the end of transfer windows? It's nothing to do with him not realising there is a problem, that he is panic buying or anything of the sort. He realises that if another club gets a sniff that he is interested in a player, he has essentially lost that player immediately. However, if he goes in at the end of the window, other clubs won't have a chance to snatch the player from under his nose.

Marty McFly

Deleted User wrote: »

James Beattie was banging in goals for sport in 02/03 but Luzhny didnt give him a kick in the cup final that year.

Luzhny struggled at the start but it could be alot to do with a change of environment and culture. Ok players have certain limitations but i gave Gervinho the benefit of the doubt up until this season because players need time to adjust to the pace. Hleb was another slow starter

Yeh a lot of players are slow starters takes a year for them to adapt that's why I do think Cazorla, Podolski, Giroud will probably/hopefully get better next year.

Ljunberg was another bought for nithing and took time to adapt but quality player. Gevinho I thought hoped he would kick on this year like I think a lot of people did but he's had nearly two seasons now I don't think its going to happen for him.

HazDanz

tayto lover wrote: »

But why are we constantly being told this but nothing big ever happens?

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/arsenal/9876493/Arsenal-back-Arsene-Wenger-with-70m-to-spend-in-summer-as-fans-anger-mounts-after-FA-Cup-exit.html

I just feel they will give him money this time around. We are in real danger of becoming a very mediocore team and I feel they realise this and we need to sign the two or three players to build the teams confidence and mentality.

dvemail

HazDanz wrote: »

I just feel they will give him money this time around. We are in real danger of becoming a very mediocore team and I feel they realise this and we need to sign the two or three players to build the teams confidence and mentality.

Would like to think that this is the case but i think that we are hearing about this 70million war chest and all the shiny new players we are going to buy just to entice people into renewing their season ticket as i doubt the demand is what it used to be.

Gringo180

One thing is for sure I cannot wait to read Wengers autobiography.

tayto lover

A player who has angered me of late is Mertezacher. I liked him and thought he was a great passer of the ball and a calming influence in the defence but of late I am changing my mind. On two occasions recently he has turned bis back and shied away from blocking shots which have resulted in goals against us. I really dislike cowardly players. Last night I watched Milan players diving in to block shots like Mert turned away from. He was not prepared to put his body on the line for the team.

Jaafa

HazDanz wrote: »

Wenger will be given money this summer for the first time in a long time. See what he does with it and based on that we can judge.

He's going to have to redefine the defence and bring in an enforcer and a target man and be cut throat with his culling. Arsenal needs to be at the top, after all the hard work he put in to create what Arsenal is it would be an awful shame for the man to fall on his own sword before he gets a chance to flex some muscle in the market.

We were told that before last summer too. And in fairness he bought and bought fairly well, not world class players but all solid, and world class from time to time. The problem is losing 2 or 3 of our best along side them every year.

We either need to go all out and spend massively this summer, or hold onto the good players we got while dumping the dead weight. Course a combination of all three would be nice but I don't see it happening.

Soups123

I hope the £70m is sterling, is the budget for buying a player out of his contract only and not including the salary expense

sonic85

wenger going off and spending 70 million in a transfer window wont be worth a sh!te unless the tactics and attitude of the squad as a whole changes to be honest.

buying a load of players wont stop the lads we have from turning their backs on shots or cut out errors or increase their work ethic.

i read a bit on le-grove about sagna the other night turning his back on chesney when the keeper was looking for an outlet. i dont remember this - does anybody here?

HazDanz

sonic85 wrote: »

wenger going off and spending 70 million in a transfer window wont be worth a sh!te unless the tactics and attitude of the squad as a whole changes to be honest.

To sort out the attitude we need more individuals like Jack in the side. You need a leader at the back, in midfield and up top. We lack in that regard so bring in players of that ilk and it will improve the situation we have at the minute.

When we sell our captains and do not replace them you get a team like what we have this year.

Marty McFly

HazDanz wrote: »

To sort out the attitude we need more individuals like Jack in the side. You need a leader at the back, in midfield and up top. We lack in that regard so bring in players of that ilk and it will improve the situation we have at the minute.

When we sell our captains and do not replace them you get a team like what we have this year.

I will give you your first point, but that can take time no player new to a club can walk straight in and be a leader they need bedding in time which unfortunately these days any new player has to be able to walk straight into the first team as our first team is weak, its catch 22 really.

But on the other Wenger has the knack of picking the wrong player to be captain. Fabregas and RVP should never have been made captains, Gallas never, Verm no way his form didn't merit it so we made him undroppable and are still paying for it.

The only player worth of the captaincy in this team is Wilshere imo.

Gringo180

I feel that the clubs attitude and lack of ambition over the past few years have transfered onto the players. I mean its only human nature to lose heart in your job if you see your best assets being shipped out and especially shipped to your main rivals for success. Maybe the attitude will change if we go out in the summer and strenghten the squad with some real talent, but one thing is sure the club has suffered on the field with a lot of greed off it, I am actually still surprised that we can get a full house at The Emirates with the way the ticket prices have shot up and our quality has shot down.

sonic85

HazDanz wrote: »

To sort out the attitude we need more individuals like Jack in the side. You need a leader at the back, in midfield and up top. We lack in that regard so bring in players of that ilk and it will improve the situation we have at the minute.

When we sell our captains and do not replace them you get a team like what we have this year.

i agree we need more like jack but really if the manager and coaches could actually implement a proper gameplan when playing teams wed be instantly much better off without having to spend a penny.

milan last night are the perfect example of what can be achieved against superior opposition with a limited squad. if the attitude is right and everybody is on the same page then virtually anything is possible.

our squad at the minute is as average as its ever been under wenger but if he was doing his job right the very least he could do is have us playing as an organised tight unit thats hard to break down. problem is hes not really doing his job properly at the moment.

HazDanz

Marty McFly wrote: »

I will give you your first point, but that can take time no player new to a club can walk straight in and be a leader they need bedding in time which unfortunately these days any new player has to be able to walk straight into the first team as our first team is weak, its catch 22 really.

But on the other Wenger has the knack of picking the wrong player to be captain. Fabregas and RVP should never have been made captains, Gallas never, Verm no way his form didn't merit it so we made him undroppable and are still paying for it.

The only player worth of the captaincy in this team is Wilshere imo.

I agree Wilshere deserves the captaincy. Verm looks a shadow of his former self. Hard to drive people on if you are playing consistently at a poor level.

What I was getting at with the selling captains comment was that how does confidence keep up in a camp if you see your captains losing faith in the Arsenal and then heading off to another club? It must not sit well within the dressing room and must put doubts in their heads when things are not going their way.

I wonder what importance Wenger puts on the captaincy? I agree he does not pick the right man for the job always, it nearly seems like he uses it as a bargaining tool for keeping players around the last few years.

HazDanz

sonic85 wrote: »

i agree we need more like jack but really if the manager and coaches could actually implement a proper gameplan when playing teams wed be instantly much better off without having to spend a penny

I would love for us to change formation. We should go back to counter attacking football and focus less on possession. We have always looked our best when we play counter attacking imo.

Our style feels quite stale at the minute.

Soups123

The giving out about Verm being made captain is hypocritical, when RVP was leaving and before he was the one name everyone here was putting forward, passion, commitment, a leader. His form has dropped but Wenger was right to pick him when he did.

Jack shouldn't have the weight of this put on his shoulders yet he's still a young developing player

Soups123

Soups123 wrote: »

The giving out about Verm being made captain is hypocritical, when RVP was leaving and before he was the one name everyone here was putting forward, passion, commitment, a leader. His form has dropped but Wenger was right to pick him when he did.

Jack shouldn't have the weight of this put on his shoulders yet he's still a young developing player

Pretty sure a few of us expressed bemusement at making Vermaelen captain since he wasn't in what we thought was our best 11.

.jacksparrow.

Please don't give the armband to jack!we all know what way that does judging by the last 5 captains of arsenal......

Marty McFly

Soups123 wrote: »

The giving out about Verm being made captain is hypocritical, when RVP was leaving and before he was the one name everyone here was putting forward, passion, commitment, a leader. His form has dropped but Wenger was right to pick him when he did.

Jack shouldn't have the weight of this put on his shoulders yet he's still a young developing player

Nope im pretty sure most in here were not happy with Verm being appointed captain given how his form was last season he didn't merit it so no hypocrisy.

Yeh Jack is a young deveolping player but he also our only player who shows passion and determination when things aren't going our way and like all perfect captains he would lead by example and he is the only player we have who can or would do this, Verm leads by making making errors galore these days.

Gringo180

That's the passion of a club captain, I don't care what age the lad is he should be the captain. I keep banging on about it but by jaysus is this boy going to be one of the best midfielders in world football, amazing talent!

gnfnrhead

Soups123 wrote: »

The giving out about Verm being made captain is hypocritical, when RVP was leaving and before he was the one name everyone here was putting forward, passion, commitment, a leader. His form has dropped but Wenger was right to pick him when he did.

Jack shouldn't have the weight of this put on his shoulders yet he's still a young developing player

Pretty sure Arteta and Sagna were the names being put forth the most, with Wilshere taking over from them in a few years time.

12gauge dave

Been an arsenal fan since a young kid and im 24 now and its the first time ive felt hopeless as a fan maybe im over reacting but i love this club and im nearly at the stage of not watching arsenal games for the rest of the season in a personal protest at the joke the club has become its an out rage really

CSF

12gauge dave wrote: »

Been an arsenal fan since a young kid and im 24 now and its the first time ive felt hopeless as a fan maybe im over reacting but i love this club and im nearly at the stage of not watching arsenal games for the rest of the season in a personal protest at the joke the club has become its an out rage really

Haha

Marty McFly

Marty McFly wrote: »

Yeh a lot of players are slow starters takes a year for them to adapt that's why I do think Cazorla, Podolski, Giroud will probably/hopefully get better next year.

Ljunberg was another bought for nithing and took time to adapt but quality player. Gevinho I thought hoped he would kick on this year like I think a lot of people did but he's had nearly two seasons now I don't think its going to happen for him.

While we are on about Giroud, i remember back around this time in 1999, Nicolas Anelka had around 17 goals scored as our top scorer and every one was raving and ranting about him. Juve, Real and Lazio were rumoured to be preparing bids. I was almost flattered at the time that a player that Wenger picked up so relatively cheap was been touted for so much and we ended up getting around the £20m mark for him amazingly given such a sudden rise.

Back then Arsenal were going for the double/double and the media were ejaculating over us. Amazing how they pick on individual personnel now that we are down on our luck and Giroud is rated 'a flop' although he has 14 goals scored.

Only 3 less then Anelka, this time 14 year ago.

Marty McFly

Deleted User wrote: »

While we are on about Giroud, i remember back around this time in 1999, Nicolas Anelka had around 17 goals scored as our top scorer and every one was raving and ranting about him. Juve, Real and Lazio were rumoured to be preparing bids. I was almost flattered at the time that a player that Wenger picked up so relatively cheap was been touted for so much and we ended up getting around the £20m mark for him amazingly given such a sudden rise.

Back then Arsenal were going for the double/double and the media were ejaculating over us. Amazing how they pick on individual personnel now that we are down on our luck and Giroud is rated 'a flop' although he has 14 goals scored.

Only 5 less then Anelka.

Just to be clear I was never saying Giroud was a flop I like him and think he has done well, but he hasn't been as prolific or consistent as we need.

Marty McFly

Marty McFly wrote: »

Just to be clear I was never saying Giroud was a flop I like him and think he has done well, but he hasn't been as prolific or consistent as we need.

Im not singling you out Marty and your spot on with all your opinions but just to be clear, im just trying to give readers an idea of the media madness out there. Its gas how individuals are torn to shreds for the performances of a team

Marty McFly

Deleted User wrote: »

Im not singling you out Marty and your spot on with all your opinions but just to be clear, im just trying to give readers an idea of the media madness out there. Its gas how individuals are torn to shreds for the performances of a team

Ah im with yeh on that the amount of other clubs fans who have told me Giroud is terrible is crazy all because the media has labelled him a flop, when for me he has had a very good debut season.

Deleted User

Deleted User wrote: »

While we are on about Giroud, i remember back around this time in 1999, Nicolas Anelka had around 17 goals scored as our top scorer and every one was raving and ranting about him. Juve, Real and Lazio were rumoured to be preparing bids. I was almost flattered at the time that a player that Wenger picked up so relatively cheap was been touted for so much and we ended up getting around the £20m mark for him amazingly given such a sudden rise.

Back then Arsenal were going for the double/double and the media were ejaculating over us. Amazing how they pick on individual personnel now that we are down on our luck and Giroud is rated 'a flop' although he has 14 goals scored.

Only 3 less then Anelka, this time 14 year ago.

14 years ago I would have been pretty damn proud to bench press 100 pounds but today it just showed up how weak I am.

AdamD

Deleted User wrote: »

14 years ago I would have been pretty damn proud to bench press 100 pounds but today it just showed up how weak I am.

Those 2 things aren't even remotely comparable.

Jesus christ

AdamD

AdamD wrote: »

Those 2 things aren't even remotely comparable.

Jesus christ

You're right, we're in as good a position now as then.

AdamD

Deleted User wrote: »

You're right, we're in as good a position now as then.

Hes comparing 2 players goal records, not the state of the club at those times. Its not hard to follow.

Don't put words in my mouth either.

Roddy23

Yesterday, 18years ago I sat in Highbury for the first time in the north bank watching Chris Kimomya score and we beat Forest 1-0. The same day George Graham was sacked, and Stewart Houston took over. Looking back now, they were bad times. Don't get me wrong, I loved it, but in comparison to now - bad days.

Shoelaces

As bad as at gets... Never forget


At least we're not Spurs