Arsenal Talk/Gossip/Rumours Thread 2013/14 mod warning post #5144

greendom

djPSB wrote: »

Yeah that was last season though.

I'm wondering will we see the players celebrate a top 4 finish in the same poomanner this season.

This time last season top 4 was a real stretch and was beginning to look unlikely. We went on such a great run that finishing 4th was a real achievement. This season it's the least that is expected and won't be celebrated in the same way.

Mickeroo

djPSB wrote: »

Yeah that was last season though.

I'm wondering will we see the players celebrate a top 4 finish in the same manner this season.

Unlikely due to the context bad2dabone pointed out. Liverpool would be well entitled to celebrate it having been in the wilderness for a few years now, though I'm not sure they will since it would take massive implosion for them to miss out on it at this stage much like Arsenal.

djPSB

Fuzzy_Dunlop wrote: »

What exactly are you trying to achieve with this post? (cue the typical oh so innocent 'I'm just asking a question' response)


Oh and would you look who thanked it.

I was just thinking about how satisfied each club is going to be with their respective seasons.

As a Liverpool fan, if Liverpool do manage to get fourth, I'm curious as how Anfield will react on final day of the season compared to the Emirates last season.

Bearing in mind that Liverpool have been out of and CL for so long, finished 7th last season and spent damn all, it would be a massive achievement. Yet, I'm not sure if their would be mass celebrations in Liverpool.

Arsenal on the other hand are a main stay in the CL, it will be interesting to see the reaction to a top 4 finish on the final day this season.

EuropeanSon

Santi101 wrote: »

This Summer will be yet another 'what if' as Wenger and Arsenal are too indecisive in the market. Ozil was a great buy but was ultimately opportunistic - our plan was to get a top striker which we failed to do and luckily Madrid were happy to move Ozil on to help cover some of Bale's cost and they chose Di Maria over Mesut.

Wenger rarely ever does enough in the transfer windows, there's always some glaring holes not rectified - striker since RVP left, goalkeeper for 5 years until Szczesny finally improved, defence for a number of years.

If Ramsey and Walcott were fit....blah blah, Walcott went down at the start of Jan, Ramsey in late December if i'm not mistaken. Wenger chose to do nothing in January so IF IF isnt really good enough. We knew both werent gonna be contributing for a while(or at all in theos case). Failure on Wengers part. A small time mentality is to say that we werent expecting to win this or that so lets be happy. He bought a fat, crocked, washed up Kallstrom in Jan who was decent back in 2006.

I can already hear the excuses in the Summer as to why we arent going heavy in the market .......World Cup year, not enough top players available etc etc.

If we win nothing this year, that will be 9 years. No matter how we dress that up, it's not good enough. FA Cup is massive in the coming weeks, I'll be fuming if Wenger makes changes for that with the dead rubber Bayern game to come after. I still rate Arsene as a v good coach but have SERIOUS doubts about him winning stuff ever again. Our big game record in recent years is horrible, his subs happen too late, the team gets stifled too easily against good sides.

That's a lot of words to manage to say nothing in. Well done.


Who would you have signed? You say Wenger could have signed players, who? How do you know Real Madrid's feelings on Ozil vs Di Maria? The answer is you don't know, and are just whining for the sake of it because you're upset we lost to Stoke.

Blah blah blah... Would Chelsea not struggle without Hazard and Oscar? Would Liverpool not if Suarez and Coutinho missed most of the season? Would City not struggle if Silva missed the whole year and Yaya missed the last two months? Of course they would.

Utd's best goalscorer and midfielder missed chunks of the season. Look how they've suffered. Grow up.

gosplan

djPSB wrote: »

I was just thinking about how satisfied each club is going to be with their respective seasons.

As a Liverpool fan, if Liverpool do manage to get fourth, I'm curious as how Anfield will react on final day of the season compared to the Emirates last season.

Bearing in mind that Liverpool have been out of and CL for so long, finished 7th last season and spent damn all, it would be a massive achievement. Yet, I'm not sure if their would be mass celebrations in Liverpool.

Arsenal on the other hand are a main stay in the CL, it will be interesting to see the reaction to a top 4 finish on the final day this season.

No, you were just thinking how to best try and disguise a blatant attempt to wind up other fans.

You're not too stupid to see the difference in how you'd view a top four spot between a team only securing top 4 on the final day and a team sitting in second with ten games to go, are you?

TimeToShine

It's pretty scary how Liverpool have improved since Christmas. I remember looking at the league table around then and completely ruling them out of contention for anything but a punt at 4th, but looking at the table now they actually have a chance of winning it. I honestly could not imagine a more horrific outcome, but they have the momentum with them (16 point from the last 18) compared to us (8/18) and strikers who can pull goals out of thin air and nab games. The fact that we have City and Chelsea to play only bolsters their title hopes.

I honestly dread the thought of Liverpool taking it, I've ruled us out of it anyway purely because we have no bottle. We can't handle big games. To be perfectly fair, we don't deserve any trophies. Any team that persists with Giroud and wants/thinks they are entitled to win silverware in this country deserves to be punished. He is decent technically but he constantly squanders possession with his little flicks and can't finish. We don't need a striker who can hold up the ball, our midfielders do enough of that tiki-taka crap around the box. We need an incisive runner who will run rings around the defence and split them open so we can either a)play a through ball to him or b)play someone else in through the gap. We are probably mid-table if not below in terms of striker quality, and we'll pay for it.

I hope City win it, I'd gladly settle for the FA cup at this stage.

WoollyRedHat

Is Ramsey back for Tottenham?

Mr.Micro

TimeToShine wrote: »

It's pretty scary how Liverpool have improved since Christmas. I remember looking at the league table around then and completely ruling them out of contention for anything but a punt at 4th, but looking at the table now they actually have a chance of winning it. I honestly could not imagine a more horrific outcome, but they have the momentum with them (16 point from the last 18) compared to us (8/18) and strikers who can pull goals out of thin air and nab games. The fact that we have City and Chelsea to play only bolsters their title hopes.

I honestly dread the thought of Liverpool taking it, I've ruled us out of it anyway purely because we have no bottle. We can't handle big games. To be perfectly fair, we don't deserve any trophies. Any team that persists with Giroud and wants/thinks they are entitled to win silverware in this country deserves to be punished. He is decent technically but he constantly squanders possession with his little flicks and can't finish. We don't need a striker who can hold up the ball, our midfielders do enough of that tiki-taka crap around the box. We need an incisive runner who will run rings around the defence and split them open so we can either a)play a through ball to him or b)play someone else in through the gap. We are probably mid-table if not below in terms of striker quality, and we'll pay for it.

I hope City win it, I'd gladly settle for the FA cup at this stage.

and 3rd or 4th place to qualify for the CL.

jonneymendoza

Looper007 wrote: »

People need to get behind the team. I hate all this "it's over" let's see how we will respond. One big win and we could garner a good run.
It sucked today that's for certain but Chelsea and Utd lost there and City and Liverpool drew too. So it's not a easy place to go.

the reason why people say its over is because we have gone nearly 9 years of winning nothing and bottling it when we needed to win a game.

Toss in the fact that we have such a terrible record against the top teams and have never ever beaten morinho's chelsea, You should be scratching your head thinking "why not give up"?

Its over. Arsenal are finished

GillespieRoad

John W. Henry has admitted Suarez had a release clause of £40m but chose not to sell because "contracts dont mean much in football" at a sports conference.

A. "He had a buyout clause of £40m. Arsenal, one of our prime rivals – this year we’re tied for 2nd … we’re actually 2nd because of GD" #LFC
https://twitter.com/lovefutebol/status/439883779654836224

A. "They offered £40m+£1. What we’ve found ... is that contracts don’t seem to mean a lot in England – actually, in world football." #LFC
https://twitter.com/lovefutebol/status/439884015295029248

Wait, is this not illegal? So it turns out the £40+1 was a proper offer that should have been accepted!?

Santi101

EuropeanSon wrote: »

That's a lot of words to manage to say nothing in. Well done.

You don't see to have a clue, lad. Holes all over the place.

Who would you have signed? You say Wenger could have signed players, who?

I would have signed a striker better than Giroud, Sanogo, Bendtner. Do I need to write a list of them as we'll be here all day. A club sitting on cash reserves like we do and that's the best we can do....average strikers? Do me a favour.

How do you know Real Madrid's feelings on Ozil vs Di Maria? The answer is you don't know, and are just whining for the sake of it because you're upset we lost to Stoke.

Ancelotti and Zidane said so. Google it. IIRC Ancelotti talked about a lack of fight and defensive work for the team which is something we can all see.

Blah blah blah... Would Chelsea not struggle without Hazard and Oscar? Would Liverpool not if Suarez and Coutinho missed most of the season? Would City not struggle if Silva missed the whole year and Yaya missed the last two months? Of course they would.

Utd's best goalscorer and midfielder missed chunks of the season. Look how they've suffered. Grow up.

What is this? Did Hazard and Oscar get injured for the season in December/January? How is this relevant. What rubbish. We lost players and had a month to do something to rectify - Lord Wenger bought a washed up crock and NO STRIKER. We looked like we needed reinforcements without those injuries considering the number City did on us before Xmas. The signs were there.

dvemail

Rag of a paper but would people be happy with him and our reported agreed fee for Morata as our summers new attacking options?

http://www.goal.com/en-us/news/69/transfer-zone/2014/03/02/4656258/wenger-confirms-arsenal-interest-in-real-sociedad-star

Paulegend

djPSB wrote: »

I was just thinking about how satisfied each club is going to be with their respective seasons.

As a Liverpool fan, if Liverpool do manage to get fourth, I'm curious as how Anfield will react on final day of the season compared to the Emirates last season.

Bearing in mind that Liverpool have been out of and CL for so long, finished 7th last season and spent damn all, it would be a massive achievement. Yet, I'm not sure if their would be mass celebrations in Liverpool.

Arsenal on the other hand are a main stay in the CL, it will be interesting to see the reaction to a top 4 finish on the final day this season.

to be fair they celebrated because it was a tough fight for 4th last year. if liverpool get 4th a expect us to celebrate but probably not as much as they did last season as the fight for 4th looks like it wont be as close as last season.

if arsenal finish 4th this season however i dont expect they will celebrate like last season. if they do though.............. #emarrasing. but also if liverpool celebrate like they just won the league and they finish 4th by about 6-10 points ill also be embarrased


arsenal get stick for last seasons reaction but to be fair they had a lot of pressure on them to do it and it looked against the odds this time last season. gotta give them credit

Paulegend

GillespieRoad wrote: »

John W. Henry has admitted Suarez had a release clause of £40m but chose not to sell because "contracts dont mean much in football" at a sports conference.

A. "He had a buyout clause of £40m. Arsenal, one of our prime rivals – this year we’re tied for 2nd … we’re actually 2nd because of GD" #LFC
https://twitter.com/lovefutebol/status/439883779654836224

A. "They offered £40m+£1. What we’ve found ... is that contracts don’t seem to mean a lot in England – actually, in world football." #LFC
https://twitter.com/lovefutebol/status/439884015295029248

Wait, is this not illegal? So it turns out the £40+1 was a proper offer that should have been accepted!?

really shows the man has balls for the business world. he didnt want to sell and he didnt. i still maintain there must have been some loophole that he got around not selling though. or else arsenal just didnt want to try to force it. if it went to court i doubt it would have been cleared up by deadline day

GillespieRoad

Paulegend wrote: »

really shows the man has balls for the business world. he didnt want to sell and he didnt. i still maintain there must have been some loophole that he got around not selling though. or else arsenal just didnt want to try to force it. if it went to court i doubt it would have been cleared up by deadline day

Thats the reason Gordon Taylor gave for not taking them to court. Little bit infuriating though.

EuropeanSon

Santi101 wrote: »

You don't see to have a clue, lad. Holes all over the place.



I would have signed a striker better than Giroud, Sanogo, Bendtner. Do I need to write a list of them as we'll be here all day. A club sitting on cash reserves like we do and that's the best we can do....average strikers? Do me a favour.



Ancelotti and Zidane said so. Google it. IIRC Ancelotti talked about a lack of fight and defensive work for the team which is something we can all see.



What is this? Did Hazard and Oscar get injured for the season in December/January? How is this relevant. What rubbish. We lost players and had a month to do something to rectify - Lord Wenger bought a washed up crock and NO STRIKER. We looked like we needed reinforcements without those injuries considering the number City did on us before Xmas. The signs were there.

More nothing, lad. Again couldn't even name one striker that was possible. Sure, Ibra is better, you would've signed him so?


Just more blah blah blah and no attempts to address my points. I'm not making your points for you, if evidence exists, provide it. Welcome to ignore.

Paulegend

GillespieRoad wrote: »

Thats the reason Gordon Taylor gave for not taking them to court. Little bit infuriating though.

i know if i was an opposition fan id be pissed about it. crazy. but to be honest arsenal where better off moving on from it. if ye did go to court ye probably wouldnt have tried to sign ozil which was a major boost at the time. who knows what would have happened.

crazy that contracts dont seem to matter to players management or even owners anymore though

TimeToShine

EuropeanSon wrote: »

More nothing, lad. Again couldn't even name one striker that was possible. Sure, Ibra is better, you would've signed him so?


Just more blah blah blah and no attempts to address my points. I'm not making your points for you, if evidence exists, provide it. Welcome to ignore.

Higuain would have come to us if we'd offered him decent wages. Llorente, Cuadrado, and even a few of the PL strikers like Benteke were possibilities. I agree with you that Wenger is just about justified in not buying a striker in the summer but we really should have done something in January. At that stage it was common knowledge that we are a spear with a blunt edge.

EuropeanSon

TimeToShine wrote: »

Higuain would have come to us if we'd offered him decent wages. Llorente, Cuadrado, and even a few of the PL strikers like Benteke were possibilities. I agree with you that Wenger is just about justified in not buying a striker in the summer but we really should have done something in January. At that stage it was common knowledge that we are a spear with a blunt edge.

Higuain in January? I doubt that very much.

As for Llorente, Cuadrado, Benteke, would they have been any improvement on Giroud? Perhaps, perhaps not, but with a very large outlay required and the standard of player available in the summer probably much higher I think it would've been a poor move.

I'm not saying things have been ideal, just that this "Wenger out if we don't win the League/FA Cup" line is utter shite. We've improved vastly from recent years, and are just coming into some real money, now is the time to give Wenger that chance he's earned by getting us through the hard years in fantastic shape.

People forget how absurdly wealthy Chelsea and City are. Competing with them like we have is pretty damn impressive.

.jacksparrow.

Even Remy in loan would have gave us some pace up top.

Spanish Johnny

Santi101 wrote: »

You don't see to have a clue, lad. Holes all over the place.



I would have signed a striker better than Giroud, Sanogo, Bendtner. Do I need to write a list of them as we'll be here all day. A club sitting on cash reserves like we do and that's the best we can do....average strikers? Do me a favour.



Ancelotti and Zidane said so. Google it. IIRC Ancelotti talked about a lack of fight and defensive work for the team which is something we can all see.



What is this? Did Hazard and Oscar get injured for the season in December/January? How is this relevant. What rubbish. We lost players and had a month to do something to rectify - Lord Wenger bought a washed up crock and NO STRIKER. We looked like we needed reinforcements without those injuries considering the number City did on us before Xmas. The signs were there.

Ya I do expect ya to name options. Because I am sick to death of posters bladdering on about this brilliant saviour of a striker we should have signed.is he??

jonneymendoza

at this moment in time i'd wish arsenal win the carling cup and miss out on top 4 tbh.

i am getting sick and tired of my club not winning anything.

i think nearly half the Premier league clubs have all won something over the past 9 years.

Spanish Johnny

We had bids for Klose, Cisse and Kalou rejected. Two bids for Draxler turned down. So wr did make moves. We didnt succeed. It happens. Please name the mystery strikers ourselves and Chelsea missed out on?

Alfred Borden

Spanish Johnny wrote: »

We had bids for Klose, Cisse and Kalou rejected. Two bids for Draxler turned down. So wr did make moves. We didnt succeed. It happens. Please name the mystery strikers ourselves and Chelsea missed out on?

In fairness they were all deadline day deals which is pretty disgraceful knowing we needed a striker since last June. Should not have been panic buying and instead should have got our business done early like the other top clubs.

Mickeroo

jonneymendoza wrote: »

at this moment in time i'd wish arsenal win the carling cup and miss out on top 4 tbh.

i am getting sick and tired of my club not winning anything.

i think nearly half the Premier league clubs have all won something over the past 9 years.

No thanks, I would not rather be supporting Swansea. I'd take a good shot at the FA cup, an outside chance at the league and a pretty certain top 4 finish any day. We're also not out of the Champions League yet but would highly unlikely we'll be going through.

EuropeanSon

.jacksparrow. wrote: »

Even Remy in loan would have gave us some pace up top.

How would that happen? Newcastle would hardly let him go on loan mid season.

.jacksparrow.

EuropeanSon wrote: »

How would that happen? Newcastle would hardly let him go on loan mid season.

He's on loan at Newcastle.

Mickeroo

.jacksparrow. wrote: »

He's on loan at Newcastle.

Can't really get more unavailable than that tbh.

Alfred Borden

Definitely thought that we could have got Jackson Martinez or Adrian Ramos in january. Both would have added a bit of pace and arguably better than Giroud. Jay Rodrigeuz would have been another one.

bad2dabone

.jacksparrow. wrote: »

He's on loan at Newcastle.

In fairness he's unavailable. Newcastle would have paid a fee or signed contracts with qpr to keep the player at the club until the end of the season.

.jacksparrow.

bad2dabone wrote: »

In fairness he's unavailable. Newcastle would have paid a fee or signed contracts with qpr to keep the player at the club until the end of the season.

Then should of bought him when he was available or took him on loan when he was available!

Gringo180

Even Defoe was gettable in January :pac:

bad2dabone

.jacksparrow. wrote: »

Then should of bought him when he was available or took him on loan when he was available!

Rape charge hanging over him

.jacksparrow.

bad2dabone wrote: »

Rape charge hanging over him

And?

Mickeroo

.jacksparrow. wrote: »

Then should of bought him when he was available or took him on loan when he was available!

Which would have been July when they were going hell for leather for Suarez.

.jacksparrow.

Mickeroo wrote: »

Which would have been July when they were going hell for leather for Suarez.

Ah I dunno, maybe there was nothing the club could have done to help the situation were in now.

Spanish Johnny

Raf32 wrote: »

Definitely thought that we could have got Jackson Martinez or Adrian Ramos in january. Both would have added a bit of pace and arguably better than Giroud. Jay Rodrigeuz would have been another one.

Martinez has a release 30 million plus and scores goals in Portugal though Raf. Not realistic IMO.

Also we should ask-why are we having this debate today?

We lose to Stoke and still in the race and we attack the failure to sign a striker.

Was our striker exclusively at fault yesterday?

Who named is better than Giroud?

What did wr create yesterday for our striker?

Our midfield was awful. Need to have some perspective too.

.jacksparrow.

According to reports sagna is leaving.

Alfred Borden

Spanish Johnny wrote: »

Martinez has a release 30 million plus and scores goals in Portugal though Raf. Not realistic IMO.

Also we should ask-why are we having this debate today?

We lose to Stoke and still in the race and we attack the failure to sign a striker.

Was our striker exclusively at fault yesterday?

Who named is better than Giroud?

What did wr create yesterday for our striker?

Our midfield was awful. Need to have some perspective too.

Im not trying to fault Giroud at all, in fact im a big fan of his. But fact is in the big games, not yesterday when things are going against us we have nothing to replace him with which might offer us fresh ideas and maybe a so called "plan B". Its not better than Giroud I wanted in January because thats a notoriously hard month to buy, its better than what we have in reserve which isnt too much. In the summer though, definitely want an upgrade on Giroud however..

Spanish Johnny

Raf32 wrote: »

Im not trying to fault Giroud at all, in fact im a big fan of his. But fact is in the big games, not yesterday when things are going against us we have nothing to replace him with which might offer us fresh ideas and maybe a so called "plan B". Its not better than Giroud I wanted in January because thats a notoriously hard month to buy, its better than what we have in reserve which isnt too much. In the summer though, definitely want an upgrade on Giroud however..

Agreed.

I think the evidence suggests we tried though but were unsuccessful. I know thats frustrating but Im trying tp accept thats life and we need to move on. Your criticisms are fair but I am tired of some other posts that resurface way to quickly in defeat to but the boot in this team.

Surely a mitigating factor in the no trophy in 9 years is that we have consistently downgraded the importance of the FA Cup and League Cup in terms of team selection for Premiership and CL too ?

unsucc

tayto lover

AND why do we bid for players yet not get them?
Because we don't bid enough obviously.
You don't get a Merc for the price of a Punto.

Alfred Borden

Spanish Johnny wrote: »

Agreed.

I think the evidence suggests we tried though but were unsuccessful. I know thats frustrating but Im trying tp accept thats life and we need to move on. Your criticisms are fair but I am tired of some other posts that resurface way to quickly in defeat to but the boot in this team.

Surely a mitigating factor in the no trophy in 9 years is that we have consistently downgraded the importance of the FA Cup and League Cup in terms of team selection for Premiership and CL too ?

unsucc

agreed. Tbh im not one of those that complains when we used to put out weak teams in the league cup if we were in with a chance in one of the other two big competitions. Completely agree with Wengers philosophy that 4th is more important than the two domestic cups and wouldn't sacrifice any of our top 4 finishes for them. Just this year feels different, on the tip of something special but definitely wont be able to compete properly until next year, always thought that.
The only two complaints I have with the current team are:
1. No backup striker (fair complaint)
2. Wilshere and the fact he is so overrated. (maybe controversial?)
When Jack was having a great January I complimented him on it, but 90% of the time he is so frustrating. An Arsenal fan through and through,and instead of fighting for the club he always seems to be rolling around hurt on the ground.

There are my only two qualms with the team this year. Ramsey coming back will fix no.2 and arsene hopefully will fix no.1 in the summer. Top 4 and a cup this year though is essential to show we have made progress. 4th and nothing else and I feel had Fergie still been at United we would be playing on Thursdays and losing some of our best players. Hopefully we can come third (realistic and was always my aim) and the FA cup and that's a great season.

Spanish Johnny

tayto lover wrote: »

AND why do we bid for players yet not get them?
Because we don't bid enough obviously.
You don't get a Merc for the price of a Punto.

The loan bids were rejected and no leeway there.

The Draxler valuation they were unwilling to meet and the club held firm and I think in this case that was fair enough.

bad2dabone

.jacksparrow. wrote: »

And?

I think that's what put us off him. I'm not arguing with ya jack. I think our transfer policy is nothing short of laughable. 140m in the bank. Four signings this season and only one cost money. And he was a pure chance signing.
Not good.

tayto lover

Spanish Johnny wrote: »

The loan bids were rejected and no leeway there.

The Draxler valuation they were unwilling to meet and the club held firm and I think in this case that was fair enough.

We also missed out on Hazard, Mata, Higuain etc etc.
We just love a bargain but we don't offer enough when there is quality available.

Spanish Johnny

tayto lover wrote: »

We also missed out on Hazard, Mata, Higuain etc etc.
We just love a bargain but we don't offer enough when there is quality available.

Agreed on Higuain. United were even blown out of the Hazard deal financially and similarly Chelsea did us Mata.

We had to bargain until this year given the position of theclub. Even now though we will never ever beat City or Chelsea for wages.

Skylinehead

TimeToShine wrote: »

Higuain would have come to us if we'd offered him decent wages. Llorente, Cuadrado, and even a few of the PL strikers like Benteke were possibilities. I agree with you that Wenger is just about justified in not buying a striker in the summer but we really should have done something in January. At that stage it was common knowledge that we are a spear with a blunt edge.

Higuain has only just moved to Napoli, so they aren't going to sell him.
Llorente has only moved to Juventus, so they aren't going to sell him.
Cuadrado....is a fullback/winger. Has never played as a striker in his life, not sure why he's here.

emergingstar

I reality out challenge faded when theo got injured

This place is ridiculous.

No Theo or Rambo. We did well, led the league, now it's caught up with us.

No RVP or Rooney for Man U. F*cked it and now probably not going to make cl.

Sense of perspective people!

AdamD

emergingstar wrote: »

I reality out challenge faded when theo got injured

Which is a terrible excuse given that it happened BEFORE the transfer window.