Arsenal Talk/Gossip/Rumours Thread 2016

kronsington

Theo is one of the most over rated players I can recall ever. its the media's fault in many ways who have hyped him from when he was 16 and he somehow was selected for the 2006 world cup. he's never done it for arsenal. he's at Andros Townsend standard. His basic game is absolutely atrocious. Goodbye Theo

gandalf

I can just imagine Wenger's interview. We showed heart, dug deep, blah blah blah....

Ol' Donie

Tough draw. Were never going to win it. Good effort.

It'd be good if we had even one striker with a better touch than Martin Keown.

sonic85

Barca weren't good tonight but still beat us 3-1. Just defended poorly and didn't finish our own chances. Same two areas that have needed strengthening for years now. Did alright overall though

AnimalRights

Ratings : Ospina 7, Bellarin 6, Monreal 7, Gabriel 6, Kos 6, Flamini 5, Elneni 8, Ozil 7, Sanchez 5, Iwobi 6, Welbeck 6 subs: Coq 5, Giroud 5, Walcott 4 : overall performance wasn't bad but we didn't take our chances hence the need for a stellar striker.

osarusan

If Barca had had the attacking positions Arsenal had tonight, I wonder how many they would have scored.

Harry Palmr

osarusan wrote: »

If Barca had had the attacking positions Arsenal had tonight, I wonder how many they would have scored.

but they don't.

brianregan09

Barcelona slept walked through the game and still won 3-1

gandalf

kronsington wrote: »

Theo is one of the most over rated players I can recall ever. its the media's fault in many ways who have hyped him from when he was 16 and he somehow was selected for the 2006 world cup. he's never done it for arsenal. he's at Andros Townsend standard. His basic game is absolutely atrocious. Goodbye Theo

Unfortunately it looks like the Ox is heading the same way as well.

Drexel

kronsington wrote: »

Theo is one of the most over rated players I can recall ever. its the media's fault in many ways who have hyped him from when he was 16 and he somehow was selected for the 2006 world cup. he's never done it for arsenal. he's at Andros Townsend standard. His basic game is absolutely atrocious. Goodbye Theo

He is the only Arsenal player I would actively like to be sold. Flattered to deceive for too long.

kronsington

gandalf wrote: »

I can just imagine Wenger's interview. We showed heart, dug deep, blah blah blah....

"tonight we showed hunger, belief and gave absolutely everything. we were unlucky and showed great mental strength"

sonic85

kronsington wrote: »

Theo is one of the most over rated players I can recall ever. its the media's fault in many ways who have hyped him from when he was 16 and he somehow was selected for the 2006 world cup. he's never done it for arsenal. he's at Andros Townsend standard. His basic game is absolutely atrocious. Goodbye Theo

He's a terrible terrible player. When you watch him stumble over the ball and struggle to complete basic passes you wonder how he ever came to be a professional footballer. He really needs to be shipped out pronto to free up wages. Whenever he does leave he'll be found out I'd say and will end up in the championship or worse

Ol' Donie

sonic85 wrote: »

Barca weren't good tonight but still beat us 3-1. Just defended poorly and didn't finish our own chances. Same two areas that have needed strengthening for years now. Did alright overall though

Very hard to defend well against them. We should have scored a few.

I'm way more angry about Swansea and poxy Watford.

osarusan

Harry Palmr wrote: »

but they don't.

They don't what?

What I mean is that a number of times, Arsenal got into really good attacking positions where the opposition defence was stretched. Time after time, they either made the wrong pass or the right pass at the wrong time.

I wonder how the Barca front 3 would have exploited the same opportunities.

Skylinehead

Harry Palmr wrote: »

but they don't.

I think you've completely misinterpreted his comment there!

tayto lover

It was a meaningless game and Barca allowed us to play as well as they wanted us to.

sonic85

Ol' Donie wrote: »

Very hard to defend well against them. We should have scored a few.

I'm way more angry about Swansea and poxy Watford.

Normally I'd agree with you regarding defending against barca but they weren't anything to write home about tonight. Just very clinical with the chances they got.

Agree with you about us attacking though - had we had a top class forward we couldve scored a couple more. We need to strengthen big time but I suppose it's been the same for god knows how long. Nothings changed

awec

The Arsenal performance wasn't bad because Barca knew that 2nd gear was good enough to win. Tells us more about Barcelona than it does about Arsenal really.

Pity for Arsenal that Wenger was too tight to offer more than £40,000,001 for Suarez.

GreNoLi

kronsington wrote: »

why are you in this thread during the game???

The champs league thread might spoil the other match.

L'prof

awec wrote: »

The Arsenal performance wasn't bad because Barca knew that 2nd gear was good enough to win. Tells us more about Barcelona than it does about Arsenal really.

Pity for Arsenal that Wenger was too tight to offer more than £40,000,001 for Suarez.

This team would only drag Suarez down to their level...

emergingstar

Iwobi and elneny very good, hope both start on Saturday

Bobby Baccala

Obviously disappointed with that result but what can you do against that barca front 3. Only positive bit about that match is Elneny looked even better than before and Iwobi showed great confidence, deserves to be ahead of Walcott and the Ox based purely on that performance.

keano_afc

The good: Iwobi looks a prospect. Elneny has settled well. We created chances.

The bad: Barca barely got out of second gear. Sanchez is broken. If we had a clinical striker, we'd be a different team altogether.

If I was Wenger I'd start the same team on Saturday. With Coq for the busted Flamini obviously. Plenty tonight to suggest we can finish top 4.

sonic85

L'prof wrote: »

This team would only drag Suarez down to their level...

I was going to post something similar! I'd say had we bought him he would've only lasted a season before wanting out.

We need a world class centre forward but we're deficient in other areas too. A top striker will only be good to us as long as the defence is improved at the same time

sonic85

P4DDY2K11 wrote: »

Obviously disappointed with that result but what can you do against that barca front 3. Only positive bit about that match is Elneny looked even better than before and Iwobi showed great confidence, deserves to be ahead of Walcott and the Ox based purely on that performance.

Well the biggest plus is he can actually control the ball and play a pass. Something the other two struggle with

Bobby Baccala

sonic85 wrote: »

Well the biggest plus is he can actually control the ball and play a pass. Something the other two struggle with

Yeah showed great composure and vision imo. If he turns out anything like his uncle we'll be laughing!

sonic85

Would we be better off dropping sanchez for a few games and playing campbell instead? Campbell is/was playing well but Arsene just doesn't seem to want to play him. Sanchez might benefit from a spell on the bench and he'd be a good player to bring on against tired legs.

wandatowell

Sh*t game.

Barca had it so easy tonight.

Draw at Everton at the weekend.

Ol' Donie

sonic85 wrote: »

Would we be better off dropping sanchez for a few games and playing campbell instead? Campbell is/was playing well but Arsene just doesn't seem to want to play him. Sanchez might benefit from a spell on the bench and he'd be a good player to bring on against tired legs.

Hate to say it, but we rode out the injury crisis just fine till he came back.

Bobby Baccala

Am I alone in thinking Hamann is up there with Sounness as one of the most awful pundits around?

Gringo180

kronsington wrote: »

Theo is one of the most over rated players I can recall ever. its the media's fault in many ways who have hyped him from when he was 16 and he somehow was selected for the 2006 world cup. he's never done it for arsenal. he's at Andros Townsend standard. His basic game is absolutely atrocious. Goodbye Theo

Bit harsh on Townswend there who actually has some technical ability.

Gringo180

P4DDY2K11 wrote: »

Am I alone in thinking Hamann is up there with Sounness as one of the most awful pundits around?

I like Souness. Hes not afraid to say it how it is. He was spot on about us a few weeks back on Sky. A soft soft team with no backbone or leaders.

sonic85

Ospina
Bellerin Kos Gabriel Monreal
Coq Elneny
Iwobi Ozil Campbell
Welbeck

That's what I'd go with for the weekend.

brianregan09

The weekend can **** off I'm sick of watching them , I was depressed watching all of that , Can't remember the last time I felt like that watching a football game

DarraghF197

Gringo180 wrote: »

I like Souness. Hes not afraid to say it how it is. He was spot on about us a few weeks back on Sky. A soft soft team with no backbone or leaders.

I think he gets emotionally distracting too much times and is either clueless about certain aspects or trying too hard to be dramatic. He comes out with interesting conclusions every now and then though.

Bobby Baccala

Gringo180 wrote: »

I like Souness. Hes not afraid to say it how it is. He was spot on about us a few weeks back on Sky. A soft soft team with no backbone or leaders.

Always struck me as very bitter when it comes to Arsenal.

On another note, if Wenger can watch that match and think we don't need a proper striker then hes gone senile. With a quality striker on the pitch tonight maybe we could have finished one or two of those chances.

Gringo180

P4DDY2K11 wrote: »

Always struck me as very bitter when it comes to Arsenal.

On another note, if Wenger can watch that match and think we don't need a proper striker then hes gone senile. With a quality striker on the pitch tonight maybe we could have finished one or two of those chances.

And to think when I said at the start of Jan that we needed another attacker and was shot down in here by some saying we had enough quality in Walcott, Giroud and with Welbeck to come back :pac:

Don't want to put too much weight on tonights result but I've no real reason for optimism. Nothing will change. Were stuck in groundhog day for another few years. We've a manager and players who only give a **** about coming fourth

Arghus

Arsenal played quite well in parts tonight; they performed in a manner that I've given up on seeing from Arsenal: They made a go of it and showed a bit of fight. I don't know whether to credit that to Barca complacency or genuine desire from Arsenal, probably a bit of both.

The side couldn't finish it's dinner though. A team with even a smidge more finishing power might have managed another goal or two, but, we've been here before. Nothing is going to change, for better or worse, until the Post-Wenger era.

Marcus Antonius

So what was everybody's favourite French mans excuses tonight? RTE 2 where chatting away for ever so I gave up hearing the post match interview.

So tonight's match, better showing than we've given in the last few games, still lost mind you.

The positives: Iwobi looks like a hot prospect, Danny was in form and Elney seems to be settling in nicely. I don't understand the slating that Sanchez is getting. He's been very poor the last few games but thought he played quite well tonight with the exception of a few of the chances he had (the free header in particular) that he should have buried.

The negatives: We lost obviously. Our defenders are still trying to play the ball out of defence and losing the ball, Kos for the first goal was acting insanely. He's normally our best defender but has been muck in the last few games. Arsene's inability to make game changing tactical subs. I was watching the match with my da and he was asking when is Wenger gonna make some changes I replied not before the 70th minute, ever! We could be losing 13-0 and he still wouldn't. (I know Coq came on before this but that was forced.) Then taking Welbeck and Iwobi- two of our brightest sparks off for Giroud and Walcott was pure insanity. We are chasing a game and take of one of the biggest threats we have for scoring and one of our most inform (not a hard feat lately I realise) players off.

Onwards and upwards I suppose. Never looking forward to the football lately but here's to hoping we can actually pick up a win against Everton, at least we're away!

__________________________
Marcus Antonius

Gringo180

Gringo180 wrote: »

And to think when I said at the start of Jan that we needed another attacker and was shot down in here by some saying we had enough quality in Walcott, Giroud and with Welbeck to come back :pac:

Yeah, I know! How are you the only person who can see that we need better attacking options? Crazy, man! :rolleyes:

wonga77

I thought the RTE panel hit the nail on the head about Wenger tonight, he's essentially fulfilling the boards needs to finish 4th or higher and make the knockout stages of the cl as a minimum. Instead of coming out afterwards saying that he was disappointed to be eliminated or gutted we didnt take our chances, he just said it was a great tie that we contributed to and that we should take positives from it.
From a business perspective he's a perfect fit, from a fans perspective he's past his sell by date

wonga77

wonga77 wrote: »

I thought the RTE panel hit the nail on the head about Wenger tonight, he's essentially fulfilling the boards needs to finish 4th or higher and make the knockout stages of the cl as a minimum. Instead of coming out afterwards saying that he was disappointed to be eliminated or gutted we didnt take our chances, he just said it was a great tie that we contributed to and that we should take positives from it.
From a business perspective he's a perfect fit, from a fans perspective he's past his sell by date

It's craziness to think that he only wants to reach those targets, and doesn't want to win everything.

Ol' Donie

Basil3 wrote: »

It's craziness to think that he only wants to reach those targets, and doesn't want to win everything.

It's a bit of a mess at the moment, but i can't possibly accept that Arsene Wenger doesn't want to win the league.

It literally makes no sense. Not from him, from the people who keep pushing this nonsense.

If they don't have the players, fine, fair criticism. If they don't show balls when it matters, fine, fair criticism.

But the idea that he deliberately says "woah, lads, relax, 4th is in the bag" is fantasy.

Even if you believe he's ideal for the board, getting CL and raking in the cash, the idea that Arsene f*ckin Wenger doesn't at least WANT to win is utter nonsense.

Ulysses Gaze

Deleted User wrote: »

Don't want to put too much weight on tonights result but I've no real reason for optimism. Nothing will change. Were stuck in groundhog day for another few years. We've a manager and players who only give a **** about coming fourth

More troubling, you have an owner that is happy with the same.

dinorebel

wonga77

Of course he wants to win, but it seems obvious to everyone that winning is not what he is going to be measured on, as long as he reaches the same targets every year then his job is secure. The owners are obviously content with this, maybe its just a huge coincidence that our yearly results seem to generate sufficient funds. Again the owners are obviously satisfied with this as they are guaranteed financial reward. If they werent happy with this and were more ambitious then Wenger would have been shown the door long ago.
In my opinion I think the boards know what Wenger can deliver, winning a title is a bonus and they are afraid to get rid of him as they cant take the chance that the next manager will deliver the same results.
I think the panel tonight made another very good point, whenever Wengers time is up, its gonna be very difficult to replace him as he has such a huge overall role within the club. No manager coming in is going to take on the same responsibilities as he has. Look what has happened to Utd trying to replace Fergie, another who had a huge role at his club. On saying that a manager should be brought in to manage the team and nothing else

wonga77

wonga77 wrote: »

Of course he wants to win, but it seems obvious to everyone that winning is not what he is going to be measured on, as long as he reaches the same targets every year then his job is secure. The owners are obviously content with this, maybe its just a huge coincidence that our yearly results seem to generate sufficient funds. Again the owners are obviously satisfied with this as they are guaranteed financial reward. If they werent happy with this and were more ambitious then Wenger would have been shown the door long ago.
In my opinion I think the boards know what Wenger can deliver, winning a title is a bonus and they are afraid to get rid of him as they cant take the chance that the next manager will deliver the same results.
I think the panel tonight made another very good point, whenever Wengers time is up, its gonna be very difficult to replace him as he has such a huge overall role within the club. No manager coming in is going to take on the same responsibilities as he has. Look what has happened to Utd trying to replace Fergie, another who had a huge role at his club. On saying that a manager should be brought in to manage the team and nothing else

Are the board afraid that a new manager will actually challenge them to show ambition? David Dein's departure and Danny Fiszman's death were very significant. Both were true fans and had ambition. Otherwise we had a board, including Chips and Hillwood, who were interested in only profit and revenue. Gazidis is a marketing man more or less. He is basically strong-armed into marching along to the same dogma.

gosplan

Wenger wants to win but his problem is he only wants to win his way. E won't compromise in the least to do it.

Basically he wants to win but won't assemble a winning team.

Ol' Donie

Ol' Donie wrote: »

It's a bit of a mess at the moment, but i can't possibly accept that Arsene Wenger doesn't want to win the league.

It literally makes no sense. Not from him, from the people who keep pushing this nonsense.

If they don't have the players, fine, fair criticism. If they don't step show balls when it matters, fine, fair criticism.

But the idea that he deliberately says "woah, lads, relax, 4th is in the bag" is fantasy.

Even if you believe he's ideal for the board, getting CL and raking in the cash, the idea that Arsene f*ckin Wenger doesn't at least WANT to win is utter nonsense.

Yeah, that's exactly my point.

The best way for him to keep everyone happy would be to win everything.

The biggest problem is the Moneyball approach the club has. They want to identify targets that offer value on the market, instead of paying over the odds for proven talent.

I'm looking forward to this summer transfer window. If Wenger stays, and doesn't spend large, he will be up against it before next season begins.