Arsenal Talk/Gossip/Rumours Thread 2016

extra gravy

While the Spurs collapse is hilarious and all, it doesn't change the fact that we were in 1st and bottled it. They battled to stay in the title race while we capitulated as usual. Finishing above them due to a freak result doesn't gloss over that fact.

tayto lover

extra gravy wrote: »

While the Spurs collapse is hilarious and all, it doesn't change the fact that we were in 1st and bottled it. They battled to stay in the title race while we capitulated as usual. Finishing above them due to a freak result doesn't gloss over that fact.

Yep. The Spurs players only took their holidays when they mathematically couldn't win the league. We took ours just after Christmas when we were ahead.

Flint Fredstone

Hyzepher wrote: »

and come third? We got more points than them, you understand how that works, right?

It's a 38 game season. We just had all our bad games over a condensed period. Spurs had more bad days and less points.

I would much rather have spent the season fighting for a league title.
Arsenal came 2nd simply because Tottenham's remaining couple of games were dead rubbers.

Ken Shamrock

We were fighting for the title longer than Spurs were this year, when It became apparent we would not win the league we managed to do well and finish 2nd. When It became apparent Spurs would not win the title they turned to sh1t and finished 3rd. Either way you look at It we did better than them this year, regardless of what you want to believe.

wonga77

We finished 1 point ahead lads, ye're splitting hairs

Kirby

Ken Shamrock wrote: »

How can you agree with something that's factually Incorrect?

It's not factually incorrect at all.

"Spurs finished ahead of Arsenal" is factually incorrect.

"Spurs had a better season than Arsenal" is subjective as it's based on several critera. Some people would agree, some would disagree. But its an arguable point.

They were in the title race until the end, they performed above their usual level while Arsenal did what they always do, they played better football etc.

There are tons of reasons why one might think team A had a better season than Team B. If you put your bias aside for a second and put your logical hat on, you would see that.

Flint Fredstone

Ken Shamrock wrote: »

We were fighting for the title longer than Spurs were this year, when It became apparent we would not win the league we managed to do well and finish 2nd. When It became apparent Spurs would not win the title they turned to sh1t and finished 3rd. Either way you look at It we did better than them this year, regardless of what you want to believe.

Arsenal were out of the title race long ago. They were never really in it when it got to the business end.

extra gravy

Ken Shamrock wrote: »

We were fighting for the title longer than Spurs were this year, when It became apparent we would not win the league we managed to do well and finish 2nd. When It became apparent Spurs would not win the title they turned to sh1t and finished 3rd. Either way you look at It we did better than them this year, regardless of what you want to believe.

There's a difference between getting results in September/October though and in March when the pressure is on. We're great at winning when the pressure is off. We had the momentum to go on and do it after we beat Leicester but were too mentally weak for it, it's as simple as that really. Anyway, our season shouldn't be defined by how we fare in comparison to them.

Ken Shamrock

Team A finishes ahead of Team B, Team A had a better season. It's literally that simple, put whatever spin on it you want, It's a long season and It's easy to forget about the first 30 games of the season, but the first game and the last game are just as important as eachother, they both offer a potential 3 points.

Logic Is exactly what I'm using Kirby, Spurs had a better period than us more recently than we had a better period than them so that's what's sticking In people's head.

RedemptionZ

Don't know how you can argue one team had a better season when they finished on lower points. Can't judge a season on a few months, it's on the whole season. Unless the premier league forgot to add in a few of Spurs results Arsenal did better over the whole season, hence the 71 points.

It does seem like people have very short memories and are judging on emotion rather than logic.

keano_afc

Ken Shamrock wrote: »

Team A finishes ahead of Team B, Team A had a better season. It's literally that simple, put whatever spin on it you want, It's a long season and It's easy to forget about the first 30 games of the season, but the first game and the last game are just as important as eachother, they both offer a potential 3 points.

Logic Is exactly what I'm using Kirby, Spurs had a better period than us more recently than we had a better period than them so that's what's sticking In people's head.

Depends really.

Man United need a point to finish ahead of Southampton. Now, it would be a very blinkered Man Yoo fan that would say their season was better than Southampton's. Its all down to expectation really. We are expected to challenge for the league, and this was a fantastic opportunity to do it. We didnt due to a number of factors. Was it a good season for us? No, it wasnt.

Were Spurs expected to challenge for the league and still be in it come May? No, so their season was better than they expected. Its all relative.

Ken Shamrock

keano_afc wrote: »

Depends really.

Man United need a point to finish ahead of Southampton. Now, it would be a very blinkered Man Yoo fan that would say their season was better than Southampton's. Its all down to expectation really. We are expected to challenge for the league, and this was a fantastic opportunity to do it. We didnt due to a number of factors. Was it a good season for us? No, it wasnt.

Were Spurs expected to challenge for the league and still be in it come May? No, so their season was better than they expected. Its all relative.

You see you're speaking relatively, nobody else was. Spurs had a good season compared to their usual, we had a very average season compared to our usual but when you compare the two clubs we had a better season than they did.

And despite our very average performances with the usual collapse blah blah blah we still managed our highest finish since 2005. Relatively speaking Watford had a great season, they certainly didn't have a better one than us though.

extra gravy

Meanwhile, Higuain broke the Serie A record yesterday by finishing on 36 goals. We should have given Real whatever they wanted for him. Instead we'll probably have Giroud leading the line again next season after going 3 months without scoring. Farcical.

Flint Fredstone

extra gravy wrote: »

Meanwhile, Higuain broke the Serie A record yesterday by finishing on 36 goals. We should have given Real whatever they wanted for him. Instead we'll probably have Giroud leading the line again next season after going 3 months without scoring. Farcical.

But he got a hat trick on the last day in a meaningless game so some might say he had a great season? :pac:

Ken Shamrock

extra gravy wrote: »

Meanwhile, Higuain broke the Serie A record yesterday by finishing on 36 goals. We should have given Real whatever they wanted for him. Instead we'll probably have Giroud leading the line again next season after going 3 months without scoring. Farcical.

Didn't score In 3 months!? He just got a hat-trick we don't need anyone else :pac:

gandalf

I think the jist is that Spurs exceeded expectations and we under achieved. We should have won the league, this season was our best chance. All our main rivals imploded. I don't expect Chelsea or Man utd to do as badly next year and you can just imagine the spending spree Pep is going to engage in at City.

I think someone in the Arsenal offices needs to send a discreet email to the Nou Camp suggesting that our Barca DNA has moved down the road in North London

keano_afc

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2016/may/14/ray-parlour-autobiography-arsene-wenger-thierry-henry-steve-bould

A good read. Not our greatest player by a long chalk but I'd love if we had more like him in the team. Never gave up. Only Welbeck, Sanchez and maybe Cazorla come close to him for effort.

https://twitter.com/MC_of_A/status/732188135824691200

Interesting stats re Walcott. After a nice long rest over the summer, he'll be good to lead the line for us next season :pac:

CatInABox

Not sure if it's been put up before, but Arseblog has pics of the new kit here.

extra gravy

Neckline reminds me of this classic.

Skylinehead

Ugh, that stripe down the middle.

Away is very Dortmund, I like.

mansize

Almost Always like our yellow always strips

maximoose

I didn't even cop that stripe on first glance, just thought it needed an iron!

cashback

I wish we had JVC on our jerseys again. That new one would look much better with it. Too many letters now!

mansize

cashback wrote: »

I wish we had JVC on our jerseys again. That new one would look much better with it. Too many letters now!

Or better still, nothing!

Ken Shamrock

Absolutely loved the majority of our O2 jerseys

Ol' Donie

Ol' Donie wrote: »

He scored 4 at Anfield! The mad bastard.

Aye aye aye. To be fair, and to be honest, I was pretty sure when we signed The Beast, who also got 4 up there, that we were made.

The beast was definitely one of the worst strikers I've ever seen play in the premier league let alone Arsenal. A real indicator of how far Brazil had fallen was the fact this lad had even one cap

Arshavin had a questionable attitude but he was a technically gifted player

wandatowell

Arsene wants 3 signing's?

Would have thought 5 would have been closer to the mark.


Same sh*t again.

L'prof

wandatowell wrote: »

Arsene wants 3 signing's?

Would have thought 5 would have been closer to the mark.


Same sh*t again.

Bit of an exaggeration? If it's 3 1st team players then it would be a very busy transfer window in my opinion!

Ken Shamrock

L'prof wrote: »

Bit of an exaggeration? If it's 3 1st team players then it would be a very busy transfer window in my opinion!

But who are we selling/losing?

Arteta and Rosicky gone, not a big deal, buy a CM. Are we selling Walcott If so buy a RW, not a big deal. Then buy a striker. That's 3.

Doesn't address the CB issue at all and doesn't account for losing/selling any other players which we may likely do.

WoollyRedHat

He says three, I'd imagine it will be closer to 5.

Xhaka
New RW (Mkihitryian
Striker
Young CB (Ala Holding)


Maybe if the right offer for Ramsey came in and we could secure Kante as well. That would be a great bit of business. Buy somebody like Fekir maybe as well.. on top of an established striker in the mould of Higuain or Aubeymang . Morata could be protracted business . Sell Walcott abroad.

jester77

Top of the money league... let the spending begin

http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/premier-league/leicester-to-receive-less-prize-money-than-arsenal-tottenham-manchester-united-and-man-city-a7031276.html

wandatowell

L'prof wrote: »

Bit of an exaggeration? If it's 3 1st team players then it would be a very busy transfer window in my opinion!

Purely numbers-wise the squad is probably at where it needs to be but 5 is what I reckon the squad needs between getting in better players into the starting 11 and bolstering the squad.

I'd be looking at 2 strikers, CB, DM and a winger.

mansize

5 is a lot to add to the squad at once

Quazzie

Never gonna buy 5 first teamers in a single transfer window, and we don't need 2 strikers either. Giroud and Welbeck are perfect back ups for a proven goal scorer.

EuropeanSon

If we got Xhaka, Mhiktaryan and a striker like Aubameyang or Higuain without losing either of Ozil and Sanchez that would be an absolutely phenomenal window. Sure, a CB on top would be nice, but even without one that would be an unqualified success on the transfer front (which doesn't necessarily translate to on the pitch of course, see Spurs two years ago, Utd, City this year).

The absolute must for me is a striker, though.

Mr Blobby

Quazzie wrote: »

Never gonna buy 5 first teamers in a single transfer window, and we don't need 2 strikers either. Giroud and Welbeck are perfect back ups for a proven goal scorer.

We've done it before with Ospina, Debuchy, Chambers, Alexis and Welbeck.
I can see us getting minimum 3 players in.

Xhaka, Rob Holding and a Striker.

Bobby Baccala

I think centre back and up front are equally important this summer. We can't rely on Mertesacker and Gabriel and even koscielny had his fair share of poor games. Heap money at Atletico for Godin.

Bobby Baccala

Mr Blobby wrote: »

We've done it before with Ospina, Debuchy, Chambers, Alexis and Welbeck.
I can see us getting minimum 3 players in.

Xhaka, Rob Holding and a Striker.

Chambers and Ospina aren't first teamers and Welbeck was bought as back up for Giroud being injured..

Mr Blobby

P4DDY2K11 wrote: »

Chambers and Ospina aren't first teamers and Welbeck was bought as back up for Giroud being injured..

That's also true.
But I don't think we need 5 first teamers anyway.

I think a high level CB and Striker would be enough and then just have 2 backups.

tayto lover

P4DDY2K11 wrote: »

I think centre back and up front are equally important this summer. We can't rely on Mertesacker and Gabriel and even koscielny had his fair share of poor games. Heap money at Atletico for Godin.

We need a big brute of a CB to command the area. Mert is too soft and Kos cant do it on his own. We should have gone for Cahill a few years ago.

keano_afc

mansize wrote: »

5 is a lot to add to the squad at once

Indeed. Perhaps he should have gradually added to the squad when the need was there. Last summer and the January before that spring to mind.

keano_afc

keano_afc wrote: »

Indeed. Perhaps he should have gradually added to the squad when the need was there. Last summer and the January before that spring to mind.

I'm sure he wanted to, but at the same time he probably doesn't have the 'something is better than nothing' attitude.

mansize

https://twitter.com/julian_tsanga/status/732269517892620288

mansize

Vote Özil

http://www.skysports.com/football/news/11661/10284849/vote-pfa-fans-premier-league-player-of-the-season

Quazzie

mansize wrote: »

Vote Özil

http://www.skysports.com/football/news/11661/10284849/vote-pfa-fans-premier-league-player-of-the-season

60% of the votes. I'm not sure if that's impressive or pathetic

extra gravy

I voted for Mahrez

wandatowell

Quazzie wrote: »

Never gonna buy 5 first teamers in a single transfer window, and we don't need 2 strikers either. Giroud and Welbeck are perfect back ups for a proven goal scorer.

He's bought five before. He could easily do it again but your right he won't. Arsenal will be left short again.

Welbeck is out for 9 months which equals about half of next season. It's his 2nd major knee surgery in 9 months. So I don't think you can rely on him.

You are probably right on Giroud though. He'll be our No.1 when the season starts.

gosplan

Mr Blobby wrote: »

We've done it before with Ospina, Debuchy, Chambers, Alexis and Welbeck.
I can see us getting minimum 3 players in.

Xhaka, Rob Holding and a Striker.

If it's 3 then it's a striker plus 2.

Holding and Xhaka strongly linked already.

Mr Blobby

gosplan wrote: »

If it's 3 then it's a striker plus 2.

Holding and Xhaka strongly linked already.

Kante and Rob Holding are the only other players we're heavily linked with.
Everything seems to point to Xhaka being done.