Official Arsenal FC Thread

Yeah. Barcelona's mistake this season was selling Fabregas, not Sanchez. One of our biggest mistakes in the past few years was selling Thiago.

You wouldn't have lost Thiago if you didn't buy Fabregas when you did in the first place. That was the real mistake.

FCB wrote:

ResurrectionRooney wrote:Might be stating the obvious here but Sanchez is an absolute superstar.  Barcelona are idiotic to sell him and buy a criminal maniac.

Barcelona aren't really missing him.

Maybe not, but they have still spent over £30m on supposedly upgrading in a position where they already had a brilliant player. That's not very intelligent.

You might not be "missing" him but like RR said you spent £30 million on a supposed upgrade that hasn't been that at all so far.

He's played 10 matches. Sanchez wasn't good his first season for Barcelona. Besides, 2 goals and 6 assists in 10 games, isn't too bad considering he's not the focal point of the attack and was suspended for months. He already has more assists and equal number of CL goals as Sanchez did his entire first season at Barcelona.

Stats aside, Suarez is a better player than Sanchez. Maybe the transfer price was a bit excessive, but what Barcelona did could hardly be called idiotic.

The fee is the whole point. Let's be honest he only cost £60-70million because of his ridiculous goal scoring and he's never going to be able to justify that playing in this Barcelona team. And with that being the case you should have just kept Sanchez.

It was idiotic, you basically signed him to out Galactico Madrid and that's an idiotic transfer policy. Suarez is a better player than Sanchez but I highly doubt he's ever going to show that playing in this Barcelona set-up.

FCB wrote:He's played 10 matches. Sanchez wasn't good his first season for Barcelona. Besides, 2 goals and 6 assists in 10 games, isn't too bad considering he's not the focal point of the attack and was suspended for months. He already has more assists and equal number of CL goals as Sanchez did his entire first season at Barcelona.

Stats aside, Suarez is a better player than Sanchez. Maybe the transfer price was a bit excessive, but what Barcelona did could hardly be called idiotic.

The fact he was suspended for months is exactly why it's so fucking stupid.  He's extremely suspension prone.

http://gfycat.com/DirtyExcitableBream

Best piece of skill you will see this season.

Keyser Söze wrote:The fee is the whole point. Let's be honest he only cost £60-70million because of his ridiculous goal scoring and he's never going to be able to justify that playing in this Barcelona team. And with that being the case you should have just kept Sanchez.

It was idiotic, you basically signed him to out Galactico Madrid and that's an idiotic transfer policy. Suarez is a better player than Sanchez but I highly doubt he's ever going to show that playing in this Barcelona set-up.

RR was pointing out more the fact that we sold a good player for someone who isn't that much better and has behavioral issues. Suarez can and is already looking to be a better player for Barcelona than Sanchez. Like I said, let's give him time to see what he can achieve with Barca. Pedro is better for Barcelona than both Suarez and Sanchez. If we hadn't sold Sanchez, I doubt we'd be better off than we are now.

ResurrectionRooney wrote:

FCB wrote:He's played 10 matches. Sanchez wasn't good his first season for Barcelona. Besides, 2 goals and 6 assists in 10 games, isn't too bad considering he's not the focal point of the attack and was suspended for months. He already has more assists and equal number of CL goals as Sanchez did his entire first season at Barcelona.

Stats aside, Suarez is a better player than Sanchez. Maybe the transfer price was a bit excessive, but what Barcelona did could hardly be called idiotic.

The fact he was suspended for months is exactly why it's so fucking stupid.  He's extremely suspension prone.

So if he manages to actually correct his behavior like he promised, do you think it's worth it? It's risky no doubt, but it could pay off.

Who should be our new manager?

I'd like someone that has a balls and can go toe to toe with Jorge Mourinho. Simone is my choice - before Man City get their oil slicked hands all over him.

The Zlatan wrote:Who should be our new manager?

I'd like someone that has a balls and can go toe to toe with Jorge Mourinho. Simone is my choice - before Man City get their oil slicked hands all over him.

Atletico's style of play is atrocious, definitely don't want Simeone. Remi Garde and Lucien Favre both seem like sound choices but I'm only going on what others have said.

FCB wrote:

Keyser Söze wrote:The fee is the whole point. Let's be honest he only cost £60-70million because of his ridiculous goal scoring and he's never going to be able to justify that playing in this Barcelona team. And with that being the case you should have just kept Sanchez.

It was idiotic, you basically signed him to out Galactico Madrid and that's an idiotic transfer policy. Suarez is a better player than Sanchez but I highly doubt he's ever going to show that playing in this Barcelona set-up.

RR was pointing out more the fact that we sold a good player for someone who isn't that much better and has behavioral issues. Suarez can and is already looking to be a better player for Barcelona than Sanchez. Like I said, let's give him time to see what he can achieve with Barca. Pedro is better for Barcelona than both Suarez and Sanchez. If we hadn't sold Sanchez, I doubt we'd be better off than we are now.

ResurrectionRooney wrote:

The fact he was suspended for months is exactly why it's so fucking stupid.  He's extremely suspension prone.

So if he manages to actually correct his behavior like he promised, do you think it's worth it? It's risky no doubt, but it could pay off.

He won't, he is evil and keeps getting rewarded for his evil behaviour by unethical football clubs and his filthy countrymen.

The Zlatan wrote:Who should be our new manager?

I'd like someone that has a balls and can go toe to toe with Jorge Mourinho. Simone is my choice - before Man City get their oil slicked hands all over him.

Fabio Capello is likely available.

Ra's al Ghul wrote:

The Zlatan wrote:Who should be our new manager?

I'd like someone that has a balls and can go toe to toe with Jorge Mourinho. Simone is my choice - before Man City get their oil slicked hands all over him.

Atletico's style of play is atrocious, definitely don't want Simeone. Remi Garde and Lucien Favre both seem like sound choices but I'm only going on what others have said.

I don't watch them so I didn't know that.  Saying that, I very rarely watch any other games apart from Arsenal anymore. 12 months ago Klopp would have been the perfect choice, but absolutely not anymore, it's scandalous what's happening at Dortmund at the moment. It would eventually be the same with us. 

I'm so out of touch I can't even come up with a list of 5 guys that I think would be a step forward, offer a similar philosophical approach and add defensive stability without compromising the attack too much. I guess Guardiola is a given, and perhaps in 3 years may up for a move to England, who knows. But Wenger at the moment is a mile away from where he needs to be, and is quite possibly finished as a top level manager capable of convincing anyone that he could build a title winning team. 

We've needed a top goalkeeper since 2007, after Lehmann started regressing, we made do with Almunia for a bit and then Szczesny came along with all this potential propping him up... He's alright, nothing more, nothing less, and has failed to show any signs of major improvement in his game ever since. Two more disastrous errors today will undoubtedly be papered over in few weeks time when he pulls off a couple of really good saves in a game that we're winning 3-0 in the 75th minute.

We now need a top CB as Mertesacker is done, winning the World Cup was the worst thing that happened to him. Add to that a manager that lets severe psychological issues run rampant through his squads, doesn't fill me with confidence. Ship him off the the Indian Premier League on a free transfer.

As with the goalkeeping issue, we have an eerily similar problem in defensive midfield. I was going to say there was no adequate replacement of Gilberto but that's wrong, there was no replacement at all. Only gambles and stop gaps have arose since.

Apparently we didn't need Fabregas... Despite the injury problems with our midfield and the fact that Ozil spent the majority of the games he played this season out on the fucking wing.

Still haven't replaced van Persie properly.

The only thing that Wenger has done which shows a slight sign of having a strong mentality and ruthlessness in the last few years is signing Sanchez.

Lord have mercy.

ResurrectionRooney wrote:

FCB wrote:

RR was pointing out more the fact that we sold a good player for someone who isn't that much better and has behavioral issues. Suarez can and is already looking to be a better player for Barcelona than Sanchez. Like I said, let's give him time to see what he can achieve with Barca. Pedro is better for Barcelona than both Suarez and Sanchez. If we hadn't sold Sanchez, I doubt we'd be better off than we are now.



So if he manages to actually correct his behavior like he promised, do you think it's worth it? It's risky no doubt, but it could pay off.

He won't, he is evil and keeps getting rewarded for his evil behaviour by unethical football clubs and his filthy countrymen.

The Zlatan wrote:Who should be our new manager?

I'd like someone that has a balls and can go toe to toe with Jorge Mourinho. Simone is my choice - before Man City get their oil slicked hands all over him.

Fabio Capello is likely available.

I'm sure I could find a packet a of scotch eggs that you get in that part of Tesco where they have food reduced to pennies because it's going off the next day that could do a better job than Capello.

The Zlatan wrote:

ResurrectionRooney wrote:

He won't, he is evil and keeps getting rewarded for his evil behaviour by unethical football clubs and his filthy countrymen.



Fabio Capello is likely available.

I'm sure I could find a packet a of scotch eggs that you get in that part of Tesco where they have food reduced to pennies because it's going off the next day that could do a better job than Capello.

He is a great manager, going into international management was a huge mistake.

The Zlatan wrote:

Ra's al Ghul wrote:

Atletico's style of play is atrocious, definitely don't want Simeone. Remi Garde and Lucien Favre both seem like sound choices but I'm only going on what others have said.

I don't watch them so I didn't know that.  Saying that, I very rarely watch any other games apart from Arsenal anymore. 12 months ago Klopp would have been the perfect choice, but absolutely not anymore, it's scandalous what's happening at Dortmund at the moment. It would eventually be the same with us. 

I'm so out of touch I can't even come up with a list of 5 guys that I think would be a step forward, offer a similar philosophical approach and add defensive stability without compromising the attack too much. I guess Guardiola is a given, and perhaps in 3 years may up for a move to England, who knows. But Wenger at the moment is a mile away from where he needs to be, and is quite possibly finished as a top level manager capable of convincing anyone that he could build a title winning team. 

We've needed a top goalkeeper since 2007, after Lehmann started regressing, we made do with Almunia for a bit and then Szczesny came along with all this potential propping him up... He's alright, nothing more, nothing less, and has failed to show any signs of major improvement in his game ever since. Two more disastrous errors today will undoubtedly be papered over in few weeks time when he pulls off a couple of really good saves in a game that we're winning 3-0 in the 75th minute.

We now need a top CB as Mertesacker is done, winning the World Cup was the worst thing that happened to him. Add to that a manager that lets severe psychological issues run rampant through his squads, doesn't fill me with confidence. Ship him off the the Indian Premier League on a free transfer.

As with the goalkeeping issue, we have an eerily similar problem in defensive midfield. I was going to say there was no adequate replacement of Gilberto but that's wrong, there was no replacement at all. Only gambles and stop gaps have arose since.

Apparently we didn't need Fabregas... Despite the injury problems with our midfield and the fact that Ozil spent the majority of the games he played this season out on the fucking wing.

Still haven't replaced van Persie properly.

The only thing that Wenger has done which shows a slight sign of having a strong mentality and ruthlessness in the last few years is signing Sanchez.

Lord have mercy.

Well said.

As to your question, RR suggested Fabio Capello and I wouldn't mind him as a stopgap but I'm not sure if England and Russia have adversely affected his club management skills. He's a manager that doesn't put emphasis on style of play he just wants results but if you don't have the right squad then that can be an even bigger nightmare than playing like we are now. So he'd need to be backed substantially and again I'm not sure if his time in internationally management might have affected his ability to recognise the correct type of players.

Wenger has left this team in a shambles. Any manager that comes in has a highly possibility of having an indifferent start. If we get a manager in that's playing style oriented then even with all out squad fit it's still miles away from being competitive. If we get a results based manager, or someone that wants to implement a different style then it's going to take a number of transfers and we've seen with Spurs and Liverpool what can happen when you bring it too many players. Wenger really has fucked us. He's like Ferguson in that he hasn't put anything respectable in place for us to kick on when he leaves.

Keyser Söze wrote:

The Zlatan wrote:

I don't watch them so I didn't know that.  Saying that, I very rarely watch any other games apart from Arsenal anymore. 12 months ago Klopp would have been the perfect choice, but absolutely not anymore, it's scandalous what's happening at Dortmund at the moment. It would eventually be the same with us. 

I'm so out of touch I can't even come up with a list of 5 guys that I think would be a step forward, offer a similar philosophical approach and add defensive stability without compromising the attack too much. I guess Guardiola is a given, and perhaps in 3 years may up for a move to England, who knows. But Wenger at the moment is a mile away from where he needs to be, and is quite possibly finished as a top level manager capable of convincing anyone that he could build a title winning team. 

We've needed a top goalkeeper since 2007, after Lehmann started regressing, we made do with Almunia for a bit and then Szczesny came along with all this potential propping him up... He's alright, nothing more, nothing less, and has failed to show any signs of major improvement in his game ever since. Two more disastrous errors today will undoubtedly be papered over in few weeks time when he pulls off a couple of really good saves in a game that we're winning 3-0 in the 75th minute.

We now need a top CB as Mertesacker is done, winning the World Cup was the worst thing that happened to him. Add to that a manager that lets severe psychological issues run rampant through his squads, doesn't fill me with confidence. Ship him off the the Indian Premier League on a free transfer.

As with the goalkeeping issue, we have an eerily similar problem in defensive midfield. I was going to say there was no adequate replacement of Gilberto but that's wrong, there was no replacement at all. Only gambles and stop gaps have arose since.

Apparently we didn't need Fabregas... Despite the injury problems with our midfield and the fact that Ozil spent the majority of the games he played this season out on the fucking wing.

Still haven't replaced van Persie properly.

The only thing that Wenger has done which shows a slight sign of having a strong mentality and ruthlessness in the last few years is signing Sanchez.

Lord have mercy.

Well said.

As to your question, RR suggested Fabio Capello and I wouldn't mind him as a stopgap but I'm not sure if England and Russia have adversely affected his club management skills. He's a manager that doesn't put emphasis on style of play he just wants results but if you don't have the right squad then that can be an even bigger nightmare than playing like we are now. So he'd need to be backed substantially and again I'm not sure if his time in internationally management might have affected his ability to recognise the correct type of players.

Wenger has left this team in a shambles. Any manager that comes in has a highly possibility of having an indifferent start. If we get a manager in that's playing style oriented then even with all out squad fit it's still miles away from being competitive. If we get a results based manager, or someone that wants to implement a different style then it's going to take a number of transfers and we've seen with Spurs and Liverpool what can happen when you bring it too many players. Wenger really has fucked us. He's like Ferguson in that he hasn't put anything respectable in place for us to kick on when he leaves.        

I don't know about Capello, it's a risk that I don't think is particularly worth taking, especially considering the wages he would command. I don't think going from one old, out of touch manager earning an obscene amount of money to another is the step we should be taking after Wenger.

I agree with most of what you say in that last bit, but some I disagree with. I think he's leaving a core of promising players in midfield and attack that will certainly need tweaking, but then there's the defence that comprises of Debuchy and Koscielny who are both 29 and Mertesacker, talent aside, who is 30. I can't see them forming any part of the defence in 3 seasons time. Any manager that we do bring in will have to deal with that which will set them on the back foot immediately.

Are the injuries to Ramsey/Wilshere/Gibbs really the result of Wenger's outdated training habits, or does he just buy lots of players who happen to be brittle? There is a handful of talented young players there, they just never seem to be fit at the same time.

There's so many different factors, in our case it's muscular injuries rather than impact injuries, so that at least tells us that it's to do with some methods behind the scenes. He doesn't rotate the team enough and runs players into the ground, they're then rushed back or risked, problems carry on as there's no rotation. Yeah, we've had some bad luck with the injuries that Giroud and Debuchy picked up, but those could have been handled a lot better had our routines been more professional and up to date.

And now we're letting Podolski go. I'm not his biggest fan, but letting him go now is a diabolical decision as you can bet every last penny in your bank account that he won't be replaced. Unbe-fucking-lievable. And then we'll have another injury crisis in February...

I thought Poldi said he wasn't going anywhere.

He lied.

The Zlatan wrote:And now we're letting Podolski go. I'm not his biggest fan, but letting him go now is a diabolical decision as you can bet every last penny in your bank account that he won't be replaced. Unbe-fucking-lievable. And then we'll have another injury crisis in February...

It looks like he's really eager to go which can't be helped. The squad should have sufficient depth in that area. The problem here is the injuries, just like most of our issues. Sanchez, Walcott, Chamberlain, Campbell with Welbeck, Cazorla and Rosicky capable of filling in is good enough as long as they're not all injured at the same time. That's honestly the weirdest thing to me about our injury situations, that they usually come to a batch of players in similar positions. Today we had six central midfielders missing through injury. And today's midfield mishap is not even close to being the first ocurrence. Earlier in the season we had the defensive debacle, while the winger woe of last season remains fresh in the memory. And who can forget the great full-back fiasco of 2011/12. It's honestly bewildering and it has to be symptomatic of his training methods.

Ra's al Ghul wrote:

The Zlatan wrote:And now we're letting Podolski go. I'm not his biggest fan, but letting him go now is a diabolical decision as you can bet every last penny in your bank account that he won't be replaced. Unbe-fucking-lievable. And then we'll have another injury crisis in February...

It looks like he's really eager to go which can't be helped. The squad should have sufficient depth in that area. The problem here is the injuries, just like most of our issues. Sanchez, Walcott, Chamberlain, Campbell with Welbeck, Cazorla and Rosicky capable of filling in is good enough as long as they're not all injured at the same time. That's honestly the weirdest thing to me about our injury situations, that they usually come to a batch of players in similar positions. Today we had six central midfielders missing through injury. And today's midfield mishap is not even close to being the first ocurrence. Earlier in the season we had the defensive debacle, while the winger woe of last season remains fresh in the memory. And who can forget the great full-back fiasco of 2011/12. It's honestly bewildering and it has to be symptomatic of his training methods.

I think we should be putting our foot down for once, on paper the depth seems okay, but as you say it's dependent on injuries. Sanchez I feel is being run into the ground, I'm honestly shocked that he has played in every single game over the Christmas period, he's started and completed 3 out of the 4 games we've played, the only thing that stopped him from making it 4 out of 4 was his 93rd minute substitution against Liverpool. 

Welbeck has been run ragged since September and is now injured, no word on when he'll be back. Giroud is missing the next two games which takes us up to Man City on the 18th. Walcott could drop like a fly at any moment, Rosicky is in and out like a well timed actuator. Chamberlain is being used to cover our midfield injury crisis, ditto Cazorla, and Wenger seems to hate Campbell. I'm certainly not opposed to letting Podolski go but I feel the timing is pathetic and not indicative of how a top club is supposed to be run.

If he goes he needs to be replaced properly, and he should only go once Giroud and Ozil are back or in the summer.

What do you think of our style of play now? I have no words. I see no consistency and no favoured approach, and it's been like this for good while now.

The Zlatan wrote:

Keyser Söze wrote:
Well said.

As to your question, RR suggested Fabio Capello and I wouldn't mind him as a stopgap but I'm not sure if England and Russia have adversely affected his club management skills. He's a manager that doesn't put emphasis on style of play he just wants results but if you don't have the right squad then that can be an even bigger nightmare than playing like we are now. So he'd need to be backed substantially and again I'm not sure if his time in internationally management might have affected his ability to recognise the correct type of players.

Wenger has left this team in a shambles. Any manager that comes in has a highly possibility of having an indifferent start. If we get a manager in that's playing style oriented then even with all out squad fit it's still miles away from being competitive. If we get a results based manager, or someone that wants to implement a different style then it's going to take a number of transfers and we've seen with Spurs and Liverpool what can happen when you bring it too many players. Wenger really has fucked us. He's like Ferguson in that he hasn't put anything respectable in place for us to kick on when he leaves.        

I don't know about Capello, it's a risk that I don't think is particularly worth taking, especially considering the wages he would command. I don't think going from one old, out of touch manager earning an obscene amount of money to another is the step we should be taking after Wenger.

I agree with most of what you say in that last bit, but some I disagree with. I think he's leaving a core of promising players in midfield and attack that will certainly need tweaking, but then there's the defence that comprises of Debuchy and Koscielny who are both 29 and Mertesacker, talent aside, who is 30. I can't see them forming any part of the defence in 3 seasons time. Any manager that we do bring in will have to deal with that which will set them on the back foot immediately.

You make a very good point about his wages. If he's not willing to take a significant pay cut then he's clearly reached that stage in his career where he's in football purely for the money and we don't need that. Like you said Guardiola would be ridiculously perfect. England will be his next job and I'd say it's between us, City and United. Depending on when he leaves Bayern it could be just us and City because it seems United will stick with van Gaal for a while. No matter who's in charge of City or how well they are doing I'm 100% certain they'd sack them just to get Pep. Between us and City is a pretty tough call, if we haven't dropped off to mid table obscurity that is. At City he has those Barca links but at us he has the style of play and the tradition (which he seems to like) but it'll be the transfer ability that will sway him. He seems to get really obsessive over certain player and just has to have them at any cost, at Barca and Bayern they've been able to indulge that and City will be able to as well but I'm not sure we'll be able to and that would be a major turn off for him.

I really don't see too much exciting young(ish) talent is our squad. We've already touched on Szczesny, Gibbs is in my opinion very average and I think he's in the team purely because he's come through the ranks. He's nothing special at all and his ability in the attacking 3rd is shockingly bad, I will say he gets in excellent positions but he's decision making and final ball is more often than not awful. Chambers has been dire this season but he is only 19 and it's his 1st season and he's been moved around a lot, Jenkinson was shit for us but has looked good at West Ham so in terms of those two I personally don't see them being of the level we need I could be woefully wrong. Ramsey and Wilshere have shown they immense talent but either has shown that they can do it consistently but I do think Wenger has done well to bring them through. Upfront Oxlade has looked good but Welbeck whilst a harder worker looks a decent player at best, not the type of striker that's going to get 15-20+ league goals a season which is what we need.

The Zlatan wrote:Wenger seems to hate Campbell.

Should have sold him in the summer when we were getting insane offer of the back of his WC hype. He did look a decent player out loan and at the WC but I don't know whether Wenger lack of faith in him has turned him shit or whether playing in a good team and has brought out his faults. Either way it's so retarded to actively block a player from leaving for good money and then hardly ever play him and massively bring down his value.

Guardiola would jump at the chance to succeed Van Gaal but barring a pretty drastic change in circumstances he won't get offered it. Our next manager will either be the Ferguson/Class of 1992 backed Ryan Giggs - or at an outside chance Gary Neville - or the David Gill/Edward Woodward backed Mourinho. Guardiola doesn't enter the thoughts of anyone in power at United, and that's something I'm pleased about.

I don't think he'd be a very good fit for you. He specialises in taking over teams filled with amazing players and gets them playing at an appropriate level for their talents. Arsenal is a problem he has absolutely no experience dealing with.

Keyser Söze wrote:

The Zlatan wrote:Wenger seems to hate Campbell.

Should have sold him in the summer when we were getting insane offer of the back of his WC hype. He did look a decent player out loan and at the WC but I don't know whether Wenger lack of faith in him has turned him shit or whether playing in a good team and has brought out his faults. Either way it's so retarded to actively block a player from leaving for good money and then hardly ever play him and massively bring down his value.    

He's a good player but just doesn't suit English football imo, would probs be decent in Spain where technical ability is appreciated more and there is less need to be a brute.

ResurrectionRooney wrote:Guardiola would jump at the chance to succeed Van Gaal but barring a pretty drastic change in circumstances he won't get offered it.  Our next manager will either be the Ferguson/Class of 1992 backed Ryan Giggs - or at an outside chance Gary Neville - or the David Gill/Edward Woodward backed Mourinho.  Guardiola doesn't enter the thoughts of anyone in power at United, and that's something I'm pleased about.

I don't think he'd be a very good fit for you.  He specialises in taking over teams filled with amazing players and gets them playing at an appropriate level for their talents.  Arsenal is a problem he has absolutely no experience dealing with.

I absoloutely agree with this, Pep wouldn't be able to pick up the current shambles at AFC and take us to the level that's expected from us. I actually feel Klopp could be an excellent replacement for Wenger despite Dortmunds collapse this season.

ResurrectionRooney wrote:I don't think he'd be a very good fit for you.  He specialises in taking over teams filled with amazing players and gets them playing at an appropriate level for their talents.  Arsenal is a problem he has absolutely no experience dealing with.

He had no experience in high level management at all yet look what he did at Barca. I think it's too early to say what Pep specialises in or not since he's only managed two teams.