Mohamed Elneny Thread (official)

[Munchies]

https://twitter.com/bbcsport_david/status/681217267577786368

:coffee:

[GP]

He'll be like a new signing.

[selassie]

Classic Wenger signing, cheap, under the radar and a development job. Dont know anything about him apart from the fact he has CL experience with Basle.

[Özim]

On BBC now, this has got to be a joke? Oh no wait this is Wenger we're talking about, the king of joke signings, typical cheap nobody Wenger considers to be super super quality.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/35187793

[Chippy]

On BBC now, this has got to be a joke? Oh no wait this is Wenger we're talking about, the king of joke signings, typical cheap nobody Wenger considers to be super super quality.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/35187793
Why are we surprised! Le Boss is some sort of idiot! Oh well, one more season to go!

[Munchies]

On BBC now, this has got to be a joke? Oh no wait this is Wenger we're talking about, the king of joke signings, typical cheap nobody Wenger considers to be super super quality.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/35187793

:gp:

We need proven players especially at this stage in the season.

Title is there to be won, but it'll probably mirror our 13/14 jan window when we got Broken Back Kallstrom

[Kano]

Well if he comes, welcome. Hopefully he does well for the team.

[Niall_Quinn]

Yeah. Welcome to whatever club he gets loaned to.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Federer recommended him, probably.

[KSE Comedy Club]

He must be good as they beat Chelsea.....once :coffee:

#wengerout

[Master Splinter]

Is this a thread parodying a subsection of the neurotic, depressive and obnoxious Arsenal fanbase?

I can't tell anymore.

I hope Elneny is just as shit as fellow unglamorous, non-galactico, unhypy signings like Koscielny, Monreal and Gabriel.

[Master Splinter]

Well if he comes, welcome. Hopefully he does well for the team.

:doh:

Dreadful post.

[selassie]

Is this a thread parodying a subsection of the neurotic, depressive and obnoxious Arsenal fanbase?

I can't tell anymore.

I hope El Neny is just as shit as fellow unglamorous, non-galactico, unhypy signings like Koscielny, Monreal and Gabriel.

I hope he is ready to contribute now and at a high level because that is the kind of signing we need now, our first Choice midfield is done for the season and by the sounds of it Wilshere is a long way away from being ready to contribute.

Now is the time where we do really need top quality and I hope El Neny is that.

This signing smacks of a Wenger "Vanity Project" to me, basically the cheapest option out there. I'm not against these signings to fill up the squad but hoped we could of got somewhere of a higher quality.

[Kano]

:doh:

Dreadful post.

Sorry. Hope he dies in a car crash with Wenger and his mistress.

[Marc Overmars]

It's been a while since we had a new CM option, never heard of this guy but it's the right position we need to be looking to strengthen at least.

[The Emirates Gallactico]

Is this a thread parodying a subsection of the neurotic, depressive and obnoxious Arsenal fanbase?

I can't tell anymore.

I hope Elneny is just as shit as fellow unglamorous, non-galactico, unhypy signings like Koscielny, Monreal and Gabriel.

:gp:



:doh: at those people thinking we can realistically bring in a Javi Martinez superstar type DM this window.

[selassie]

:gp:



:doh: at those people thinking we can realistically bring in a Javi Martinez superstar type DM this window.

Javi Martinez is obviously unrealistic but I would have felt a bit more comfortable with someone like Lars Bender, Christopher Kramer, William Carvalho or even Ruben Neves, heck I would have been happy with Yuri Tielemans who I think is a great young talent.

Of course quality isn't always linked to price but sometimes paying that extra for a more established player is necessary, especially given our current predicament.

Elneny I'm sure will be a solid signing, Wenger has potential to work with, from the little I've seen of him he looks a solid player, not really DM, more box to box and quite a technical player.

I just hope he is ready to contribute now because the likes of Caz, Coq & Wilshere are done for the season IMO.

[Alpha]

Something is always better than nothing . If you are a fan who complains about everything and are never satisfied with anything , even if Arsenal were to sign Messi you would have found an excuse to show your disappointment such as :" we should have gone for him when he was 20..."
Mohamed Elneny is a very ambitious player . A good tackler . A good passer . He can shoot with incredible accuracy from a very long range . Very good at set-pieces .
He is not a world class yet but very good player . What can we ask for at the moment when we only have Flamini , Arteta and Rosicky ?

[Blink 1nce Quince 2wice]

We wouldn't be signing him for 5 million of he were anything close to world class so I'm not expecting him to move mountains.

Frankly, bodies have been dropping with such frequency, I'm glad just to get the numbers back up. He isn't a signing I can get excited about as I know nothing of him but if he is genuinely of a standard to make a difference then all power to it.

As soon as Coquelin and Sanchez are back they should be under 24 hour surveillance if we really hope to achieve anything this season. Throw Ozil in there too.

[The Emirates Gallactico]

Javi Martinez is obviously unrealistic but I would have felt a bit more comfortable with someone like Lars Bender, Christopher Kramer, William Carvalho or even Ruben Neves, heck I would have been happy with Yuri Tielemans who I think is a great young talent.
.

The thing is though Selassie, with the possible exception of Kramer (maybe Leverkesen wouldn't sell given Bender's injuries??) I don't think any of those players could do any better for us right now.

Sure Lars Bender on his day has the potential to be one of the world's best and there's a good reason why we went in for him a couple of seasons ago, but since then he's been perpetually plagued by injuries. And that's the last thing we really need - an injured ridden crock who we can't depend on.

William Carvalho? The only reason his name appears at all in these lists is because his agent and club have been shamlessly whoring him around Europe for a couple of windows now. The fact that no one taken the bait should indicate that he may not be as good as he's been hyped up to be and in the CL games I saw of him last season, he was pretty dogshit.

Waynama's a beast defensively but can't pass the ball to save his life and won't fit into any top team that wan't to play progressive offensive passing football (i.e. - Any top club not managed by Mourinho).

Xhahka was the other one I kind of liked initially, but after reading some reports on him he's a hothead who's got no self-control when it comes to picking up red cards. No thank you, we've already got Flamini.

Neves & Tielemans seem promising but they're too young to be able to contribute immediately to our title challenge. Beside we've already got Bielek coming through who fills that void.

When it comes to defensive minded players Selassie, our best ones are those unheralded and unglamourous players that MS talks about, who are hard workers and professionals, who have done well at a slightly lower level and are ready to step up. See, Koscienly, Gabriel, Monreal, Coquelin etc etc.

Sure I'm not as excited as I was when we signed the likes of Ozil and Alexis, about the (seemingly) imminent transfer of Elmney but I'm pretty satisfied that we're at least addressing a clear problem in our squad with some decent quality and early (by our standards) at that as well.

[Özim]

Decent quality? The guy plays in the Swiss league and noone knows a thing about him, I wouldn't class him as decent quality on that basis.

The players that Selassie mentions are by in large better players and in some cases top players, so why wouldn't you want these?

To me this is a typical Wenger signing, sure some workout but plenty of them don't and the fact he's willing to take a punt on untested relative nobodies tells you everythin you need to know about him, he's a guy that prefers to take chances to save a few pennies rather than spending more on proven talent thus reducing the chances of them not being up to scratch.

[The Emirates Gallactico]

The players that Selassie mentions are by in large better players and in some cases top players, so why wouldn't you want these?


>Explains why he's not a fan of most of the players Selassie lists in his post
>Then gets asked this

:rolleyes:


And I don't know why you sniff your nose at buying from Basle. The likes of Chelsea and Bayern have bought from their recently.

[Özim]

>Explains why he's not a fan of most of the players Selassie lists in his post
>Then gets asked this

:rolleyes:


And I don't know why you sniff your nose at buying from Basle. The likes of Chelsea and Bayern have bought from their recently.

Yeah but they signed their two stand out players, not a player who clearly isn't head and shoulders above the rest, everyone knew those players.

[Niall_Quinn]

>Explains why he's not a fan of most of the players Selassie lists in his post
>Then gets asked this

:rolleyes:


And I don't know why you sniff your nose at buying from Basle. The likes of Chelsea and Bayern have bought from their recently.

You said "their"

[Niall_Quinn]

50/50 coin toss at best with this guy. Cheap stopgap until the established players return (if ever). Might be a Coquelin, might be a ______ (fill in one of a hundred duds). Wenger will claim it's difficult to better in the January window. It would therefore be legitimate to ask him, if he knew January was a problem, why didn't he act in the summer? So no valid excuses for the cheapskate. Would be lovely to be in a position where Coquelin had to fight for his place back because we had equally decent or better cover. As it is, he'll walk back in. Would be nice to get a striker who could convert a larger percentage of the squillion chances Ozil is creating. But we won't get that either. Give him credit for the nobrainer signing of Cech, but he has to be criticised for always leaving us short despite the fact he's well aware of the perpetual injury crisis at the club. Back to ElWhoever, he has to be of higher quality than Sanogo I suppose. Should fans be dismissive of new signings? It's not that really. It'd be great if this kid comes good and can provide some benefit to the squad. But some of us are way too used to Wenger's bullshit to get excited.

[Xhaka Can’t]

Decent quality? The guy plays in the Swiss league and noone knows a thing about him, I wouldn't class him as decent quality on that basis.

The players that Selassie mentions are by in large better players and in some cases top players, so why wouldn't you want these?

To me this is a typical Wenger signing, sure some workout but plenty of them don't and the fact he's willing to take a punt on untested relative nobodies tells you everythin you need to know about him, he's a guy that prefers to take chances to save a few pennies rather than spending more on proven talent thus reducing the chances of them not being up to scratch.

Surely we all want that?

[selassie]

The thing is though Selassie, with the possible exception of Kramer (maybe Leverkesen wouldn't sell given Bender's injuries??) I don't think any of those players could do any better for us right now.

Sure Lars Bender on his day has the potential to be one of the world's best and there's a good reason why we went in for him a couple of seasons ago, but since then he's been perpetually plagued by injuries. And that's the last thing we really need - an injured ridden crock who we can't depend on.

William Carvalho? The only reason his name appears at all in these lists is because his agent and club have been shamlessly whoring him around Europe for a couple of windows now. The fact that no one taken the bait should indicate that he may not be as good as he's been hyped up to be and in the CL games I saw of him last season, he was pretty dogshit.

Waynama's a beast defensively but can't pass the ball to save his life and won't fit into any top team that wan't to play progressive offensive passing football (i.e. - Any top club not managed by Mourinho).

Xhahka was the other one I kind of liked initially, but after reading some reports on him he's a hothead who's got no self-control when it comes to picking up red cards. No thank you, we've already got Flamini.

Neves & Tielemans seem promising but they're too young to be able to contribute immediately to our title challenge. Beside we've already got Bielek coming through who fills that void.

When it comes to defensive minded players Selassie, our best ones are those unheralded and unglamourous players that MS talks about, who are hard workers and professionals, who have done well at a slightly lower level and are ready to step up. See, Koscienly, Gabriel, Monreal, Coquelin etc etc.

Sure I'm not as excited as I was when we signed the likes of Ozil and Alexis, about the (seemingly) imminent transfer of Elmney but I'm pretty satisfied that we're at least addressing a clear problem in our squad with some decent quality and early (by our standards) at that as well.

Kramer was a no brainier, no idea why we didn't go in for him, most likely a price issue. Fair point on Bender, though from what I understand he's only been really crocked this season and is due back fairly soon. He's an immense player on his day and one who I think we would develop into a world class DM, his ceiling is a lot higher than Elneny IMO.

Carvalho looks a really good talent to me, he's overhyped sure, but he has a lot of potential IMO, not many DM's in Europe putting in consistent performances like him irrespective of their age, his only downside is lack of CL experience.

I agree re: Wanyama, not that high on him.

Xhaka I agree with too, he is technically excellent but rash in the tackle, he's not what we need and would come at a high price, in some ways Elneny is like a cheap version of him, though not quite as good a passer but more controlled in his tackling.

I dunno, if you are good enough you are old enough! I personally think Neves & Tielemans could contribute now, both have done very well in CL, Neves especially looks like a future world class player, he will go for big money soon IMO. Bielik isn't comparable right now, he's not ready for our first team squad, he's miles away.

Im not for one minute saying Elneny is a poor signing, I just wish we could be a bit more ambitious in the market & go for the best available talent instead of comprising and going for the cheap options.

[Heisenberg]

I know very little about this guy. Then again I have seen either very little or nothing at all of just about every other name mentioned in this thread. Much like those being particularly disparaging of the guy, I would imagine. Call it a hunch.

We need someone, whether it's this guy or another.

[Blink 1nce Quince 2wice]

Okay so I'm opening up a can of youtube......too many names of blokes you lot may as well have made up for all I know.

So this Tielemans...21 seconds into the scout nation vt....it says aged 17, 5'9 and weaknesses: Tackling. I know I am simply cherry picking the downers but this is not a good start! :d

[selassie]

Okay so I'm opening up a can of youtube......too many names of blokes you lot may as well have made up for all I know.

So this Tielemans...21 seconds into the scout nation vt....it says aged 17, 5'9 and weaknesses: Tackling. I know I am simply cherry picking the downers but this is not a good start! :d

:lol:

Tielemans isn't a DM, mind you Elneny isn't either. Tielemans is more of a deep lying playmaker, box to box at a push. He's a major talent though and one worth pursuing now before he goes for serious money. Tackling is probably one of his weak points but that can be developed as he's quite strong for someone so small and still very much in development phase, he's ready now though IMO.

[Özim]

I'd have rather we signed someone more established and well known than this guy, we do this all to often signing players like this and sometimes it works out but plenty of times it doesn't.

We've got plenty of money and yet we're always so cheap, Wenger spent all summer signing just a keeper and yet this is the best he can come up with in the transfer window, how disappointing.

I'm not having the BS about we need a midfielder so let's buy any old cr*p excuse, it seems to me that we could sign a sheep with two legs and some people would still try to tell us how it's exactly what we need and how it's better than signing Messi or Neymar.

As for this being the best we can find in January, what the hell were we doing all of last summer then, the excuses really don't wash anymore with regards transfers.

This guy if he does come good will take 1+ seasons to get use to the league IMO, just like all the others before him and in the end we'll pay the price for being cheap. Moreover where's the striker we desperately need?

[hobson's choice]

Central Mid and Fullbacks are the two positions to me, where you can find good players at a bargain price. Seems to have the necessary technical abilities. Hopefully he's up for the physicality and pace of the game in England.

[I am invisible]

Sounds like this one is all but done then? Nice that it's getting done early for once - we need it!

Can't say I've seen anything of this guy other than YT clips, but he sounds like he could be a smart buy? From what I've read, he sits somewhere between a DM and a holding midfielder (ideal, as we're currently without our two!), although he's sometimes talked of as a box-to-box player because of his stamina and tireless running? He's mostly deployed as the deepest midfielder for club and country though, so I would expect that he's being bought with a defensive role in mind? But even if I'm wrong on that, it sounds like he has all the attributes to be a solid DM at this level.

One big plus for me is that it sounds like we're buying a good personality and mentality again - something that we've not always done in recent years. The lad sounds really eager and humble, with a great work ethic and team mentality, and everyone who's worked with him has nothing but positives to say. It also sounds like another purchase that's being informed by this statistical analysis whathaveyou that the club purchased, so his numbers are going to be good: good tackler and interceptor, covers an insane amount of ground per game, very high pass percentage from deep (both short and long), is starting to score fairly frequently from range, etc. Very clean / fair player too, who doesn't give away a lot of fouls. Weakness is possibly his dribbling ability, but that's arguably something we don't want to see our DMs attempting too much of anyway? Arial usefulness is unknown - need to look into that - but I can't imagine he's any worse in that department than Coquelin, and he's got to be better than Cazorla?

Experience in the Swiss league doesn't really tell us much (although winning it 3 years straight won't have done him any harm), but he has a lot of European and international experience under his belt, so that might tell us more about his level.

Edit:
On a side note, I wouldn't be surprised if this turns out to be the first move in a bit of a midfield rebuild over the next couple of windows? Very easy to believe some of the recent talk that this could be the last season for Arteta, Rosicky and Flamini, and Wenger is starting to sound a little exasperated with the vague, never-ending nature of Wilshere's fitness problems? I don't think he's completely sold on Ramsey playing in a midfield 2, and Cazorla has just done his knee at 31 - doesn't necessarily mean he's finished by any stretch, but it's maybe a sign that we shouldn't be heaping 50+ games a season on his shoulders from now on? Could be wrong, but I can see several CM 'outs' and maybe another 'in' before the start of next season...

[I am invisible]

Extra reading...

ESPN - "Mohamed Elneny would be a perfect buy for Arsenal from Basel" (http://www.espnfc.co.uk/blog/espn-fc-united-blog/68/post/2773972/arsenal-would-be-wise-to-buy-mohamed-elneny-from-basel)

[selassie]

Extra reading...

ESPN - "Mohamed Elneny would be a perfect buy for Arsenal from Basel" (http://www.espnfc.co.uk/blog/espn-fc-united-blog/68/post/2773972/arsenal-would-be-wise-to-buy-mohamed-elneny-from-basel)

That's a great read and sounds very promising. I've said it before, Elneny sounds like a classic "Wenger" signing, a young under the radar midfielder with heaps of potential.

I'm looking forward to him hopefully contributing this season, should be interesting to see how he gets on.

[I am invisible]

That's a great read and sounds very promising. I've said it before, Elneny sounds like a classic "Wenger" signing, a young under the radar midfielder with heaps of potential.

I'm looking forward to him hopefully contributing this season, should be interesting to see how he gets on.
I'm happy to give Wenger and the club the benefit of the doubt on this one - DM is one of the positions where I'm more happy to go for someone a little more unknown, and my confidence in our scouting and recruitment team has largely been restored over the last couple of years: whether we've added a big name, a relative unknown, or gone for an internal solution like Coq and Bellerin, we've generally been getting it right lately...

[fakeyank]

http://www.theguardian.com/football/2015/dec/31/arsenal-mohamed-elneny-basel-medical

Passed his medical apparently and waiting on a work permit. Bench for Newcastle?

[Özil's Panoramic View]

Have we completed yet another uninspiring and underwhelming.... oh, and our only signing for the January transfer window yet?

[Marc Overmars]

http://www.skysports.com/football/news/11670/10118430/arsenal-on-verge-of-signing-mohamed-elneny-from-basel

Nearly done.

[Master Splinter]

"We are not close."

"I must tell you, you know more than me."

"We do not know this player."

"But we are looking, yes."

[Chippy]

"We are not close."

"I must tell you, you know more than me."

"We do not know this player."
"But we are looking, yes."

That means no fucking signings! :)

[Özim]

Some Egyptian poster on another forum said the following about him:


as I'm originally from Egypt I've known him for years. He's really hard working (by end of the round of 16 last year in the CL he had covered ca. 97km in 8 matches topping the list of players till this stage). He has experience for his age, international debut in 2011.
He's also not injury prone. In the last 3 years only 2 minor injuries.

In the last seasons he was kind of an unknown soldier. He was making these 5-7 meter passes and didn't attack much.

He improved a lot this season in this aspect. He offers more by shooting (strong and relatively accurate) and scoring more often.

I think he's not really one for the Arsenal-Startup line yet, but he has the potential. As backup for Coq, he will do the job.

Doesn't exactly fill me with confidence, but then what can we expect when we penny pinch and mostly buy obscure players, odd when we always claim we only go for top quality.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

If that's the best that can be commented about him, probably best just waiting until he plays because that comment from that other poster says nothing really.

[Özim]

Says he's not a starter, not really a surprise though seeing as noone has heard of him and he's cheap.

Personally find it very underwhelming, is this the best Wenger can do after a dreadful summer of transfers? Can't say I'm surprised tho, I wasn't expecting anyone to be signed unless it was some unknown, it seems to be the way Wenge rolls, we're a massive club but act like Wycombe Wanderers in the transfer market.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

He's featured in all their European games I think. I'm not going to know about the Swiss league though, obviously.

Not sure what can be expected for a DM in January though.

[Kano]

Says he's not a starter, not really a surprise though seeing as noone has heard of him and he's cheap.

Personally find it very underwhelming, is this the best Wenger can do after a dreadful summer of transfers? Can't say I'm surprised tho, I wasn't expecting anyone to be signed unless it was some unknown, it seems to be the way Wenge rolls, we're a massive club but act like Wycombe Wanderers in the transfer market.

What level did you expect to be available at this time of year, especially early in the window? And that comment complains he didn't go forward much and kept it simple - isn't that what we need at the moment alongside Ramsey? Looking at his stats he has played 91 games in two and half seasons, so he seems fairly integral to Basel.

And picking out one poster on another forum, no matter his nationality, hardly makes him the authority on Elneny. That's as daft as someone coming on here and quoting Letters elsewhere as the most rational and informative Arsenal fan.

[Xhaka Can’t]

In terms of quality, it is a bit of a famine out there.

[KSE Comedy Club]

To 'watch me (whip / nae nae)

He's from Egypt,
He's Elnenny

He's from Egypt, Egypt,
He's Elnenny.

:getcoat:

[GP]

...what?

[Marc Overmars]

Says he's not a starter, not really a surprise though seeing as noone has heard of him and he's cheap.

Personally find it very underwhelming, is this the best Wenger can do after a dreadful summer of transfers? Can't say I'm surprised tho, I wasn't expecting anyone to be signed unless it was some unknown, it seems to be the way Wenge rolls, we're a massive club but act like Wycombe Wanderers in the transfer market.

It's January bro, if anyone makes a substantional signing this month I'll be surprised. The best players just aren't going to up and leave midway through a season.

This guy is underwhelming sure, but like all new players lets just wait and see what he does on the pitch first. For what it's worth this isn't like signing Kallstrom, the Egyptian has obviously got some sort of pedigree in terms of the level he's been playing at for the past couple of years.

[I am invisible]

If that's the best that can be commented about him, probably best just waiting until he plays because that comment from that other poster says nothing really.
If the most negative thing anyone can find to say about him is that they're not sure he's going to be taking a starting spot from Coquelin or Cazorla yet, then I think that's fair enough. I mean is anyone really likely to predict anything more, given the jump from the Swiss league to the Prem, and the fact that he's making the switch mid-season? Even if you thought he could be a future Ballon D'or winner, you'd probably still err on the side of caution here.

Besides, there's no shame in sitting behind those two right now anyway...

http://www.skysports.com/football/news/11095/10108268/top-100-players-of-2015-where-do-lionel-messi-and-cristiano-ronaldo-rank

(See numbers 21 and 22 on the list respectively)

Based on the bits I've seen and read about him though, it all sounds positive. At the very worst I think he'll end up being a kind of midfield utility man, who has a great attitude and work ethic, and who can provide a bit of cover as either a defensive, holding, or box-to-box midfielder when needed. At best, I'm hoping we've unearthed another gem for peanuts. Obviously it would be great if it's the latter, but even the former would be welcome, given out current needs!

[fakeyank]

To 'watch me (whip / nae nae)

He's from Egypt,
He's Elnenny

He's from Egypt, Egypt,
He's Elnenny.

:getcoat:

Love that! :lol:

[Letters]

And picking out one poster on another forum, no matter his nationality, hardly makes him the authority on Elneny. That's as daft as someone coming on here and quoting Letters elsewhere as the most rational and informative Arsenal fan.

:lol:

:gp:



Hey! Wait.....what?! :angry:

[KSE Comedy Club]

Love that! :lol:

I can't help but sing it whenever it comes on the radio now :lol:

[Özim]

What level did you expect to be available at this time of year, especially early in the window? And that comment complains he didn't go forward much and kept it simple - isn't that what we need at the moment alongside Ramsey? Looking at his stats he has played 91 games in two and half seasons, so he seems fairly integral to Basel.

And picking out one poster on another forum, no matter his nationality, hardly makes him the authority on Elneny. That's as daft as someone coming on here and quoting Letters elsewhere as the most rational and informative Arsenal fan.

That's a bit of an excuse, if you have the money there's always someone, yes sure you'd have to pay more but that's what happens when you make poor managerial decisions and fail to adequately recruit in the summer transfer window thus forcing you to spend in January.

As for picking on a posters comments, well trouble is noone else knows anything about this guy, so to have someone who has seen him play for years comment isn't unreasonable.

The trouble is with this guy, is yes he could be some kind of bargain buy, but on the same token he could be an average joe we end up being stuck with for the next 5 years which effectively rules out us signing someone of quality for that period.

At the end of the day we can make all of the excuses we want, but he's an unknown, pretty cheap and a typical Wenger signing, a few come of these come off but plenty of these don't as well and once again Wenger is being Wenger and making cost the primary criteria, let's face it you wouldn't have found one person on this forum (possibly any) who would have touted this guy as a potential signing.

[Özim]

It's January bro, if anyone makes a substantional signing this month I'll be surprised. The best players just aren't going to up and leave midway through a season.

This guy is underwhelming sure, but like all new players lets just wait and see what he does on the pitch first. For what it's worth this isn't like signing Kallstrom, the Egyptian has obviously got some sort of pedigree in terms of the level he's been playing at for the past couple of years.

I don't disagree, but on the same note where there's a will there's a way (if you're willing to pay basically), we couldn't do it last summer so I didn't expect us to do it now, so I'm not left disappointed.

As for this guy and his pedigree, I'm not too sure, noone's heard of him so it doesn't like he's stood out, and tbf we'd heard of the guy Chelsea signed, Saleh. We'll see what he does, but this is Wenger allover really.

[Gooner23]

I don't have an issue with this signing. I wouldn't swap anyone for Coq as our first choice holding mid right now, or not anyone that is realistically attainable this transfer window anyway. So if this guy provides solid back up I'd be happy. I know it is a bit of a punt but from what I have read it sounds quite promising and will give him a chance. Wenger's recent record with more unknown signings (Gabriel, Monreal) has been pretty good.

[Letters]

@Zim

You really are the most negative, glass half empty person ever.
You just suck the enjoyment out of everything.


No, it's Wenger that does that (thought I'd add that to save you the bother of replying.

:yawn:

[Power n Glory]

http://www.skysports.com/football/news/11096/10119138/mohamed-elneny-how-will-the-basel-midfielder-fit-in-at-arsenal

Sounds like a good player on our hands. We need strength and energy in the middle. If his passing is good, it may help Ramsey get back to form and soften the blow of losing Cazorla.

[Kano]

That's a bit of an excuse, if you have the money there's always someone, yes sure you'd have to pay more but that's what happens when you make poor managerial decisions and fail to adequately recruit in the summer transfer window thus forcing you to spend in January.

As for picking on a posters comments, well trouble is noone else knows anything about this guy, so to have someone who has seen him play for years comment isn't unreasonable.

The trouble is with this guy, is yes he could be some kind of bargain buy, but on the same token he could be an average joe we end up being stuck with for the next 5 years which effectively rules out us signing someone of quality for that period.

At the end of the day we can make all of the excuses we want, but he's an unknown, pretty cheap and a typical Wenger signing, a few come of these come off but plenty of these don't as well and once again Wenger is being Wenger and making cost the primary criteria, let's face it you wouldn't have found one person on this forum (possibly any) who would have touted this guy as a potential signing.

Far from an excuse, it’s a reality. Go back and check how many reputable players transfer early in the January transfer window, if at all. If anything, it’s a thin and lazy accusation to trot out generic statements about big players etc without bothering to look at how recent windows have panned out across the board. Of course Wenger made a big mistake in the summer not buying in a back-up but we can either live in the past and cut ourselves over the mistakes, or accept what has happened and deal with the reality of now. I’m sure you don’t live your life that way, so I don’t see the point in constantly lamenting what happened 6 months ago.

Picking out a random poster on the internet means nothing, mostly because they have no credibility. He is just a random on the internet laying out a post, without any context. Just words that mean pretty much nothing. Fans go onto websites everyday with their ludicrous ideas about the game, suggestions on players that have amazing stats on FIFA and so of course must be just as good in real life, or vice-versa. Some Egyptian dude (apparently) leaving a post means very little. But if you insist we set-out our opinion on this player based on this mystery fan, then take a second look at his opinion. Simple passes and doesn’t get forward much? Tick. A competent back up to Coquelin? Tick. What else do you want at this time in the season, within the context of our current mid-season squad?

And of course, Elneny could turn out to be a disaster or a success but why think of the worst case scenario first of all? Surely we all want him to be a plus to the team, so until we he steps onto the pitch and plays a few games, as an Arsenal player we should be behind him. I always thought that came part-and-parcel of being a football fan. No-one is punching the air because we are signing Elneny but I would assume most fans are willing to give him the benefit of the doubt for now.

[Power n Glory]

According to that Sky report, he's more box to box and likes to attack more than Coquelin, but I'm not complaining.

But why has he been allowed to leave mid season and for such a small fee?

[Globalgunner]

Agreed, if he is the best we are going to get then lets hope he turns out to be all we hope for. Coq was never going to get through the season without an injury or booking related layoff so we are here where we are. Let him come in and play the FA cup games. He should be good enough to come in for Flamini after 60 mins. No other player in our squad except Coq and Flamini can be descrided as a DM.
Still need a striker though.

[Özim]

Far from an excuse, it’s a reality. Go back and check how many reputable players transfer early in the January transfer window, if at all. If anything, it’s a thin and lazy accusation to trot out generic statements about big players etc without bothering to look at how recent windows have panned out across the board. Of course Wenger made a big mistake in the summer not buying in a back-up but we can either live in the past and cut ourselves over the mistakes, or accept what has happened and deal with the reality of now. I’m sure you don’t live your life that way, so I don’t see the point in constantly lamenting what happened 6 months ago.

Picking out a random poster on the internet means nothing, mostly because they have no credibility. He is just a random on the internet laying out a post, without any context. Just words that mean pretty much nothing. Fans go onto websites everyday with their ludicrous ideas about the game, suggestions on players that have amazing stats on FIFA and so of course must be just as good in real life, or vice-versa. Some Egyptian dude (apparently) leaving a post means very little. But if you insist we set-out our opinion on this player based on this mystery fan, then take a second look at his opinion. Simple passes and doesn’t get forward much? Tick. A competent back up to Coquelin? Tick. What else do you want at this time in the season, within the context of our current mid-season squad?

And of course, Elneny could turn out to be a disaster or a success but why think of the worst case scenario first of all? Surely we all want him to be a plus to the team, so until we he steps onto the pitch and plays a few games, as an Arsenal player we should be behind him. I always thought that came part-and-parcel of being a football fan. No-one is punching the air because we are signing Elneny but I would assume most fans are willing to give him the benefit of the doubt for now.

The issue isn't so much focussed on the signing (he could be decent and I hope he is) as on the fact we pretty much always leave ourselves in this situation by not doing enough in the summer, now sure you can say let's do the best we can now, but isn't that what we do every single transfer window? What we're doing thanks to Wenger poor judgement and planning is always half dealing with issues because there's never anyone available good enough.

I was just making a point about some information being better than none, this guy is an ubknown and thus we've seen nothing of him to make an accurate judgment, so at this time all we can base it on is other people's opinions who do know a bit about him.

He's better than what we have, how can he not be as our backups are dreadfully inadequate, the issue is the lack of planning and the fact that if this guy doesn't prove to be good enough (which is entirely possible considering the level he's been playing at), we're once again stuck with a player who isn't quite up to the right level but will be around for years to come, just like the Giroud's and Flamini's of this world.

[Özim]

According to that Sky report, he's more box to box and likes to attack more than Coquelin, but I'm not complaining.

But why has he been allowed to leave mid season and for such a small fee?

At that price you can only think that Basle don't thik he's a key player for them, why else would you let your player go at mid-season for such a low fee. If he had been crucial they'd surely have doubled the asking fee at least.

[Özim]

@Zim

You really are the most negative, glass half empty person ever.
You just suck the enjoyment out of everything.


No, it's Wenger that does that (thought I'd add that to save you the bother of replying.

:yawn:

Thanks :good:

[selassie]

http://www.skysports.com/football/news/11096/10119138/mohamed-elneny-how-will-the-basel-midfielder-fit-in-at-arsenal

Sounds like a good player on our hands. We need strength and energy in the middle. If his passing is good, it may help Ramsey get back to form and soften the blow of losing Cazorla.

Aye, my thoughts exactly. Have done a bit of homework on him, from reading the articles he does seem quite a tidy player, looks a decent passer from those youtube clips (don't laugh) and isn't afraid to put his foot in.

Wenger has a good track record with players in the 7-10mill range so I have high hopes for him. I do think it will take him a good season to settle in though.

[Power n Glory]

At that price you can only think that Basle don't thik he's a key player for them, why else would you let your player go at mid-season for such a low fee. If he had been crucial they'd surely have doubled the asking fee at least.

It does make me wonder. He doesn't sound like a crap player. Was his contract running or low or was he pushing for a move? He's a young player too.

[The Emirates Gallactico]

Basle aren't a club who have a history of inflating valuations for their players or dragging their heels to rinse as much money as they can from the selling club. They sold Shaqiri, who was one of the hottest properties in Europe at the time for only 8.4 million to Bayern.

Thing is with them being a big fish in a small pond and dominating their league the same way Celtic and Bayern do theirs, they really aren't desperate for cash.

I also suspect that other clubs who may have been sniffing around decided to withdraw their interest as soon as we, quite early, leaked news of our approach for the player. That probably helped us drive down the price by preventing a bidding war.

[selassie]

Basle aren't a club who have a history of inflating valuations for their players or dragging their heels to rinse as much money as they can from the selling club. They sold Shaqiri, who was one of the hottest properties in Europe at the time for only 8.4 million to Bayern.

Thing is with them being a big fish in a small pond and dominating their league the same way Celtic and Bayern do theirs, they really aren't desperate for cash.

I also suspect that other clubs who may have been sniffing around decided to withdraw their interest as soon as we, quite early, leaked news of our approach for the player. That probably helped us drive down the price by preventing a bidding war.

Some very good players have come out of Basle's first team in recent years, Shaqiri like you mentioned, Mo Salah who is doing great things in Seria A even though Chelsea pretty much discarded him, Barca's Ivan Rakitic came from Basle via Sevilla to Barca. I'm not suggesting Elneny is going to replicate Rakitic's rise but Basle have developed some very good players in modern times.

[Kano]

At that price you can only think that Basle don't thik he's a key player for them, why else would you let your player go at mid-season for such a low fee. If he had been crucial they'd surely have doubled the asking fee at least.

You seem determined to find the negatives about his deal, very strange when you've never seen him kick a ball. Basel are ten points clear, probably heading for their fourth title in a row. We don't know what stage of his contract is at either. As TEG says above, these sort of deals are rarely inflated in price. Part of me thinks you are just waiting for him to fail so you can aim another kick at the manager. I don't see why though, you should have enough targets already.

[Letters]

You seem determined to find the negatives.
I don't think you need to write any more than that.
I should rename him to "Marvin the Paranoid Poster"

[The Emirates Gallactico]

Some very good players have come out of Basle's first team in recent years, Shaqiri like you mentioned, Mo Salah who is doing great things in Seria A even though Chelsea pretty much discarded him, Barca's Ivan Rakitic came from Basle via Sevilla to Barca. I'm not suggesting Elneny is going to replicate Rakitic's rise but Basle have developed some very good players in modern times.

Forgot that Rakitic came from Basel as well. God, I'd love it if Elneny came even close to how good he is. Xhaka is another one who came through the Basle ranks - they've been a great feeder club for mid to top teams in England/Spain/Germany. They've probably got another young talented midfielder on the production line ready to go once Elneny leaves.

To my earlier point, what also probably helped drive down the price is the fact that Basle's season is all but over. They're 10 points clear and will in all likiehood romp home to another Swiss title with or without Elneny and additionally they're not involved in the CL this year, crashing out in the qualifying stages. I suspect a tighter league campaign and perhaps a chance for them to progress in Europe may have made things more difficult and expensive for us.

[IBK]

He here yet?

[I am invisible]

According to that Sky report, he's more box to box and likes to attack more than Coquelin, but I'm not complaining.

But why has he been allowed to leave mid season and for such a small fee?

I've seen him described as defensive, holding and box-to-box so far, but i'd say the most common opinion I've come across is that he's naturally a holding / defensive midfielder who has been asked to add more forward play to his game by Basel, and is turning out to be pretty competent as a box-tobox player too (because of his stamina, tireless running, and the fact that he's started to score a few himself).

It sounds like he has all the attributes that you'd look for in a modern central midfielder - can tackle, can pass (short and long), can carry the ball forward, chips in with a few goals - and he looks like he's technically good enough to be playing at European level, so I think his ultimate success (or failure) as a player for us is gonna come down to his tactical discipline (i.e. if we tell him to stay back and defend, will he do it without getting side-tracked), and whether he's mentally tough enough to handle the step up to the PL and a club like Arsenal? At the very least I think we're buying a solid midfield utility man, who'll be able to provide a bit of cover for any type of central midfielder that we have need of, but I'm hoping that he's being brought in to provide some genuine competition in his own right? Guess we'll have to wait and see on that...

[Letters]

He injured yet?
Fixed your little typo there.

[I am invisible]

It does make me wonder. He doesn't sound like a crap player. Was his contract running or low or was he pushing for a move? He's a young player too.

Possibly a short contract situation? Or maybe it's all relative to how much they bought him for, and the cost of a replacement? Seems like a peanuts fee for us, but they might be able to get a couple of players for that money (and they probably wouldn't need anyone with elite pedigree to do a job in the Swiss league)?

I've also heard spokesmen from Basel talk about their pride at seeing players going on to bigger clubs in the past (they see it as good for the club's image and reputation), so there could be a strategic element here? A club like Basel in a league like Switzerland is never going to attract an established big name... but they can attract a constant stream of up-and-coming talents, if they build a reputation as a willing stepping stone? What (potentially) top young player wouldn't be attracted by them? You're almost guaranteed a few domestic titles, you'll gain European experience and exposure at the highest level from a young age, maybe catch the eye of one of the big boys, and you know the club won't stand in your way or make things awkward, if someone does make a bid?

[Özim]

Some very good players have come out of Basle's first team in recent years, Shaqiri like you mentioned, Mo Salah who is doing great things in Seria A even though Chelsea pretty much discarded him, Barca's Ivan Rakitic came from Basle via Sevilla to Barca. I'm not suggesting Elneny is going to replicate Rakitic's rise but Basle have developed some very good players in modern times.
Agreed but I think they were all pretty well known, Shaquiri and Saleh definitely.

[Özim]

You seem determined to find the negatives about his deal, very strange when you've never seen him kick a ball. Basel are ten points clear, probably heading for their fourth title in a row. We don't know what stage of his contract is at either. As TEG says above, these sort of deals are rarely inflated in price. Part of me thinks you are just waiting for him to fail so you can aim another kick at the manager. I don't see why though, you should have enough targets already.

More a case of being tired of our transfer policy and how cheap we (Wenger) are, it's not like it's an occasional thing either, it's almost every time, he should get a job in the pound shop if he wants to save money.

To be honest though, people will always say great things about new signings, it almost like the feel they have to, I remember when we signed Chamakh and Silvestre and lots of people were creaming themselves over them.

[Letters]

Yeah. Ozil and Sanchez were dirt cheap :rolleyes:
It didn't happen last summer - although he clearly tried - but since the money has been there he's been signing far higher profile players and the difference has been obvious.
Although last summer was a bit disappointing Cech was a fantastic signing, the points he's got us already have made a big difference.

I think literally no-one was 'creaming' themself over Chamakh

[Özim]

Yeah. Ozil and Sanchez were dirt cheap :rolleyes:
It didn't happen last summer - although he clearly tried - but since the money has been there he's been signing far higher profile players and the difference has been obvious.
Although last summer was a bit disappointing Cech was a fantastic signing, the points he's got us already have made a big difference.

I think literally no-one was 'creaming' themself over Chamakh

Two players out of hundreds, so a case well argued :good:

Not sure he tried very hard to be honest, 3 months and all he can find is a keeper, he should be ashamed of himself, it's not like we don't have money or are a small club.

Not saying this guy is a dud btw, don't know anything about him (noone does), problem is because he is unknown there's a lot of uncertainty and more chance of error. My biggest qualm is how cheap we are almost every time, big club with a non league mentality in the transfer market.

I remember the conversation about how Silvestre was a quality player and about how Chamakh was great and was a key player for Bordeaux.

I just can't wait for the day Wenger walks away personnally, so that we can at last try and spend our money on proven quality some of the time as opposed to spending 95% of our time chasing bargain basement buys.

[Power n Glory]

Two players out of hundreds, so a case well argued :good:

Not sure he tried very hard to be honest, 3 months and all he can find is a keeper, he should be ashamed of himself, it's not like we don't have money or are a small club.

I remember the conversation about how Silvestre was a quality player and about how Chamakh was great and was a key player for Bordeaux.

Yep, I remember the Chamakh praise. :lol: When I finally saw him play for us, I wasn't convinced. Totally the wrong style for us, lethargic in front of goal but people only noticed that once he stopped scoring and kept praising him.

I think with No, we'll see what he is like if he gets a work permit. He might turn out decent.

[Kano]

To be honest though, people will always say great things about new signings, it almost like the feel they have to...
No, we do it because we're football fans and without any sense of optimism, there is no point following the sport.

You are pessimistic about the club, manager, players and the fans - do you even like football anymore?

[Letters]

Two players out of hundreds, so a case well argued :good:

:doh:

Again. Note the difference in the big signings after the new financial deals and before. There was a change in our finances, it immediately led to a change in our spending. The change in the sort of player we started signing after the new financial deals shows it wasn't just about penny pinching for the sake of it, one could argue that Wenger was too frugal and cautious but he's always looked out for our long term future, Arsenal will be here long after he's gone and he's got us in great shape financially and in a place where we can now seriously compete, as we are doing so far.

And I agree Wenger failed to land a big signing last summer - well, again Cech was a fantastic signing but we could have done with more. But it sounded like he was after Benzema so he was trying to make another big signing. Maybe people did rate Silvestre and Chamakh - you can't blame Arsenal fans for being optimistic about new signings (well, most Arsenal fans...). Literally no-one was 'creaming' themselves though.

I've no idea about this bloke but he sounds like a pretty decent player in a position where we could do with more cover.

[Power n Glory]

No, we do it because we're football fans and without any sense of optimism, there is no point following the sport.

You are pessimistic about the club, manager, players and the fans - do you even like football anymore?

I think you'll find most people are struggling to really enjoy football. Why follow? Optimism comes from hope of something changing at the club.

[Letters]

I think you'll find most people are struggling to really enjoy football. Why follow? Optimism comes from hope of something changing at the club.

Without wishing to go round and round the same circles again, you don't think Ozil, Sanchez and Cech have made a difference?
I guess we'll see come May how much they have but players like that give me more hope of finishing the job this time than I had on other occasions.

[Özim]

No, we do it because we're football fans and without any sense of optimism, there is no point following the sport.

You are pessimistic about the club, manager, players and the fans - do you even like football anymore?

Optimism gets eroded away when you see the same things happening time and time again, I've got noting against signing players like this, but the frequency at which we do I do have a problem with, we should be signing, some youngsters, some cheaper players and some top quality players on a regular basis, not 2 top players, 100's of kids and loads of unknowns in 10+ years.

Do I enjoy it, not that much anymore, consequently I watch less, the management of the club certainly makes it less interesting for me.

[Letters]

Again, the 10+ years thing is a red herring in this argument.
When our financial position changed, so did the signings. The difference is obvious.

[Özim]

:doh:

Again. Note the difference in the big signings after the new financial deals and before. There was a change in our finances, it immediately led to a change in our spending. The change in the sort of player we started signing after the new financial deals shows it wasn't just about penny pinching for the sake of it, one could argue that Wenger was too frugal and cautious but he's always looked out for our long term future, Arsenal will be here long after he's gone and he's got us in great shape financially and in a place where we can now seriously compete, as we are doing so far.

And I agree Wenger failed to land a big signing last summer - well, again Cech was a fantastic signing but we could have done with more. But it sounded like he was after Benzema so he was trying to make another big signing. Maybe people did rate Silvestre and Chamakh - you can't blame Arsenal fans for being optimistic about new signings (well, most Arsenal fans...). Literally no-one was 'creaming' themselves though.

I've no idea about this bloke but he sounds like a pretty decent player in a position where we could do with more cover.

Ozil as great as he is was a bit of a last minute panic buy when Wenger was under a lot of pressure (though I was thrilled about it as I rated him very highly), Sanchez was the only one that I see us as having planned for. Problem with these deals is that they stand alone, we've bought two guys and they've made a massive difference but now we've gone back to doing next to nothing and being cheap just like we were before.

Benzema was a pipe dream to everyone but Wenger, there was absolutely zero chance of him coming that was very clear, so if we wasted our time (big if) going after him then we seriously need our heads examined. We should have identified several targets we had enough time, we needed a DM and we didn't get one, so now we've done what we always do and taken the cheap option it's laughable.

Noone knows how good this guy is, could be a top player, could be a dud, statistically I'd say he's more likely to be closer to the former based on the fact noone knows him (so he clearly hasn't stood out), he's cheap and he plays in Switzerland, that's not to say he won't be good, but the odds are certainly more stacked against him being a success than someone established who cost a bit more.

To those saying there's noone we could replace Coquelin with who could be better, have a word with yourselves, if you're willing to pay up there's always a way to sign top quality, Coquelin is still relatively unproven, a good half season doesn't prove he's the answer to all our problems.

[Özim]

Again, the 10+ years thing is a red herring in this argument.
When our financial position changed, so did the signings. The difference is obvious.

I disagree, we were told before we built the stadium that we wanted a world class team in a world class stadium and that there was no point of one and not the other, we also bought and sold plenty in that time and wasted a lot of money on kids and unknowns, money we could have spent on top quality but we chose not to.

In those 10 years, if we'd spent money more wisely and not wasted it on the crocks and unknowns we'd have seen much better players playing for us, it all adds up.

[Özim]

Without wishing to go round and round the same circles again, you don't think Ozil, Sanchez and Cech have made a difference?
I guess we'll see come May how much they have but players like that give me more hope of finishing the job this time than I had on other occasions.

Yes they do give you more chance of finishing the job, 3 players doesn't make Champions, far from it, we needed more than that. In the end I expect us to fail to win the title, because we've seen it many times before, we know how injuries always affect us and how we tend to struggle when genuine pressure to win something big kicks in, 2-3 players is a step in the right direction but we need more than that, a top striker being one.

[Power n Glory]

Without wishing to go round and round the same circles again, you don't think Ozil, Sanchez and Cech have made a difference?
I guess we'll see come May how much they have but players like that give me more hope of finishing the job this time than I had on other occasions.

You should know the answer to that from previous debates. I still think we need more. Also, I don't think we play exciting football anymore. It's rare to see us carving up teams with our passing and putting on a show.

[Letters]

we tend to struggle when genuine pressure to win something big kicks in.
There go the goalposts...

[Özim]

There go the goalposts...

I added that in so you don't bring the FA Cup into this like you always do, a cup where we really didn't have a tough run to win it, just good draws in reality, the pressure wasn't the same as it is for winning the league or the CL.

[Ollie the Optimist]

I think you'll find most people are struggling to really enjoy football. Why follow? Optimism comes from hope of something changing at the club.

Yeah i have to agree. I have really struggled to enjoy being top of the league, beating munich, city, united in the process. Its been horrific

[Ollie the Optimist]

I added that in so you don't bring the FA Cup into this like you always do, a cup where we really didn't have a tough run to win it, just good draws in reality, the pressure wasn't the same as it is for winning the league or the CL.


we did have a tough one. Spurs, liverpool and everton in the first year. Last year had united away ( a place we hadn't won in ten years). We won those cups by producing in the big games and winning.

Also there was a ton of pressure in 2014 to win the cup. No trophy in 9 years, the pressure from the fans and the media to win it was huge. Don't belittle our achievements when a few years ago you were moaning we weren't taking the fa cup seriously

[Özim]

we did have a tough one. Spurs, liverpool and everton in the first year. Last year had united away ( a place we hadn't won in ten years). We won those cups by producing in the big games and winning.

Also there was a ton of pressure in 2014 to win the cup. No trophy in 9 years, the pressure from the fans and the media to win it was huge. Don't belittle our achievements when a few years ago you were moaning we weren't taking the fa cup seriously

All at home, so not that hard., it's a draw you'd want.

Be honest, United were woeful last season, enough said.

There just isn't the same pressure as there is when it come to winning the big trophies like the league and CL, good to win the cup but it just isn't the same.

[Power n Glory]

Yeah i have to agree. I have really struggled to enjoy being top of the league, beating munich, city, united in the process. Its been horrific

Those are results. I don't enjoy watching the games as much as I used to. It's not just Arsenal, I think the way football is going, there just aren't many great teams and players. Just a lot of hype and primma donnas. There are the odd games but I used to enjoy the majority not just the odd.

[Kano]

we did have a tough one. Spurs, liverpool and everton in the first year. Last year had united away ( a place we hadn't won in ten years). We won those cups by producing in the big games and winning.

Also there was a ton of pressure in 2014 to win the cup. No trophy in 9 years, the pressure from the fans and the media to win it was huge. Don't belittle our achievements when a few years ago you were moaning we weren't taking the fa cup seriously

Do you just fill in when Lettters can't be arsed?

[McNamara That Ghost...]

I'm fairly sure when we hadn't won a trophy ie just two years ago; the only talk was "Wenger will never win a trophy for us again". It wasn't "Wenger might win the FA Cup but that doesn't really count even if he did".

[Letters]

I added that in so you don't bring the FA Cup into this
No, you added it so you don't have to consider the FA Cup as a pressure situation like you always do.
You define a 'pressure situation' - always retrospectively - as one where we fail. Where we don't you move the goalposts to remove it from your definition.
As for the draws, I previously went back to other cup winning teams' runs and showed that our draw was not unusually hard or easy.
But an FA Cup Quarter Final at Old Trafford is clearly a high pressure game.

[Letters]

You should know the answer to that from previous debates. I still think we need more. Also, I don't think we play exciting football anymore. It's rare to see us carving up teams with our passing and putting on a show.

I kinda agree we need more up front but we have 3 really world class players - and the others are pretty good, let's not pretend they are the only decent players we have in the squad. It's been good enough so far, whether it is enough to finish the job remains to be seen. My head said City but they're hardly setting the league alight either.

[Power n Glory]

Letters - you have this debate on every single thread. Can you just pipedown for a few days at least?

[Letters]

Be honest, United were woeful last season, enough said.
I know you're not a big fan of facts but here's one to dismiss or ignore
Utd had only lost 2 home games till we played them. They only lost 4 all season, including to us.
And all the league games they lost were silly ones. In the big home games they

Drew with Chelsea
Beat City.
Drew with us
Beat Spurs.
Beat Liverpool.

So they didn't lose any home game to the rest of the top 6 in the league, only to us in the cup.

[Power n Glory]

I kinda agree we need more up front but we have 3 really world class players - and the others are pretty good, let's not pretend they are the only decent players we have in the squad. It's been good enough so far, whether it is enough to finish the job remains to be seen. My head said City but they're hardly setting the league alight either.

Case and point. Do you really need to reiterate your thoughts on how this season is going again and again? Seriously, what is wrong with you? You keep repeating the same stuff.

[Letters]

Letters - you have this debate on every single thread. Can you just pipedown for a few days at least?

Nope. I'll post how I want, thanks :good:
But, of course, it's interesting how you pick on my post rather than the endless repetition of others...

[Letters]

Case and point. Do you really need to reiterate your thoughts on how this season is going again and again? Seriously, what is wrong with you? You keep repeating the same stuff.

As do you :lol: And a lot of other posters.

Your little vendetta against me really is silly. :console:

[Power n Glory]

Nope. I'll post how I want, thanks :good:
But, of course, it's interesting how you pick on my post rather than the endless repetition of others...

Because you always lead the conversation down this route. Time and time again. It always starts with you. I can have a conversation with any other poster and they won't repeat the same stuff each day.

[Letters]

The start of this conversation with Zim was him whining about what is sounding like a decent signing. And I wasn't the only person to pick him up on it.
But anyway, I'll post what I want. You don't have to respond if you don't want to.
Thank you for your interest in my affairs...

[Mr. Lahey]

I have no problem with the signing, I will be rooting for this guy to come good.

However Im with Zimm in the sense that it is MADDENING that Wenger always finds himself in this position in January! If he properly filled the squad in the summer, I would have a more positive, confident outlook. By not doing so he has limited the pool/quality of players available to reinforce our title run. That's what is so frustrating! Yes there were reports about us being interested in other players, but that means jack shit at this point. There were quality players available and in positions that we need and Wenger didn't get it done, that's what matters.

Now, I will give WEnger some credit as we are a pretty good side, the table doesn't lie. However, does this team, with Eleny added, have what it takes to see it through? I wouldn't bet on it given history and given the makeup/injuries with our side. Would those who are "optimistic" more so than others, bet on Arsenal to win the league? I cant say that I would at this point just given the transfer window (given we don't sign anyone else) and our history in these situations. I hope I am proven wrong though and will be supporting the team for the run in.

[Letters]

I wouldn't bet on us but we're where we are on merit and we've got some world class players now who could drag us to the title. The rest of our players are no slouches either. City are the main threat IMO.

[Kano]

You forgot winning away at Old Trafford and the two FA Cups in that one. Oh and billionaires running amok.

[The Emirates Gallactico]

To be honest though, people will always say great things about new signings, it almost like the feel they have to, I remember when we signed Chamakh and Silvestre and lots of people were creaming themselves over them.

:lol:

Honestly can't recall anyone happy at the Silvestre transfer, let alone "creaming themselves". It pretty much was all despair and anger that we were signing a Man Utd has been.

Chamakh on the other hand, I'll admit there was optimism and hope that he would be decent as he had some pedigree as the top scorer in Ligue 1 for the champions at the time (Bordeaux). We had also beaten Liverpool for the transfer as well. Took six months to most to realise that he a bit shit. Still, a long way from people creaming themselves.

[Power n Glory]

I don't think Chamakh was ever the top goal scorer in France.

[The Emirates Gallactico]

Yeah sorry you're right. It was Giroud who was top scorer in France when we signed him. :doh:

Still, Chamakh was doing really well for Bordeaux at the time when we signed him, including iirc scoring against the likes of Juve and Bayern in the CL. Sadly, it didn't end up amounting for much. :(

[GP]

Chamakh had been on a really good scoring run in the CL for Bordeaux. There was good reason for people to be optimistic.

I mean, it's not like he was proper shite like Sessegnon.

[Özim]

:lol:

Honestly can't recall anyone happy at the Silvestre transfer, let alone "creaming themselves". It pretty much was all despair and anger that we were signing a Man Utd has been.

Chamakh on the other hand, I'll admit there was optimism and hope that he would be decent as he had some pedigree as the top scorer in Ligue 1 for the champions at the time (Bordeaux). We had also beaten Liverpool for the transfer as well. Took six months to most to realise that he a bit shit. Still, a long way from people creaming themselves.

I can recall people saying he's won titles at Man U, you don't do that unless you're a quality player etc etc, as for Chamakh, yes he scored a few goals, if you saw them they were rolling the ball in from 5 yards in most cases nothing that required too much skill, he was hopeflessly inadequate that much was clear, but people were very optimistic about him.

This guy I have no particular opinion about, never seen him play, he may turn out to be very good, I hope he does, the whole issue is about the way we go about our business and how our primary concern is money.

[I am invisible]

http://news.arseblog.com/2016/01/wenger-complicated-elneny-deal-close-to-completion/

Should be completed by the start of next week...

[Özim]

Don't really understand why it's complicated to be honest, work permits are standard procedure, if he qualifies then it's nothing new.

[Kano]

Don't really understand why it's complicated...

I think the answer is in your own statement tbh.

[Gooner23]

I think the answer is in your own statement tbh.

:lol:

[Power n Glory]

Chamakh had been on a really good scoring run in the CL for Bordeaux. There was good reason for people to be optimistic.

I mean, it's not like he was proper shite like Sessegnon.

Nah, Chamakh is proper proper shit. 15 goals and 9 assists - That's his Premier League record and 7 of those goals were with Arsenal. Woeful!

Sessegnon's not even a striker and he has 24 goals and 24 assists. If he's proper shit. Chamakh is proper proper shite! :lol: An abysmal record!

[Power n Glory]

Well, it's a good sign that we have actually signed someone and he hasn't ruled out more signings. It would have been a disaster if he'd gambled on returning players to fill the gaps.

[Gooner23]

Nah, Chamakh is proper proper shit. 15 goals and 9 assists - That's his Premier League record and 7 of those goals were with Arsenal. Woeful!

Sessegnon's not even a striker and he has 24 goals and 24 assists. If he's proper shit. Chamakh is proper proper shite! :lol: An abysmal record!

Has proper proper shit hair as well.

[selassie]

Chamakh lookalike contest?

http://www.footballgeeza.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Marouane-Chamakh.jpg

[The Emirates Gallactico]

Would have thought this would be announced by now seeing it's been more than a week since things have resumed since the Christmas/New Year's holidays when news first broke.

Getting slightly concerned about the work permit - perhaps it's a spud arbitaring the decision?

Any updates Maestro?

[fakeyank]

He will join us tomorrow

[The Emirates Gallactico]

He will join us tomorrow

Well hopefully. Would have liked him to be on the bench for tommorow or Stoke but that's not likely.


Good news is that Rosicky is back in training now!! Like a new signing.

Got cover for Ramsey and the wide forward positions now.

[Blink 1nce Quince 2wice]

Little druggie Mozart is a huge boon. Delighted he's back.

[fakeyank]

Rosicky is like a mirage.. always gives hope but he actually doesnt exist.

[Marc Overmars]

Super Tom back for his annual Spring 3 month burst of form.

[Özim]

Rosicknote is a brilliant little player, sadly he's been a waste of money because he's spent 95% of his time with us on the treatment table.

[Özim]

My god this Elny signing is taking ages.

[LDG]

Super Tom back for his annual Spring 3 month burst of form.

Little burst :bow:

[Kano]

My god this Elny signing is taking ages.

Didn't the reports surface at the end of December? Then factor in the government departments would all be off until 4th January, so that's just over a week. Pretty quick really.

[Marc Overmars]

SSN say he is in London completing the formalities. Could possibly be in the squad for Stoke on Sunday.

[I am invisible]

SSN say he is in London completing the formalities. Could possibly be in the squad for Stoke on Sunday.

Broken leg and out for 9 months straightaway then - will probably never be the same player again.

Mo :rose:

[IBK]

I have no problem with the signing, I will be rooting for this guy to come good.

However Im with Zimm in the sense that it is MADDENING that Wenger always finds himself in this position in January! If he properly filled the squad in the summer, I would have a more positive, confident outlook. By not doing so he has limited the pool/quality of players available to reinforce our title run. That's what is so frustrating! Yes there were reports about us being interested in other players, but that means jack shit at this point. There were quality players available and in positions that we need and Wenger didn't get it done, that's what matters.

Now, I will give WEnger some credit as we are a pretty good side, the table doesn't lie. However, does this team, with Eleny added, have what it takes to see it through? I wouldn't bet on it given history and given the makeup/injuries with our side. Would those who are "optimistic" more so than others, bet on Arsenal to win the league? I cant say that I would at this point just given the transfer window (given we don't sign anyone else) and our history in these situations. I hope I am proven wrong though and will be supporting the team for the run in.

I tend to agree. Wenger took a risk re a DM - and a neutral would have expected him to provide more cover for a crucial position. We were left only with Flamini - which itself was seemingly unplanned given that he was supposed to leave the club in the Summer. On the bright side, though, the weakness of the league has allowed the manager to muddle through. I just hope Elneny is league ready - because if he isn't I don't think our luck will hold out.

Your point about betting is a sound one. I would not bet on us winning the league. If we do it will still be a surprise to me.

[Thierrymon]

Wenger confirmed the signing after the liverpool game. Hopes he will be available for Stoke.

[Munchies]

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CYrQOWHWcAAINO0.jpg

[GP]

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CYrPw_bWkAAFPIH.jpg

[Marc Overmars]

http://www.arsenal.com/news/news-archive/20160114/mohamed-elneny-joins-arsenal

Welcome. :wave:

[Power n Glory]

Great stuff!

[selassie]

Looking forward to seeing him play, he needs to hit the ground running because we don't have a central midfield at the moment!

[Marc Overmars]

Start him against Stoke.

[Niall_Quinn]

Who is this guy again? How fucking embarrassing that we are eager to see a total unknown arrive in the hope he can plug the gaping hole Wenger left in the summer. I mean I hope he can, but is this how we do it? Anyway, he'd better be fucking great if he's going to cope with Wenger's arsehole policy of allowing the central partner to go missing up field every 2 minutes.

Stoke away. Poor bastard. Welcome to the PL.

[AFC Leveller]

Looked steady and decent on the ball from the highlights i saw of him but cant base our judgment on Youtube i guess.

Will be cup tied in the CL.

[The Emirates Gallactico]

No he won't as Basle got knocked out in the qualifying stages.


Anyway, welcome Mohammed. Hope you hit the ground running as we really could do with it.

[selassie]

Start him against Stoke.

If he's fit I'd start him. The Ramsey/Flamini partnership is a walking disaster, they struggle when pressed and neither of them are creative or even positionally aware. The amount of pressure they put on our defence isn't funny.

If we continue with that partnership we'll drop a lot of points, especially away from home.

[IBK]

Who is this guy again? How fucking embarrassing that we are eager to see a total unknown arrive in the hope he can plug the gaping hole Wenger left in the summer. I mean I hope he can, but is this how we do it? Anyway, he'd better be fucking great if he's going to cope with Wenger's arsehole policy of allowing the central partner to go missing up field every 2 minutes.

Stoke away. Poor bastard. Welcome to the PL.

Its a reflection of how we Gooners crave for change, mate. Because we are still in our perennial mode of one step forward, one step back - even in a season where by rights we should, if not be running away with the league, at least have clear water between us and the others...

[hobson's choice]

Welcome to Arsenal

[Penguin]

Who is this guy again? How fucking embarrassing that we are eager to see a total unknown arrive in the hope he can plug the gaping hole Wenger left in the summer. I mean I hope he can, but is this how we do it? Anyway, he'd better be fucking great if he's going to cope with Wenger's arsehole policy of allowing the central partner to go missing up field every 2 minutes.

Stoke away. Poor bastard. Welcome to the PL.

I agree that we should have bought in the summer, but who were you expecting in January... Messi?

[Niall_Quinn]

I agree that we should have bought in the summer, but who were you expecting in January... Messi?

Messi would be fine.

[Penguin]

http://www.fm-base.co.uk/forum/attachments/skins-all-other-graphics/124995-rate-my-photoshop-work-thread-messi-arsenal.png

:lol:

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Welcome!

[Kano]

Messi would be fine.

Unproven in the BLITW and a massive waste of money.

[Master Splinter]

Elneny :bow:.

Wenger :bow:.

[Özim]

I agree that we should have bought in the summer, but who were you expecting in January... Messi?

Not this guy that's for sure, nor was anyone else, noone's ever heard of him. Only Wenger would waste a whole summer finding noone and then spend on someone unknown, probably what he was planning all along knowing him.

[Letters]

Elneny :bow:.

Wenger :bow:.
:gp:

[Letters]

Not this guy that's for sure, nor was anyone else, noone's ever heard of him. Only Wenger would waste a whole summer finding noone and then spend on someone unknown, probably what he was planning all along knowing him.

Take a day off :rolleyes:

[Özim]

Take a day off :rolleyes:

What for stating fact. If I'd mentioned this guy's name before we were interested people would have laughed. noone knows how good he is, yes there's some impressive youtube clips, but you could make a one legged donkey look skillful on there with some clever editing if you wanted to.

[Letters]

I've no idea about this bloke but do you have to be so sodding negative about EVERYTHING related to Arsenal?

[GP]

Youtube clips don't count because anyone can upload clips to Youtube.

[milla]

Who is this guy again? How fucking embarrassing that we are eager to see a total unknown arrive in the hope he can plug the gaping hole Wenger left in the summer. I mean I hope he can, but is this how we do it? Anyway, he'd better be fucking great if he's going to cope with Wenger's arsehole policy of allowing the central partner to go missing up field every 2 minutes.

Stoke away. Poor bastard. Welcome to the PL.

:haha:

[McNamara That Ghost...]

NQ and Zim aren't pleased? I am shocked.

[LDG]

What for stating fact. If I'd mentioned this guy's name before we were interested people would have laughed. noone knows how good he is, yes there's some impressive youtube clips, but you could make a one legged donkey look skillful on there with some clever editing if you wanted to.

How can you state fact whilst using the word probably?

Anyway, welcome to Arsenal, Elmo :scarf:

[Xhaka Can’t]

I've no idea about this bloke but do you have to be so sodding negative about EVERYTHING related to Arsenal?

http://s2.quickmeme.com/img/55/55695481f57e71d09f0214c7d830f85ce9b9a7fa487c0040e1 ef2817235aadf1.jpg

[I am invisible]

How can you state fact whilst using the word probably?

Anyway, welcome to Arsenal, Elmo :scarf:

Elmo - I like it!

And there's also Moel for the festive period.

[Letters]

http://s2.quickmeme.com/img/55/55695481f57e71d09f0214c7d830f85ce9b9a7fa487c0040e1 ef2817235aadf1.jpg

:lol:


:getcoat:

[McNamara That Ghost...]

He has almost instantly become our best fit central midfielder.

Wenger improving players. :bow: