Diaby out of contract
Flamini sold
Arteta as reserve
Coq cup games
New DM for league/CL
Sounds good.
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Diaby out of contract
Flamini sold
Arteta as reserve
Coq cup games
New DM for league/CL
Sounds good.
Thats more like itQuote:
Originally Posted by She Wore A Yellow Ribbon
Tbf the Arteta deal seemed to have been sorted out prior to Coq's emergence. Don't think it's a bad deal, because like Rosicky he brings great experience and commitment to the squad and I've also heard he's fantastic off the field. Future coach material. Obviously we still need to get a world class DM but I don't think the two things are mutually exclusive.
Also reading some of your posts, some of you guys have way too optimistic opinions of Schniderlin. Don't get me wrong, he's a fantastic player who would improve our team immediately and I'd love for us to get him in the summer but one of the reasons he does look so good is because he has Wanyama and Davis alongside who (especially the former) contribute heavily to defending and snuffing out opposition attacks. Here he would be alongside (most likely first XI) Ramsey and Ozil who aren't as defensively oriented and capable (especially Ozil). Unless we play like we did against City in most games, I don't think he'll be as effective as he is there tbh.
Or perhaps he'd be even more effective here because we need a DM in the side and as he'd be the main one he'd be crucial in our setup?
Its a fair point but theyve needed a few deeper midfielders because they're usually put under pressure more than we are. Despite Southampton conceding less, teams sit back far more against us than against Southampton.Quote:
Originally Posted by The Emirates Gallactico
I've been calling on us to sign Schneiderlin for over 2 years now, I've seen him when he's not with Wanyama, and he's still very solid. He reads the game as well as Koscielny and better than Matic. He gets forward a bit more for Southampton because they don't have our attacking quality, but he'll sit deep for us. Ramsey's defensive work is also great - he's not fully fit atm. Schneiderlin and Ramsey is a central midfield we can take to Stamford Bridge and over power them.
But this is where the wonders of Wenger come into play. We are known for being more of an attacking team than Saints, they would definatley look to 4-2-3-1 to suit their strengths. In the past mid table & lower teams could use this formation to be defensively strong & try to nick games by the odd goal. After the summer they had, when they were everyone's favourite for the drop you can't blame Koeman for adopting a system that made him defensivley strong.Quote:
Originally Posted by The Emirates Gallactico
However, I firmly believe that in order for us to compete for the title we also need to adopt 4-2-3-1. If we had the right players ( which we currently don't) to operate this then a manager buying Schneiderlin to be 1 of the 2 DM's would have to make sure his partner was suitable. However, our problem would be that Wenger would opt for 4-1-4-1 or 4-1-3-2 because of the way he likes to play. Schneiderlin would then be less effective defensively & would not be able to get forward as much which he often does to great effect for Saints.
The real issue for football purists like Wenger is that 4-2-3-1 only really suggests goals being created or scored by 4 outfield players, often up against 7/8 defenders. The only answer is to have real quality in those 4 positions with good options off the bench. You must also have one of the DM's pushing forward to add options & therefore he has to be a quality player in the final 3rd aswell - a bit like a Fabregas (why the f--k didn't we resign him/).
There can be no room in this formation for a Giroud or a Welbeck who simply don't have the ability. You need the likes of a Sanchez, Aguero, Hazard, Silva to perform consistently, especially against the big boys. Cazorla on current form & Ramsey on last years would suffice.
We have too many inconsistent players like Wiltshire, walcott, Ox, Ramsey (this year) Giroud, Ozil, Welbeck. When you know at least 2 of these will have poor games every other week you need more players in attack in order to create chances.
But to get much closer to the Chavs & Gypos next year we should adopt 4-2-3-1, buy Scheiderlin & a Wanyama type ( maybe Coq will grow into the role), buy Reus to play with Sanchez & Cazorla in the 3 & buy Cavani/Suarez to put up top.
Just heard from a "Gooner in the know" - the only other Jan transfer thats likely is Joao Periera, Valencia right back - another one i'm not to familiar with. No DM's & no strikers, not sure where all this Destro rubbish is coming from.
i reckon none of you (inc. myself) could recognise when we play a 4-2-3-1 or a 4-1-4-1. We supposedly played a 4-2-3-1 when we were leading the league last season but that was with Ramsey being box-to-box and getting forward at every opportunity. We just beat Man City, apparently with a 4-1-4-1 with Coquelin being the only one to stop them playing between the lines. Goes to show 2 things: 1) the importance of a physically strong, smart DM - Coquelin seems to be a mix of Arteta and Flamini. And 2) Ramsey, when on form, does the work of 2 players. His fitness levels are unbelievable. We just need him to get fit.
Who is he? How do you know him?Quote:
Originally Posted by Dein-machine
And nice to see people U-turning and agreeing with what I've been saying for years. There is still a need for a strong DM in the modern game.
I seem to remember the exact same posters arguing otherwise.
I am one of Wenger's biggest critics, so it will take a lot for me to suffer from that dreaded disease. I just do not think Schneiderlin is a realistic option because Southampton will hold onto him at least till the end of the season. They could very realistically finish 4th and he is one of the linchpins. Why would they sell now!?!Quote:
Originally Posted by Dein-machine
Even when we were a selling club not too long ago, we never sold our main players in January.. I cannot see Southampton doing that either. Let's move ahead with what we have and be glad Wenger at least signed an up and coming defender. Lord knows, he couldve resigned Kallstrom and Bischoff!
Who's that?Quote:
Originally Posted by She Wore A Yellow Ribbon
God you're a tedious little shit.
Needless to say, you've had the last laughQuote:
Originally Posted by She Wore A Yellow Ribbon
http://www.51allout.co.uk/wp-content...e-with-mug.jpg
Academy coach at Colney - no names as he will often feed me a bit of inside info. Used to play with him in my youth & he's a good friend. Apparently if it happens, it will be typical last day drama for us. Player wants it, we want him, no real issue on the money - simply Valencia thinking about whether they need to sell or not. If they say no, we will NOT up our offer, so then its Bellerin & Chambers until DeBouch is back.Quote:
Originally Posted by She Wore A Yellow Ribbon
Pretty harsh - I don't even remember Letter's being called that - but I could be wrongQuote:
Originally Posted by Syn
Campbell has signed a new deal with us.
I can't see us signing another RB. We have 2 players there as you say, plus debuchy to come back.Quote:
Originally Posted by Dein-machine
Nah.
:lol:Quote:
Originally Posted by Dein-machine
Who? :unsure:Quote:
Originally Posted by Niall_Quinn
The coloured fellaQuote:
Originally Posted by Injury Time
:lol:
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dein-machine
Errr 5 months ago when Spurs were desperate for him. He even kicked off on Twitter when Southampton wouldn't sell him to Spurs.
He's their best player and they've got a bunch of cash from last summer and are doing really well in the league. They're not going to sell him in Jan.
This ☝Quote:
Originally Posted by Grebbo
Me too, think he could develop into a gem. I hope we keep him.Quote:
Originally Posted by fakeyank
Does anyone think its worth trying to sign Fletcher on a free for DM, as Arteta and Wilshere are out for a while so a lot rests of Coqs hands. Always thought he was a good player with a good attitude, although he is still coming back from his illness. Don't think its a huge risk but just would give us an option in the middle.
Yes, but only to make Gabriel feel less insecure about his looks. If he can't get a game for the worst Utd team in decades he shouldn't be anywhere near getting into our team. I say shouldn't but Wenger in charge it could happen.Quote:
Originally Posted by Bumble
Definitely not, the cost of getting a plumber in alone....let alone the amount we'd have to spend on air fresher and glade plug insQuote:
Originally Posted by Bumble
Chelsea apparently very close to signing Cuadrado for £25m
Another good player who'll never be heard from again then.
If he gets paid for appearances and not a proper salary, I think its a good idea.. experienced and a much better DM than Flamini and Arteta.Quote:
Originally Posted by Bumble
Darren Fletcher is a ten a penny player who wouldn't have had even a fraction of the career he's had without Fergie's input.
He'd be shit for us and everyone else tbh. Might as well keep Flamini.
No more stop gaps please, we need someone who can anchor our midfield for the next 5 years at least.
This. The ONLY way forward for us now is to buy quality players specialized in the position we need. We can argue all night about what Wenger has actually achieved in the last decade but even the true Wengerites on here cant dismiss the fact that we have many positions in our supposed starting line up where we don't have true, consistent quality. Goalkeeper, both full backs (not seen enough of Debauchy to know if he's that good), CB to partner Kos, DM, Proper clinical striker. That's 6 positions out of 11 where I'm not sure we have players equal in quality to most of our opponents - that in itself in simply inexcusable after all Wengers years at the club & ofcourse the main reason we don't compete.Quote:
Originally Posted by Marc Overmars
To be expecting 11 world class players is expecting too much. We are not Real Madrid or Barcelona! I agree on the full backs and the CDM aspect where we look thin but we have great players spread out throughout the squad- Sanchez, Cazorla, Oxlade, Kos, Ramsey, Rosicky. They are well supported by players like Coq (flavor of the month), Walcott, Welbeck, Giroud, Per and Gibbs.Quote:
Originally Posted by Dein-machine
Frankly speaking, I do not see any problems with our squad... the problem is how we are setup by our manager. Our squad, if set up well, can easily be challenging for titles. An example of this was our win over Man City. Its all about tactics and man management in football. If you play mindless football with zero tactics, even the World XI will fail! IF Wenger can keep his head out of the arse and actually coach this football team and set them out to win, then we can be very successful!
agree with you, esp on the 2nd paragraph.Quote:
Originally Posted by fakeyank
The city game will hopefully be the wake up call we needed. We'll know more when we play Spuds next week.
:lol: How many wake up calls have we had?
:lol:
Tbf, I am very hopeful about this one. Even when we were leading the league last season or won the FA Cup, I did not see anything that made me feel we were tactically good or we played our best players in their best positions. The City game was tactically the best game I have seen us play since the CL run in 2006. To go from his clueless ways to something that resembled like actual tactics gives me hope.
I am expecting to be disappointed though..
well, the word "false dawn" has been mentioned too lany times over the years when we've looked like changing for the better but the win against man city was unprecendated in so many ways and wenger admitting the players more or less chose the way we played will hopefully push us on properly this time.Quote:
Originally Posted by Power_n_Glory
Unprecedented is a bit strong. I've seen the players do the same against Chelsea when we put them to the sword. We've had solid performances against Bayern, Dortmund and even Barca. These games happen once in a while.
Wenger likes the snooze button even more than I do.Quote:
Originally Posted by Power_n_Glory
I would disagree slightly about those matches. Bayern were snoozing through the entire second leg and against Barca when we won at Emirates, Barca had chances to be out of sight many times during the game. They just didnt have an end product... it was a great match but we didnt dominate that match at all. Not sure which Dortmund match you are talking about... this season 2-0? They have been so shit that it shouldnt be the biggest surprise!Quote:
Originally Posted by Power_n_Glory
Against City, we totally bossed the game. We restricted them to only one chance in the game.. every time we had the ball, we looked dangerous and for a change, I was not fearful when they had the ball.. we looked compact in our defense and midfield. It was like watching another team!!