Spot on we're constantly wasting money on nobodies not up to the task, all this because Wenger doesn't want to sign established players where possible and won't pay the going rate.Originally Posted by Niall_Quinn
Spot on we're constantly wasting money on nobodies not up to the task, all this because Wenger doesn't want to sign established players where possible and won't pay the going rate.
So your definition of an established player is whether you personally have heard of them or not
I'd heard of Granit Xhaka two years before we signed him, it's abundantly clear that he was looking to sign someone to replace Mikel Arteta
And he obviously believes he has Coquelin and Elneny to do the more physical work
Do i think he should have signed someone like Kante or Vidal the season before....yeah of course he should have...who knows what his criteria is for signing players, it seems clear to me it's based on too much loyalty to the players he has (didn't sign Vidal because he had coquelin and flamini)
My question to you, is if he's deliberately always trying to make his teams a soft touch why does he constantly persist with Coquelin even in games where it's patently unnecessary and stifles our creativity.
An established player is someone who has been there and performed at the higest level IMO, Xhaka hadn't, he;d had a few seasons for one of the teams in the Bundesligua that make up the numbers, hardly great.
Is it deliberate, not in the sense that's he looks at his teams and wants the to be weak, but his choices of players seem to be based around passing, that's what he looks for as that's his preferred style of play, if they can pass they can fit in, other attributes like shooting, tackling, leadership etc aren't important to him.
This inevitably ends up with us signing weaker players, as generally passers are not your physical types, he's basically obsessed with this passing game because he thinks it constitutes great football, 10+ years of evidence suggest it doesn't.
How many top sides have players that are purely physical players that have no technical ability. Kante is excellent at tackling and pass interceptions but he can also distribute the ball well.
He's also signed Ozil, Alexis and Cech, and spent a fair few quid on the first two (though there's still that element of circumstantial bargain attached to both). But good signings. So it's a complete mystery how he can then go out and sign some of the dross he signs. When Ozil was signed that should have been the moment when we said this is our new standard, we don't go lower than this, when we sign a player that player is world class and therefore suitable for a world class club like Arsenal. Of course that was the same window where he brought Sanogo in. How do you square away those two signings? It's bizarre stuff.
Then he splashed 100mill and brought Alexis and Cech in for 45-50 leaving potentially 50-60mill in that pot. We desperately needed a top striker and everyone knew that. He brought in: Debuchy, Opsina, Chambers, Welbeck, Bielik and Gabriel. The gulf in quality is evident again and we all remember how Welbeck was ushered in at the death to calm the fans' fears of a lack of striking options. How many of those players are regulars? Of course the two quality players start all the time - obviously. The rest of them, you could count the games between them on your fingers and toes. What might be have spent that 50-60mill on? The chavs spent 32mill on Costa. Liverpool got Firmino for 29mill.
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I think that's the problem right there, he was looking to replace Arteta. It was a top tier replacement for an ageing Cazorla we really needed, and still need. The difference between the safe and reliable but unadventurous Arteta and the two footed, forward thinking, fast and technical Cazorla is marked. Xhaka, ElNeny, Coquelin, Ramsey, Wilshere, none of them can play that role. And it's costing us for a second season running.
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What am saying is that most players have a particualr strength, yes there are some who are all rounders but it's they're the exception rather than the rule.
Wenger is interested in players that pass, he is happy to overlook other skills that might be beneficial to us if that player has that attribute.
Oh i don't disagree, but the reason we haven't signed a top tier replacement for Cazorla is the reason he didn't replace Arteta until he actually left the club, he's still with us.
I think Wilshere is the closest to being able to replicate what Cazorla does, which made it bizarre for me that he went out on loan.
First he told him not to shoot. Now not to tackle. Only at Arsenal!. Can tackling not be taught. The boys problem is mental as well as technical. Goes more to show the mindset at this club. Instead of getting someone in like Gilberto, who hardly ever got a yellow in his whole career talk less of red to teach the art of tackling. We coddle these players instead of improving them. Xhaka now knows its the whole worlds fault not his own. He will now be routinely targeted by other teams as a easy source of gaining possession. 23 years old and cant be taught how to tackle, only metronomic passing is left for him. Happy days!
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Wilshere is not half the player Cazorla was. We routinely lost possession courtesy of Wilshere, and always when mounting attacks. He cost us a lot of goals as he would sit on his arse pleading with the ref, while the other team sped away to score. He can come back after being taught something about keeping possession somewhere else, otherwise another total liability.
I recall the miserable days of a jack and Aaron midfield....a terrible pairing. One thinks he is Lampard, the other thinks he is Johann Cruyff.
Last edited by Globalgunner; 27-01-2017 at 01:34 PM.
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