Summer Transfer Speculation and Shit

[Letters]

Lots of GW users been crying like little girls on here because mean old Arsene didn't sign Fabregas?, as horrible as it is seeing him in a Chelsea shirt I have no malice he didnt go there directly from Arsenal and we didnt want him back.

I don't bear him any particular malice, seems we didn't want him and Chelsea was the only offer on the table. He wanted to come back to the PL so he took it.
For our part, there are positions we need strengthening more than midfield but it would have been a statement of intent to re-sign him, a sign we mean business and are serious about pushing on and competing for the title next year. And maybe we are and some proper marquee signings are coming but it's pretty sickening to see us standing by and letting a team we're supposed to be trying to compete with strengthen.

[Penguin]

Lots of GW users been crying like little girls on here because mean old Arsene didn't sign Fabregas?, as horrible as it is seeing him in a Chelsea shirt I have no malice he didnt go there directly from Arsenal and we didnt want him back.

Agreed.

I couldn't give a fuck about Cesc since the moment he left us, and we had no business buying him for the sake of it when the money was needed elsewhere in the squad. I won't be jumping on Wenger's back for this, though I'll change my mind if we don't invest in at least one world class forward.

[Özim]

He'll probably create 5 of the 6 goals they score next time they smash us.

[Niall_Quinn]

I don't bear him any particular malice, seems we didn't want him and Chelsea was the only offer on the table. He wanted to come back to the PL so he took it.
For our part, there are positions we need strengthening more than midfield but it would have been a statement of intent to re-sign him, a sign we mean business and are serious about pushing on and competing for the title next year. And maybe we are and some proper marquee signings are coming but it's pretty sickening to see us standing by and letting a team we're supposed to be trying to compete with strengthen.

We're getting Vela and a child from Southampton. And the Kalou, Barry and Milner deals are probably going on behind the scenes as we speak. Also Kallstrom, aren't we making that permanent? And Puma want some mad cunt here for the circus publicity, so there's that too. So it's not bleak. If only we could up our game to bleak, but we aren't close to those heady heights.

[A Gunner]

Can't blame him because we didn't want him back. A return to London was always likely to be on the cards.

I have nothing against him personally, it's just the choice disgust me.

[Power n Glory]

He's always been a spiky little ****, imagine how vomit inducing it would be seeing him do that against us. Though I have faith he'd just be a little emo and have a shit game against us anyway. I hope.

It's not the move to Chelsea that's gonna piss me off.....it's when I see him play in that blue shirt. That's when the hatred will set.

But right now, I have a serious problem with the people running our club. I want no excuses from them this summer. It even goes to the players. Ozil needs to justify that price tag and snap out of this funk.

[Injury Time]

I don't bear him any particular malice, seems we didn't want him and Chelsea was the only offer on the table. He wanted to come back to the PL so he took it.
For our part, there are positions we need strengthening more than midfield but it would have been a statement of intent to re-sign him, a sign we mean business and are serious about pushing on and competing for the title next year. And maybe we are and some proper marquee signings are coming but it's pretty sickening to see us standing by and letting a team we're supposed to be trying to compete with strengthen.

This tbh (other than the malice, his moping around until his Barca move pissed me off), it's more that whatever the history he would've given our squad some depth, but I guess that's not the Arsene way...

[Marc Overmars]

We must be preparing to spend big money because there's no other logical reason for passing on him. I get there are more pressing areas to improve on but it's not everyday we're presented with an opportunity to sign a worldie.

[Bumble]

utter shambles, i am all for balancing the books but sometimes one season isnt going to ruin Arsenal. Cesc would be first choice player, we may have alot of central midfielders but he would have improved that area. him and ozil could play together. also he experience of playing further forward at barca so would add flexibility. How are we going to finish above Chelsea next season when they have already signed Costa and Fabregas and sold Luiz for a cost of only about £10m.

if nothing happens over the summer we will be looking at those teams behind us than above us. Everton dont have the money to finish above us but United do. Spurs will be spurs so i dont worry about them.

utter shambles

[Blink 1nce Quince 2wice]

That's exactly the problem. We don't NEED another ineffective CAM on the wing. We need some variety.

What makes you think that he is ineffective or in fact even a central midfielder? I think people might come to a different conclusion if they look at his actual skill set.

We've been doing it for years but has it ever been effective? It was at its best for the invincibles, with Pires playing on the left. But one of the main reasons for its success was that he had Henry in front of him playing a pseudo wide-left forward role and basically providing the width and pace for us. None of our other forwards since have given us that, and it has affected our ability to break down teams.

It's an ongoing problem. We tend to pass too slow and predictably against organised teams who sit deep and keep their shape. We lumber our way through the game without seriously looking like scoring until the last 15 minutes when the opponent's tire (Wenger even suggested that this is actual one of our strategies...). Of course the risk here is that we don't miraculously find a way through right at the end, or that they counter us and nick a win cause we're pushing everyone forward. Which has happened time and time again.

The pundits kind of had it right when they said we don't have a 'plan B'. But really, the top teams have a plan C and a plan D as well. We need more variety on the pitch so we can mix it up. Don't forget that having more direct players and runners in the team would get more out of the likes of Ozil and Cazorla too as it would give them something to aim at, rather than having another similar player who occupies the same spaces as them.

I'm not saying that signing a winger like Griezmann would fix all that but it would be a step in the right direction.

Are you suggesting you wouldn't take a Pires in his prime now? A lot of the failed wide left players Reyes, Gervais, Arshavin (less so) and co would have fallen short here in any position. I think you are alluding to an underlying problem and rightly so, but that problem is salient within our plan A, never mind moving on to plan B, C or D. Arsenal have changed and right now our plan A isn't good enough regularly enough. Giroud misses too many chances, isn't dynamic enough and we still don't have a really commanding holding midfielder.

If the player is good enough and has the right skill set he will make the left hand side work for himself and the team. If that guy is a dynamic player (and I mean truly dynamic) then he will even make it work on those cold wet days when we can't find a breakthrough and the opposition has dropped deep with the full backs staying put. Robben plays the role well not because he hugs the touchline in that conventional winger play way, but because he is only too willing to come in field and occupy the space that numerous 'CAM' are or would be.....and that is despite not having all the sensibilities of a central player. That is a feature of a dynamic player rather than just your typical winger.

Incidentally it is worth mentioning that if you watch Vela's compilation, you will see a number of finishing moves culminating in Griezmann playmaking from not only a deep position but a central one too. One of the main things to take from that is simply that dynamic players simply just make it work. I would suggest that his dynamism is in part responsible for the hype around him now....ate least on this board.

Lots of GW users been crying like little girls on here because mean old Arsene didn't sign Fabregas?, as horrible as it is seeing him in a Chelsea shirt I have no malice he didnt go there directly from Arsenal and we didnt want him back.
As for Diego Costa, the most overhyped Diego since Diego Tristan

There were a few on here saying Arsene would never let it happen which I was surprised to hear. How any Arsenal fan still holds that the manager can be that partisan about these affairs is a mystery to me. I questioned the allowance of RvP and Cesc to an extent (though much less so) at the time of us selling them and was resounding met with the riposte that it was 'because we HAD to'.

I'm more and more coming round to the thinking that actually.......we don't. If we do it, fine, but this veneer or coercion is increasing wearing thin over the years.

In regards to Costa.....most over hyped players haven't scored 35 goals in a top league (or whatever it is) which would seemed to suggest that at least part of that hype isn't hype at all.

The question we're faced with now shouldn't be if a line up of Giroud, Vela, Sanogo will do, it should be whether that forward line will win us the CL or Prem. If the answer is no and let's not kid ourselves....the answer is no (especially now Chelsea have got their act together) then we need to seriously rethink our targets and shopping list.