Nairaland Forum

Good things looking bright for Nigerian football, always been a great admirer of coaches who understand that a mix of local and foreign players gives stability rather than just calling every foreign based player (even those warming benches) to adorn the National jersey.

Again as much as the results matter, what I would love to see is an improvement on the foundation that the new coaching staff are gradually building..Emenike was a big loss in our last qualifier and this is where i wonder whether the coaching staff have adequate replacements to fill big voids..

Tunjman: I still don't know why people are ranting over what is not. Nairaland is a reflection of the larger Nigerian society, what we have here is quasi and not absolute democracy. Seun is only being careful since he'll be the one to pay for the sins of faceless members in this forum. To me, he has not committed any crime for coming up with these rules as that is the only way most nairaland commentators can be put to check especially when sensitive issues are been discussed. If nairaland were to be an open forum (where members data are known), I'm very sure nobody will dare pull any senseless stunt knowing that he/she can be traced. But as faceless as this forum is, some people still maintain their moral uprightness. Some of us may find these rules ridiculous but, they are inevitable because, we live in a society where the only language we understand is 'force' (no thanks to the long tyrannical rule of the military). Mark Zuckerberg would walk freely on the streets of America because facebook is never a faceless social network and the society in which his business operates throws much weight behind human rights. Having said this, moderators should be fair in their choice of posts that will grace the front page and such posts must be educative and informative because a lot of people don't have time to explore other sections of the forum. Also, hiding of post(s) should be done without bias and personal grudge against the commentator.

Thanks
Tunjman

Well said sir!

Not a great fan of going all over the threads on NL...but this one was quite exquisite...Well done op!!

4llerbuntu:

this is why coogar is always on your case.

the guy who plays in the midfield is supposed to score and assist more than the guy who plays upfront/ wing in a system designed to emphasize the upfront guy's strengths?

mcheew, bros, go and sleep

Na wah oh, shey person go fit go emirate for that day so?

Ok, so it has to be one of the best weeks ever. Arsenal won by the death and my boys turned one and im a year older...4-04 and 14-04. So, rather than let Dayo keep on gnashing about. (na play i dey play oh..LOL!) Just savour the joy of the celebrations and say a little prayer for the future gunners...

hmmm...pressure of games and squad depth taking its toll on spuds already....Again, credits to the gaffer for being more stern in his team selection...obviously the onus would now be to actually start theo from the bench(hasn't done much despite starting regularly for over a month, so much for the stats.. mtcheww)....real maga money we paid ....

Whoa! so much goin on here...Damn! Muki where you at?

I cant even breathe men, anyways id just like to say, for the very first time in a long while i give Arsene the credit for being ruthless and making the changes

Putting Verm and Schezny on the bench was applauded by me and most especially taking off theo(honestly if there was another striker, probably would have taken of giroud too) I dont care if a player is the next best thing, once you are having a bad game or not contributing much, then the gaffer needs to have the guts to pull you out.

Have said it several times that AW needs to be flexible nd not predictable...the changes could have backfired but one thing was he passed on a clear message to under performing players and im sure the next time they get to play their performances would have been improved.

Well one might argue he is trying to rest them but then again, theo,santi,arteta,gibbs etc all played so really he must have noticed a thing or two.

Whew!! sanity!!

A-40:
I'm waiting for Jencejyde to come and blame this one on Walcott. He shoulda been tracking the runs of Bale and Lennon! He shoulda been marking Parker

Ha Nah!! on the day, going forward the lads did what they needed to do but the defense was awfull. People letting runners go and no one taking responsibility. Hmmm..questions over vermaleen's leadership qualities are in doubt .

Realistically the only way to achieve a top four finish is to start picking maximum points cos we have the easier running towards the end while spuds and chelsea still have a lot of traveling and tough games to come...

Will their squads and players be able to withstand the pressure? For chelsea maybe yes, but for spuds they are gonna be blaming the congestion in fixtures sooner or later. We have been in this situation and honestly traveling all over Europe and playing 3 games in a week is not exactly what anyone wants at this time.

What Arsenal needs to do is just start winning the games they have left and get over this lapse in concentration thingy...The defenders have to take the blame for the defeat at the lane and a good response with a commanding display in their next game will suffice to boost their confidence.

Yeah, something will give in at a certain breaking point. Shey na like this we go dey dey?

Cant fault the lads for the effort they put in last nite, we only just hoped they had been playing every game with this type of attitude from the beginning...Kudos to all the lads but on the day the Bayern team had more quality and tactics wise, their coach was simply awesome..

They always had a minimum of 8 players behind the ball when defending which meant you need to be extremely quick and decisive or pure genius to break them down.

Their defending is way better than that of blackburn lol!, no wonder they haven't conceded so many goals this season..Credit to the manager for such astute tactics and credit to the players for bringing out the best in the managers tactics.

Realistically i would say, we should save our best legs to focus on making it into champs league position this season and really i dont mind sending ox, gerv, arshavin, diaby and co to Bayern in the second league..As a fan i would want a miracle, but then again on the balance of play and what the current situation is...its only sensible to pick ourselves up and set our goals firmly on securing champs league football next season..

As per the Jack rumours going to Barca...unfortunately we have a board that cares less and right now i wont be surprised if they were to sell him..its a shame but I remain a gunner.

and one other thing, Theo is not a CF...with his back to goal he really cant do much but when facing the opposition he is brilliant...we really also need to consider using two strikers..i am a firm admirer of 4-4-2 and the teams that have give even the likes of Barca and Real Madrid much to ponder are those that have two men upfront

Well who knows what lies ahead but surely, a breaking point will still emerge and this great club will come alive again.

proudlysports: @jencejyde,
I agree with you on Theo. He should have tracked back and at least given the striker a hard time instead of him having a free shot at goal. I can excuse him though as he had just come in and was just getting into the flow of the game.

Overall, we played a team that defended with 10 men and we couldn't break them down. I can't fault Wenger on the first team he played yesterday cos if we can't beat Blackburn with the team we fielded, we don't deserve to win the FA cup IMO. My only growse with him is that he left Diaby on the field and took out Rosicky. If anything, Rosicky was the only one who seemed to have the key to breaking that defense.

And Gervinho.....

Over to another big 'B' on Tuesday

Nice one! but the bolded is a huge grouse anyone would have. Cast your mind back to the game Arsenal vs Man U last season(when van persie was still here) Remember the sub where AW took off an impressive ox for Arshavin...? Not saying there haven't been times when he gets it right too but the momentum of the game at that point meant key decisions on who should stay or come out should be taken and unfortunately on Saturday, i felt the wrong decision was to take out rosicky. plain and simple! and really he needs to also share the blame as well.

No wonder peeps label AW as god in arsenal but at times we need to start questioning some decisions and heck this man is the highest earning manager in the EPL.

Great manager no doubt but some decisions are undoubtedly not the best.

Was Rosicky not match fit?, could he not last the 90 mins? was blackburn ever gonna attack us with the momentum and impetus he was gradually getting into? Well we may never know but at least from what we all watched, we all agree on one thing that he was our most dangerous player on the pitch, so why take him off?

@Chamotex... Omo na God oh, maybe I go sell some to emirates sef for motivation to our boys!! Lol!


@pA_40. Yeah Pele and Maradona often do make some bad remarks or may not have the right opinions concerning certain footballing issues but hey like I said, sometimes we get it right sometimes we don't but surely its the game they have devoted their whole lives to. They are bound to always remind us of how they would have done in certain situations and their records are there for all to see. Its uncontrollable passion and you can understand why some never want to stop playing.

Well as per the goal incident..let's look at the afcon game between Nig and CIv and see that one point where traore could have pulled the trigger or laid a pass for Kolo, but Mikel who had actually had a quiet game mad that one interception that we all may forget easily but its the reason why we were on the road to the finals. Again that last minute tackle from gibbs at the hawthorns last season is the reason we are playing champs league football this season.

Please don't get me entirely wrong about theo, but when I see situations that I feel a player regardless of how much or how less he has contributed to a football game cannot read and timely intercep or put pressure, it kind of angers me especially when that situation could have an effect on the outcome of the game.

My brother and I who is also a renowned football anlyst where having this argument and he agreed that aall players need to be more alert and not just leave defending to defenders which is something I have always been critical of theo. Especially when playing in wide ares cos come to think of it,you really need to help ur full backs

Sadly it was from theos side that the whole play started and I just expected much more alertness


Well nuff said, let's move on to the next game on Tuesday and see how it goes.

@chamotex .I'm still a learner oh.. Lol!


@A_40.. Like I said, you can never understand what it means to play with a ppassion and what it means to lose on the field of play when clearly the advantage is with you. You will only rant on sats and can never truly see what a player is all about and with stats you can't have basic assesment on your own.. About the former player thing... I'm proud to have played and still play the game proud to have qualified my university for 2 consecutive NUGA games (would have been 3 if not for the shaneful football authorities who believe whether we are good or not, we should not go from the zone a third time. Proud to have been a MVpp in Tertiary Institutional Games fOr my Zone, proud to have made a school team form my First year first semester and regular till I graduated, Proud to be the youngest Junior snooker champion in the country at just 19 during the Ojumu ABiola open in Lagos country club. Proud to have been given a offer to play pro but turned it down cos at that Point, I was not ready to compromise my age and surely had to think of other things like settling down


Not saying I know all in footie but I base my arguments with clear logic, maybe right and maybe wrong at times, but its the passion of the Game which I have played from very tender and represented all institutions I have been is what drives me, when I see my team losing.

Played against the same league players you see in Npl likes of Rabiu and some mebers of the under 21s you see today at some point when some Unis had to hire mercenaries to play againt my team.

Am I passionate about the game that I refer to my active playing days? YES!! Every player that thrive of passion always see the game from that perspective and will at times refer to them being in the position where the action was taking place.

Did I achiev and win Things? YES!!! Seven medalsin total from Nigeria to West africa including other during a six year Period.

A_40, no hard feeling oh cos in life things like spending time with family work and making money are just as important... But my words stern from what I have been through as a player and not meant to realyy cause a debate to lead into insults and what not(maybe a few years back but nowadays nah..)

Again when I say you can understand... You really need to have gone through all this giving the cheating and what not especially in the Nigerian footbal and still winning trophies and medals to know what the rant as you call it is all about.

@Roland quite correct but for me, the manager has to do better with the subs, on this day I felt Rosicky should have stayed on, cos honestly apart from one or twwo misplaced passes, he was on to of the game before he was taken off.

@ A_40. Clearly I can see that you don't play the game and you can't understand how my assesments relate to the game. you also can't understand what it feels to be in a game where you need help from layers around you under tense situations. Its not the stats I use in my evealuation of what a layer contributes but what I see in each game over a period of time. A simle tracking run from Theo at that critical point could have saved us from this embarrasment.. Watched Real ve Manu and see what rooney was doing covering for full back and helPing his defence? Honestly you can't understand.

Well God knows and maybe Dr kit will testify to this one that I was very vocal on the pithc and whetehr you are a star or not, once you are not doing ur job on d pithc its gonna be screams allday telling you to track back and defend when we are not with the ball. Losing was never an option, unfortunately as an arsenal fan we have to go through periods like this uneccesarily.

Any footballer or even non_footballer will clearly see that Olson was right beside thoe when he took off anticipating that his man will win the 50_50 which he did, so when we play bayern do you expect our right back to face Ribery or Robben all alone..

Unto the game again, sure we had enuff to win and unforgivable chances and below par showing from Gerv and Giroud but this is where champions are made off..Never lose concentration at the key moments which. We have certainly not showed enuff as a team.

Again I was watching that long ball and I was immediately screaming 'Theo get back and and track the run' of course I never expected it will lead to a goal but I just hoped the reaction would have been more positive from Theo since he was the closest to the scene when the pass was made from deep.

As a DM, I almost often read situations or anticipate them before it happend and quick to call for help if I felt I was gonna be outnumbered or lose it.

Well enuff said, again I say, if we get riped on either flank it will be down to how well our rw or lw. Help out their fullbacks and that's where Bayern may just be looking to hurt us.

Two culrits. Wenger and Theo.. Yes Theo.

Wenger was actually ridiculous to keep diaby and take out a Rosicky that was getting dangerous as the game grew.

Now I remeber saying Theo has to do more defending. This move started with a long bal and right there, olson was already running, I mean that's a fullback and walcot just stood there. Say I'm biased about theo if you will but everyone can see that walcott should have sensed the danger and immediately olson took off he should have started tracking back,what was even more anoyin was the fact that it was coquelin that still came back to try and put pressure on the goalscorer when Theo should have still tracked back nonetheless.

Again, if we get murdered on either flanks, it will be down to our inability to get wide men to do a thorugh defensive job. I mean Blackburn had all their wide men help their full backs and denied us space on either flanks.

Well unto Tuesday and now its all about fourth spot I beilieve.

@proudly.. Well said. A lot of peeps were already on his back based on some poor form but boy did we need a mister versatile today and he put in a master class performance. True that Giroud cazorla and walcott were all wasteful today but I have to say that were Giroud lacks in some aspects he makes up in others. Apart from wojech pulling of super saves, did anyone notice how giroud was winning headers in our defensive third and repelling all of sunderlands set piece attacks?

Ordinarily the stats people will not see that and just rubbish the guy but considering the situation we found ourselves with a man down. And as a defensive midfielder, I would appreciate that type of display to help my backfour anyday.

Not gonna dwell on walcotts issue anymore but again I just wish he would add more to his especially pressing and defending a lil more. I feel sorry for poor jenks cos he had too much to handle but theo could have helped just a lil more and not leave him isolated one on one with sesegnon.

Believe me, this factor will be crucial when we play bayern cos Ribery will murder any right back in the world and if walcott can't contribute to helPing his fullbacks, I can only imagine

Monreal also had problems but then santi was always quick to help out esPecially when he noticed they were trying to double up on him. It may sound critical of theo but again it just a personal opinion.

I just hope who ever is playing right back on dat day would scream loud into his ears to help defensively

Overall another 3 points and unto the next game.

ngnetbiz: My own take is,we don't have airport in nigeria,if you call lagos international airport or abuja a standard airport,then you don't like the country.our bad leaders have failed in many aspects,i arrived at mma the other day ,no AC in arrival,one and only escalator wasn't working,no lift,only 1 ox fan and not working.more than 4 planes landed and we all have to pass same entrance,we were forced to line up like bunch of ants until we forced ourself in due to overheating whoch many couldn't bare.anyone who has been to UAE terminals will testify,watch out for the new al makhtoum international airport.what do those little countries have and they are doing big things,look at waterfalls and malls in airport,imagine a country making money from airport alone.people enters new and buy things in malls at airport,and pay for other fantastic sevices.we have a long way to go.our have deceived us a lot.maybe coz most people haven't travelled yet.we need change.we youths,its in our hands.you and me.their is no better time than this.

Well said! People talk about reporting to agencies...and you live in Nigeria?!@...For all the money we make and not even a world class airport...Like i always say...until a revolution happens...may God help us in this country...watch out for the next fuel price increase btw...

@ Ramsey....Over the last few games he has done well...I mentioned something about how coq made us more incisive with his movement playing from the same deep role as arteta...Well ramsey simply made that fact more glaring cos as a natural attacking mid he loves to make runs behind defenses(never mind he has been asked to fill a deep role void) That movement together with the fact that he actually gets stuck into challenges(sometimes needlessly) makes his game much better... and the team much more mobile with a view to creating more chances...

Now the big question is...Is he really the player we can rely on to play that defensive midfield role? In my opinion and time will tell ..I don think so..

Does he posses enough intelligence to provide the cover ups for bombing full backs or that strong defensive screen in front of our center halves or to win those fifty-fifty spheres in the air and on the ground in our attacking third in the long run? I still don think so...(hopefully im wrong)


Has he done well in that position so far? .....Absolutely YES!!!! He earns my praise especially for the fact that he has been able(which is by no means easy) to play in several positions given very little time to understand the responsibilities of those positions... Kudos to him...(great level of understanding..not whining and saying he wants a preferred role..this and that)

Its a marathon and not a sprint...If we use ramsey consistently in this new position and expect to be comfortable that we now have an alternative dm...then im afraid it may backfire at the unexpected time... I have to say AW can be really stubborn at times...

naijababe:

Is it me or is everything wrong with the bolded? I don't care what Arsene may have done for the club in the past he's pretty decided on ruinous path. Oloshi buruku

I no fit laugh abeg na monday oh...

Pataki: A part of me feels happy that we won, a certain part of me feels SAD that we won!

Jack is far beyond CLASS. He defines CLASS and exudes it on the field of play. A perfect midfielder, that is what he is!

As to being sad that we won; sincerely, we do not have a perfect finisher in this team. Wenger keeps playing on our emotions and spewing all sorts of tomfoolery about signing Theo Walcott. Same Wenger who was hoping that this deal would have been done before Christmas last year, now in January he is saying he is 99% sure of a done deal before this weekend. Walcott is good in his own style, but unfortunately this is not the time for experiments. We need an all-out perfect finisher. Wenger should stop this useless ego-massaging he is giving to Walcott.

Had we lost yesterday, the pressure would be on Wenger today to go all out and buy a perfect finisher after the nonsense that Walcott and Giroud displayed yesterday. Fact. No team with the kind of Arsenal midfield that played yesterday should be subjected to the 'almost-a-goal' scenario that our supposed two CF gave us last night.

Reading the press nonsense that Wenger granted today, and the rumours about Cavani, Wenger must be utterly deluded if he thinks the likes of Walcott or even Giroud match up to Cavani.

WENGER GET CAVANI NOW!!!!!

That said, Jack and Francis stood out top for me yesterday.

On point!!! Spot on!!

Well well well...no need for long story...seems most peeps can truly seperate what a good allround player is from just a basic player...and this hasnothing to do with stats...the Great Beckenbeaur (sorry about spelling) is regearded as the finest Defender in History and thats cos of his all round ability...

If Jack is not class, then i sure dont know what class is.... Its not just about this game but the momentum he has been building from the past few games consistently...

One thing i particularly enjoyed was something i felt was missing a bit from our game and that was MORE MOVEMENT.... The young lad Francis has to be given due credit here... As much as Arteta gives us stability and compusure. he hardly runs makes enough movement behind the opposition in the attacking third which kinda makes us static at times...(Still one of my favorites but maybe should foray more occasionally)

The young man kept making runs and this meant the swansea defense or any defense will be forced to react and break their shape and beilieve it or not, thats one of the major reasons we actually created more chances on the night...It does have its backside though as that meant he had to leave his defensive position but overall i would give him some due credit for his performance on the night.


Between Theo and Giroud as CF ... nothing to say..the jury is there for all to see... I only pray and hope that Theo can become much more better as a football player in the future.

Hmm... Make jack slow down small oh...Im sure all these vultures are watching and very soon. Hmmmm.......(Greedy Arsenal board smh..)

@ A-40

Seen your reply but having read through and analyzed...it would seem going back and forth plus i no wan write another epistle.. as most of my replies may tend towards repetition of some of the things i have earlier mentioned.

The debate made for some interesting points, some of which were correct from ur own point of view and mine likewise with differing angles as well.

Anyways, today will give us another opportunity to look at and analyze some of these points once again based on the performances of any individual that would be the subject matter.

olodo:


Well said bro, and thanks for mmaking it so worth my time, I enjoyed every bit of your analysis. Like I said before now we are likeLy to miss out of Europe completely and the only person responsible for that will be WENGER and not the board. Ihope swansEa will do us the honour of cancelling another record on wednesday nite (wenger has never lost a 3rd round fA cup tie).

No probs! So we have another record witing to be broken for all the wrong reasons again!!! Oma ga oh!! Lets see how they respond sha...

dayokanu:

Bros put your money where your mouth is

$200 is the amount you fit go up to $500 in case e sure for you like that

Yeye lol! na here we go see you....

4llerbuntu: @jencyjyde, well said bro

you know there is something wrong when u have a team where theo walcott is practically the best attacking player,


i feel the only reason why we are still hearing talks of negotiation is because the chap does not have any offer worth up to arsenal's package yet. which worries me more because it then confirms that arsenal is being suckered into paying mugun money.


i believe iv asked the question before that how many truly big clubs can play theo walcott upfront? iv been hearing a lot of stats talk, which i think is because he is playing for a contract anyway.


for whatever its worth, if this slide continues into february, there will be no CL footy for arsenal next year. and then i wonder where the club will go from there

Men na so we see am for AFC these days oh... Even when Kanu was as good as he was, he hardly made the starting eleven for AFC back in the days. Its a shame if AW and the board will continue to make derogatory statements supporting the fact that this team has enuff quality already...

Thursday night football...hmmm, i will just be sleeping jare and wake up to hear scores and thats it... We officially become that sort of mersey side team when we don't have any reason to be.

Somewhere, somehow i pray something gives in to cause a dramatic change sha...Sad watching barca and to think we were playing that kinda football some years back (home and away oh) and cant even string enough passes nowadays...#shame

[quote author=A-40]
Loool Enu o se! The tax man is here waiting





From all points of view!! His production wins matches. Simples!
Why wouldn't you pay him 90k? What is 90k for a club like Arsenal! You guys pay bums like Santos,Squillaci,Djourou over 50k so how does a 23 year old England international who has only been your 2nd most productive player over the last 3 seasons all of a sudden becomes worth less than 90k. Keep being cheap we have seen how far its gotten y'all

Jencejyde

Again, the obvious is being stated here " we pay bums like yadayadayada 50k and above" but the main point which i will disagree with you is that walcott (23 year old England international or not) is not worth 90k but because of the obvious, no thanks to our Management (Its AFC's current wage policy that makes it seem you can be put in garbage performances and still earn so much cos there is now lack in quality across the entire squad).... Walcot now seems to belive he can command such amount of wages plus stating where he wants to play Cast your mind back when we were ARSENAL and boast of the likes of Viera, Petit, Berkkamp Overmars , Pires, Ljungberg Henry, Tony Adams and co.... a player like walcott will be glad to even sit on the bench talk less of making demands...Kanu for all his worth made sub appearances in arsenal...Thats King KANU in his prime oh) How much was he earning and even when cashley was making demands for pay rise as good as he was then..how much was the increase we were talking about then

Mind you, i have never seen him worth that amount regardless of the stats you put up for him over the past season and that cos i look at him perspectively and not take up the figures to conjure him as being superb over the past few seasons...


Bros leave that story for Discovery Channel. Ex players don't always make good pundits you know

No mind me jare, na the fottballer in me wey just yarn this one, but then again More often than not the really intelligent ex players make very good pundits



What kind of talk is this? Don't players go through dips in form? "You are disheartened to say he is actually one of our better performers so far this season" that statement reeks of bias!! What it tells me is not to expect any objectivity from you when it comes to Walcott!

True talk it is! Why am i disheartened? Because he has managed to score certain amt of goals over a period of games either produced full points for a share of the spoils for us...regardless of the fact that we actually did not even play well in those games and either won due to an even worse performance from the opposing team or with some rather interesting decisions going our way..Again it points out that truly we are a team in dire need of some true depth in QUALITY...and that's why i am disheartened...

On the other hand, has Walcott played well at times this season and had some bad games this season? YES!!! He has had a mixture of both which every player goes through but if you want to become a top earner and demand a role you want then im afraid your inconsistency rate can not be more than 10 percent. Walcot for me has been relatively a 50 50 ratio of good games to poor ones... I don't need to dig up no stats for that cos if indeed he had been so productive then we should not be where we are....remember we were carried by one individual or maybe two for most of last season and my oh my, did they come up with the goods when it mattered most. Not saying Walcot is to blame has relatively most of the players in our team have had below par performances but the point is ..if you believe that He(Walcott should be given his due and given the amount he wants, then he needs to do more)

Regardless, i will still keep on praying and hoping that Walcott can still be as good if not better than messi...Surely thats no bias... is it?

You think one of the best 3 wingers in the league is not worth 100k. How laughable! Why not have him play for free

And really you think Walcott is actually in the top three ranking for the best wingers in the EPL.... Guess thats why peeps are still mocking FIFA for believing that PIRLO is not worthy of a FIFA XI Pro place....Stats is not everything oh.....Its not even close to what makes players great...


Complete player and you brought out Messi!! How many players are as good as Messi? How do you score goals and produce assists without movement and awareness on and off the ball. You play ball at all?

Messi is out of this world at the moment but any day anytime i would put Aguero, Falcao, Ronaldo RVP and Suarez just to mention a few as players that can produce such quality as he does and consistently as well.

hahaah, you are getting it wrong i never mentioned scoring without movement and awareness, our subject matter was Walcot and why I believe he is not worth the money he is demanding based on the unquantifiable elements which i do not believe he possesses at the moment (maybe develop later) to make him the total player..

Let me explain here...Of course you need to move to score goals and produce assists but then when your team is not attacking or lets say your team is denied possession ...what do you do? Do you still lie in and wait for your midfielders to supply you that pass? This is what separates boys from men... Ordinarily you would say why does so and so score so much or has a heavy influence on games....have you really sat down to watch an arsenal game and look at what walcott does when we are not with the ball..(not saying he does not track back but more often than not..he either needs to be told when to do it or does not have the intuition to pick up runners when on defensive duties) You may say that after all he is not a defender but in the modern football of nowadays...Every player has defensive duties...

Again this has nothing to do with the fact that you need movement to score and provide assists..of course as a footballer you must run and be fit. Its a case of intuition and knowing the right moments to do it, its also about knowing that when your team is under pressure and you are not getting the supplies that you should come deeper and support your midfield...for crying out loud...Theo has bags of pace and why should he be worried about running from deep after making probably a clever wall or double passes with team mates or even driving at the defense from deep causing more defenders to be attracted to him and in the course sliding a pass or getting free kicks...

Really it would take some long writing to explain most of these things and if you are still thinking whether this bros play ball at all...well probably someone somewhere can answer your question. Putting up pictures of games places, countries and medals at my age is really not proving anything but I thank God for the gift and anytime i go back to my UNI, even the new breed of players know my name... From the Snooker world to Football world, i was truly exceptional and i make no pride of it, cos i worked hard at becoming the best and its true what they say that the best players usually stay after training to horne their skills even more... I don need stats or Google books to talk about football snooker( not pool oh) cos i was naturally talented in both and i developed beyond boundaries i could not imagine myself but then again...Life is funny and at the end of it all ...I am getting paid in the IT industry...



Walcott gets called a lot of names lazy is not one of them


Of course because your mind is more or less made up on him! There is nothing he does that can win you over! Not too long ago ninjas here swore Charles Nzogbia was better than him
Please for all of Jack's industry I have not seen the end product so don't hype that kid to death

Wrong again.... Lazy is not the word here but again intuitively knowing what to do and when to do it is what i am emphasizing here.. I may be playing as your cmf and you as my CF... I really don't need to tell you that you need to put pressure on the opposing teams defender do i? No football player is lazy because our bodies go through some excruciating turmoils everyday on the training grounds and on match days... No be moi moi to play 90 mins of football ooh... Attitude either due to ignorance or lack of intuition is the case here and not lazy. Charles who? Not me men.....

hahaha, there we go and you said you see this from all angles and you really cant say Jack is top notch? Puleaaseee... He also makes mistakes but as a player he is fast developing into a player im scared we may lose very soon...#fact This is no hype and that why i have also mentioned arteta has not being given his dues cos they Consistently put up good performances with less poor ones. Take a look at how many free kicks he won and how well he was quick to shield the ball as well as DRIVING at the city defense from midfield(We sure miss the times of Henry, Pires and Freddy) He was always quick to drive and attract defenders to himself and even which is something he his not just doing today but has done severally and what he is only 20 i think and of course he has been out for a year as well... End product will come if he continues this way and if we get our attacking mix well as im still not sure (neither is he) whether he is supposed to be an AMF or CMF....AW has a lot of tactical issues to really sort out here..



You guys where doomed to lose the minute Koscielny got sent off!! Go ahead and blame Walcott I want you to show me the team or striker that would have done better in that kind of circumstance
Your manager being clueless is really not Walcott's fault if not for Wenger being such a cheapskate maybe y'all would have had other options

Finally something i quite agree with you and sure even with 11 men, i really still felt it was always gonna be a uphill task for us to beat city, not blaming walcott for the loss ...(our subject matter on Walcott is whether or not he should be paid 90k and our loss yesterday is not in any way connected to this argument..lets understand this)

Again yes, and i have said it to, that the Board and AW have turned us into what we are today and that's why this debate is really on the cards....had it been the era of quality...we wont even be discussing walcott talk-less of how much he wants to be paid... Sad but true....



Disagree all you want but at the end of the day goals and assists win matches!

You missed Arteta?? Haha don't make me laugh! How many games have you lost this season? Is it that Arsenal never lose when Arteta plays or what?

You do watch the Arsenal games do you? phew!!!Sure goals and assist win games but they are provided consistently by special and tactically disciplined players who earn their true worth. and as per Arteta...i really dont think you watch Arsenal games well enuff so i wont say much on that...


Movement? What movement? How many shots did he have on target? How many saves did he force from Joe Hart? Apart from a wild header over the bar dude didn't do $hit!!!
Your best chance fell to who? And if not for Lescott on the line it would have been what

Dude, watch the game again and see what im saying and actually he had the best chance of the game unfortunately he scoffed it.
You are so much in tune with gathering stats like shots on goal, assist goals and etc without actually looking at what the player does in total over the course of the game..how about clearances of the goal mouth, dribbles, tackles and co Is it a compilation of all these that makes your assessment of the value of a player?? He actually won headers and was constantly making sure that Lescot was taken out of position because ..he(Lescott ) was given the task of staying with him which meant walcott had more space...

Yep walcott also had a chance that was cleared of the line and that was when we were 10 to ten and when Per and Giroud had been moved upfront...And so for the whole of the game which he had more minutes, thats what he came up with...hmmmm


You are just splitting hairs here! All players have one or two of those moments in a game

Was this before or after Kompany got sent off?
This is not the first time ninjas are giving Giroud undue credit. Just the other day someone came here and claimed Giroud changed the game for Walcott when it just so happened that Walcott was actually his sole benefactor in that same game

That is the question! Who do you guys have at Arsenal capable of such abilities?
Please don't tell me Arteta and Wilshere

Hahaha Jack is permitted bad moments but not Walcott. Wilshere worldclass? Aww man you guys really need to chill with that


hahahah ... At all bros.... no bias and no lame feelings whatsoever. We are all humans and make mistakes but the level to which mistakes are permitted should not have a high frequency of occurrence...Remember i said I do not believe he is arsenal quality cos he lacks technique and pace with some other few pecks... but one thing i see and cannot fault him is his movement as a pure CF...whether he score enough goals or his total ability in all ares is up to scratch is a different issue but for the role of a CF, he fits the bill and he has the intuition to excel there..

Unfortunately in the Arsenal way, you also need pace and good technique which is why i still wonder why we are playing 4-3-3, Honestly i would think a 4-4-2 would suit him(Giroud) better in this League.

If i were to pick out stand out players at arsenal right now... Sure, Theo would be there but ahead of him for me would be Jack and Arteta and this again shows why i believe that AFC have really hit the lows....Sorry to burst your bubble but those two for me have been quite exceptional so far this season bar one or two bad performances and my rating is not based on just stats but far more than that..

I dare say it that the young lad is worthy of being labelled Class!!! No exaggerations but he has some fire in his belly that is beyond comprehension as he wants to win and has a desire to keep on driving and urging the team... You do not need to wear the captains armband to be a captain... He is still young and i will say it just like i said of messi some years ago when i told a friend that this man will win the Ballon diour 3 straight times( Amazingly he has won it 4 straight times) I honestly cant say he will win the ballon dior (couple of things needs to be still addressed in his Game..composure, more accuracy in finally pass and a little more awareness) but i strongly believe in about 2 years from now he will be shortlisted if he keeps going at this rate

Nobody said anyone cant make mistakes but as i reiterate again, For someone agitating for such an amount...is he really really worth it? (please this has nothing to do with other players doing little and earning much...This is purely based on Theo) Of course i also pointed out that jack has flaws too but never said he is permitted to make mistakes and theo isn't...

I surely want Theo to do well but i also need to see him deliver so much more on a consistent basis...Giving him what he wants wont be so hard then....

Sorry about some typos though as i was in a bit of a rush.. On the game yesterday...hmmm.... Sad is just the word but then again something will give in sooner or later... City fans returning tickets?!? looks like one of those signs....

A-40:

One of your most productive players over the last 3 seasons is not worth a paltry 90k? Your best player so far this season? Lol you guys may never win a trophy if you keep undervaluing your best performers like this

Haha, now this is gonna be interesting!!!! Firstly, are you looking at walcott being a performer from a spectators point of view, a players point of view or a managers point of view? Secondly, if you were given the odious task of determining the wages of walcott, will you actually put him on a 90k a week wages?

Sorry sir, but i look at the game from that of a mere fan as well as one who actually played and won laurels in my playing days( im still fit though and i still do a 100m in less than 15 secs ) And honestly, if not for the way that Arsenal has really degraded, as a True fan, i am really disherted to say he is actually one of our better performers so far in this season. With inconsistency shown in the last two games...then he pops up after we have dropped like nine points to score a hat trick against maybe a relegation threatened side and you believe he should be given that much ...The mercenaries have really taken away the true value of players so it no surprise that every player believes they are worth over a 100k a week[/quote]

A-40:

Last 3 games
3 goals 2 assists
Assist for the only goal
Assist for the only goal

Again, my post talked about being the complete player not just based on quantifiable elements like you have just listed above, but those elements you cannot statistically lay hold off but you have to see in each game, over and over again(movement, awareness, what the player does one and OFF the ball, starting the full pressure from the front line and also tracking back to collect the ball from deep....are there stats for all these??). For my word, he could score seven goals in one game and yet still not be regarged as a fantastic player, yet someone else may not score any goal but the overall performance on that individual will always stand him out... Jack nay not have the stats that walcott has but honestly who would you rather give that 90k between the two of them??

A-40:

Take out his production and we are talking about 2pts from 9 games tops


This is someone that coulda pouted and held out for an exit while Wenger victimized him he did none of that and has gone on to become arguably your best player so far


Lol how many players can you compare with Messi in that aspect of the game? See how high you set the bar! Walcott is one of the most hardworking players on the field

Well well well, look no further than the game against city and tell me really how hardworking walcott really is. Again, i would quite agree that his production means we have garnered a couple of point in some games but no thanks to our Manager for becoming ever so predictable and we becoming frustratingly inept in the attacking third.

But if in your opinion he is our best player then im sorry but i would have to disagree with you and rather Jack and Arteta has been our best players so far this season and this is not just waiting to see their stats but watching their contribution on every single match day from a veiwer and players perspective... Im sure even you would agree with me that as much as Arteta may not be given much credit...we actually missed him against city.

A-40:

He is within his rights to demand a central role! How can wastemen like Gervinho and Giroud start at a central role and Walcott can't
8 goals and 6 assists in 9 starts!

True there is room for improvement but compared to what you guys can afford and have at the moment Theo is still your best option[/quote]


Well like i said, its unfortunate that Arsenal have sunk so low as to a player like Theo demanding where he wants to play....*Nods head in disappointment* The start issue is something i see you are always quick to point out..well its good but then again lets just leave stats and analyse the player based on what we see him do on any given matchday... Look at when Giroud came into yesterdays game and see how much better we played...WHY? Because he is a natural CF...He knows how to play the position...mind you i really don't think he is an arsenal type player cos he lack technical ability( poor firts touch and no awareness or pace) But look at his movement..World class!!! He comes deep, goes out wide and still makes runs through the middle...How much of that have you seen theo do lately bar scoring goals. If you remember an incident where tried to cross a ball and it hit Clichy' thighs right outside the box in the second half...Did you see how he just raised up his hands instead of immediately putting pressure on the defender once the ref had decided that the ball was no foul!! I was MAD inside me like if i was on the field i would have nearly slapped him and told him to freaking mark the player and get on with it. Also notice that Giroud was actually coming deep and trying to unsettle the city defense and at the same time was putting pressure on their back line forcing them to play long instead of side

Cmon Bro!!! I appreciate stats but then again great players don't live by that but rather their abilities. Dunno if Theo can become that great player cos honestly i want him to be for AFC sake...but for him to be regarded as the best arsenal has to offer now is a shame....And honestly it would even be more annoying for the board to pay Theo so much when arguably they could have held on to better players..

I duff my hat to JACK anyday, he may have some bad moments in a game but what he does OVERALL ( again overall is emphasized)in a game is world class....

Hmmm...Its hard to see where the optimism for winning the AFCON truly lies... One thing i do appreciate however, is the fact that we have a good balance of homebased and foreign pros in this present team. It may not go down well with too many people but if the attitude is right, i believe our hopes of winning anything at AFCON 2013 lies in the effort produced by these homebased group.

They are the ones who really have a lot to play for and hopefully our technical crew can get them prepared mentally physically and strategically.

dipo+:
Na wa o. It just media phucking with our minds. No concrete steps to sign a striker.

By the way, who thinks Walcott actually deserves 90k? Maybe as a right winger he is decent but if one of the terms of the new contract is that he gets games as a central striker, then we may in for some beating. Podolski over Walcott as a central forward anyday.

For my money...HELL NO! Walcott on 90k? Arsenal has really reached its lows. I watch wallcot and i'm always hoping that he would turn out to be a super world class player (for the sake of AFC, i still hope so) cos like i always say, he has pace and balance(plus he has improved on his ball control). I am unfortunately reminded that overall awareness and intelligence is not taught but developed and some players are just gifted at that.

Looking at some games we play, i always wonder if every game(every game) means so much to the players. God bless jack(That boy has my kinda genes...never wants to lose a game) until we go a goal down or time starts running out before we see any kind urgency in our game.

Now, when a team wants to build up from the back and for the life of me, i hardly ever see walcott pressing hard on the defenders to stop them from building and even when he is not with the ball, he actually isn't putting himself in the right areas(max 6-8 feet from his midfield players at all times) I mean, this is basic and what keeping the shape is all about, but instead what i see is someone who jogs along the front line(this is in reference to him playing upfront centrally) hoping that the midfield will win the ball for him with no awareness whatsoever has to ho much space is between him and his midfield players.... Consitency is another vital point that needs to be pointed out here...How often does Theo turn up in a game??

Messi plays upfront for barca, but please look at that young mans positioning and tell me when he has actually been too far away from his midfield(not saying he wont get long spheres occasionally, but positioning most of the ninety minutes) at all times plus messi actually presses well on defenders forcing them into making mistakes. I do believe our midfield is laid back at times and that's why cazorla gets burned out cos he does a lot of pressing but when the others are not within range, then gaps appear.

No doubt, Theo's finishing is superb, but to demand a central role is not yet within his ranks from my point of view. I laughed hard when someone said Ronaldo deserves the Ballon Dior...But then again the simple reason why messi won it is not based on pace technique and goals but his overall(I repeat ..."overall" ability as a football player. Decision making, consistency, awareness are not qualities that the average football fan would look our for in a player, but when managers are scouting or have to make decisions..its these unquantifiable elements that make their decisions easier.

Theo still has time and i hope and believe that he can turn out to actually develop and imbibe these qualities. The greatest players have not been so much about the number of goals they score or how fast they can run but the measure of those unquantifiable elements which they possess and consistently deliver especially on the big occasions.

Happy Birthday Debo!!! More blessings and good things life long!!