4llerbuntu:
why not try Raul Gonzalez too, makelele?

I'm hearing opening bids of 13mill and 130k salary but the hot 29 yr old we had was sold because?

4llerbuntu:
This type of signing? oh wow, I can see big clubs falling over themselves to sign him.

Sanchez, Pedro play ahead of him. messi is playing false 9 ahead of the world class striker now. if u can't get to play and score bucket loads of goals in the best attacking side in the world, u want to do it at arsenal? arsenal of today or 5yrs ago?

this reminds me of when debosky was arguing for squilacci. yeah by all means, let's hoover up all the washed up past it, used to be world class striker types all over because we want to buy big names.

I'm hearing opening bids of 13mill and 130k salary but the hot 29 yr old we had was sold because?

edoyad: David Villa in January? Looking critically at this move leaves one seriously doubting. If a similar move had been executed 6 months ago it would have a considered a stroke of genius, considering RVP's departure and all. But now?

edoyad:

I don't think 4ller mentioned his age with a view to making look like an aging striker. When I read it I immediately saw the hypocrisy in the Arsenal management style. Refusing to give lucrative contracts to 29 year olds but going abroad with the intention of splashing money on a foreign 30+year old, who has never played one day of English footie. And this is in January. Does it sound alright to you?

4llerbuntu: I said messi plays false 9. read the sentence again, it has a full stop.
in which planet does Alexis Sanchez play upfront ahead of a 'world class' striker?

is michu world class? was he regarded as world class as coogar claims present day villa is?

u know any truly world class striker available and only clubs like arsenal r interested?

Arteta was a known first team player in the premier league that clearly had something to offer yet. could anybody speculate about his abilities at the time?

keep looking for excuses. I know YOU KNOW the reality is its a stupid deal for that price and wages. end of.

debosky:

So in 6 months it has become a rubbish move? Why exactly? Has Villa suddenly become rubbish in 6 months or what is the reason exactly?

edoyad:

Yes, 6 months is a big deal in football. In fact 6 days is a big deal. In six

debosky:

Tell me what has changed in the past 6 months that would've changed the signing of David Villa from a 'stroke of genius' (your words) to something leaving you 'seriously doubting'.

Did Villa break his leg in the past 6 months? Did he become an invalid? Did he magically lose all his goal scoring nous?

dipo+:

By the way, its probably not true that we bid for Villa. At his age, he may prefer to sit on a spanish bench than move his family all the way to London.

edoyad:
You're missing the point, the problem is not with Villa per se but the gesture of getting him when we are in sinking sand. Why did they have to wait six months to get a competent replacement . Wouldnt it have made more sense to use the money spent on Villa (if he's coming) , Giroud and Podolski to keep RVP ?

debosky:

No it wouldn't. Keeping RVP (without the additions) would not have put us in a much better position than we are right now - there's last season's league table as evidence.

We were 5th at this point last season with 36 points, and we're 6th now with 34 points. Massive difference eh? Also note that at the 20 game mark we've scored more and conceded less this season than we did at the same point last season.

It is plainly unrealistic to think having Poldi, Giroud and Villa is worse than keeping RVP. Furthermore, it is ridiculous to suggest that not adding Giroud and Poldi and simply offering RVP more money would have made him stay - was one of his main reasons for leaving not lack of a competitive squad?

Besides, you're acting like you're hard of hearing - RVP did not even enter into negotiations on a new deal, so the comparisons with Walcott are off the mark, who has been negotiating for nearly 18 months and stalling on signing.

debosky:

Maybe because Sanchez is better as a winger than Villa? Villa is primarily striker - Sanchez/Tello play as wingers, so it's not shocking to believe that wingers are preferred on the flanks to a striker. Besides, don't you know Barca changed managers while Villa was out injured? He may have fallen out of favour with Villanova. . .there are many possibilities as to why he isn't starting as many games.



So the issue is now some nebulous 'world class' tag and not his goals? Wenger was truly right when he said deluded fans are looking for name-tags not end product.

There has long been conjecture over Wenger's involvement in the financial structure of Arsenal, and the Frenchman says he is always fully involved in transfer negotiations and will be so again during the January window. While most Premier League managers take a back seat when players and their agents sit down to thrash out contracts and pay packets, Wenger insists he plays a central role in every deal at Arsenal. "I don't know how it works at other clubs, but the wages at Arsenal are decided in consultation between me and the board," Wenger said. "There is an amount of money that is dedicated to the wages every year. Within that budget, we try to come up with payments that are sensible and defensible. "As long as the economical balance within a club is respected and you pay the people with the resources that make economical sense, then it is fine. If I want to pay a player a little more than the budget, then I ask for the authorisation from the board

http://m.espn.go.com/soccer/story?storyId=1290112.

Wenger went on to reveal his policy on wages is different to many of his top-flight rivals, with the Arsenal boss explaining there is a balance within his squad that ensures none of his players are paid vastly more than their team-mates. So while some of Manchester City's stars may be pocketing more than £200,000 every week and find themselves lining-up alongside a player having to make do with a mere £15,000, Wenger insists on following different rules.

dayokanu: When he attempts to pay RVP and Fabregas the same range as Djourou and Squilacci

coogar:

the top players get underpaid and the shyte players get overpaid. wenger is an economist so i can understand his methods.