Ryo to Bolton on loan >>>> good move. I hope he gets a lot of playing time there.

Kay-Dee:

Ryo to Bolton on loan >>>> good move. I hope he gets a lot of playing time there.

Fawking Bolts always get our young talents on loan but won't sell Cahill to us.

Great move for Ryo. He's definitely more than capable of competing with Petrov, Eagles etc for a regular spot. He should do well.

Zamora to QPR

Saha to Spurs (loan)

Einsfield to Arsenal

Great move for Saha. If the injury demon would spare him, he is sure to score good number of goals at Totts. Tottenham doing so much to lay claim to a top four ticket while Arsenal doing little or nothing

Saha, vDv, Modric, Friedel, Parker, Bale, King, Dawson, Defoe, Dawson, Sandro are top, top players good enough to win. Same can't be said of the present arsenal crop

dipo+:

Great move for Saha. If the injury demon would spare him, he is sure to score good number of goals at Totts. Tottenham doing so much to lay claim to a top four ticket while Arsenal doing little or nothing

Saha, vDv, Modric, Friedel, Parker, Bale, King, Dawson, Defoe, Dawson, Sandro are top, top players good enough to win. Same can't be said of the present arsenal crop

This is a load of emotional bull.

ritchboy:

This is a load of emotional bull.

Partly, but there is some substance to the comment, especially upfront. If you're scared of being stuck with too many players, do targeted loan deals not just the Henry for a few weeks type.

In general the North London Scum have a more usable squad than we do - we are carrying way too many crocks/flops while they at least attempt to freshen things up and provide a bit more competition. While that's no guarantee of success, it shows an intent to improve while we appear to be stagnating. We'll know the truth in 4 months or so.

As for the Einsfeld lad, he's a signing for next season - more for the 'future' and nothing for the present. Stockpiling young mobile midfielders while we don't have a spare striker to piss on.

Transfer window is over - time to back the team 100%. If they fall short, the heat will be on Arsene in the summer.

debosky:

As for the Einsfeld lad, he's a signing for next season - more for the 'future' and nothing for the present. Stockpiling young mobile midfielders while we don't have a spare striker to piss on.

Transfer window is over - time to back the team 100%. If they fall short, the heat will be on Arsene in the summer.

na wa o!

back the team and pray/hope for no injuries . .because that will be

debosky:

Partly, but there is some substance to the comment, especially upfront. If you're scared of being stuck with too many players, do targeted loan deals not just the Henry for a few weeks type.

In general the North London Scum have a more usable squad than we do - we are carrying way too many crocks/flops while they at least attempt to freshen things up and provide a bit more competition. While that's no guarantee of success, it shows an intent to improve while we appear to be stagnating. We'll know the truth in 4 months or so.

As for the Einsfeld lad, he's a signing for next season - more for the 'future' and nothing for the present. Stockpiling young mobile midfielders while we don't have a spare striker to piss on.

Transfer window is over - time to back the team 100%. If they fall short, the heat will be on Arsene in the summer.

Abeg, you people should stop all this Tottenham comparison, y'all are getting emo like Ritchie pointed out. Is there an outbreak of hormonal imbalance amongst Arsenal fans?  The best Tottenham can do with all these buys is to get UCL for one season and then go back to default position. 
Buying and playing 30 year olds like Saha and Parker is not the right way to prepare for the future, let us not forget that fact.

I don't know much about this Eidsfield boy, but those stats look good even though allowance must be made that they are from U19 level (6 goals and 6 assists in 12 games is quite consistent), seems a bit like an Amaury Bischoff type purchase to me, only that we are giving him a long term contract and not a single season so its less of a gamble and more long term. If he's up to 80% of what Goetze is as a player though, it could be a coup in the future.

proudly9ja:

Ox and Jenkinson did not develop from our youth team. They were bought to play for the first team so they don't count. Frimpong IMO will be back up for Song eventually but Coquelin and Lansbury play a different role to Frimpong. In our 4-3-3 formation, Coq and Lansbury play the same role as Jack although they are more suited to Arteta's direct with no flair kind of football. If we don't buy a midfielder, I expect Lansbury to stay. Coquelin has an edge because he is versatile. He has shown that we can rely on him for LB, RB and midfield positions. I maintain that Ild rather play him at RB ahead of Jenkinson.

BTW, Frimpong is on loan at Wolves already. Didn't you hear Petrov broke his leg when he kicked Frimpong in the face last week? (jokes)

As for Olsson, Im waiting to see him in the reserves but I have high hopes for him.

They do count, cos they still have to be integrated and their progress monitored. That is the sore point between Arsene and Fans on Ox. While a lot of us feel the boy should be thrusted in, Arsene believes he still has to be brought in gradually.
They were bought cos they were seen as upgrades over what we have progressing through at present. Its like someone transferring at SSS3 to come and do WAEC or NECO at another school.

You would have noticed that our MF players are not actually being developed for particular roles. There is a level of technical ability being maintained and then physical Xteristics determine where you end up like Song, the reason why Lansbury will likely get sold is that he is just so far down the ladder at present. Except something unusual hapepens to hand him a chance which he grabs with both hands like Flamini.

As much as I liked Freeman, I hate it when players start making statements referring to Nationality like he has done. Maybe that is why he ended up getting sold early. I don't think it is good when players think they have a right to become players for Arsenal only cos they're English. If someone is available who is better than you and not English, then it is right that that person plays ahead of you.
I'm so happy that we at least have Gibbs, Wilshere and Ox. This English parapo thing against Arsene is never nice to see (particularly in the North of England as I see it everyday). And they do get into the heads of some of those players like Bentley and this Freeman boy.

duduspace:

They do count, cos they still have to be integrated and their progress monitored. That is the sore point between Arsene and Fans on Ox. While a lot of us feel the boy should be thrusted in, Arsene believes he still has to be brought in gradually.
They were bought cos they were seen as upgrades over what we have progressing through at present. Its like someone transferring at SSS3 to come and do WAEC or NECO at another school.


As much as I liked Freeman, I hate it when players start making statements referring to Nationality like he has done. Maybe that is why he ended up getting sold early. I don't think it is good when players think they have a right to become players for Arsenal only cos they're English. If someone is available who is better than you and not English, then it is right that that person plays ahead of you.
I'm so happy that we at least have Gibbs, Wilshere and Ox. This English parapo thing against Arsene is never nice to see (particularly in the North of England as I see it everyday). And they do get into the heads of some of those players like Bentley and this Freeman boy.

So if a guy leaves school A to sit for WAEC at school B, will you say he's a product of school A or B?

I don't like Freeman's comments too but as far as I know, there's no one better than him at youth level now, just as there was noone better than JET at that level before we sold him and they are both English. Maybe we prefer the foreign guys at youth level because its easier to sell them off (especially to foreign clubs) and make money from them? Not sure this is the case, just wondering.

I agree as per Lansbury. He may not make it at Arsenal but he's the kind of player I think we need. Works hard in the midfield and can move from box to box. If he doesnt make it at ours, he'l make it somewhere else

duduspace:

Abeg, you people should stop all this Tottenham comparison, y'all are getting emo like Ritchie pointed out. Is there an outbreak of hormonal imbalance amongst Arsenal fans? The best Tottenham can do with all these buys is to get UCL for one season and then go back to default position.
Buying and playing 30 year olds like Saha and Parker is not the right way to prepare for the future, let us not forget that fact.

I don't know much about this Eidsfield boy, but those stats look good even though allowance must be made that they are from U19 level (6 goals and 6 assists in 12 games is quite consistent), seems a bit like an Amaury Bischoff type purchase to me, only that we are giving him a long term contract and not a single season so its less of a gamble and more long term. If he's up to 80% of what Goetze is as a player though, it could be a coup in the future.

Where are the young stars Arsenal bought about 6years ago? (supposed players for the future) where dem dey?

Eidsfield might play for two years, garner experience and decide to leave when Arsenal remains trophyless and the circle continues.

This story excuse about buying for the future is extinct on Arsenal.

duduspace:

The best Tottenham can do with all these buys is to get UCL for one season and then go back to default position. 

At least they keep their best players when they get knocked out of the CL - even remaining in the CL can't keep our best players here. It is a disgrace when Tottenham can hold on to quality players while Arsenal can't, but our wage bill is larger.

Buying and playing 30 year olds like Saha and Parker is not the right way to prepare for the future, let us not forget that fact.

Oh but signing and playing a 35 year old Henry is the right way to prepare for the future right? Care to remind me how old Arteta was when we signed him for FIVE years in August? Hypocritical nonsense of the highest order.

If he's up to 80% of what Goetze is as a player though, it could be a coup in the future.

Just like Galindo, Wellington, Botelho,  Vela, Jon Toral and the hordes of youth players we have 'could be a coup in the future'. Just like Ebecilio, Ozyakhup and others can be a 'coup in the future'. Just like Joel Campbell and Ryo Miyachi could be a cop for the future. When we will start looking at the guys we NEED NOW?

debosky:

At least they keep their best players when they get knocked out of the CL - even remaining in the CL can't keep our best players here. It is a disgrace when Tottenham can hold on to quality players while Arsenal can't, but our wage bill is larger.

Not really, their holding on to players is a recent trend and might have something to do with their stadium plans. In the past, they were Manure's feeder club selling off players like Berbatov and Carrick in their prime to Manure.

debosky:

Oh but signing and playing a 35 year old Henry is the right way to prepare for the future right? Care to remind me how old Arteta was when we signed him for FIVE years in August? Hypocritical nonsense of the highest order.

Even you pointed out in an earlier post that Henry has a fixed term, he is not bought permanently. He will even struggle to make more than 8 appearances overall for us. He was brought in to lift the dressing room and to give the youngsters a glimpse of what they can aspire to. Arteta is 29 and is a gap filler we still have Jack and Rambo who are 21 and under in the same MF with Song who is still below 25.

debosky:

Just like Galindo, Wellington, Botelho,  Vela, Jon Toral and the hordes of youth players we have 'could be a coup in the future'. Just like Ebecilio, Ozyakhup and others can be a 'coup in the future'. Just like Joel Campbell and Ryo Miyachi could be a cop for the future. When we will start looking at the guys we NEED NOW?

Oh yes they can be just like Cesc, RVP, Song and Nasri have been, and that is why we've been able to remain in the UCL that long and Tottenham haven't and why we are not hiding our financial transactions in offshore accounts so that people don't really have a good picture of our financial standing.
We mostly have what we need now, just adjusting to losing 2 top notch talent over the summer and struggling a bit with injuries. Atimes, to move forward, you have to consolidate. We will consolidate and move forward. We have always done and I see no reason why we shouldn't now.
I'd prefer we hold on to the money for the summer and make solid purchases where we are lacking rather than these panic buys.
For example, I'd rather we wait and pay 15m for Podolski over the summer than pay 5m now for Saha when Chamakh will be back in a few days and Henry can fill in when needed like in the FA cup.

debosky:

It's not marketing - it's making a stick for your own back when things go wrong. Everton is straight with their fans and their support does not dwindle even when players aren't bought - the opposite is happening with Arsenal.

It is still marketing, nothing ventured nothing gained. Like some of those small girls you lie (market yourself) to will give you a downright nasty dressing down while some will be quite glad to bump pelvises with you. You know it and I know it that someone somewhere is lying to somebody at any given point in time.
And I don't really know any club that comes out to talk about their finances beyond an annual financial statement, they normally expect people to do the maths on their own subsequently over time. It would be oversimplification to say that Arsenal fans are not as realistic as Everton fans, I rather think its the fact that it is more difficult to adjust to a lower stature when you've been used to lofty heights. Everton have only been in the UCL about once in 10 years for example. He that is down needs fear no fall.

debosky:

It's not a math issue, it's a promise vs expectation issue. The stadium was built to increase funds to compete in the transfer market. If you are NOT competitive/active in the transfer market then there is a valid questioning of where the stadium revenue is going to, especially as that is not the only source of revenue available.

Where that logic falls flat on its face is in the fact that the Stadium did not fall down from heaven and most people forget there is still a mortgage being paid for. You and I know its in the commercials where we are lacking but even if we don't agree on the escape mechanism for our financial bonds, we at least know the end date for those constraints (2013/2014). If most people can't be bothered to understand those details, at least you Know and can adjust your expectation accordingly while hoping it ultimately filters down at some point.
There are points of opinion and then there are points of fact, it is very easy to muddle up the two in discussions particularly about arsenal where its much easier to just say things like "You've not won anything for x years" like some self styled animals on this thread and that is what most of the journalists are doing. Those facts are available to anyone who takes the time to find them out which is what I would expect of journalists.

debosky:

There you go defending rubbish - they are being careful by ensuring that our season is DEFINITELY finished if RVP cops an injury? Seriously? So there's no striker in the whole of Europe that they could have brought in to take some load off RVP? Is that what being careful means these days? Careful means increasing our chances of NOT qualifying for the CL by failing to sign the necessary players?

We have Chamakh and we have Henry for sometime. Are we buying cos we really need another player or we are buying just to pretend that we've really done something when we've done nothing?

proudly9ja:

So if a guy leaves school A to sit for WAEC at school B, will you say he's a product of school A or B?

I don't like Freeman's comments too but as far as I know, there's no one better than him at youth level now, just as there was noone better than JET at that level before we sold him and they are both English. Maybe we prefer the foreign guys at youth level because its easier to sell them off (especially to foreign clubs) and make money from them? Not sure this is the case, just wondering.

I agree as per Lansbury. He may not make it at Arsenal but he's the kind of player I think we need. Works hard in the midfield and can move from box to box. If he doesnt make it at ours, he'l make it somewhere else

That is a matter of opinion, The facts are that he went to both schools and graduated from School B.
I don't see anything wrong in saying that he benefitted from both schools, those who like to think and argue in binary might choose to disagree.
They are welcomed to their opinion.

I disagree that there is none better than Freeman at youth level. Afobe is better (IMO), younger and English as well before we even start to speak of Joel Campbell and Wellington (who are not french as people quickly forget when they build their conspiracy theories).

Definitely, Lansbury is elite in terms of English player standards . He may still make it though, there is an element of luck in all these and he does himself no harm with his performances everywhere he goes.

duduspace:

Not really, their holding on to players is a recent trend and might have something to do with their stadium plans. In the past, they were Manure's feeder club selling off players like Berbatov and Carrick in their prime to Manure.

The fact remains that they've held on to ALL their top stars despite losing out on the CL. Arsenal fans cannot boast of being able to do so - people are already talking of RVP leaving. . . .

Even you pointed out in an earlier post that Henry has a fixed term, he is not bought permanently. He will even struggle to make more than 8 appearances overall for us. He was brought in to lift the dressing room and to give the youngsters a glimpse of what they can aspire to. Arteta is 29 and is a gap filler we still have Jack and Rambo who are 21 and under in the same MF with Song who is still below 25.

If you opened your eyes too you'd realise Saha is on a fixed term 6 month deal. Parker is 30, but his understudies Huddlestone and Sandro are young as well. So there's nothing worth criticizing in either signing for the Scum. I don't see any difference between Parker and Arteta.

Oh yes they can be just like Cesc, RVP, Song and Nasri have been, and that is why we've been able to remain in the UCL that long and Tottenham haven't and why we are not hiding our financial transactions in offshore accounts so that people don't really have a good picture of our financial standing.

The way Lupoli, Owusu-Abeiye, Bischoff, Aliadiere, and others have been no?

We've only been able to remain in the CL because we had a head start on others in terms of scouting players which has now been lost completely.

We mostly have what we need now

Just stop there with your mediocre thinking - what we have now will most likely not make 4th and you say we have what we have? Others are fighting for the title and you're saying this nonsense?

Atimes, to move forward, you have to consolidate. We will consolidate and move forward. We have always done and I see no reason why we shouldn't now.

Newsflash: We've been moving backwards every season since 2006. When will this 'move forward' happen? Abeg save your empty jargon for someone else - how is staring failure in the face and folding your arms consolidation? Or does consolidation now mean preparing to fail?

I'd prefer we hold on to the money for the summer and make solid purchases where we are lacking rather than these panic buys.
For example, I'd rather we wait and pay 15m for Podolski over the summer than pay 5m now for Saha when Chamakh will be back in a few days and Henry can fill in when needed like in the FA cup.

The same way we waited for Chamakh and he's been uber excellent for us this season? The same way we excellently managed our summer without making panic buys? The same way we bought Park for £3m and he's been a revelation?

debosky:

Partly, but there is some substance to the comment, especially upfront. If you're scared of being stuck with too many players, do targeted loan deals not just the Henry for a few weeks type.

Saha has like one league goal since the birth of Christ and is the main reason Leighton Baines has just one assist this season, it's sad to hear an Arsenal fan describing him as a "top, top player" simply because he signed for a rival. If Saha had signed for Arsenal, the same ninjas woulda been hurling shurikens at Wenger.

In general the North London Scum have a more usable squad than we do - we are carrying way too many crocks/flops while they at least attempt to freshen things up and provide a bit more competition. While that's no guarantee of success, it shows an intent to improve while we appear to be stagnating. We'll know the truth in 4 months or so.

Well they've been a lot luckier with injuries. . . Compare how many minutes their key players have copped to Arsenal's and it says a lot. That's not to excuse the shyte storm Arsenal are in or take anything away from Spurs but it's true.

As for holding on to their top players, no one was really interested in them except Modric who still had a long contract. If he had a year left like Nasri they wouldn't have been able to keep him. Having said that the Cesc transfer fee/saga was a disgrace.

debosky:

The fact remains that they've held on to ALL their top stars despite losing out on the CL. Arsenal fans cannot boast of being able to do so - people are already talking of RVP leaving. . . .

If you opened your eyes too you'd realise Saha is on a fixed term 6 month deal. Parker is 30, but his understudies Huddlestone and Sandro are young as well. So there's nothing worth criticizing in either signing for the Scum. I don't see any difference between Parker and Arteta.

The way Lupoli, Owusu-Abeiye, Bischoff, Aliadiere, and others have been no?

We've only been able to remain in the CL because we had a head start on others in terms of scouting players which has now been lost completely.

Our scouting network is still doing very well and our youth system is really bringing players through right now so I don't get the last part of this. And I didn't criticize Tottenham's purchases (they know better what their strategy is and how they intend to achieve their aims) all I've said is that it is wrong to suddenly start holding Tottenham as the beacon of progress that Arsenal isn't when history tells us otherwise.

debosky:

Just stop there with your mediocre thinking - what we have now will most likely not make 4th and you say we have what we have? Others are fighting for the title and you're saying this nonsense?

Hold on to your grandiose thinking and keep building your castles in the air. I hear its very bad for the heart and generally makes people barmy.

debosky:

Newsflash: We've been moving backwards every season since 2006. When will this 'move forward' happen? Abeg save your empty jargon for someone else - how is staring failure in the face and folding your arms consolidation? Or does consolidation now mean preparing to fail?

There goes your oversimplification again, we missed the PL by just 4 points in the 07/08 season. Yes we've see-sawed but you can't say we've not performed better than Tottenham yu're now suddenly fluttering your eye-lids at. Are you a man-LovePeddler?

debosky:

The same way we waited for Chamakh and he's been uber excellent for us this season? The same way we excellently managed our summer without making panic buys? The same way we bought Park for £3m and he's been a revelation?

Don't know what this is about Debo, you were one of Chamakh's greatest supporters last season, why are you suddenly denouncing him? mind you, Chamakh was one of the major reasons we made top 4 last season cos he filled in well during RVP's absence in the earlier part of the season when we actually had a good run. And there is really nothing to say Park still won't be a revelation.
We did not make panic buys in summer, Arteta is worth every penny we paid for him and so is Per. Panic buying is when you pay over the odds for Gary Cahill just cos his country people want him at Arsenal.

ritchboy:

Saha has like one league goal since the birth of Christ and is the main reason Leighton Baines has just one assist this season, it's sad to hear an Arsenal fan describing him as a "top, top player" simply because he signed for a rival. If Saha had signed for Arsenal, the same ninjas woulda been hurling shurikens at Wenger.

I never called him a 'top, top player' - I said there's merit in dipo+'s post in general. Tottenham are looking to shake things up while we appear to be standing still, that's the point here.

Well they've been a lot luckier with injuries. . . Compare how many minutes their key players have copped to Arsenal's and it says a lot. That's not to excuse the shyte storm Arsenal are in or take anything away from Spurs but it's true.

Ok - if we take that excuse for Spurs, what about Utd with more injuries than us? There's really no excuse for our abysmal performances.

As for holding on to their top players, no one was really interested in them except Modric who still had a long contract. If he had a year left like Nasri they wouldn't have been able to keep him. Having said that the Cesc transfer fee/saga was a disgrace.

Good we're admitting the truth - we've messed up in certain areas is all I'm trying to say and Spurs is showing some intent while we're content to meander along.

ritchboy:

Saha has like one league goal since the birth of Christ and is the main reason Leighton Baines has just one assist this season, it's sad to hear an Arsenal fan describing him as a "top, top player" simply because he signed for a rival. If Saha had signed for Arsenal, the same ninjas woulda been hurling shurikens at Wenger.

saha is a top player and he can ease van persie's burden and the drop in quality would be minimal. . .in comparison to chamakh or when you guys still had bendtner. saha is french too and i don't know how wenger missed such a deal like that knowing how good he used to be with french players.
maybe le professor is now blind.

Well they've been a lot luckier with injuries. . . Compare how many minutes their key players have copped to Arsenal's and it says a lot. That's not to excuse the shyte storm Arsenal are in or take anything away from Spurs but it's true.

they have had injuries too. lennon has been in and out. van der vaart is a permanent crock same as ledley king, dawson, gallas, etc.
what you don't realise is tottenham actually have the strength in depth that mocks everything wenger has assembled in the last 5 years.
the only area they are a bit light is the attack department and they have quickly brought saha in to rectify that. saha would not play many games but whenever adebayor gets suspended or down with flu, saha would come in and do what's required.

As for holding on to their top players, no one was really interested in them except Modric who still had a long contract. If he had a year left like Nasri they wouldn't have been able to keep him. Having said that the Cesc transfer fee/saga was a disgrace.

chelsea offered £40m for modric last summer. that's a very tidy sum to rup up what he had on his contract and drive him to the bridge.
tottenham hold on to their top players more than any team in england and when they decide to sell, daniel levy(the street smart chartered accountant) takes no prisoners. he's the shrewdest club chairman in london.

Debosky for president !!!

u too dey make sense, have u suddenly acquired a new woman who is injecting you with some TLC shots daily?


as for DUDU, you are ON YOUR OWN with all this your grammer.    guy admit naw, u nor dey make sense with this arguments. how can u say the club is not going backwards? even my 90 yr old grandma knows that things are different and worse with arsenal merely by watching us when arsenal have a match.

and she recently advised us to change to the other club that they shout about (utd   eeewww) simply because she is tired of pacifying her grandchildren when they start snapping and getting irritable just cos they lost again  

duduspace:

Our scouting network is still doing very well and our youth system is really bringing players through right now so I don't get the last part of this. And I didn't criticize Tottenham's purchases (they know better what their strategy is and how they intend to achieve their aims) all I've said is that it is wrong to suddenly
start holding Tottenham as the beacon of progress that Arsenal isn't when history tells us otherwise.  

tottenham have a simple target, achieve CL footy. can you say that they are not doing their best to achieve that?

what is arsenal's target?  what is/has arsenal done to ensure that target is met?  do you think the what ever efforts you think are made is apparent/enough to achieve the target?

duduspace:

Hold on to your grandiose thinking and keep building your castles in the air. I hear its very bad for the heart and generally makes people barmy.  

There goes your oversimplification again, we missed the PL by just 4 points in the 07/08 season. Yes we've see-sawed but you can't say we've not performed better than Tottenham yu're now suddenly fluttering your eye-lids at. Are you a man-LovePeddler?  

if you were to compare arsenal with tottenham, blinkers off, which of the two clubs would you say has improved in the last four years?  former title chaser arsenal, or former also rans mid-table tottenham?

duduspace:

Don't know what this is about Debo, you were one of Chamakh's greatest supporters last season, why are you suddenly denouncing him? mind you, Chamakh was one of the major reasons we made top 4 last season cos he filled in well during RVP's absence in the earlier part of the season when we actually had a good run. And there is really nothing to say Park still won't be a revelation.
We did not make panic buys in summer, Arteta is worth every penny we paid for him and so is Per. Panic buying is when you pay over the odds for Gary Cahill just cos his country people want him at Arsenal.  

OK, good. therefore, to your mind, in all honesty, is Chamakh a decent replacement for VP this season? if the striking was suddenly and unfortunately left to chamakh, what do u estimate his performances to be like?

is there something wrong with filling a very pressing need instead of building castles in the air for mythical world class players in the future?

ironically, for a selling club you talk up this your youth setup thingy a bit too much. everyone knows you are only going to sell the so called developed players the moment they hit superstar status. when will arsenal ever reap the reward of this youth policy sef?

It's a shame that we have [b]AKB'[/b]s in Nigeria, or that are Nigerians. smh

4llerbuntu:

Debosky for president !!!

u too dey make sense, have u suddenly acquired a new woman who is injecting you with some TLC shots daily?

as for DUDU, you are ON YOUR OWN with all this your grammer.    guy admit naw, u nor dey make sense with this arguments. how can u say the club is not going backwards?

Why I go dey fear to stand alone? na who be the person wey escort you come this world? abi more importantly, you sef escort somebody come this world?  

4llerbuntu:


even my 90 yr old grandma knows that things are different and worse with arsenal merely by watching us when arsenal have a match.
and she recently advised us to change to the other club that they shout about (utd   eeewww) simply because she is tired of pacifying her grandchildren when they start snapping and getting irritable just cos they lost again  

Ehya, tell the pikins to grow up. No ones wins always in the real world. The rich also cry.  
By the way, give my regards to Mama o, I'm sure she would have been able to give a better response to my previous monetary analysis that got y'all quiet. 

4llerbuntu:

tottenham have a simple target, achieve CL footy. can you say that they are not doing their best to achieve that?

what is arsenal's target?  what is/has arsenal done to ensure that target is met?  do you think the what ever efforts you think are made is apparent/enough to achieve the target?

if you were to compare arsenal with tottenham, blinkers off, which of the two clubs would you say has improved in the last four years?  former title chaser arsenal, or former also rans mid-table tottenham?

Good luck to Tottenham, If that is the depth of their ambition, then they are doing good with it and can pat themselves on the back but from where I stand, Arsenal have delivered that same ambition uninterrupted for 14 years so I consider it a minor achievement.

Arsenal's first ambition is simple, be self sustaining and not needing to depend on benefactor handouts. Listen well to what the leadership has been vocal about for the past 3 or so years. Need I say that we are well on our way towards acheiving that.

As to your question about who has improved most, in the last 4 years Tottenham has not finished ahead of Arsenal so go figure. Aston Villa, Everton and Liverpool have also been said to have caught up with Arsenal in the recent past, we know where they are now. The salient question is not about who has improved most over the past  4 years, it is about who is able to sustain that improvement over the next 4 years.

4llerbuntu:

OK, good. therefore, to your mind, in all honesty, is Chamakh a decent replacement for VP this season? if the striking was suddenly and unfortunately left to chamakh, what do u estimate his performances to be like?

is there something wrong with filling a very pressing need instead of building castles in the air for mythical world class players in the future?

ironically, for a selling club you talk up this your youth setup thingy a bit too much. everyone knows you are only going to sell the so called developed players the moment they hit superstar status. when will arsenal ever reap the reward of this youth policy sef?

Not necessarily as circumstances differ, Cesc did give 8 years service to Arsenal and if there had been enough money to build a good enough team around him last season, he could have won something with us before leaving. We are not necessarily losing out on trophies because we're building players, we've become a top 4 staple despite not investing as much as those around us, and how have we done that? by the same player building that y'all are deriding.
You do realise that it might have been Arsenal missing out on their 2nd UCL season if we were the ones who bought Torres for 25m when we bought Adebayor for 7m?

duduspace:

Our scouting network is still doing very well and our youth system is really bringing players through right now so I don't get the last part of this.

What I mean is you can't get the likes of Anelka on the cheap like we used to without other big clubs swooping in. Everyone has scouting networks that are at par with ours.

Hold on to your grandiose thinking and keep building your castles in the air. I hear its very bad for the heart and generally makes people barmy.  

If grandiose means thinking a squad barely able to make the top 4 is simply not good enough for Arsenal, then I will keep my grandiose thinking.

There goes your oversimplification again, we missed the PL by just 4 points in the 07/08 season. Yes we've see-sawed but you can't say we've not performed better than Tottenham yu're now suddenly fluttering your eye-lids at. Are you a man-LovePeddler?  

Don't be daft - Spurs is a side issue here - the main issue is that Arsenal fans like you think having a has-been team that's struggling to be in the top 5 as being good enough.

Don't know what this is about Debo, you were one of Chamakh's greatest supporters last season, why are you suddenly denouncing him? mind you, Chamakh was one of the major reasons we made top 4 last season cos he filled in well during RVP's absence in the earlier part of the season when we actually had a good run.

The season before we would've had a chance of winning the league if we got a striker in January - that's the point. This endless waiting for players that ensures we stagnate instead of advancing. Would it kill this club to move ahead of the game for once and not always be hoping for something in the distant future?

We did not make panic buys in summer.

So stealing Park while on a medical at Lille is not a panic buy? Stop lying to yourself.

debosky:

Don't be daft - Spurs is a side issue here - the main issue is that Arsenal fans like you think having a has-been team that's struggling to be in the top 5 as being good enough.

Seriously Debo, you haven't been listening to me at all? the squad we have at present is not good enough to win the PL which is why I'm not so hard on them. We are agreed that Spurs is a side issue but it riles me that Arsenal fans are now holding up Tottenham as a model of success when everything else indicates otherwise.
At least, show some respect and compare us with the Manures and Money miss road guys naa.

debosky:

The season before we would've had a chance of winning the league if we got a striker in January - that's the point. This endless waiting for players that ensures we stagnate instead of advancing. Would it kill this club to move ahead of the game for once and not always be hoping for something in the distant future?
So stealing Park while on a medical at Lille is not a panic buy? Stop lying to yourself.

I'm not so sure about that Striker thing, I'm almost sure our squad depth would still have found us out one way or the other as its difficult to hide squad deficiencies over a season but its all maybes now.
Why are you now speaking as if Arsene hasn't been known for opportunism in the past.  Is Park's signing in all seriousness more opportunistic  than Silvestre's signing which wasn't forced? 

Wilshere, new stress fracture haba?
And we're all blaming Arsene for being careful with Ox? The number of games these small boys are playing is too much. Even Goetze too has a stress fracture of the pubic bone now.

Dudu, bottom line is, the Arsenal team is not improving and in fact and we seem to be hustling backwards while other teams are improving and raising their ambitions, eventually someone more serious is going to take over our 'regular' CL spot. I still dont see a creative midfielder in our team till now. 

Wilshere suffers new stress fracture and is almost certain to miss the rest of the season, so we're stuck with Rambo until the end. Tell me Wenger didnt know this before.  

Its a funny trend Ive noticed with AW, in a bid to avoid signing replacements, players are confirmed to be out on a long term just after the transfer window shuts. Happened with TV5 last January when we could have signed "Carry Gayhill" , he came out to tell us TV5 wld be back inna couple of days but he never returned and our rubbish defence cost us the season. Also happened with Wilshere last summer window.

Okay Kay-dee, care to compare notes about Arsenal and Spurs progress in a years time? 
Seriously, I'll put it on my siggy for the next 365 days. 
Now that you mention it, could some advance info about Wilshere have been responsible for Eisfeld's signing?

AKB's : they always praise the boss, see  nothing wrong in whatever decision he makes,  are happy to always have an excuse for failure - are quick to point out that "we showed qualidee", the word failure doesn't even exist to them, to them the yard stick for determining victory is finishing over spuds. It is pointless having a meaningful conversation with them as they usually bombard you with past records ,they  make very good financial advisers too. They can be found on this thread having the loudest mouths
Arsene Knows Best, AKB

Check yourself if you are one.

duduspace:

Seriously Debo, you haven't been listening to me at all? the squad we have at present is not good enough to win the PL which is why I'm not so hard on them.

Interesting - you say the squad is not good enough and you say this:

We mostly have what we need now

Make up your mind and stop flip-flopping.

We are agreed that Spurs is a side issue but it riles me that Arsenal fans are now holding up Tottenham as a model of success when everything else indicates otherwise.

It is not held up as a model of success, but it shows how far back we have fallen that Tottenham are now doing better than us with a lower wage bill. Previously the excuse was we are being outspent - so if Tottenham is now outperforming us then what excuse is left?

I'm not so sure about that Striker thing, I'm almost sure our squad depth would still have found us out one way or the other as its difficult to hide squad deficiencies over a season but its all maybes now.

You don't even get the point - the striker comment is symptomatic of a deficient squad. Instead of looking at fixing that, you're content to play perpetual catchup while the likes of Tottenham go past us. Instead of getting ahead of the curve for once, we are dilly dallying.