Alexis Sanchez, Arsenal Player

Well said. Sick of all this "number 10" and the "in the hole" talk. For a start, a "number 10" is only as good as what is around him.

I think it was Gary Neville who said every young footballer wants to be a number 10 these days. Might explain why so many of the feckers aren't actually playing as one. You can only fit one in each team after all.
 
It's a very odd business with Germany: people 'don't get' Muller or Ozil. Muller because he doesn't look elegant or flash and Ozil because he does.

What? Muller's been getting unanimous plaudits. Terrific player. There's nothing to 'get'. You just need to watch him play.
 
Coming to grass near you very soon...

------------------Szczesny------------------

Debuchy--Mertesacker--Koscielny--Gibbs

----------Ramsey-------Bender----------

Walcott---------Ozil---------Sanchez

---------------Giroud-----------------

Subs: ANother, Vermaelen, Rosický, Cazorla, Chamberlain, Remy.
Are you not linked with any strikers to get more excited about than Remy?
 
Ozil was hardly a flop. You need to look a little closer to see what he's done for them. He's an intelligent player and one of those who makes the right pass and runs most of the time. The ppl who say he's been crap for Germany are nothing short of silly.

Not with a €40 million consistency though. Opposition also learnt how to deal with him quickly enough.
 
------------------Szczesny------------------
Debuchy--Mertesacker--Koscielny--Gibbs
-------------------Arteta-------------------
----------Ramsey-------Wilshire----------
Sanchez---------Giroud---------Ozil

Subs: Fabiański, Vermaelen, Rosický, Cazorla, Chamberlain, Walcott, Podolski

If football was played on paper that team would win the Champions League


Dude, it's a good team but calm down its not even close to that.
 
Superb signing. As long as we're not contending for the league, I don't mind Arsenal winning it.
 
Well then he's one of those number 10s who isn't good enough to get picked as a number 10. Which seems to be a new trend in football. We've got one of them too, Shinji Kagawa. Someone should make up some fancy Italian word for them. Outofpositionista.
I like the term :lol:

But what you're saying is rubbish in my opinion. So many players have off-seasons, some never really adapt to new leagues, they don't instantly become bad. I suppose we can review that tag as his career moves along. It also depends on how strict you are when defining someone as a great player. If you're limiting to something like the top-5 in his position, then I guess it is indeed very debatable, but I think he's shown so far he's more than good enough for a challenging team. He may even disappear into anonymity, doesn't mean he wasn't once a "great player" on my book.
 
Enjoy alastair. The caf's had it's fair share of arsehole ITKs but you're not one of them.

Cazorla on the bench? Your midfields looking pretty good anyway.

You can count on Arsenal having 2 or 3 of their attacking players injured so that won't be a problem.
 
Re that last para, it's an inescapable fact. The unfair TV money deal ensures Madrid/Barca enjoy considerably more duck shoots than any club in England.

What has the TV money deal got to do with anything? You were referring to this gulf as if it was something to do with matches between Barca/Madrid and the rest of the La Liga teams.Barcelona and Real both had their fair share of feck ups this year just like City or Liverpool did this year. A couple of thrashings against a few teams doesn't change the fact that it is the best league in the world
 
Bit early to say Ozil's flopped after one season, especially as he was one of their best players for a large proportion of it. Maybe give the guy a second season and the chance to adjust to the league before condemning him?

Sanchez is an excellent signing. Their team still looks relatively weak though. If we're judging them by the same standards we judge ourselves then I'd say they need three or four more signings too.
 
What has the TV money deal got to do with anything? You were referring to this gulf as if it was something to do with matches between Barca/Madrid and the rest of the La Liga teams.Barcelona and Real both had their fair share of feck ups this year just like City or Liverpool did this year. A couple of thrashings against a few teams doesn't change the fact that it is the best league in the world

Correct. Now what's your point? Are you trying to claim that the big two haven't got an enormous financial advantage over all the other teams in the league. Far greater than you see in the PL. Because they do, you see. Like I said we're dealing in facts here, not opinions.
 
Not overly concerned to be honest, but it's good to have him in the Premier League! Doubt I'd feel similar had Chelsea or City signed him...
 
It's a wonderful thing when you sign a player that you've wanted for years and years but never thought you would get. Happened last year with Ozil as well and before that I think it was Sol Campbell in 2001!

I think he'll be great with us, disagree with those that say we didn't need him. At Barca he didn't really get to show his dribbling ability, which imo is one of his strongest assets! Over the year's we've had some very good dribblers in tight positions such as Cazorla, Nasri, Fabregas but no one who can do it at the same pace as Sanchez can! The last sort we had was probably Gervinho and Sanchez is in a different class to him, he's a game changer and someone we've needed for years. Not to mention he will probably play many games upfront for us.

I have no doubt he will the marquee signing. Debuchy will come in at right back and I think we will sign a central midfielder for around 20-25 million, likely candidates Schnedelin, Bender and Khedira as well as a back up keeper, looking like Ospina.

Again, I'm going to disagree with most on the cafe, I think that will be enough to be serious title contenders although concede our squad or first team isn't as good as Chelsea or Man City. It's hard to tell how good United will be at the minute but I can't see anything beyond 4th although a Di Maria could change that! Liverpool could really struggle for me, especially without Suarez. I look at their signings so far and I don't see anyone there who they would not have been able to buy last season, some decent players but nothing special although you would imagine they will bring in atleast one marquee player. Having said all that, we should really wait until the end of the transfer market before making bold league predictions.
 
We should sell Rooney and stick Welbeck up there, we will be nailed on for the quintuple every year.
 
I like the term :lol:

But what you're saying is rubbish in my opinion. So many players have off-seasons, some never really adapt to new leagues, they don't instantly become bad. I suppose we can review that tag as his career moves along. It also depends on how strict you are when defining someone as a great player. If you're limiting to something like the top-5 in his position, then I guess it is indeed very debatable, but I think he's shown so far he's more than good enough for a challenging team. He may even disappear into anonymity, doesn't mean he wasn't once a "great player" on my book.

The definition of a "great player" is entirely subjective and of course Ozil can still turn things round at Arsenal. For me he's done nothing in England to earn that adjective. Far from it. Jut my opinion.
 
Correct. Now what's your point? Are you trying to claim that the big two haven't got an enormous financial advantage over all the other teams in the league. Far greater than you see in the PL. Because they do, you see. Like I said we're dealing in facts here, not opinions.

You are right but you don't seem to understand the situation. You made the point that 4/5 games between them(Madrid and Barca) and the rest of the league are massacres (obviously wrong) then you said the gulf between them (Madrid and Barca) and the rest of the league is large. Almost as if this financial gulf is the reason why they are thrashing all the other teams, when in reality, they aren't thrashing the other teams.
 
Indeed he is. Equally useless though.

I think you're being harsh. He's had massive injury problems to be fair to him.


He's certainly a diamond in the rough and hasn't developed as was expected. I despise him though, always yapping around acting hard and flying in at tackles which he always gets injured from.
 
What has the TV money deal got to do with anything? You were referring to this gulf as if it was something to do with matches between Barca/Madrid and the rest of the La Liga teams.Barcelona and Real both had their fair share of feck ups this year just like City or Liverpool did this year. A couple of thrashings against a few teams doesn't change the fact that it is the best league in the world
Every single season since 2009 at least one, when not both, have surpassed 90 points, sometimes reaching riadiculous numbers likes 96 and 100. This year was the exception, and they were very close anyway, with Atletico reaching 90.

There's no denying the gulf in class is bigger there.
 
I think if Arsenal had decided to bring Fabregas back as well then they'd probably have won the league.
 
I think you're being harsh. He's had massive injury problems to be fair to him.


He's certainly a diamond in the rough and hasn't developed as was expected. I despise him though, always yapping around acting hard and flying in at tackles which he always gets injured from.

He has been so on the last 4 years. Anderson MK2.
 
Great signing for them with both him and Walcott they will have some serious pace to stretch teams, looking forward to seeing how Arsenal line up next season and whether Ramsey and continue developing into the best CM in the league.
 
I think next season will be us and Liverpool battling it out for 4th place with Arsenal doing a similar thing to this season where they're challenging for the title for a while before dropping out of it towards the end and finishing 3rd.

The likes of Podolski, Giroud and Remy, if he's signed, seem a bit too average to be firing a team to the title.
 
Sanchez is the new 25-goal striker. Remy is decent cover (both wide and through the middle).
He won't reach 25 goals from the wide area. If he plays centrally as the main striker, then maybe yes but I doubt it.

However, I wouldn't be surprised if he reaches 25-30 goal/assists per season. Great signing for you!