Nick05

Webb to Azpi, " I'm a Manu c**t, I wont give anything against them even if they break your leg".

only Mata does but now he's forgotten how to shoot.

Mata should be taking a lot more shots. Ramires and Moses shooting is quite pathetic.

Basically throwing money at anything on legs. Are we exempted from FFP ?

The fans need to get in it, Basel fans were making all the noise in the first half.

it's again a failure to score an early goal and settle down. got punished time and again this season and maybe tonight as well.

I think Wenger himself wants to buy talented players but its their greedy owner who is more interested in making profits than see the club win anything. But if he's really against big-ish spending then Arsenal may be the last big club on his resume and he's better suited to a mid-table, "40 points our first goal" club. Big spending is part of football now and he should accept it.

In contention for The sh*ttiest Google Translation.

Then should'nt we switch to 4-1-3-2 for the rest of the season with Mikel on the bench and Luiz alone in the pivot ? Would then have the defensive cover of 2 Mikels in addition to the dynamic forward going player in Luiz.

6 attack minded players would just expose them to counter attacks badly. Luiz has an uncanny knack of being caught out of position and if that's the best defensive cover on the pitch then we're looking at scoring at least 3 every game to win. Got to fit in a more conservative player like Mikel in there.

The real difference is that one is already signed on and the other needs to be bought at 20M. KDB cost - 7M Dortmund's offer - 14M Schurrle cost - 20M That's a loss of 13M pounds for, in your words, a player of "similar age, similar stats and are on similar wages". Go Figure......

Wasn't he injured during that time ? If you're making your opinion on the very little time he spent on the pitch, then it's not fair to him. Besides I dont see any team willing to pay 7 million for him. So it'd be better to try him for another season than sell him for a loss without even properly trying him.

I blame FSW for that. Could've started the Rubin away game instead of out-next-season Benayoun.

That was a response to a previous poster who had included RVP, Rooney and Hernandez in the attacking options. Why are people here dead set against giving the lad another chance ? It's not as if he's played a lot and been utter sh*t. For the domestic cup competitions and lowly opposition in the league, he could become a good choice. Neither will Schurrle be an automatic first choice this season. Both Piazon and Thorgan Hazard are promising young talents and could be ready after another season. As for the pivot, you got Ramires and Luiz pretty much booked their spot in there so KDB will get limited time in that spot.

I say it again. Marin needs to be given a decent run in the team to get his confidence and then only we can know his true ability. I'd give him another season. He may well turn out to be a capable back up. And as for options, by the end of next season our options in the attacking areas will be : Mata Hazard Oscar Moses Marin (if he's still here) KDB Piazon Thorgan Hazard Ba Lukaku That's 8 players competing for 3 spots in the midfield and with Mata an automatic choice for majority of the games, you got 7 players competing for 2 spots and that's even without counting Schurrle. And if you're prepared to sell KDB to bring Schurrle, then let's look at the economics. KDB cost - 7M Dortmund's offer - 14M Schurrle's cost - 20M Do the maths and its a net loss of 13M for a player whose only added advantage over KDB is being able to double up as a striker. And just also look at their contributions this season to their respective teams : KDB - 6 goals, 9 assists, 72 shots on goal in a team currently fighting relegation Schurrle - 11 goals, 6 assists, 107 shots on goal in a team currently in 3rd place

I say it again. Marin needs to be given a decent run in the team to get his confidence and then only we can know his true ability. I'd give him another season. He may well turn out to be a capable back up.And as for options, by the end of next season our options in the attacking areas will be : Mata Hazard Oscar Moses Marin (if he's still here) KDB Piazon Thorgan Hazard Ba Lukaku That's 8 players competing for 3 spots in the midfield and with Mata very much an automatic choice for majority of the games, you got 7 players competing for 2 spots and that's even without counting Schurrle. And if you're prepared to sell KDB to bring Schurrle, then let's look at the economics. KDB cost - 7M Dortmund's offer - 14M Schurrle's cost - 20M Do the maths and its a net loss of 13M for a player whose only added advantage over KDB is being able to double up as a striker. And just also look at their contributions this season to their respective teams : KDB - 6 goals, 9 assists, 72 shots on goal in a team currently fighting relegation Schurrle - 11 goals, 6 assists, 107 shots on goal in a team currently in 3rd place

Maybe not a 50M striker but a capable backup is definitely required but if Mourinho returns, trust him to splash the 50M on 1 marquee signing.

Am I talking about the number of strikers that we need to get ? Read it again, I'm talking in terms of the number of goals that we need to find. And as for our strikers playing together this season, with Torres one of them, it would've been irrelevant even if the 2 strikers had played together, so don't understand you point there. You're talking as if the system is already set in stone. New manager next season and he could very well use 2 up top much more often. As for your "2nd only to Manure in goal difference" is the most irrational point. If so, why is there a 20 point gap at the top ? Its not how many you score but score when you need it the most. Utd have found the goals when they've needed them the most and that's all that matters. As for your reference of last season to show that only 2 strikers played, I got only one point. AVB was rushed in, was out of his depth and had little clue on how to move forward with the resources he had. So, if you're using last season as a reference, then it's not worth it. Suppose I agree with most of your points about Lukaku being the focal point for next season but you're banking too much on Ba and his dodgy knees. What if Ba gets injured next season ? Then suddenly you got only Lukaku and then he'll be tired as well after playing 3 games in 8 days. In the least case, we need at least a Javier Hernandez type backup. Time and again this season we found it difficult break down the opposition. And that's not mentioning the rigidity in the system even when chasing a game. A 3rd striker would give us flexibility in changing the system when the current plans are not working and give the opposition something different to deal with. 3 strikers is a minimum. If SAF can keep RVP, Rooney and Hernandez happy, so I have no reason to believe that a capable manager can keep a 3 forward striker force happy with enough game time. Going in with 2 strikers next season has the same "Mikel and Romeu unavailable at the same time" fiasco written all over it.

Marin needs to be given a chance to get his confidence for us to really see how good he can be with the players around him. You'll always find a need to buy players if you constantly keep sending the ones you got out on loan. I'd keep Marin for at least another season and bring KDB back. They could provide enough depth for cup competitions and lowly opposition in the league. Considering that Benayoun has largely been a passenger this season, both would get more playing time and share the load. As for the defensive midfield we have Mikel, Romeu, Essien (got at least a decent season left in him), Ramires, Luiz with Ake already in the squad and Chalobah in the pipeline, I reckon we got enough for atleast a season before a major decision needs to be made.

Sunshine, that's only when he's fit and playing. He can't contribute a thing if he's injured and on the sidelines. I made that statement in regard to "being prone to injury".

Torres, Anelka and Sturridge........ surely you're more concerned about numbers than quality. Lukaku may become mighty till the end of next season and if we could find a buyer for Torres then according to you the strike force for next season should be Ba, Lukaku and Schrrule, that's 2 and a half strikers. Last season Van Persie and Rooney had a combined tally of 57 goals. This season their combined contribution is 36 goals and 18 assists. I want that kind of firepower up top to supplement the midfield goal scorers, that way this current team would be unstoppable next season. As for your assessment of Ba - Ba was one of the top scorers in the league before coming here - we're yet to see the same form he showed at Newcastle and he's definitely not in the same league as RVP and Suarez. To refresh your memory a bit, last time we won the title we had 4 players in double figures with Drogba - 29, Lampard - 22, Malouda - 12, Anelka - 11 and Drogba and Lampard had combined assists of 24. And not to forget that our top goal scorer in Lampard is all set to leave so we also need to replace his 12 goals a season as well. For you, the 2 and a half strikers may be enough but I don't see enough goals in there to win the league next season, still lacking a proven 25 goal striker like RVP, Suarez or Falcao. Schrrule is a player that we Do Not Need as we already have KDB, Piazon and Thorgan Hazard in the pipeline. So I proposed that bring KDB back and use the 20 million to be spent on Schrrule on a Proper Striker next season. I say it again, we need to find the goals if we're to challenge for the league next season. Peace.

What you're not factoring is the imminent arrival of an out and out striker. I dont trust Ba with his dodgy knees and injuries can occur anytime. Dont want a repeat of this season when Romeu and Mikel were unavailable at the same time, really exposed the team defensively. Ba, Lukaku and half a striker in Schurrle is just too thin for me for a sustained challenge for the premier league title. In recent seasons mad goal scoring has become the ticket to the title. Chelsea scored 100+ in 09-10, City won on goal difference last season and United have scored their way out of trouble this season. On the other side of the coin, I see the 20 million to be spent on Schurrle as an alternative investment on a good striker + KDB coming back as a better solution(in my view) to issues 2 and 3 pointed out by you. As for the scrap for top 4, this team has underperformed greatly this season. Man for man, this team is way better than both Spurs and Arsenal. The lacking ingredient has been defensive solidity and a cohesive manager.

Injury prone, sounds another Marin-in-the-making to me. Probably sell him too after a season on the sidelines after spending decent money on him as well ? Replacing one injury prone player with another is some great business. And as for Marin is concerned, don't understand the impatience of the lot here to get rid of him. Cost 6.5 million pounds, been a tough season for him with injury problems but has yet to get a proper run in the team. At least give the lad a proper f**king chance to prove himself before handing out the "Sell Him" verdict. As for the logic of "out and out wingers", it does not apply to this team currently. By strict classification we have 5 players ( Mata, Hazard, Oscar, KDB, Piazon) for that single No.10 role but the reality is that only 1 can play there. So, its either buy some "out and out wingers" or play some non wingers out wide. Not to forget Thorgan Hazard as well.

You're smart enough to count your chickens before they hatch. I prefer to wait and watch. Might I ask you the reason for ridiculing my comment.