Arsenal FC Thread

[MaschPotato]

Originally Posted by Giampinho

i beg to differ... hes not a quiter... like Thade said: if they go in with a fighting spirit and atleast compete to their best ability, they CAN be prospective winners of more than two trophies... But if they somehow end up not competing to their best ability, I can see some of the key players getting fed up.. But i doubt that will take place, because they know wot they're capable of, and so do their fans... its outsiders like you who fail to see their potential.

speaking of scousers, its funny how hard liverpool try, and still fail...but that match at the bridge when u lot came down was classic.. 4-4 if u remember

Your another one that has taken what i've said and twisted into some sort of personal attack on Liverpool

[Giampinho]

Originally Posted by MaschPotato

Your another one that has taken what i've said and twisted into some sort of personal attack on Liverpool

not actually attacking liverpool as they are quite respect able, and i do respect them - wot i was saying is liverpool are no better off. yet they are just as capable as arsenal... u may think they are more capable, but its all subjective.

[MaschPotato]

Originally Posted by Giampinho

not actually attacking liverpool as they are quite respect able, and i do respect them - wot i was saying is liverpool are no better off. yet they are just as capable as arsenal... u may think they are more capable, but its all subjective.

All i have said is that Fabregas may leave if Arsenal win nothing next season.

I don't se why the you've turned it into a topic about Liverpool aswell

[Giampinho]

Originally Posted by MaschPotato

All i have said is that Fabregas may leave if Arsenal win nothing next season.

I don't se why the you've turned it into a topic about Liverpool aswell

he wont stay if you never win any trophies. Idiot.

is hardly as lite as he may.... wouldnt u agree?

[MaschPotato]

Originally Posted by Giampinho

is hardly as lite as he may.... wouldnt u agree?

I STILL dont see where Liverpool come into this

[Giampinho]

Originally Posted by MaschPotato

I STILL dont see where Liverpool come into this

i brought them into it to prove that they are no better off than arsenal.. you being a liverpool supporter, i assumed a slight bias from your end.. in terms of underdoging arsenal just because they placed 4th

if i was wrong, i do apologize - my intention wasnt to have a go at liverpool at all..

[MaschPotato]

Originally Posted by Giampinho

i brought them into it to prove that they are no better off than arsenal.. you being a liverpool supporter, i assumed a slight bias from your end.. in terms of underdoging arsenal just because they placed 4th

if i was wrong, i do apologize - my intention wasnt to have a go at liverpool at all..

It's fine but i hate when peopel do that. Look on the other page at 'yodaddyalex's reply

It wasnt a dig at Arsenal, just an opinion on Fabrgeas

[Giampinho]

Originally Posted by MaschPotato

It's fine but i hate when peopel do that. Look on the other page at 'yodaddyalex's reply

It wasnt a dig at Arsenal, just an opinion on Fabrgeas

i dont even support Arsenal... i wonder if he does? probably by the way he was carrying on....

[MaschPotato]

Originally Posted by Giampinho

i dont even support Arsenal... i wonder if he does? probably by the way he was carrying on....

Yeah he is an Arsenal fan, an uptight one.

[AriseForLife]

I can see us challenging for the title and the cups as usual, but I really want a Champion's League win.

[Durden92]

Winning any major trophy will be a success, i'll be happy if we get any one of them next season.

[AriseForLife]

I have to admit this makes me kind of happy. I know Adebayor was injured this season and that was the reason for his drop of form, but I just don't think he will ever commit to the cause and despite what he says he will always want to go to another club.

Milan's Galliani says he has made Adebayor contact

Originally Posted by Soccernet

AC Milan vice-president Adriano Galliani has revealed he has talked to Arsenal about the possibility of signing Emmanuel Adebayor.


Empics

Adebayor: In demand.

The Rossoneri's first choice remains Wolfsburg star Edin Dzeko but with the Bundesliga club remaining firm that he is not for sale, Milan are starting to look at alternatives.

Galliani indicated on Thursday that they might be interested in Adebayor and it now appears that the Serie A side have stepped up their interest in the Togo international.

''We don't have any agreement with Dzeko,'' said Galliani. ''He is a Wolfsburg player. Dzeko has expressed his liking for a move here but at this moment there are no negotiations yet.

''We wrote to Wolfsburg and they responded that he is not for sale. If Wolfsburg change their minds we have agreed they will call Milan. If they do I am ready to immediately leave and go there.

''There's no fee yet, at the moment Dzeko is not for sale. If he becomes for sale then we will start talking sums.

''Adebayor and (Sevilla striker) Luis Fabiano are the alternatives. For Adebayor there has been a telephone call, during which (Arsenal manager Arsene) Wenger was friendly.''

Speculation has been rife that midfield duo Andrea Pirlo and Gennaro Gattuso would be joining former coach Carlo Ancelotti at Chelsea.

However, Galliani reiterated that no offers have been made for Pirlo, while Gattuso has offered to take a pay cut to extend his stay at the San Siro.

Galliani said: ''There have been no offers for Pirlo and Thursday night with Ancelotti was just a dinner between old friends, seeing as Carletto was in Milan for his daughter's graduation.

''Wednesday night I was at dinner with Gattuso who told us that he was ready to reduce his salary. He still has two years left on his contract, so it will move to three years, reducing the salary.

''Gattuso is an example, a true man, extraordinary.''

Meanwhile, Davide di Gennaro returns from Genoa after Milan won a blind auction to buy out the other club's half of the players' rights.

The Rossoneri also confirmed that they have beaten off competition from several other Serie A clubs to the signature of 18-year-old Treviso striker Gianmarco Zigoni.

[Thade2532]

we will need a proven goalscorer to replace him should he leave, RVP is made of glass, Eduardo will take a while, Bendtner is still pretty young as is Vela so maybe Benzema, Eto'o, Dzeko or maybe Villa.

[AriseForLife]

Well I think Benzema would be the best option for us because Villa isn't leaving Spain by his own admission and as much as I like Dzeko I wouldn't feel comfortable with is breaking the bank to sign him until he proves this season wasn't a fluke. I would have ideally wanted Mario Gomez first and foremost among the two German league strikers.

Arsenal enter race to sign £30m striker Benzema

Originally Posted by Soccernet

Arsenal are reported to be in the race to sign Lyon striker Karim Benzema, as they look to replace Emmanuel Adebayor should he leave for AC Milan this summer.


GettyImages

Karim Benzema: Lyon could do business

The highly-rated Benzema has been linked with Manchester United for the past six months, but the News of the World claim that the striker is now subject of interest from Arsene Wenger.

Should the future of £25m Togo striker Adebayor be decided in the next few weeks, Arsenal will be keen to bolster their strikeforce and a £30m bid for Benzema could be accepted.

The player has said that he would prefer another season at Lyon to make sure he cements a place in the France side for the World Cup. But the club's owners have hinted that a bid of more than £30m would turn their heads and Benzema is also believed to favour a move to the Emirates over Old Trafford.

Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas' said last week that despite Benzema's apparent desire to stay at Stade Gerland, a sizeable offer could lead to him leaving.

"Karim has said that he wants to stay another year at Lyon," Aulas told L'Equipe. "But I think that Kaka or Ronaldo maybe imagined remaining with their respective clubs.

"There is a tsunami called Real Madrid which provokes reactions at Chelsea, Manchester City and Manchester United.

"So it is very complicated to say that he is non-transferable. It's obvious we want to keep him. There is more chance he'll be at Lyon next season than that he won't be.

"I won't hide from you the fact that he has been approached. For the moment, I managed to convince them not to go further."

Benzema has come through the ranks at Lyon and burst onto the scene in the 2007-08 season with 31 goals in 51 games, a streak that saw him named Ligue 1 player of the year as well as top the league's scoring charts.

[st3adman]

Originally Posted by AriseForLife

Well I think Benzema would be the best option for us because Villa isn't leaving Spain by his own admission and as much as I like Dzeko I wouldn't feel comfortable with is breaking the bank to sign him until he proves this season wasn't a fluke. I would have ideally wanted Mario Gomez first and foremost among the two German league strikers.

Arsenal enter race to sign £30m striker Benzema

As much as I would love to believe that, i really cant see wenger spending that much money on one player especially since we need a player like toulalan.
Even if adebayor does leave i can see wenger buying a striker for the sub bench and utalise eduardo and v.persie more upfront with bendtner used in rotation as the target man.

[Giampinho]

id love to see benzema up front in an arsenal kit... i dont reckn him coming to utd is any more probable, and atleast with wenger he can be utilized the best way, and most likely start with eduardo

[Giampinho]

Originally Posted by st3adman

As much as I would love to believe that, i really cant see wenger spending that much money on one player especially since we need a player like toulalan.
Even if adebayor does leave i can see wenger buying a striker for the sub bench and utalise eduardo and v.persie more upfront with bendtner used in rotation as the target man.

youre probably more correct than incorrect... They need someone like toulalan or veloso < (who is just as versatile as o'shea) ... But i think either way, wenger will need to make a big signing before the end of the summer... If its zema that may not be bad, considering hes bought the belgian halfback (he can make kolo a DM and put the beglian (dunno his name) in back with gallas... that could be all thats needed done... then u can easily let adebayor off, and respectively claim zema.

[B0dunrin]

I actually think Adebayor, if fully fit, is capable of scoring more goals than Benzema. If not, a very close amount and it's not worth risking it by selling Adebayor and then taking a gamble that we'll beat Man Utd to the sale of Benzema.
I heard we are holding out for 25M for Adebayor, which is OK, because he is capable of getting over 25 goals in a season and possibly 30+ in Serie A depending on how adaptable he is.
I do think we would be better off to maintain our attack and strengthen our midfield and defence, but if a striker would improve the team as a whole, why not?

[Giampinho]

Originally Posted by B0dunrin

I actually think Adebayor, if fully fit, is capable of scoring more goals than Benzema. If not, a very close amount and it's not worth risking it by selling Adebayor and then taking a gamble that we'll beat Man Utd to the sale of Benzema.
I heard we are holding out for 25M for Adebayor, which is OK, because he is capable of getting over 25 goals in a season and possibly 30+ in Serie A depending on how adaptable he is.
I do think we would be better off to maintain our attack and strengthen our midfield and defence, but if a striker would improve the team as a whole, why not?

I agree, adebayor can produce if mentally on form... he seems fed up at times settling for 3rd or 4th best and i think he seeks proper leadership... he wont be bothered to lead a team himself, but he wants to succeed, but he wants to do it with a team effort, not like cristiano ronaldo.... so if he leaves, i wont be very surprised... zema would match arsenal's play like a glove, and if toure could be moved as a dm, the midfield problem is fixed..

toure > toulalan in any defensive role, imo..... if gallas does leave, then its obviously best to keep toure in the back.

in any case, wot would u rather have, more gols per individual or just as many gols per attacking drive (i.e team counter attack)

i think benzema would produce those counter attacking sort of gols, rooney produces at utd... and that, is something adebayor hasnt done lately..

adebayor plays abit like anelka.

[AriseForLife]

Originally Posted by st3adman

As much as I would love to believe that, i really cant see wenger spending that much money on one player especially since we need a player like toulalan.
Even if adebayor does leave i can see wenger buying a striker for the sub bench and utalise eduardo and v.persie more upfront with bendtner used in rotation as the target man.

I can. True he doesn't like splashing the cash, but in back to back seasons he has spent increasing amounts on single players, first with Nasri then with Arshavin in the winter window. If Adebayor leaves and Milan pay €30M (£25.45M) then it would only make sense for us to replace our main striker with another main striker and Benzema would be ideal. Jean Michael Aulas said that a bid of £30M would cause them to take notice and sell him and with the Adebayor sell it wouldn't be that hard to place another £5M to price him from Lyon and keep United from getting him. Also who knows, it could also mean we could possible snatch another player from them in the way of Toulalan.

Originally Posted by Giampinho

youre probably more correct than incorrect... They need someone like toulalan or veloso < (who is just as versatile as o'shea) ... But i think either way, wenger will need to make a big signing before the end of the summer... If its zema that may not be bad, considering hes bought the belgian halfback (he can make kolo a DM and put the beglian (dunno his name) in back with gallas... that could be all thats needed done... then u can easily let adebayor off, and respectively claim zema.

For some reason I think it is more likely to happen than not since Galliani himself has already said he has spoken with Wenger and if Benzema would prefer a move to Arsenal rather than Manchester United that plays in our favor. Right now its all speculation, but I could see it happening because the Adebayor to Milan situation has always been real.

I would like Veloso, especially last year when we could have really used him, but it looks like Bolton are about to try to get him for £12.5M and I personally don't think we should pay them that much when Toulalan is rated at £12M and he fits what we need better.

[Giampinho]

Originally Posted by AriseForLife

I can. True he doesn't like splashing the cash, but in back to back seasons he has spent increasing amounts on single players, first with Nasri then with Arshavin in the winter window. If Adebayor leaves and Milan pay €30M (£25.45M) then it would only make sense for us to replace our main striker with another main striker and Benzema would be ideal. Jean Michael Aulas said that a bid of £30M would cause them to take notice and sell him and with the Adebayor sell it wouldn't be that hard to place another £5M to price him from Lyon and keep United from getting him. Also who knows, it could also mean we could possible snatch another player from them in the way of Toulalan.



For some reason I think it is more likely to happen than not since Galliani himself has already said he has spoken with Wenger and if Benzema would prefer a move to Arsenal rather than Manchester United that plays in our favor. Right now its all speculation, but I could see it happening because the Adebayor to Milan situation has always been real.

I would like Veloso, especially last year when we could have really used him, but it looks like Bolton are about to try to get him for £12.5M and I personally don't think we should pay them that much when Toulalan is rated at £12M and he fits what we need better.

if u lot can get zema AND toulalan, as well as keep gallas and toure (i've heard man city speculation for toure), then that first team will be prem league contenders....

----------zema-----------
------eduardo--------------
--arshavin----------rosicky--
-----------fabregas----------
---------toulalan-------------
clichy------------------sagna
-------gallas----toure--------
------------Frey------------- <maybe next summer

nasri
diaby
vermaelen
eboue
van persie

----then the reserves


nearly perfect....

[AriseForLife]

Originally Posted by B0dunrin

I actually think Adebayor, if fully fit, is capable of scoring more goals than Benzema. If not, a very close amount and it's not worth risking it by selling Adebayor and then taking a gamble that we'll beat Man Utd to the sale of Benzema.
I heard we are holding out for 25M for Adebayor, which is OK, because he is capable of getting over 25 goals in a season and possibly 30+ in Serie A depending on how adaptable he is.
I do think we would be better off to maintain our attack and strengthen our midfield and defence, but if a striker would improve the team as a whole, why not?

I think at this point Adebayor fully fit would score more than Benzema but only because he's adjusted to the EPL already. Overall I think Karim is a better player because he can play as the main striker but also has the ability and pace to play on the wing which would be good for us. I think a partnership of Eduardo and Benzema would yield better results than Eduardo and Adebayor. Also with Bendtner developing nicely I think Karim would pair better with him also than Adebayor since they are similar players.

Originally Posted by Giampinho

I agree, adebayor can produce if mentally on form... he seems fed up at times settling for 3rd or 4th best and i think he seeks proper leadership... he wont be bothered to lead a team himself, but he wants to succeed, but he wants to do it with a team effort, not like cristiano ronaldo.... so if he leaves, i wont be very surprised... zema would match arsenal's play like a glove, and if toure could be moved as a dm, the midfield problem is fixed..

toure > toulalan in any defensive role, imo..... if gallas does leave, then its obviously best to keep toure in the back.

in any case, wot would u rather have, more gols per individual or just as many gols per attacking drive (i.e team counter attack)

i think benzema would produce those counter attacking sort of gols, rooney produces at utd... and that, is something adebayor hasnt done lately..

adebayor plays abit like anelka.

I wouldn't say Toure is better than Toulalan at all defensive roles becuase Toure can't pass for sh*t where as Toulalan has a great short and long game. Toure in my opinion is better suited towards being a CB.

I agree that Benzema would be perfect for Arsenal because he is a much more fluid player and that suits our game.

[AriseForLife]

Originally Posted by Giampinho

if u lot can get zema AND toulalan, as well as keep gallas and toure (i've heard man city speculation for toure), then that first team will be prem league contenders....

----------zema-----------
------eduardo--------------
--arshavin----------rosicky--
-----------fabregas----------
---------toulalan-------------
clichy------------------sagna
-------gallas----toure--------
------------Frey------------- <maybe next summer

nasri
diaby
vermaelen
eboue
van persie

----then the reserves


nearly perfect....

Nasri over Rosicky. Can't bench Nasri he's been class since joining. Frey renewed his deal with the Viola so he isn't going anywhere anytime soon, until after 2013 at least.

At this point I would pair Van Persie and Benzema because Eduardo still hasn't found his legs yet, but towards midseason I think he will be back in stride.

The most idea line up would have Van Persie at LF with Arshavin as CF, but Wenger refuses to use Robin at his natural position.

[Anathematic]

I'm torn on Benzema, he has quality undoubtedly, but he has a massive ego and thinks he is alot better than he really is. He could easily be another Wiltord, who whilst successful was also very disruptive and apparently had shouting matches with Wenger. According to players he's the only player that they've ever seen Wenger get that angry at.

And on the issue of money, we did spend £13 million on Wiltord back in 2000, which was a record fee for us until Arshavin. Us spending big isn't unheard of, we just don't always do it. Wenger has admitted that we just don't have as much money as the other teams, however if we get £25 million for Ade I can't see a reason the board wouldn't make up the difference for Benzema. I do however feel that we probably won't get Benzema and a holding midfielder. I think it's either a cheaper striker and a holding midfielder, or Benzema, and I'd prefer the former. Considering Wenger has gone on record saying we don't have that much cash, I can't see him having been giving a transfer kitty of £28 Million (Ade+5 for Benzema, 11 for Vermaelen and 12 for Toulalan).

I think the way to go would be to just let Ade go. Spend the money on a good holding player, we really don't need the extra striker. We have 6 player capable of playing up top without Ade; Arshavin, Vela, Walcott, Eduardo, Van Persie, Bendtner. I personally think a top two of Van Persie and Eduardo would be great, although I'd also like to see Dudu play with Bendtner. Even if Dudu and Van Persie both got injured we could play Arshavin and Bendtner up top and still have a midfielder four of Fabregas, Nasri, Holding Player, Rosicky.

And aswell as Almunia has done for us, I still don't think he's world class. That said the Premiership doesn't actually have a single keeper I'd call World Class...

[mikahel]

I don't undersand why everyone wants Benzema instead of Adebayor so much, they are both just as good as each other and Adebayor is probably stronger and better in the air. I wouldn't mind Benzema coming if Adebayor leaves however, I think it is unrealsitic for Arsene Wenger to splash out so much money on a player. Especially because Manchester UTD have been linked with him for such a while and Manchester UTD have over £80million to spend, it is very unlikely Arsenal would be able to compete with that. If Adebayor goes and Arsenal can't get Benzema, then I would really love Obafemi Martins to come Arsenal who we can get for a much cheaper price and similar quality. You may think he's not that good or better than Benzema or Adebayor, however when you have the likes of Fabregas, Nasri, Arshavin and Van persie assisting him, he would be a very dangerous striker. To be honest, I would really love to see Martins coming to Arsenal.