***The Official Arsenal Gunners" Thread***

[cdawg44]

Re: ***The Official Arsenal Gunners" Thread***

I think Griezmann, Mandzukic, a good CB and RB would be a nice start

Totally agree. Lars Bender would be nice too.

[Perceptor]

Re: ***The Official Arsenal Gunners" Thread***

ITS HAPPENED AGAIN, ITS HAPPENED AGAAAAIIIIIIIIIIIN, TOTTENHAM HOSTPUR, ITS HAPPENED AGAIN!
Forget Draxler, throw the money at Reus instead, his release clause is said to be at 29.7£ mil. Will come cheaper than Draxler and he's better. We need another winger.

Reus can play as a forward too The question with Draxler is whether Wenger tries to convert him into a striker like he did with Henry. I think if he thinks he can, he may be tempted to go after Draxler. I do think we need a dedicated striker who can finish consistently and push Giroud.

As much as I like Giroud, today he showed his strengths and weaknesses. On the goal Ozil scored, Giroud should have buried it. He had 2 chances and while Krul made the save, those are the goals you MUST score. He redeemed himself with the nice header, but it's clear we need more from him and someone who can compete with him. He's not consistent enough right now to be your everyday striker. With the exception of Chelsea, the top teams all have someone up front who score consistently.

[rsnomar05]

Re: ***The Official Arsenal Gunners" Thread***

Small sample size, I know, but these last few matches are showing what this team is capable of when relatively healthy.

Add a World Class player or two in the offseason and I will be really optimistic heading into the next EPL campaign.

But before that can be done, there's an FA Cup to be won.

[OneDrop]

Re: ***The Official Arsenal Gunners" Thread***

Exactly, ever since we have Ramsey and Ozil back we've been beasting and feasting. Arteta seems so much more comfortable when having Ramsey as his partner. Lads, if we can add someone like Reus and a CF and a DM. only talking attacking compartement now.

Schneiderlin/Bender - Ramsey

Walcott - Ozil - Reus

Mandzukic/Benzema/Balo

We'd be Godlike. I reckon someone like Mandzukic would get at least 30 goals a season or more with these players behind him. That midfield actually looks like it could be the best midfield in the world. Shows you how close we are to building one of the best teams on the planet. With Wilshere and Ox coming from the bench. We're so close.

[XXstormmXX]

Re: ***The Official Arsenal Gunners" Thread***

Karim Benzema on Arsenal really would help for a cup run but I don't think Real Madrid wants to let go of their starting striker. If I was managing, I'd focus on players with a lesser reputation that won't cost as much and who's teams will be willing to trade them.

[Krebstar]

Re: ***The Official Arsenal Gunners" Thread***

But before that can be done, there's an FA Cup to be won.

This morning as I was driving to work I was looking back on how well we played last night and how pleased I was. Then I remembered that we still could win the FA Cup this year.

I had put it out of my mind recently with the whole quest for 4th nonsense. So, when I remembered, I got pretty excited. If we keep our level of play at where we've been at in the last two games, we'll get a trophy this year.

[rsnomar05]

Re: ***The Official Arsenal Gunners" Thread***

This morning as I was driving to work I was looking back on how well we played last night and how pleased I was. Then I remembered that we still could win the FA Cup this year.

I had put it out of my mind recently with the whole quest for 4th nonsense. So, when I remembered, I got pretty excited. If we keep our level of play at where we've been at in the last two games, we'll get a trophy this year.

Being in first for the much of the season and not being able to hang on is obviously disappointing, but I feel like there are some fans that are too hung up on that, given that before the season it was all doom and gloom and "yet again we won't sign anyone or win anything- same old, same old." We signed one of the best players in the world, signaling that we are finally ready to spend big money in the transfer market, and are in line for a Top 4 finish and an FA Cup. Obviously we still have to win the final, but if we do this will have been a very successful season.

[cdawg44]

Re: ***The Official Arsenal Gunners" Thread***

Being in first for the much of the season and not being able to hang on is obviously disappointing, but I feel like there are some fans that are too hung up on that, given that before the season it was all doom and gloom and "yet again we won't sign anyone or win anything- same old, same old." We signed one of the best players in the world, signaling that we are finally ready to spend big money in the transfer market, and are in line for a Top 4 finish and an FA Cup. Obviously we still have to win the final, but if we do this will have been a very successful season.

In previous years, I would have agreed with you. But how things went down will really stick in my craw. You have a historically awful Man Utd, City team who is no where near as strong on the road, Chelsea squad without a legitimate striker, a leaky Liverpool defense and wildly inconsistent Everton and Spurs squads. The BPL was ours for the taking and we left it out there. The winner probably will have around 85 points, while strong, nothing that we couldn't have done too. Yes we will be better, but so will every else besides us. This trophy drought has totally changed the expectations people have for this club now and it's very disappointing and somewhat dishearting. I'll be thrilled if we get the Cup, but this year will feel a lot like 2007-08 when I sat and wondered what could have been. While we beat some great sides in the FA Cup, we haven't even played a road game the whole way there. I'm just tired of the same areas and issues of the team not being addressed and then we sit here and wonder why the wheels come off at the worst times.

From training methods to signings, this club needs to take a long, hard look at itself, otherwise, we will be Man Utd very, very soon

[OneDrop]

Re: ***The Official Arsenal Gunners" Thread***

This trophy drought has totally changed the expectations people have for this club now and it's very disappointing and somewhat dishearting.

Exactly, we're Arsenal fooking FC lads. People are saying we should buy strikers like Remy or Drmic. Mate, we're a ****ing top club. We need guys like Mandzukic, Reus, Balotelli, L. Bender, Piszcek... not mediocre players playing for a mediocre club. Unless they've actually shown they're ready for a step up. I don't care if he's the first option for another good team, splash that ****ing cash mate! Appearantly people are happy when finishing fourth and winning the FA cup. For a club our stature we should be gunning for the double, even triple! Enough of this spineless mentality, let's go into next season guns blazing and keep blazing until the end of the next season!

[rsnomar05]

Re: ***The Official Arsenal Gunners" Thread***

Exactly, we're Arsenal fooking FC lads. People are saying we should buy strikers like Remy or Drmic. Mate, we're a ****ing top club. We need guys like Mandzukic, Reus, Balotelli, L. Bender, Piszcek... not mediocre players playing for a mediocre club. Unless they've actually shown they're ready for a step up. I don't care if he's the first option for another good team, splash that ****ing cash mate! Appearantly people are happy when finishing fourth and winning the FA cup. For a club our stature we should be gunning for the double, even triple! Enough of this spineless mentality, let's go into next season guns blazing and keep blazing until the end of the next season!

Yes, I am happy with a top-4 finish and an FA Cup. If I had asked you before the season, "Would you be happy if we finish top-4 and win the FA Cup?" would you have really said, "No, absolutely not. That's not good enough!" Look, had we not been crippled by injuries to key players in the second half of the season things might have gone differently and we might have won the league, but we're in great position for next season, the club is finally spending money in the transfer market, and we're about to end our trophy drought (barring a huge upset). There's great reason to be optimistic about the current state of the club, and if you don't think bidding for Suarez and Higuain, and signing a player of Ozil's stature was a statement of the club's intent to compete for titles, then I don't know what to tell you. But I don't see how being happy that the club is about to end a trophy drought displays a spineless mentality.

[Suntan Superman]

Re: ***The Official Arsenal Gunners" Thread***

Personally I would like the club to maintain sensibility. We can't be the club affording to waste 50 mil on Fernando Torres or 35M on Andy Carroll, Spending 11 on Gervinho and 15 on Arshavin is bad enough for me. I agree that we need to sign some big players, but I really want them to be calculated risks.

[VTPack919]

Re: ***The Official Arsenal Gunners" Thread***

Personally I would like the club to maintain sensibility. We can't be the club affording to waste 50 mil on Fernando Torres or 35M on Andy Carroll, Spending 11 on Gervinho and 15 on Arshavin is bad enough for me. I agree that we need to sign some big players, but I really want them to be calculated risks.

Those days are long gone.


If you want talent, you are going to have to overpay. 3 years made a lot of diff in the market.

[OneDrop]

Re: ***The Official Arsenal Gunners" Thread***

Those days are long gone.


If you want talent, you are going to have to overpay. 3 years made a lot of diff in the market.

Hit the nail on the head.

As for rsnomar05, do you really think ANOTHER 4th place is good enough for us? Sure, we'll probably win the FA cup which is great, but we won't win it every year. What if the next few years are trophyless again with more 4th place finishes? "Appearantly people are happy when finishing fourth and winning the FA cup." I said this, and I probably should have not because of course I am happy with this, but let's face it, we should be higher up the table than just fourth. Yes, we did bid for Higuain and Suarez, but Real Madrid stated they wanted £35million and we did not follow up on that. Suarez, yes good move but Liverpool wanted more. Probably would have not went with what Liverpool was asking for him neither. Wenger bought Özil while he was in panic mode after the 3-1 loss versus Aston Villa. The Ramsey injury happened before the transfer window and Walcott's injury happened right after the transfer window kicked off. We didn't make any worthy bids on anyone (we made a bid for Draxler but it wasn't enough, according to Schalke), instead, we sign Kim Kallstrom on a loan deal.

[Krebstar]

Re: ***The Official Arsenal Gunners" Thread***

This year's Emirates Cup has been announced.

Valencia, Monaco, and Benfica. We start by playing Benfica.

Slow news day.

[XXstormmXX]

Re: ***The Official Arsenal Gunners" Thread***

I don't know about you guys but I rather win the cup then the league. The FA cup just seems more prestigious to me.