As we're unlikely to see terraces again at football, this is the virtual equivalent where you can chat to your hearts content about all football matters and, obviously, Arsenal in particular. This forum encourages all Gooners to visit and contribute so please keep it respectful, clean and topical.
Worryingly no defensive midfielders are being linked again. Do we ever learn?
We already have two DM's?, not especially good one's granted but we do have them - Coquelin and Elneny. Also with 3 at the back do you need a DM?.
We've got 3 - I count Xhaka as one.
We definitely do need a "new" DCM, as Coq and Elneny are not good enough.
And we have been linked to William Carvalho, the def. midfielder from Sporting Lisbon ( along with his team-mate Gelson Martins ).
3 at the back, with Xhaka and one more mobile central midfielder could work, but Carvalho hasn't really got the speed factor either.
As for Gelson Martins? Well, is he the Bellerin replacement?
But in reality it doesn't matter who comes in and who leaves.
With Wenger in charge we will always be second tier.
I don't buy the Welbeck fitness thing as an excuse. He is bang average on a good day. His basic technique is quite poor, his first touch ropey as hell and his finishing is anything but instinctive.
Giroud is slightly better but he too is no more than average. Neither are near good enough to be first choice striker if you want to win the PL or the CL.
Lacazette? Who knows how he will adapt to the PL. He might hit the ground running or he might be utter shit. Let's not write him off before he's even kicked a ball, but equally I'm not overly excited by his signing...
Yes but you think Lukaku is average .
Seriously though, Becks probably isn't the 25 goal a season striker we need, but you can't fault his effort and in the cup final he put in a totally unselfish shift. It would be good to see him over a whole season mind, before we come to all of these knee jerk opinions. He has after all scored some quite notable goals in his time at the club, the one that sticks out is the winner vs Manure in the cup a few seasons back.
Lukaku is PL average, just like Giroud and Welbeck. Lukaku had one stand out season last season. It happens. I'll take €20 of anyone's money he won't repeat that this coming season.
How is calling Welbeck "average" after he has failed to hit double figures in every season he's played in the PL a "knee jerk opinion"? If anything I'm being generous. He's average. Average is fine if you don't want to get relegated, or if you want to try for a top 4 place, but average does not win you the PL or the CL.
DB10 is there a good crop of whacky backy going down in Dublin this summer, pleeeease.
Lukaku is on a different planet to Giroud and he is coming into his prime years, Giroud is finished now. He had no pace to start with and now he's hitting 30 don't expect his goal return to improve.
To be at Arsenal for 5 years predominantly as our number one striker, and not score 20 league goals once is unforgivable and unacceptable. I hold him responsible for us not being able to hold onto Leicesters coat tails when the league was there for the taking in 2016.
In the middle of a run of 12 games without a goal versus Swansea, when he was ponsing around the pitch doing fuck all as usual, he raised his arms to the fans suggesting we should raise the volume. Would that prompt a goal from the numpty, would if fuck.
If Lukaku goes to Chelsea, he will outscore Giroud with ease next season. Even if he stays at Everton he will outscore Giroud. I am willing to wager that.
With regards to Welbeck, yeah he's never scored in a prolific way I agree. But he's never really had a run of 2 or 3 seasons without injury. He adds so much more to our side than Giroud, when he was picked for the cup final it was 100% a correct decision. He can never be faulted for his work rate, and having pace always helps a front line.
You just cannot reply to anyone without trying to be patronising can you, mate? You've been called on this many times before, particularly on the EU thread. It makes you come across as a bit of a pompous dick tbh...
Anyway, I don't agree about Lukaku. His stats are more or less the same as Giroud's over the last few years - apart from one season, last year when Giroud wasn't a starter for much of the season. I usually hate to see stats brought up in an argument but where first choice strikers are concerned it can be relevent to a certain extent because their main job is to score goals, not to set up goals, or run around. It's nice if they do that, but it is not a vital requirement. Scoring goals is. If you want to win the PL you need a better first choice striker than Lukaku. My opinion is that while I agree Lukaku is coming into his prime years and Giroud is on the other side of his, Lukaku will never regularly score more than Giroud currently does to the extent where we should look to sign him. We should look to a better level of striker than either of them.
It seems to me you don't like Giroud's arrogance, which is fine (and a tad ironic! ), but to say Welbeck adds more is, to my mind anyway, ridiculous. Giroud scores goals and Welbeck doesn't. Again it's about goals. If Welbeck is to play as a first choice striker he needs to score goals. Giroud needs to score more, accepted, but Welbeck is nowhere near even Giroud's modest level of goalscoring. I too like the fact that Welbeck works hard for the team but that is the role of a winger or a midfielder or a second striker.
Pompous Dick? It was a joke mate, I don't know anyone who doesn't rate Lukaku as a credible PL striker (ok in the twilight zone that is the OG perhaps). Why would Chelsea be wanting him back if they thought he was shit. He is a more than adequate replacement for Costa if he moves on. Lukaku has played in a team that doesn't offer him the chances that Giroud gets from the likes of Ozil, yet he still outscores Giroud.
WIth regards to Giroud forget about his attitude or his porn star look. The guy is an A1 pile of turd footballer. I haven't seen a first choice Arsenal striker with so many deficiencies in his game for decades, Martin Hayes perhaps? He is good in the air and those near post flick ins, that's about it. When Giroud starts our whole front line becomes static which especially at home is perfect for a "park the bus" away side. At least with Welbeck on, we have a bit more pace and movement.
It is one if life's great mysteries that Giroud is first choice for France, when even their own fans think he is shit and shouldn't be playing ahead of Benzema or Lacazette. Perhaps Giroud is rogering Deschamps within an inch of his life, it wouldn't surprise me.....
Last edited by nut flush gooner on Tue Jul 04, 2017 12:59 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Seriously though, Becks probably isn't the 25 goal a season striker we need, but you can't fault his effort and in the cup final he put in a totally unselfish shift. It would be good to see him over a whole season mind, before we come to all of these knee jerk opinions. He has after all scored some quite notable goals in his time at the club, the one that sticks out is the winner vs Manure in the cup a few seasons back.
Lukaku is PL average, just like Giroud and Welbeck. Lukaku had one stand out season last season. It happens. I'll take €20 of anyone's money he won't repeat that this coming season.
How is calling Welbeck "average" after he has failed to hit double figures in every season he's played in the PL a "knee jerk opinion"? If anything I'm being generous. He's average. Average is fine if you don't want to get relegated, or if you want to try for a top 4 place, but average does not win you the PL or the CL.
DB10 is there a good crop of whacky backy going down in Dublin this summer, pleeeease.
Lukaku is on a different planet to Giroud and he is coming into his prime years, Giroud is finished now. He had no pace to start with and now he's hitting 30 don't expect his goal return to improve.
To be at Arsenal for 5 years predominantly as our number one striker, and not score 20 league goals once is unforgivable and unacceptable. I hold him responsible for us not being able to hold onto Leicesters coat tails when the league was there for the taking in 2016.
In the middle of a run of 12 games without a goal versus Swansea, when he was ponsing around the pitch doing fuck all as usual, he raised his arms to the fans suggesting we should raise the volume. Would that prompt a goal from the numpty, would if fuck.
If Lukaku goes to Chelsea, he will outscore Giroud with ease next season. Even if he stays at Everton he will outscore Giroud. I am willing to wager that.
With regards to Welbeck, yeah he's never scored in a prolific way I agree. But he's never really had a run of 2 or 3 seasons without injury. He adds so much more to our side than Giroud, when he was picked for the cup final it was 100% a correct decision. He can never be faulted for his work rate, and having pace always helps a front line.
You just cannot reply to anyone without trying to be patronising can you, mate? You've been called on this many times before, particularly on the EU thread. It makes you come across as a bit of a pompous dick tbh...
Anyway, I don't agree about Lukaku. His stats are more or less the same as Giroud's over the last few years - apart from one season, last year when Giroud wasn't a starter for much of the season. I usually hate to see stats brought up in an argument but where first choice strikers are concerned it can be relevent to a certain extent because their main job is to score goals, not to set up goals, or run around. It's nice if they do that, but it is not a vital requirement. Scoring goals is. If you want to win the PL you need a better first choice striker than Lukaku. My opinion is that while I agree Lukaku is coming into his prime years and Giroud is on the other side of his, Lukaku will never regularly score more than Giroud currently does to the extent where we should look to sign him. We should look to a better level of striker than either of them.
It seems to me you don't like Giroud's arrogance, which is fine (and a tad ironic! ), but to say Welbeck adds more is, to my mind anyway, ridiculous. Giroud scores goals and Welbeck doesn't. Again it's about goals. If Welbeck is to play as a first choice striker he needs to score goals. Giroud needs to score more, accepted, but Welbeck is nowhere near even Giroud's modest level of goalscoring. I too like the fact that Welbeck works hard for the team but that is the role of a winger or a midfielder or a second striker.
Pompous Dick? It was a joke mate, I don't know anyone who doesn't rate Lukaku as a credible PL striker (ok in the twilight zone that is the OG perhaps). Why would Chelsea be wanting him back if they thought he was shit. He is a more than adequate replacement for Costa if he moves on. Lukaku has played in a team that doesn't offer him the chances that Giroud gets from the likes of Ozil, yet he still outscores Giroud. You are also as I said looking at one player about to hit his peak years and another that is past his best. At the end of their careers you will see that Lukaku easily outscores Giroud, that's when you can make a subjective argument for Giroud.
WIth regards to Giroud forget about his attitude or his porn star look. The guy is an A1 pile of turd footballer. I haven't seen a first choice Arsenal striker with so many deficiencies in his game for decades, Martin Hayes perhaps? He is good in the air and those near post flick ins, that's about it. When Giroud starts our whole front line becomes static which especially at home is perfect for a "park the bus" away side. At least with Welbeck on, we have a bit more pace and movement.
It is one if life's great mysteries that Giroud is first choice for France, when even their own fans think he is shit and shouldn't be playing ahead of Benzema or Lacazette. Perhaps Giroud is rogering Deschamps within an inch of his life, it wouldn't surprise me.....
His SatNav Broke - So they've sent Diaby to pick him up from the airport - seeing as he knows the way to the Medical Centre.
Get in quality signing, going to help me clean out Betfred next season. I would rather make coinage off an Arsenal striker than a spud as was the case with Kane last term.
Last edited by nut flush gooner on Tue Jul 04, 2017 4:37 pm, edited 1 time in total.
From what i've watched Lacazette seems to be an upgrade on both Giroud and Welbeck but then as said above it all depends on whether he's played to his strengths or Wengers ideals......
A lot depends now on Sanchez although i have a feeling Girouds display of 'loyalty' and this signing are meant to soften an obvious incoming blow.
Wonder if Bellerin is on his way out too if OGL is having 'crisis' talks with him as reported in some places
Personally, I am pretty happy with the signing. He was clearly a wanted man, and would have gone to Atletico Madrid if they had not had their transfer ban enforced (and they have a pretty solid track record of picking out strikers!).
He's definitely an upgrade on what we currently have. If we can keep hold of Sanchez and Ozil, we will have some good options going forward next season.
Hopefully we can bring in another 1 or 2, worthy of a first XI starting spot and trim some of the fat. Although I doubt it due to Wengers blind loyalty to some of the bang average players he insists on overpaying.
But overall, this transfer is a positive thing for Arsenal. People will hate for the sake of hating.
But overall, this transfer is a positive thing for Arsenal. People will hate for the sake of hating.
Not hate, it is just that we have seen so many false dawns it is difficult to get excited.
It is the same manager, coaches and tactics that have failed so many times in the past.
.
You've been called on this many times before, particularly on the EU thread. It makes you come across as a bit of a pompous dick tbh... 
