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.
I though I said he must have something to get in the Spain team, albeit as 1st sub...and hoped he would be good so we shouldn't write him off before signing.
The fact is as I said inmmatch threads he looks a bit cack and nothing playing. Albeit will give him chance till up to speed. Early signs not good but then lots of our greats have taken a while to acclimatise....straw clutching maybe!
As for sterling f off back to chavs.
No, it wasn't you Mantis. It was one of the semi-regulars who appear when things are going well with what DB calls the fan boy stuff and then disappear when we hit the skids again. I think I'm quoting verbatim when I say that the poster described him as "top quality". It's not for me to question someone's knowledge of a player, but I can't help suspecting that the judgement was based entirely on the bloke being a sub for Spain, rather than watching him week in, week out at Sociedad.
I think the attitude that he was a Spain sub and that therefore he might be useful and we should have a little patience is fair enough, but a 28 year old with a very average track record always worries me. You're not buying a guy of that age for potential and he should be at the peak of his powers, which so far look limited.
We were (and still are) desperate for a top quality centre mid, but we seem to have signed a bloke that is vying with Partey and Jorginho for a place in the team. Not good. Both of those are past best, but can anybody on here genuinely state that Merino should be in front of them both? That's the question to ask yourself.
This might be harsh, but I just get the impression he'll turn out the kind of player the phrase "journeyman" was designed to describe.
Not harsh at all in my opinion DB. In fact, "journeyman" is generous when compared to the term I'd use, which is a "nothing" player. I've no doubt that we'd both love to be wrong and to be happily admitting as much in 6 months time, whilst lauding the guy as a cracking signing. At the moment, that's looking very unlikely.
This might be harsh, but I just get the impression he'll turn out the kind of player the phrase "journeyman" was designed to describe.
Not harsh at all in my opinion DB. In fact, "journeyman" is generous when compared to the term I'd use, which is a "nothing" player. I've no doubt that we'd both love to be wrong and to be happily admitting as much in 6 months time, whilst lauding the guy as a cracking signing. At the moment, that's looking very unlikely.
Yeah I gotta be honest mate and say I think you are right. I always try to give a player time and hope they come good, but with most of those type of players you see something in their play that tells you they will. But with Merino I see nothing much tbh.
Not necessarily bad. But not good. Just does nothing so cannot be judged good or bad. Utterly pointless and invisible.
I was wrong Augie and retro you were bang on.
Would be perfect for someone like West Ham or Everton "doing a job" in the middle of the pitch. Nowhere near good enough to be at a team with any aspirations of winning something. Absolute fucking waste of money.
He's bang average A nothing player as mentioned above.Arteta made an utter fuck up of the last window..This dud..Calasicknote..Girling..Neto who hasn't pulled his gloves on what a disaster of a window ffs
Not necessarily bad. But not good. Just does nothing so cannot be judged good or bad. Utterly pointless and invisible.
I was wrong Augie and retro you were bang on.
Buddy it isnt about being wrong or right at this stage - my fear at the time was that zubemendi was the sociedad player we really wanted and this guy felt like a consolation prize, and especially when you look at his record at geordies and dortmund. Being honest though, we could get by with him being average IF we had a proper striker and it all comes back to that for me - in GG's latter years we had a plodders midfield with a lot of players like merino, BUT we had a proper striker up top in Ian Wright who didnt need creative players around him to fashion goals from nothing, but sadly we have dumb and dumber and their shitiness highlights how average our midfield is
Not necessarily bad. But not good. Just does nothing so cannot be judged good or bad. Utterly pointless and invisible.
I was wrong Augie and retro you were bang on.
Buddy it isnt about being wrong or right at this stage - my fear at the time was that zubemendi was the sociedad player we really wanted and this guy felt like a consolation prize, and especially when you look at his record at geordies and dortmund. Being honest though, we could get by with him being average IF we had a proper striker and it all comes back to that for me - in GG's latter years we had a plodders midfield with a lot of players like merino, BUT we had a proper striker up top in Ian Wright who didnt need creative players around him to fashion goals from nothing, but sadly we have dumb and dumber and their shitiness highlights how average our midfield is
One only has to look at the Newcastle game for proof of that. Isak scores one and makes the other. They have our cast off Willock, Joelinton and Tonali in midfield and were without the guy much lauded as their best midfielder (even though I think he's an absolute carthorse!). Isak in our team, win 2-0. Isak in their team, lose 0-2. Simple game football
A nothing player as mentioned above.Arteta made an utter fuck up of the last window..This dud..Calasicknote..Girling..Neto who hasn't pulled his gloves on 
what a disaster of a window ffs
