which striker (left back and backup goalie) should we buy?

[Gunner19]

Girouuuud just equalised for France vs spain...nice header, 94th minute, he played 5 minutes!

[1989]

I always rated Cavani but saw him live in the lympics and he was toilet
we bought Eduardo after he scored the first competitive goal at the Grove
be nice to get Huntelaar to and add to the set
(has Mellberg retired, or was he injured for Olympiakos the other night?)

He's currently playing for Valencia in the Second Division in Spain.

Villarreal not Valencia.

Forget about Huntelaar, Wenger's slagged him off too much.

Erm what?

[green gooner]

Girouuuud just equalised for France vs spain...nice header, 94th minute, he played 5 minutes!

We should buy him

[supergeorgegraham]

Bloody good question. For once I dont know as our recent forwards have all failed to make the mark.

[RNTGOONER]

When was the last time our accademy produced a decent striker Andy Cole maybe? we can't produce them it seems and (unless Giroud goes on to be a success, hope he does) we can no longer scout them

We last scouted and signed a world class striker 9 years ago FFS

Something has to change in coaching / scouting strikers

[SteveO 35]

When was the last time our accademy produced a decent striker Andy Cole maybe? we can't produce them it seems and (unless Giroud goes on to be a success, hope he does) we can no longer scout them

We last scouted and signed a world class striker 9 years ago FFS

Something has to change in coaching / scouting strikers

Don't start me on that one again mate - one of the biggest failings of the club's youth system is that we have not produced a single striker worthy of the name in Wenger's era. Nicking Anelka from PSG hardly qualifies either before someone brings that up. They've all come and gone - Lupoli, Aliadiere, Quincy, Billy 'big bollocks' Bendtner (nearly gone), Simpson - and I'm afraid Afobe, Aneke and the present crop are no improvement on them either.

[highburyJD]

maybe I'm being slow and loads of obvious examples will be bought up
(I am slightly hungover) but which big club bar Liverpool has produced a great striker through it's youth team recently?
Fowler and Owen are the exception but the rule seems to be its hard to youth produce strikers

can't think of us ManYoo, Sperz or Chelski doing it...
Raul was Athletico 1st, Pippo Inzhagi Piacenza, Sheva obviously Kiev before Milan
Barca buy all their strikers, so do Bayern

I think it's hard to know which youth players will become great forwards
look at Drogs or Wrighty. Even Andy Cole, the last one we produced, we let go, preferring Kevin Campbell (under-rated although that replay v Bolton in the cup was the single worst performance by an Arsenal player I'd ever seen - later eclipsed by Song v Fulham).

I'm going off on a tangent - but which big club top striker came from their youth team in the last decade or two?

[SteveO 35]

maybe I'm being slow and loads of obvious examples will be bought up
(I am slightly hungover) but which big club bar Liverpool has produced a great striker through it's youth team recently?
Fowler and Owen are the exception but the rule seems to be its hard to youth produce strikers

can't think of us ManYoo, Sperz or Chelski doing it...
Raul was Athletico 1st, Pippo Inzhagi Piacenza, Sheva obviously Kiev before Milan
Barca buy all their strikers, so do Bayern

I think it's hard to know which youth players will become great forwards
look at Drogs or Wrighty. Even Andy Cole, the last one we produced, we let go, preferring Kevin Campbell (under-rated although that replay v Bolton in the cup was the single worst performance by an Arsenal player I'd ever seen - later eclipsed by Song v Fulham).

I'm going off on a tangent - but which big club top striker came from their youth team in the last decade or two?

Look at it on the simplest level. Every striker currently playing in the top flight was produced by a youth system at one point or another. Why limit it to the big clubs - in fact its even more galling for the likes of us, Chelsea, Man U etc if our global scouting networks and expensive academies can't produce these talents, which instead have to be imported at a significantly higher cost.

City's forwards - imported, Chelsea's - imported, except for Sturridge (a product of City's academy), United - Rooney produced by Everton, Welbeck homegrown, RvP & others - imported, Liverpool's imported, Newcastle's imported, Spuds - imported and Defoe (Charlton/West Ham), Everton imported. Pretty dreadful track record all round. At least the likes of Welbeck and Sturridge are PL class even if not top international class. I'd settle for one in that bracket rather than throwing away good money on the likes of Chamakh and Park

[highburyJD]

Look at it on the simplest level. Every striker currently playing in the top flight was produced by a youth system at one point or another. Why limit it to the big clubs - in fact its even more galling for the likes of us, Chelsea, Man U etc if our global scouting networks and expensive academies can't produce these talents, which instead have to be imported at a significantly higher cost.

City's forwards - imported, Chelsea's - imported, except for Sturridge (a product of City's academy), United - Rooney produced by Everton, Welbeck homegrown, RvP & others - imported, Liverpool's imported, Newcastle's imported, Spuds - imported and Defoe (Charlton/West Ham), Everton imported. Pretty dreadful track record all round. At least the likes of Welbeck and Sturridge are PL class even if not top international class. I'd settle for one in that bracket rather than throwing away good money on the likes of Chamakh and Park

I was going beyond just the Prem - hadrly a big club has produced a striker who has made it there
that does seem a strange stat obviously its tough
even La Masia, Clairefontaine or de Toekomst haven't produced top strikers I can think of recently (don't see Messi as a a striker)
I think to some extent strikers develop rather than are made...

[I Hate Hleb]

Girouuuud just equalised for France vs spain...nice header, 94th minute, he played 5 minutes!

We should buy him

[highburyJD]

anyway - the topic: which striker
as I said, I think the best striker in the world is Radamel El Tigre Falcao
but the most marketable must be Neymar
and he's pretty good - heres a clip from his 200th game last night http://www.101greatgoals.com/gvideos/wh ... o-mineiro/
he would sell a lot of shirts for us: I think we could pretty quickly be the most supported club in Brazil
one of the fastest growing markets in the world...
arguably £55M for him is a better investment than £45M for Falcao
(hypothetical and I'm talking marketing returns not pure ability)

[flash gunner]

When did fans start thinking about 'marketing returns' and not about 'pure ability'

Modern day football fans

[northbank123]

When did fans start thinking about 'marketing returns' and not about 'pure ability'

Modern day football fans

When they're trying to wind others up.

[highburyJD]

erm its what a significant part of this thread is about... have a reread of what augie and I were discussing earlier
why would you want to shut down a relevant avenue of debate?
I think Gazidis et al might splash out. I think the basis by which they could justify it to SilentStan is marketing potential.
Its obviously understandable that the board want to increase revenue from foriegn fans... is that so bad?
(aren't half the posters on here from abroad...?)

I want to see us sign Falcao or Neymar,
realistically, it seems pretty unlikely, but if one had to make the argument to the holder of the purse strings
this is how I would go about it - buying Neymar = breaking Brazil.
Becoming the most popular club in Brazil is a worthy aim, there are serious benefits beyond the obvious financial ones.

northbank - your statement is designed to offend me, does that make you a troll?
Please listen sweetheart, the world doesnt rotate around you.
I neither considered, nor care, whether my opinion on the pros and cons of signing Neymar upsets you.
I'm just shooting the shit.
Its the point of the site.

[I Hate Hleb]

And no site 'shoots the shit' quite like this one does!! (Well, football ones, at least)