The Ones that got away

[gavbacon]

A few years ago we were in the running for Kompany I think?

This season however, Adrian Lopez and Demba Ba.

Will we ever learn??

[highburyJD]

We badly needed another striker
but Ba and Adrian haven't torn up any trees this year

would love Kompany or Zabaleta

[QuartzGooner]

selling Diarra is one I've thought a fair bit about, it makes no sense
I think it must have been a psychological ploy - the players he really wanted to keep were Cesc and Flamster
I think he was trying to say: even if you're under contract, if you think it's better for your career - I will let you go

(obv didn't work out - Diarra didnt make the euros and Flamster didnt sign)

He was sold because he was stirring it up amongst the squad.
Apparently he was winding up the other players.

[highburyJD]

selling anyone who's "stirring it up" does basically mean anybody can leave
whenever they like,
I think Wenger kept many of our big players by saying - if you make a final decision, I won't stand in your way.
That sort of 'weakness' may actually be strength if it lets you build the best squad in the league

we're a long way from that level now, the league has seriously deteriorated in quality
but we've deteriorated even more

[Offside]

Andy cole,how we kept hold of kevin campbell and released Cole i will never know.

We had wrighty and George thought that Campbell was the better link man.

As fine a player as he was he was no.wrighty.

Maybe not a massive miss, but I think.upson has had a decent career and he is certainly better than djourou, senderos or squidgy.

I still think Wenger made a huge mistake in selling Upson during the January window in 2003 when it was clear that our defence was leaky and we lacked cover at CB and LB. There was an awful game at Blackburn that season where we wound up with Gilberto and Van Bronckhorst as two of our defenders.

[dPmunky]

with the money we have in the bank, villa and falcao will get away too...

[highburyJD]

Gilberto is still playing too
I wish we'd kept him

[Bendtners Drinking Buddy]

The one that got away was Diarra. The bloke would have gone on to be a £20m+ player as was proven elsewhere. When he played on a handful of occasions in his rightful position he was immense.

Give Wenger credit signing him for £2m was a fucking masterstroke and he could have sold for tenfold. Letting him go for £5m was a fucking disaster and that spell from January through to Summer 2008 saw the break up of what might have been his second great team. Still we got Ramsey and Coquelin and 4.5 years later haven't they both made a fantastic impact on the first team

Diarra wanted to leave and rumours of his commitment waining were strong, at the time we didnt need someone like that in the squad - that squad should have won the league.

Agree he is a decent player, but i dont blame Wenger too much for that one - he knew how good he would become but the fact is he wasnt good enough to get into that side.

[Bradywasking]

Francis Jeffers made his debut for Accrington Stanley on Tuesday...both him and the mighty James Beattie were substituted in a 3-0 home loss to Fleetwood...in fairness Jeffers did seem like a good idea at the time.

[highburyJD]

how much did Everton spend on Beattie?