New contracts: BFG, Rosicky, Ramsey, Cazorla, Zelalem

[clockender1]

3 years for Per, is good. 2 years for Rosicky is no biggie.

5 years for Ramsey at 100,000 per week is a lot, but hopefully he won't lose his focus, motivation and form like another former midfield "star"...

[spendsum4uckingmoney]

What we need in midfield is a Vieira Petit YaYa type player not another midget in midfied who goes missing in the big games

Agreed but we also seriously need some pace on the width.

[clockender1]

What we need in midfield is a Vieira Petit YaYa type player not another midget in midfied who goes missing in the big games

Agreed but we also seriously need some pace on the width.

Gnabry plays out wide right. and we have walcott and Ox.

CM is the issue - we only have Ramsay that has pace and the passing ability to move and pass. we need a partner for him in the Edu, Gilberto, Vieira, Petit, YaYa mould AND a back up.

Frimpong, Diaby, Wilshere, Arteta don't cut it. Flamini did have pace but its waning. he's now more of a holding DM rather than box-to-box, he needs pace alongside him.

[SteveO 35]

I have to say I'm delighted both of them have signed

The BFG has won me over completely this season. I was amongst his biggest critics during his first season. The lack of pace I could forgive but I thought he was a bottle job in the air and easily outmuscled even by small forwards. He has come on leaps (literally) and bounds and should now spend his best years with us

As for Rosicky, we look slower and weaker when he doesn't start in midfield. One of the few things I agree with Wenger on is that he is the 'great accelerator' and he's a young 33 given the amount of prolonged layoffs he's had

Not sure I think Ramsey has proved himself to be a £100,000 a week footballer yet but I'm afraid in the same way I said it with Walcott, in this day and age it isn't the phenomenal amount of money it once was and there would be plenty of other takers at that wage level

[northbank123]

Agree about Mertesacker. Looked all at sea at times with a cocktail of assured, comical and hideous performances. You don't have to knock every CF flying to succeed as a PL CB but you have to be able to hold your own physically and make up for any shortcomings with excellent judgement and decision-making. And that's what he has done, he has been immense. Koscielny has also improved exponentially and is lightning quick for a CB (not just in comparison to Mertesacker) but I'd have the BFG over him every time. Love his attitude and commitment too, would make him captain at the end of the season without a doubt.

It also definitely helps playing in between Koscielny and Sagna every week and not see changing partners on both sides like his first season here. Which is why (and I'm perfectly aware I'm labouring the point) it is stupid to let Sagna go. Maybe we'll spend a bit of money and have a decent replacement who slots in with minimal disruption (although would be a waste seeing as we are incapable of making more than one astute signing a year it seems). More likely we'll see a Monreal-type signing who is left to fight it out with Jenkinson and we have two worryingly average right-backs who are in and out of the team.

If we go back to uncertainty with personnel and a RB who is not as defensively reliable as Sagna BFG's game will dip alarmingly quickly. CBs are more reliant than anybody else on the players around them to look good - look at Vidic, I hardly think he's gone from being the hallmark of quality and defensive fortitude to a complete and utter liability within the space of a season or so.

[g88ner]

Rosicky seems an odd player to inspire hatred

This is frank we're talking about. He also hates umbrellas

[LeftfootlegendGooner]

I have to say I'm delighted both of them have signed

The BFG has won me over completely this season. I was amongst his biggest critics during his first season. The lack of pace I could forgive but I thought he was a bottle job in the air and easily outmuscled even by small forwards. He has come on leaps (literally) and bounds and should now spend his best years with us

As for Rosicky, we look slower and weaker when he doesn't start in midfield. One of the few things I agree with Wenger on is that he is the 'great accelerator' and he's a young 33 given the amount of prolonged layoffs he's had

Not sure I think Ramsey has proved himself to be a £100,000 a week footballer yet but I'm afraid in the same way I said it with Walcott, in this day and age it isn't the phenomenal amount of money it once was and there would be plenty of other takers at that wage level

^^^^^ This, saves me typing anyway

[augie]

I have to say I'm delighted both of them have signed

The BFG has won me over completely this season. I was amongst his biggest critics during his first season. The lack of pace I could forgive but I thought he was a bottle job in the air and easily outmuscled even by small forwards. He has come on leaps (literally) and bounds and should now spend his best years with us

As for Rosicky, we look slower and weaker when he doesn't start in midfield. One of the few things I agree with Wenger on is that he is the 'great accelerator' and he's a young 33 given the amount of prolonged layoffs he's had

Not sure I think Ramsey has proved himself to be a £100,000 a week footballer yet but I'm afraid in the same way I said it with Walcott, in this day and age it isn't the phenomenal amount of money it once was and there would be plenty of other takers at that wage level

^^^^^ This, saves me typing anyway

Steve O and Lefty have been converted from BFG haters......my work here is done

[LeftfootlegendGooner]

I have to say I'm delighted both of them have signed

The BFG has won me over completely this season. I was amongst his biggest critics during his first season. The lack of pace I could forgive but I thought he was a bottle job in the air and easily outmuscled even by small forwards. He has come on leaps (literally) and bounds and should now spend his best years with us

As for Rosicky, we look slower and weaker when he doesn't start in midfield. One of the few things I agree with Wenger on is that he is the 'great accelerator' and he's a young 33 given the amount of prolonged layoffs he's had

Not sure I think Ramsey has proved himself to be a £100,000 a week footballer yet but I'm afraid in the same way I said it with Walcott, in this day and age it isn't the phenomenal amount of money it once was and there would be plenty of other takers at that wage level

^^^^^ This, saves me typing anyway

Steve O and Lefty have been converted from BFG haters......my work here is done

Yes, yes it is.....goodbye old mate

[1989]

Great news all round. The BFG has been arguably the best CB in the league this season, and Rosicky is a very useful player. Also delighted about the Rambo contract extension, lad is worth every penny. Wenger loves to go on about mental strength but Ramsey is one of a few in our squad which the term can legitimately be applied to.

[1989]

Also I think Sagna is off sadly.

[HARLOW GOONER]

Call me old fashioned, but how/why has Sagna been over looked in this batch of new renewed improved contracts?
On paper he's probably now going to walk on a freemans in the summer.
From what I can gather, he's never been over demanding on contacts, terms and money. If KD Lang rodsicky justified a new contract at 33, how and why isn't bacaray worth a look in?
Apparently he's been turned down on wanting an extra 12 months new contract. 2 years as opposed to 3.
FFS Wenger -wake up. He walks free, a fortune to replace, or/and hope Jenko evolves overnight to fill his boots.
It's an Ashley cole scenario all over again. Give the man an improved contract and see what happens. With all due respect, Jenko isn't an instant replacement for sagna.

[1989]

Apparently, Sagna wants 3 years on 90k a week PLUS a signing-on bonus. He's taking the piss, that's unreasonable. He's got big lucrative offers from the likes of Galatasaray and PSG and is asking us to match them to stay. At 31 years old and with his best years arguably behind him, that's financial suicide potentially. I love Sagna don't get me wrong, but he's hugely likely to be in physical decline over the coming two years, and full backs in general don't age well as they deteriorate in performance in their 30's due to the physical demands of their role. Yes Sagna can double up as a CB too, but it's not ideal, his size will be a handicap in a league where the average striker is well over 6 ft. If we give him 3 yrs and a massive weekly wage and he starts to decline performance-wise, we'll all be here moaning about giving him such a deal in the first place.

The good news is that good right backs are not hard to find. Seamus Coleman would be my choice, PL pedigree, great going forward and assure defensively, only 24 and would fit in well with the way we use our full backs.

[clockender1]

TV will be off too. Shame. Why Wenger couldn't rotate them like he did with Bould, Adams and Keown I don't know...

Or found a spot alongside Flam.

TV was immense in his first two years, hell with his wicked left foot shot he would have done better than Bendtner lol.

[TeeCee]

TV was immense in his first two years

and completely shit for the next couple!! No loss at all to this team.