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

[the playing mantis]

If Ramsey is on 100k a week or near to it now it's shocking. What's it for a quarter of a seasons very good work preceded by years of crapness, and it'd unknown if that form at the start of the season was just a flash in the pan. Massive risk if u ask me .

[wibble]

Ramsey extended his contract before his spell of good form!

What's also worrying given the lack of activity in recent transfer windows is the number of new players we'll need to sign insummer. Assuming sagna is off we need a new first choice rb, a centre half-2 if tv5 is off as well. A back up keeper and first choice striker. And that's a minimum.

What's annoying is this is nothing new but a continuous cycle

[northbank123]

1) I've heard a few versions of Sagna's demands and they vary wildly. Press speculation regarding contract details and negotiations is notoriously unreliable but at least with Walcott there was a clear consensus.

2) Ramsey's contract history is classic post-Flamini departure Arsenal. If he signs a new deal it will be his 5th contract in 5 and a half years at the club. Given his contract has never been near expiring and we've hardly been in danger of him being poached it seems a reasonable assumption that he has been rewarded for performances with a better deal/wage four times during his stay. Which given our reputation for paying young players handsomely (and apparently offering significantly more than United's contract offer to him) is a joke.

3) Rotating CBs? Come on, Koscielny and Mertesacker have performed excellently for the last 12 months or so. Why jeopardise that for a player that most fans like but acknowledge is limited? 3rd-choice CB is always awkward as you need a good back-up but the position doesn't lend itself to rotation and hopefully youll have little need for 3rd-choice.

[Yankee_Gooner_Dandee]

Im fine with both those extensions. Over the last couple seasons Rosicky has been in mostly good form and he seems to have more work ethic now days, shows some heart.

[g88ner]

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

If you've found a partnership that works, stick with it. I simply cannot agree with rotating your centre backs (or keeper) as it's that understanding that forms the foundation on which you build your team. Messing with that is asking for trouble I reckon.

As for the comparison with Adams/Bould/Keown... I'm not sure it's the same thing really. How old were those 3? - they were all at the end of their careers and probably benefited from a rest... plus, they knew defending like no others, so could use their experience.

They'd also played together for years so could slot in and play with each other (+ Seaman, Dixon and Winterburn) effortlessly!

That said, I think Vermaelen could be a fantastic defender alongside Mertesacker and with Bouldy coaching him... but Koscielny isn't going to be dropped so I think Vermaelen has to go for the sake of his career. Shame really.

[Nos89]

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

If you've found a partnership that works, stick with it. I simply cannot agree with rotating your centre backs (or keeper) as it's that understanding that forms the foundation on which you build your team. Messing with that is asking for trouble I reckon.

As for the comparison with Adams/Bould/Keown... I'm not sure it's the same thing really. How old were those 3? - they were all at the end of their careers and probably benefited from a rest... plus, they knew defending like no others, so could use their experience.

They'd also played together for years so could slot in and play with each other (+ Seaman, Dixon and Winterburn) effortlessly!

That said, I think Vermaelen could be a fantastic defender alongside Mertesacker and with Bouldy coaching him... but Koscielny isn't going to be dropped so I think Vermaelen has to go for the sake of his career. Shame really.

He had to rotate adams/bould/ keown as adams back problem meant he couldn't play and bould went after the '98 double so it wasn't too often he had to rotate them. TV5 should've been moved in front of the back two, in the same way he moved petit, I think he would have been great at driving the team from there.

[northbank123]

That's a fairly popular suggestion Nos89 about moving Vermaelen but I just cannot get my head round it.

He has some great assets - he's committed, pretty fast for a CB, very strong in the tackle and great in the air for his size. He's stopped from being a top CB by his too frequent lapses in concentration, positioning and judgement - it was just costing us too often. They are all absolutely key attributes for a DM - if you want a muppet to chase the ball and dive into tackles in that role why don't we just resign Alex Song?

We've got options there with Arteta and Flamini, let's not pretend Vermaelen is too good to sit on the bench for Arsenal. Him being vaguely labelled a 'good footballer' because of his occasional forays up the pitch from CB hardly justify crowbarring him into the team at all costs.

[Henry is a Gooner]

That's a fairly popular suggestion Nos89 about moving Vermaelen but I just cannot get my head round it.

He has some great assets - he's committed, pretty fast for a CB, very strong in the tackle and great in the air for his size. He's stopped from being a top CB by his too frequent lapses in concentration, positioning and judgement - it was just costing us too often. They are all absolutely key attributes for a DM - if you want a muppet to chase the ball and dive into tackles in that role why don't we just resign Alex Song?

We've got options there with Arteta and Flamini, let's not pretend Vermaelen is too good to sit on the bench for Arsenal. Him being vaguely labelled a 'good footballer' because of his occasional forays up the pitch from CB hardly justify crowbarring him into the team at all costs.

Edit: Deleted my reply as I've totally misinterpreted your post...... and I'm pissed

[clockender1]

He's stopped from being a top CB by his too frequent lapses in concentration, positioning and judgement - it was just costing us too often.

was it really that, or was it the switch to zonal marking which - between Kos and Per, costs us what 30% of our goals ?

i just don't get what happened with TV - he was excellent for 6 years at Ajax, made captain by them , he was excellent for us for two years, made captain by us, and he's still excellent for a very good Belgium team, good enough to keep Vertonghen relegated from CB to LB....

In 2010 he was in the PFA Team of the year btw.

so what changed ? - a player might lose pace or aggression or even his first touch, but its odd that a top class player (and he was/is) loses their focus and judgement isn't it ?

I like Per and Kos, but I can't help thinking we're missing a trick with this kid - and i hope to fuck Liverpool or United or god forbid the chavs, don't pick him and Vertonghen up and create the best CB pairing in the PL....

[northbank123]

He's stopped from being a top CB by his too frequent lapses in concentration, positioning and judgement - it was just costing us too often.

was it really that, or was it the switch to zonal marking which - between Kos and Per, costs us what 30% of our goals ?

i just don't get what happened with TV - he was excellent for 6 years at Ajax, made captain by them , he was excellent for us for two years, made captain by us, and he's still excellent for a very good Belgium team, good enough to keep Vertonghen relegated from CB to LB....

In 2010 he was in the PFA Team of the year btw.

so what changed ? - a player might lose pace or aggression or even his first touch, but its odd that a top class player (and he was/is) loses their focus and judgement isn't it ?

I like Per and Kos, but I can't help thinking we're missing a trick with this kid - and i hope to fuck Liverpool or United or god forbid the chavs, don't pick him and Vertonghen up and create the best CB pairing in the PL....

Switch to zonal marking? Vermaelen hardly got dropped due to set piece defending.

The vast majority of CBs will excel with better players around them - look how shit Koscielny was playing alongside Squillaci, Santos etc etc, look what a donkey BFG seemed in our ever-changing unstable 2011/12 team. Now in a settled back 5 with no real weak links and more protection in front they are both playing at a consistently far higher level than it seemed possible before.

Vermaelen is the same player regardless of what's happening around him. Which is great when the rest of your defence is a shambles, like ours was in his first two years or so - all those great interceptions and last-ditch tackle look great and the odd costly mistake fades into the background in the grand scheme of things. In a quality organised defence there are fewer opportunities for the Hollywood defending and those odd mistakes stick out like a sore thumb. Add in the self-perpetuating impact on form this has as well.

I will always be grateful to Vermaelen for his performances in his first few years and I have a hell of a lot of time for his attitude and commitment, I really do. But imo he is lacking in the top 6 inches, he just doesn't read the game well enough to be a top drawer CB. He is a good option for a 3rd choice CB but understandably he probably wants to move on. I think he'll take a bit of a step down and he will really revamp his career and rediscover his best form (and I hope he does), but I won't view this as an indictment of any sort on Wenger.

[StuartL]

He also had a very handy knack of scoring goals in his first year or two, which, in many supporters eyes automatically mean that you had a good game.
His forays upfront were exciting, but left us dangerously exposed should he get caught out of position as our covering mf at the time Song / Denilson didn't recognise the need to cover or were simply not good enough ( a bit of both but more the latter in my opinion)

I like his attitude, no drama's about being not first choice but can sadly see him understandably in his way.

[officepest]

NB & Stuart make very good points re Vermaelen. He's a good player and seems a very likeable bloke but I don't think he's quite good enough to warrant a starting berth.

It's a shame but it'll probably be best for his career if he moved on.

[clockender1]

Bloody Hell, I'm 2 for 2 today - tomorrow's papers say Moyes will make an offer for TV5 . Cash or Cash plus RvP.

No way should we sell anyone to United, that's just stupid for our long term title ambitions - why help united back into the pack ?

[Theoperator]

Bloody Hell, I'm 2 for 2 today - tomorrow's papers say Moyes will make an offer for TV5 . Cash or Cash plus RvP.

No way should we sell anyone to United, that's just stupid for our long term title ambitions - why help united back into the pack ?

Ive been wanting them to buy The great Dane for ages, surely we can have an exception here

[QuartzGooner]

Ramsey, Cazorla and Zelalem sign new deals.

http://www.arsenal.com/news/news-archiv ... -contracts