Come to think of it, that Spurs game is the one video I have seen of him this season, and I remember thinking that he looks like he's ready to explode, ready to harness that world class ability he has always had and find real consistency, in performance and in end product. That's why I'm a little surprised I haven't heard much about him, but I have been a little removed from it all this season, so maybe it's me.

Definitely the sort of forward we need, but you'd be looking for him to (very quickly) turn into a 15 goal-a-season footballer if we were to spend the sort of money on him that would make Newcastle part with him. Not sure he can be relied on for that. Does he has the personality, the maturity, the physical make-up to be a 50-game a season footballer, producing most weeks he plays?

You can never be sure though, can you? He has the talent, that much is obvious.

There aren't many players we can sign that guarantee 15 goals a season from a wide position.

Only one way to answer those questions, Ricky. 🙂

I think he'd be well worth the punt though. Maturity is precisely what he used to lack in his game (some would argue consistency, but it's not a trait in my opinion - it's a consequence of growing up and learning to take responsibility). It looks like he's finally gained it at Newcastle.

We definitely need someone to bring some quality and excitement to our forward line. Got to be a £20M signing in January coming our way. Got to be!

I actually think we need to think bigger than Ben Arfa.
Go all out and buy real devastating ready to kill it brilliance.

Ben Arfa can completely destroy teams but he also goes missing alot. He does zero tracking back and if he's not on fire he give you nothing. He's the sort of player I'd love to have but he needs careful management and he isn't someone to be relying on, especially away from home.

I'd rather take Cisse off them TBH. He's supposedly not happy at Newcastle now and I think he has all the attributes for what we need up top.

y va marquer wrote:

I actually think we need to think bigger than Ben Arfa.
Go all out and buy real devastating ready to kill it brilliance.

That's kind of my thoughts. Ben Arfa is superb, but so, so flaky. If we're going to finally spend some serious money, we need to be sure that we're getting a player that's really going to take us up a level, across a whole season, not for a few weeks/months of it. As I said above though, I've barely seen Ben Arfa this season.

Ben Arfa for 16-19m would be a good, realistic deal, otherwise if your spending 20-25m it should be on someone on the level of jovetic, having said that suarez cost 22m and i can see ben arfa going for a similar amount.

The last thing we need is to waste any more money another middle of the road player from L1. Especially not one that was pony against us.

I can see wenger bringing in two players in January. Id like a quality wide man, like Ben arfa, plus a real livewire. Muriel, el shaarawy, or Christian wade would do!

I dont see what the fuss is about Ben Arfa to be fair. He is okay but not someone who can join us and move our ability a bit up.

I couldn't care less who we bring in this transfer window for once. Just want Wenger out.

Holtby's agent

“We are talking with Schalke for a possible renewal for another three years. Talks are positive at the moment, but the situation has definitely changed since several bids from Spain and England were made. Lewis is very happy at Schalke, but it is primarily a British club that has made a very interesting proposition.”

Probably just agent bluff to secure a better deal on his new contract.
Naturally we're linked

The commentator said he and his family were huge Everton fans. He'd be a great option for them really. Don't think we have a need for him at the moment. Far more pressing issues to resolve.

mohan wrote:

I dont see what the fuss is about Ben Arfa to be fair. He is okay but not someone who can join us and move our ability a bit up.

Rubbish. He is top class and will improve our side instantly

Ben Arfa is obviously a talented player. He'd be expensive though. For the kind of money I think we are talking about I'd look for a more consistent player with a better defensive work ethic.

He's not top class, he's far too inconsistent to be regarded as such.

Always been a fan of Ben Arfa. I think he's very similar to Arshavin, but I'd say he's got better stamina and dribbling skills(which is Messi-esque).

I think he was widely regarded as the most talented from that 87 generation(Benzema, Nasri, Menez etc), but I'd say bad attitude and lack of defensive discipline(in a very defensive league - the French league) have held him back the most in his career so far.

He has threatened to explode a few times; that 1 season at Lyon and also his 1st few months at marseille - I really thought he was kicking on but things went bad for him when Deschamp was installed as manager. He always regarded Ben Arfa as a top talent but hated his work off the ball and therefore chose to bench him most of the time.

I was desperate for us to buy him instead of Nasri because I thought we needed a wide player who could score goals and I saw more goals in him than I did in Nasri. Ben Arfa has always been the more forward player.

He's ridiculously talented and I'd take a punt on him but as has already been said on here, talent alone is not enough, being talented and knowing how to use that talent on a consistent basis under extreme pressure is what makes someone a great player. Guti at Madrid is a perfect example, he was ridiculously talented, better vision than Zidane for example, but never nailed down a spot in the team. Went through some purple patches and then have the press questioning why he wasn't a starter before disappearing again. Never got the best out of his talent.

We haven't been linked but Sterling at Liverpool is apparently going to reject a new contract they're going to offer him. Should we consider going for him?

No. We don't need another prospect, but a ready-to-contribute top class player.

We need something at centre mid. We have Arteta and Wilshere, Diaby is good but always injured. That's about it, Ramsey, Frimpong, Coquelin and Chamberlain aren't up to scratch in that position yet (and may never be).

Braking on twitter--

Wilfried Zaha to be an Arsenal player in Jan, regardless of Theo's situation. Between £9-11m.

he looks a handleful - my reservation is he looks more gervinho than ben arfa

Who on twitter?

Zaha is gonna be a brilliant player.

Oh yeah. I remember now.

He's an Arsenal fan - looking at his Twitter account during last night's game.

Is he the same dagunners in the AM? If so, he was really odd with his views there.

mohan wrote:

Is he the same dagunners in the AM? If so, he was really odd with his views there.

😆 I'd imagine so.

Zaha

He looks like he could be frustrating but he has pace n power to be a flat track bully of the highest order

Theo to sign a new deal and be a striker
Wilfried Zaha

Don't really like the little I've seen of Zaha. Really not liked what I've seen actually. Seems a pretty stupid player, with the sort of pace and power that's a way off the top tier.

Don't think I've ever seen Zaha play, but the 8 minute Youtube compilation of him wasn't too impressive.

From what I've read, he is very highly rated, so there probably is something about him. Personally I'd rather we spent our money on proven/ready-made players, who can come in and contribute straight away, especially when we still have the likes of Chamberlain, Gnabry and Ryo. £11m is a lot of money as well.