very good player and would definitely welcome him here, but i think he's slightly overrated.

evoh wrote:

@lorddulaarsenal wrote:

Di Maria is the better player in my opinion. That Lamela looks ok, but I think the physical nature of the prem would negate his game. He's not particularly skilled

See him play he is stronger than you think. Di maria is not a level above him in the slightest, though its my opinion so you take it as you will but if we are bidding the same amounts then Lamela is the guy who is actually improving. Di maria hasn't exactly accelerated in some top 10 player in the world.

Fair enough. I just think di Maria's movement is more natural. There's a reason he's clocked up as many games for Madrid as he has whilst only spurs seem to be in for lamela

Claudius wrote:

Tactics wrote:

He's outstanding for 2/3 of the pitch, but inconsistent in the final 3rd.

is this the same final 3rd where he is one of the leading assist generators in La Liga?
you did say you want him though, which i agree with. bring him in for the left. Podolski can then be coverage for the left and striker.

Yeah that's why I said inconsistent, not poor or useless.

He's got a quality cross/pass on him, but sometimes either dribbles into blind alley when in the final 3rd or fucks up with his decision making.

I remember constantly berating him in the 2nd half of the 2011/2012 season. I was of the opinion that he was one of the main reasons Madrid looked so 1 dimensional against deep lying defences, and suggested Madrid go for someone like Hazard, but the fucker suddenly went through a period where he produced sublime passes in almost every single game. Shut me right up

He can definitely do damage in the final 3rd, just inconsistent IMO.

I'd pay £20-25m more for Ozil than I'd for Di Maria, but I'm sure it won't be long before our fans are on his back because he doesn't score much or provide a lot of direct assists. Ozil should be the priority, but I'd settle for Di Maria in the end.

'settle' for Di Maria? Mental...

Surely not as mental as saying you wouldn't like to see Gundoghan at Arsenal? Or something to that effect.

Yes I'd settle for Di Maria if we fail to sign a player as good as Ozil. The German is far superior.

Sign them both up, along with benzema. Fund reals moves for bale and/or suarez

Most exciting rumour of the summer for me. Fucking do this you wankers!

[size=x-small](Don't know why I'm doing this to myself, I know how this is going to end.)[/size]

Still don't think he has the same sort of ability or potential as Lamela but has a better positional off the ball game, he'll put in a shift defensively.

So nothing in the last 24 hours has made you change your mind?

He's a lot better than Lamela.

Definitely. He's one of the best wingers around.

Timothy wrote:

So nothing in the last 24 hours has made you change your mind?

Watched a load of Lamela vs videos and compared them out to Di maria's ones.

I don't rate his dribbling skills as highly, when he is on the ball he doesn't have that ability to manipulate it in quite as many ways. Good player all round and more physical but can see far more potential in the roma player to cover all 4 positions in a forward line where as di maria is defo just a winger.

Only downside is Lamela is very left footed, Di Maria is more ambidextrous.

Di Maria has the skillset of a winger and a playmaker. Would instantly solve two problems we have.

Can't see how his dribbling is limited too. Think he's quite brilliant at it.

It's probably his best quality.

Think di Maria is possibly the best addition we can make at this stage

By the way it's odd how wenger was always quick to fix our attack as soon as it lost its verve and fluidity. It's been flat and just about functional at best now these past few years

Flat and functional, boring to watch too, but, we have still scored a good number of goals. Last season we managed to even conceed less, relatively at least. We have not scored well in games that matter though, against big teams. I think quality like Benzema and Di Maria will not only help in playing Wenger's brand more efficiently but also make us more dangerous against the big teams.

“I am confident [of new signings]. The desire of the players to join us [makes me confident] and the fact that we have - maybe not as much as everyone writes - but we have some funds available to do the transfers.

From Wenger's press conference today.
Is Di Maria likely to be mad keen to join us?

The World Cup follows this season. Any player concerned they might miss out on a place due to lack of playing time for their club may look to move. With the arrival of Bale and Isco, Di Maria may not get a lot of playing time although i think overall he is a better all-round footballer than Bale even if less lethal.

evoh wrote:

Timothy wrote:

Only downside is Lamela is very left footed, Di Maria is more ambidextrous.

Hardly - Di Maria is as one footed as it comes.

Don't really care myself but in no way is he ambidextrous.

I just want to know what the hell is going on and whether or not we're really interested in Di Maria and Benzema.
This last week will do my head in I reckon

Will you lose your shit y?!

Yes
My patience has run out now, enough of the little bit of god damn dither just sort us out at the very least Di Maria, Cabaye, Richards (actually not overly bothered which defender we get in, just need numbers there).
Add Benzema to that and we're laughing

After the little bit dither comes either insulting lowball or feeling that diaby will be fit soon

Please be true

Don't they also say that he wants to stay?

Has Marca ever got a transfer story about us right?

Go on, make it happen.

asajoseph wrote:

Marca say we've bid €30m & Real will accept.

It would be funny if Madrid called his bluff and said okay- Cough up!

@ the picture Mirror used ...

... papers just love to picture Wenger as some deranged lunatic.

The bid if made will be serious.

Only concern then is that we may not add real quality to center forward if we spend so much on a winger.

marv3llous wrote:

... papers just love to picture Wenger as some deranged lunatic.

.....If the cap fits......

Want him badly now so won't happen

Not only is he effective he's an exciting player

Podolski - Giroud - Di Maria ................ a front line of left footed players.

... a breath of fresh air from front lines of right-footed players

that photo of Wenger "Fuck! They accepted our bid."

Kike Marin saying there is interest from us & from google translate looks like a fee is being negotiated, if we are in for him lets hope we can wrap this one up quickly.

Inconsistent but has been unlucky due to injuries, I do like the guy though and he is a very hard worker so unlike someone like Theo he will usually track back and help.