players like him are dime a dozen. hundreds of them all over spain, portugal, brazil, argentina, holland, etc.

Just has a terrible attitude and very few top drawer qualities.

As a deep midfielder he was like one of those tennis practice machines - passive, stationary and utterly predictable just popping the same ball again and again.

Except he wasn't like that at first. He was developing into a class midfielder until the stress fracture in his lower back fall of 2009. Loss of form and confidence, Wilshere took his place season after, and that was that.

In his first three seasons at Arsenal I thought he was the new Roy Keane.

I don't think we'd really seen enough of him to say by 2009 that he was turning into a top class player. He reached an average level early, but he was never more than a utility. There was never a time he showed the kind of promise that Ramsey or Wilshere are showing right now.

There was a cargo cult about him having talents he didn't really have that were supposed to develop, some of which was based solely around his nationality.

For instance, he scored a lucky goal from distance and there was all this talk about how he had a superpower of "snapping his ankles" because he was Brazilian. Never repeated though was it?

As for the Roy Keane comparison, I find it odd - because Keane's most notable attribute was his desire and ability to lead, his aggression and the exacting standard he set for his teammates. In other words, he was an angry bully who also played extremely well. That's the opposite of the Denilson I remember, who was always one of the holes in a string of Swiss cheese lineups.

Wonder if we could get Ibisevic in January. Not a great striker by any means but he's a very good finisher and has the physique required.

Uchida/Piszchek
Reus/Draxler/Rooney
Jagielka
Khedira

Volante wrote:

In his first three seasons at Arsenal I thought he was the new Roy Keane.

Diego Costa
Michu
Benteke
Suarez
Benzema

One of those please.

1 - cunt
2 - yup
3 - yup
4 - cunt
5 - lazy cunt

Diego Costa is miles better than Michu and Benteke at the moment.

He hasn't scored anything near this prior to this season. Let us see some more before we start making too many ott comments, shall we?

I've seen enough of him to know he's far better than Michu will ever be. He didn't score much because he had to do all the donkey work for Falcao. Now he's the main man.

He is, but there are flaws to his game IMO. His work rate is often sub par, his hold up play is inconsistent, and so is his link play. He is a fighter though, and he moves well. Good shot, good tekkers and pacey for such a big unit.

Most of all, and why I don't want him at Arsenal, he is a massive twat. He spits, winds opponents up, is reckless and sometimes seems to want to injure opponents.

Diego Costa lacks work rate? Can't agree there, he's an absolute unit that terrorizes CBs for 90 minutes. Ramos and Pepe couldn't deal with him in 2013. Neither could Barca. Sure he'll save himself certain matches, but that's the sensible thing to do.

You're right that he's a cunt though, might be the scummiest player in world football.

Well, most games aren't against Real Madrid and Barcelona. Not even in La Liga.

Irish gunner wrote:

Diego Costa
Michu
Benteke
Suarez
Benzema

One of those please.

I don't get the clamor for Benzema on here. He's lost his way and is regularly booed by the Madrid supporters in home matches these days. He's also Giroud's direct rival for the ST spot with France and above all seems to be cut from the same cloth as Nasri - Bags of natural talent but terrible mentally.

Big dearth of quality strikers about. Maybe get Klose for a year til someone comes to the fore

Benzema seems a confidence player if ever I saw one. It really is a viscous circle for him atm. Madrid fans on his back, and France fans on his back. He needs a new environment, much like Gervais needed one, to get his confidence back.
He is obviously a talented striker, and one of the best around when he is on form. Taking him here would be a massive gamble though. I really don't think it is a good idea to have both Benzema and Giroud at the same club. Could impact both of them negatively.

Jed wrote:
Irish gunner wrote:

Diego Costa
Michu
Benteke
Suarez
Benzema

One of those please.

I don't get the clamor for Benzema on here. He's lost his way and is regularly booed by the Madrid supporters in home matches these days. He's also Giroud's direct rival for the ST spot with France and above all seems to be cut from the same cloth as Nasri - Bags of natural talent but terrible mentally.

I don't particularly want Benzema, but I wouldn't say no. He's a bit fat, lazy, and shit these days, but I feel that Wenger could get him back on the right path. A fit, motivated, and confident Benzema could be awesome.

We need to try hard for Lewandowski in January. He certainly seems Bayern bound, but until that is final we need to at least approach him. Dortmund will sell for decent money I reckon if a club not named Bayern comes in.