Wilshere is petulant and arrogant and gets himself into the press for the wrong reasons too often. I don't think Ramsey is just 'slightly' a better choice.

Wilshere is not petulant and they're all arrogant. It's how they cope with the attention and pressure.

I'll elaborate a bit on the captain thing. I want the captain to be on the same page as the manager and for that to happen he needs to understand where the manager is coming from, not just nod like an imbecile at everything the manager says. Of the younger players that could wear the armband for years, I think Chamberlain is the one with the intelligence, personality traits (confident, grounded, outspoken) and footballing ability to make a good captain.

I accept i could be wrong about them. I don't know them personally.

Rex wrote:

How is having a portrait of your mother tattooed on your back not stupid? I think that is the creepiest tattoo I have ever heard of! The hands of his son on his calf look ridiculous as well IMO.

Well they are obviously personal in nature and located in a private place not usually seen.
Hate seeng players arms and necks covered in tatts, they are no longer a statement of rebellion but one of conform to fashion and they look shit.

I agree with you my fellow old fogey.
1989

2011

Rodman is obviously not right in the head though.

Too true.
"not right in the head" is an understatement in regards to him.

I don't think people making up elaborate formations or dissecting commercial deals on forums have much of a clue.

Yep, and tactics. It's fun to feel smart and knowledgeable about football every once in a while though.

ebouefan wrote:

I don't think people making up elaborate formations or dissecting commercial deals on forums have much of a clue.

Who's going to tell Capi and Klaus?

Rex wrote:

Yeah, I am opposed to that actually. I can well see a scenario where Mertesacker will be one of the players in the first XI we want to upgrade in a year or two, and for that reason I think giving him the armband now is unwise; we may end up with a situation just like the one we are currently in with Vermaelen, and that is far from ideal IMO.

The perfect solution for me would be to keep Vermaelen another year and continue with the current situation, and then give the armband to Ramsey. We really should aim to get a long term solution to this, and Ramsey looks the best candidate to me. He is not very vocal, but he leads through example. We still will need vocal leaders like Arteta and Mertesacker though.

If we are to push forward into a more dynamic system, then he needs to be culled. For all his strengths, there's no denying that he forces us to play a deeper line. We are unable to squeeze up the pitch and press effectively with a CB who wants to drop back. His limitations in regards to tactics were unfortunately exposed at the World Cup for Germany. If we are to continue playing on the break, though, then this isn't so much of an issue.

However, if we intend to press teams effectively, then we need defenders who are comfortable in high positions. What we cannot do is have forwards looking to press, and defenders who want to drop off. This creates far too much space in the middle of the park, and you could argue Arteta was left hanging because of this. Meaning he had too much space to cover between the attack and midfield.

ebouefan wrote:

I don't think people making up elaborate formations or dissecting commercial deals on forums have much of a clue.

I don't think that many actual football coaches have much of a clue.

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You forgot the infamous 'false 9'.

Biggus wrote:

they are no longer a statement of rebellion but one of conform to fashion and they look shit.

Thats the really sad thing about tattoos.

5 days later

Ramsey's facial hair and his golfing habits make him a bit of a wanker tbh.

Diaby will be like a new signing this season.

ludovic van zis wrote:

Almunia was a very good keeper for like 2-3 years.

I've been an Arsenal fan for over 40 years, and without doubt Almunia has been the worst goalkeeper that has played for us in that time and that includes Richard Wright.
I detected the first onset of dementia in Wenger when he replaced Lehmann with him.