lol how is Koscielny in the not rated category? Put the bottle down 
Up the Arse! Goons Thread
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Koscielny's back/ankle problems are a concern but he remains amongst the best center halves in the PL. I rate his leadership too, seemed to have a very good influence when playing alongside Holding.
Chambers came over as a decent RB yes, but since then he has been monstered so many times. Has looked slow and devoid of confidence out there. I agree Wenger is culpable in this.
His decision to go into that season with just two senior CBs (Koscielny and Mertesacker) was moronic. Completely threw Chambers to the wolves and overplayed him before he really had time to settle into the club.
He hasn't been the same since, and no doubt Wenger's incompetence has played a part in this. How much of a part, well we can't say for sure.
Elneny is very good even though he's used sparingly. Xhaka is hard to write off so soon, he should be much better in his second season. I guess we'll have a better handle on this after his first month or two of the new season.
NTRabbit
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Franco's Mob offering €180m for Mbappe, and the Qatari Toys activating Neymar's release clause for €220m, this is the money it takes to get a 'world class striker' now.
Agree re: Giroud, but I think his skillset off the bench has proved itself quite handy against certain opposition. I think Xhaka has been mismanaged too though - about 6 different midfield partners in a side that was set up horrendously & conceded 3+ for a long string of away games. Kos is a star injury permitting but we need a star CB to play next to him.
Do you ever, do you ever pay attention to what you are reading or do you just skim through things and then go out of your way to insult people even though you haven't read everything in it's entirety?lol how is Koscielny in the not rated category? Put the bottle down
You are just basically rude.
No question that Koscielny is amongst the best Center Halves in the EPL. I just have an awful feeling that his injuries may catch up with him this season and given that Wenger continues to be the coach, I'd really like to see another top quality center half at the club. I didn't put Mustafi in the "get rid of" basket because I was a bit more lenient with him than Xhaka even though I have some real concerns about him as a good center half as well but maybe, just maybe, he'll have relaxed a bit and we'll see a more composed and dominating Mustafi in his second season. Same goes for Xhaka too I suppose.
You make some excellent points I reckon about Giroud and yes, he must have some talent to be able to have such a good record of scoring Internationally but as you have said, we play a style and formation that doesn't suit him.
I found it beyond a joke that he was dropped whilst he was in great form and he was finding it harder to miss than score and upon his return, he came back the same Giroud that really gives me the shits, that is, saunters around not looking interested, not going hard at the ball, being on his heels, getting brushed aside by players half his size and carrying on like he's been shot by an elephant gun when he goes down with even the slightest of knocks. To much of that s**t for my liking and patience does wear thin. I would much rather have a fit and firing Welbeck than Giroud but he is another one who has been managed terribly by an incompetent rehab and conditioning department.
The Foxes had a phenomenal run with injuries, that is, lack of and Ranieri had the same settled side week in and week out and had them playing like they were invincible. That's what I reckon actually lead to his demise ironically. When they won the League and had to play in Europe, Ranieri had to buy and play new players in order to manage the team because of the greatly increased work load but the "regulars" just didn't want to be dropped/"managed" and started behaving like kiddies who had their toys taken away.
I think it's unfair to underestimate just how good Leicester were the year they won the title. There was absolutely no fluke involved whatsoever. The EPL is 38 cup final games per season basically and scrubbers don't win the title.
With Benno putting me right, I am nowhere near as confident about winning the league now but what do we make of the two Manchesters, Chelsea Tottenham & Liverpool playing in the Champions League? Are they going to make a concerted effort to win the European tournament or will they put more emphasis on winning the EPL because to my mind, it is very unlikely an EPL side can win both? I think it's nearly impossible.
Tottenham's coach seems to have paid attention when the hierarchy over there told him he must put his focus on the domestic front and what of Liverpool if they make it through the play off rounds and get into the group stage?
I really do hope that we focus on the League instead of the Europa thingy because I think if we can have a season with minimal injuries with Burgo doing the business, we are in with a good shot.
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Whatever way you want to look at it they won it with 81 points ( I'm not saying they didn't deserve it by the way) which is about as low of a tally as your going to win it with, so I maintain 2 years ago was our golden chance to win it. Shame Wenger left us with Flamini as one of our 4 CM options so when Santi went down he ended up playing every week.
I forgot you're a patron saint. My apologies.
No arguments with that but as you said, that's Wenger!
Xhaka was also a victim of really having a defined a role by Wenger, he seemed to be making things up as he went along. There were reports coming out (not from the English press by from other European outlets) that Xhaka would say he barely received any instructions, and his midfield partners would continually change. Didn't allow him to settle into a rhythm until later in the season.
We've got plenty of question marks going into the new season but for me, Xhaka isn't one of them. He'll come good, am confident of this.
I respect greatly your opinion Glen and I hope that Xhaka has a fine season.
The reports that Xhaka barely received any instructions are born out by just looking at how we play and especially, how "lost" all the new chums look when they come into the team. It's that laissez-faire s**t I referred to in one of my other posts. Somehow, Wenger reckons that you just get players, regardless of what role/positions they are best at playing and just send 'em out there and "she'll be right".
Okay, you bully!
elhadjihenry
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Agreed, Xhaka isn't the problem in midfield it's his partner where we are lacking, when the Xhaka-Ramsey pivot was locked in later on he was excellent. Still hoping we sign that Kante-style player to partner him and that pairing would flourish. Rumours around Jean-Michael Seri seem to be re-emerging which could be a good start, although he isn't as defensively minded as Kante I think he would suit us well.
Please cash in on Sanchez, he's taking the piss, get him out.
What's he done now?
I'm not on twitter so I don't really get it - what happened? He's saying he's not well or something?
Edit: okay just looked it up, he posted that he's sick. Is it that bad? Or I must be missing something?
He is also threatening to not turn up at Arsenal but his manager is saying he needs to.
Sulking. It's obvious he wants to go, time to cash in.
That's s**t, if true. If.
But who knows what to believe, there were some outlets trying to turn the fans against him a few weeks back with ridiculous reports of his wage demands (£400k+ a week) which are pretty far fetched. It's hard to know where it's originating from.
NTRabbit
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iirc the 400k a week came from when Bayern gave up chasing him because his wage demands were too high, though I don't think they ever specified what those demands were
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