comment by Samir (U2630)
posted 1 hour, 38 minutes ago
I meant he'd probably get in ahead of Pepe or Laca, neither of who are better than Theo.
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Pepe is clearly better.

Laca is a better footballer, Theo probably has better end product.

Diaby, song, fab and even dennilson are better than Xhaka, Guendouzi, Torreira and Ozil

Cesc

Cesc is a chelsea player now

Won 1 cup with us and fack all for us

And that's why I'm sad

When I was a teenager, he was definitely the most influential and my favourite player in the Arsenal team.

It’s well documented (and he said it himself) that he wanted to come back after his stint at Barcelona but we didn’t want him.

Although I highly doubt he would have won the Premier League with us so I don’t blame him for joining Chelsea in the end.

Definitely one of the best ever midfielders I’ve seen for us.

comment by Tu Meke - He'sGotRedHair! (U3732)
posted 4 minutes ago
And that's why I'm sad
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Yeah me too

It’s Wenger’s fault we lost Cesc and it’s Wenger’s fault we never brought him back. Awful man

cool

comment by Tu Meke - He'sGotRedHair! (U3732)
posted 46 minutes ago
Cesc
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This guy broke my heart. I admit that.

Cesc was stupid too though. Definitely should've waited a couple of years before leaving. Not even hindsight talking

Had his head turned at the 2010 world cup then a really disappointing end to a promising season probably did it for him

comment by CrouchEndGooner (U13531)
posted 6 minutes ago
Had his head turned at the 2010 world cup then a really disappointing end to a promising season probably did it for him
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Yup. His national team mates put a Barca shirt on him. That was the minute he decided to go.

Barca just used and abused him, their leaving speech about him was abysmal

comment by Tu Meke - He'sGotRedHair! (U3732)
posted 24 minutes ago
Cesc was stupid too though. Definitely should've waited a couple of years before leaving. Not even hindsight talking
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Money makes the world goes around.

I don't think it was just money, Cesc was a competitor who wanted to win trophies. He'd been close on several occasions with us, but we never seemed to get over the final hurdle. He was also clearly several levels above a lot of the players we had at the time. When you then see your national team mates, primarily made up of your boyhood club, sweeping up silverware, and you know they are begging for you to join them, I can understand why he wouldn't be motivated to play for us anymore.

For what it's worth, I resent the way he ended his Arsenal career and thought it was quite disrespectful. But, based on how things have gone since, I don't think anyone can say he was wrong in choosing Chelsea, even if he wasn't the same level of performer as he was with us.

What could've been if Cesc didn't leave.

Szczesny
Sagna Mert Kos Gibbs
Song Ramsey
Walcott Cesc Nasri
RvP

That xi easily makes top 4 that year, decent title challenge too

At club level for Arsenal, this is Cesc's time-line:

2005 - wins FA Cup and Charity Shield
2006 - loses CL final
2007 - loses League Cup final to Chelsea
2008 - Close to winning the league, fell short at the death
2009 - CL semi-finals, United battered us
2010 - competing for the league, but finished 3rd
2011 - strong position in all comps by February, lose LC final, then end up winning 3 of our last 16 games (in all comps) to then eventually scrape 4th. Massive waste.

He was one of the best midfielders in the world at the time and he was 24, he didn't feel like he was kicking on at Arsenal. So I get why he wanted to go.

comment by Tu Meke - He'sGotRedHair! (U3732)
posted 2 minutes ago
What could've been if Cesc didn't leave.

Szczesny
Sagna Mert Kos Gibbs
Song Ramsey
Walcott Cesc Nasri
RvP

That xi easily makes top 4 that year, decent title challenge too
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He won 2 Premier Leagues, an FA Cup, League Cup and got a Europa League medal during his time at Chelsea.

Let's be honest. We probably wouldn't have won as much as that had he come back to us. Not with Wenger as manager.

We probably would have competed better, but I don't think we'd have won the league.

Even with peak Cesc and RvP in the same team we would have bottled the league

I’d take Cesc back now btw. Nobody can argue that any of our midfielders are better than him and at least we’d have a winner who is passionate about the club. No brainer for me

Yeah so would I It's kind of mad that at 33, when he's thinking about winding down his career, he would still walk into our XI.

Guess you could say the same for 35-year old Cazorla too, mind.

I did say title "challenge"

comment by Tu Meke - He'sGotRedHair! (U3732)
posted 3 seconds ago
I did say title "challenge"
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Yeh I know, but for a player like Cesc, challenging is never enough.

Players like Nasri, Clichy etc always get castigated for not fulfilling their potential and making money moves. Whilst that is no doubt true, they have still won more than they probably would have done at Arsenal.

I do wonder what they care about more - not maximising their potential as players or winning silverware?

comment by Sayid Jarrah (U18355)
posted 24 minutes ago
I’d take Cesc back now btw. Nobody can argue that any of our midfielders are better than him and at least we’d have a winner who is passionate about the club. No brainer for me
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No. Thank you. His time is up.