You do know Sagna is at Arsenal?

Hmm. How about:

Julio Cesar

Richards - Cahill - Kompany - Vertonghen

Hazard - Mata - Bender - Alvarez

Suarez - Gotze

Seems a much more ominous list, doesn't it?

^Also seems like a pretty expensive list. Based on reported and actual transfer fees, that would probably have cost over £200m.

It's very easy to sit back and name a whole host of expensive, established top-class players that would improve the side - finding ones that are economical and attainable is another matter.

comment by HenrysCat (U3608)
posted 22 minutes ago
You do know Sagna is at Arsenal?
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yes, I realise that, The AOBS didn't call for a new right back so I left him in there, what I posted is what our team would look like if wenger made the signings they called for, is that really too much for your brain to understand?

"...is that really too much for your brain to understand?"

Nice attitude. Not much need for that bit really.

You stated it was a team of the player the "AOBs" cried for, so Sagna isn't a fit - you should have gone for Micah Richards like KPPR, rather than gob off with a load of attitude.

I didn't gob off, it was you, with your sarcastic 'you know sagna is at arsenal' comment, don't tell me about having a nice attitude when your first comment is plain sarcasm trying to be clever, I replied, showed you too be a fool, now your getting defensive....also, 'You stated it was a team of the player the "AOBs" cried for' .........<<< what does that mean??

DaStuDogg - signing them altogether would be ridiculous, I'm not suggesting that.

But any of those signings would have been a catalyst for improvement at the time. If we'd have pushed the boat out to sign Mata, which was very close, we would have improved our creative side, there would have been less pressure on van Persie to carry the team, and he might not have become disenchanted. Likewise if we'd signed Gotze.

It doesn't *mean* anything, it's pretty much a quote of your article:

" here is the arsenal team we should have, if wenger made all the signings the AOB cried for "

My first comment was lighthearted sarcasm owing to your team not matching your own stipulation of its makeup. And did not warrant you, basically, calling me stupid. Jeez.

comment by HenrysCat (U3608)
posted 45 seconds ago
It doesn't *mean* anything, it's pretty much a quote of your article:

" here is the arsenal team we should have, if wenger made all the signings the AOB cried for "

My first comment was lighthearted sarcasm owing to your team not matching your own stipulation of its makeup. And did not warrant you, basically, calling me stupid. Jeez.
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what is the smiley face for, pretty much a quote? its either a quote or not a quote? by the way, you didn't quote me......

The smiley face is me laughing at the idea that there was some strange meaning to what I'd written. Now that I read it back I wonder if your question was to do with me writing "player" rather than "players", you seem the sort.

Well, this has been fun.

comment by HenrysCat (U3608)
posted 1 minute ago
The smiley face is me laughing at the idea that there was some strange meaning to what I'd written. Now that I read it back I wonder if your question was to do with me writing "player" rather than "players", you seem the sort.

Well, this has been fun.
----------------------------------------------------------------------

yet again, you make no sense at all. thanks for that, yeh it was fun henry, I guess, no hard feelings.

Samba, great one OP

fook a WOB

Wenger missed out on Ibrahimovic in 2000 after offending him by offering him a trial - instead of giving him the contract his talent deserved. Of course he had no problem giving lucrative contracts to Jeremie Aliadiere & Denilson.

In 2001, he failed to sign Ronaldinho citing work permit issues. Of course, PSG had no such problems and got a future superstar for their efforts.

Two years later, Arsenal refused to match the £12.24m offer tabled by MUFC for Cristiano Ronaldo, despite tracking the player for months and agreeing personal terms. But don't worry, that money came into use when he spent over £13m on Jose Antonio Reyes 6 months later.

Wenger's hesitancy to close high profile deals has cost him time and time again. The latest failure being the botched attempt to sign Julian Draxler - which has cost Arsenal their chance at the PL title.

Ronaldinho and Ibrahimovic were never good enough for Arsenal

What a sorry load of shít this article is.

I enjoy your candour, Serial.

comment by HenrysCat (U3608)
posted 8 seconds ago
I enjoy your candour, Serial.
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Come on HC, you have to admit this article is a load of trípe. Not only did the plank OP include a current player, for some bizzare reason, but he is once again starting this WOB (or as he calls it, AOB) versus AKB argument.

Boring, pointless garbage.

Wenger has been guilty of some real gaffes in the market, although he's not helped by the toadying of his scouting team.

We're talking about a club which will happily shell out £11m for Gervinho - a player with conspicuous mental frailty and questionable technique; but we won't pay £6m more to finally land a player like Mata, who is twice as talented.

comment by Serial WUManiser - The Chosen One (U1410)
posted 7 minutes ago
comment by HenrysCat (U3608)
posted 8 seconds ago
I enjoy your candour, Serial.
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Come on HC, you have to admit this article is a load of trípe. Not only did the plank OP include a current player, for some bizzare reason, but he is once again starting this WOB (or as he calls it, AOB) versus AKB argument.

Boring, pointless garbage.
---------------------------------------------------------------------

what bizarre reason? its a team we would have with players fans against wenger would want in the team, I didn't say it was a team with none of our current players did I?...

Serial WUManiser spoiling this article with his grievances

Fair enough, KPPR, but even just looking at one or two signings, I think the mentality can still be a little simplistic.

Regarding the potential/yet failed signings you mention in that XI:
Cesar - Honestly, I don't think he'd improve us much. Fabianski was excellent when he came in last season, and Szczesny has been even better since he returned from injury. I don't really see that the goalkeeping position is an area that needs to be strengthened.

Richards - The rumours regarding us signing him have really built up over the last 2-3 years, which also coincides with him having huge fitness issues and being usurped by Zabaleta. Again, I really don't think he's an improvement on what we have (Sagna).

Vertonghen - By the player's own admission, we tried to sign him, but it was with a view to playing him more as a defensive midfielder. Given our defensive record over the last year or two, I don't think it could really be said that he would have been an improvement on Mertesacker or Koscielny (and I doubt he'd have wanted to be a back-up).

Cahill - Similar to the above. We tried to sign him, with a £7m offer laughed off (despite only have a year left on his deal). For a fee similar to the amount that drew derision from Gartside, we signed Mertesacker, so again, I don't think there can be too many complaints.

Kompany - Funnily enough, one of my first articles on the old 606 was me demanding Wenger sign him. He would definitely have improved us, but in retrospect, I think every team in Europe is kicking themselves for not picking him up at the price he was going for.

Bender - We tried to sign him in the Summer, but they turned down our circa £20m offer according to the BBC. Leverkusen have also stated that he is 'not for sale at any price'.

Alvarez - We wanted him, but Inter Milan came in with a much bigger offer. Given how much criticism he has received at Inter, I don't think Wenger can receive too much flack for this one.

Hazard and Gotze - Both of these players have been tracked by Wenger for years according to most reports, but these are two of the hottest properties in football. Both ended up going to two of the wealthiest clubs in the world for fees of over £30m (not to mention huge wages, and reportedly big agent and signing on-fees). Obviously, these two would have improved us, but given the austerity measures the club has been working under, and the amount of competition to sign them, I just don't see how Wenger could have been expected to pull this off.

Mata - Very famously, we tried to sign Mata, but negotiations - dealt with by Gazidis - were protracted, and Chelsea came in with a much higher offer.

Suarez - No doubt he would have improved us, but again, we tried to sign him, only to be told that £55m - a British transfer record in a league with multiple billionaire owners and one of the most valuable sports clubs in the world, Man Utd - was the asking price.

"Wenger missed out on Ibrahimovic in 2000 after offending him by offering him a trial - instead of giving him the contract his talent deserved. Of course he had no problem giving lucrative contracts to Jeremie Aliadiere & Denilson. "

Anybody in the world had the option of signing Ibrahimovic at that time - why does only Wenger get harangued. Aliadiere and Denilson were both signed as youths for very small fees, and you have absolutely no idea as to whether they had trials beforehand.

"In 2001, he failed to sign Ronaldinho citing work permit issues. Of course, PSG had no such problems and got a future superstar for their efforts."

PSG aren't based in England - they face completely different work permit rulings.

"Two years later, Arsenal refused to match the £12.24m offer tabled by MUFC for Cristiano Ronaldo, despite tracking the player for months and agreeing personal terms. But don't worry, that money came into use when he spent over £13m on Jose Antonio Reyes 6 months later."

In 'Making of a Modern Super Club', Dein explains that there wasn't the money to push through deals for the likes of Reyes or Ronaldo because they hadn't secured proper financing for the stadium. When that money came through later, they were able to sign Reyes - at which point, Ronaldo had already gone to United.

Either way, this cherry-picking of examples is absolutely ridiculous. By the same logic, you could harangue Ferguson for not signing Messi, Ronaldinho, Ibrahimovic, Drogba, Nesta etc when they were kids, whilst pointing to the transfers of Eric Djemba-Djemba, Kleberson, and Bellion to try and suggest he has no clue what he's doing in the transfer market.

DaStuDogg

Thankyou

Ferguson was pretty clueless in the transfer market, to be fair.

If you look at his best players throughout the years, it was hardly diamond in the rough esque signings.