Gilvorak

Are they? At the start of last season I also thought they needed 3 more signings (GK, CB & DM) but Wenger has addressed that with Cech, Gabriel & unearthing Coquelin. You could argue they could improve on the last 2 positions but that would be nitpicking considering our own squad could also be improved upon as well. I think they could do with a WC striker but how many of those are available? They've since sacked their medical department and brought in Shad Forsythe. Could be a coincidence but I remember a commentator saying that for the first time in 8/9 years Wenger finally had a fully fit squad to pick from him. Things like that including compromising his philosophy/ideals at away grounds, getting rid of that ridiculous high line, spending multimillions on World Class players like Sanchez, Ozil, Cech rather than young talent from obscure nations & winning trophies in back to back years make me believe he's finally wised up. Don't get me wrong some of the cracks are still there (bottling 2nd place when it was in their grasp, losing to Monaco in embarrassing fashion) but there's no doubt there's been a massive improvement in that club over the last 2 years. That's my major worry. We're the type of club that likes to get business done early so with the Falcao signing & the links to the likes of Dembele/Song I'm already dreading this summer & I'm usually not the type of person to panic or complain about our dealings. I fear we're resting on our laurels like City have done over the years but hopefully the club still have something up their sleeve.

In an ideal world yeah but this is real life unfortunately. This is Arsenal's best squad since the Invincibles. With Cech they're definitely our biggest contenders. United are still in rebuild mode while City have an aging squad.

It's really looking that way isn't it? Our only saving grace is none of the other contenders have really signed quality so far.

Ideally he should be given a chance but c'mon. We all know that's not happening. Have a feeling he'll be loaned out.

Imagine if they actually win the League next season...............

Guarantee you won't regret watching that video. I miss him so bad People claim his peak was under Mourinho in his first spell but personally as an all around player it was under Scolari/Hiddink/Carlo. Absolute joy to watch from 08-10

I like Witsel but I'm not buying those rumours. No credible source has reported we're interested yet. Seems like Song is the one we're after apparently.

Remember Torres didn't even take penalties in that time period. He was absolutely better than Torres & Villa. https://youtu.be/DU0NlQEIOxg Just ridiculous

This is shaping up to be a very disappointing summer for us. Looks like we're making the same mistake City have for years of chasing squad players instead of starting quality because we won the League. Song, Falcao, Witsel...selling Cech to a title rival?

Is this some sort of joke? He was the best striker on the planet for almost 3 years between 07-10.

Imagine taking the "GOAT" post at face value . It's definitely not like people haven't been using that slang tongue in cheek for ages now. Trust me I don't flip flop on opinions unless the player actually improves. I've always maintained my stance even through his "immense" 2nd half of the season in which he amassed an incredible 2 goals & 3 assists in 25 matches.

Coutinho would be a starter but he got injured in training just before the tournament started. They're struggling massively to build attacks and control games without Oscar that much is certain so Coutinho deserves a shot next game, there isn't a better alternative in that squad.

He just isn't a threat out there whatsoever. He doesn't have the dribbling ability & chaos factor of Hazard, he's obviously not going to get you goals seeing as he struggled in that aspect even in nothing Leagues over in Ukraine/Russia & there isn't an ounce of creativity in that body of his. Our fans love him because he works hard, does the basics well & have somehow convinced themselves he gives us balance, but outside his comfort zone he's always going to get exposed. He's a non risk taker which is the worst kind of player imaginable.

Terrific game, tired towards the end but understandable considering the shift he put in. Great battle with Luis & outshined Willian with ease. Comfortably Colombia's best player so far.

Massively overrated player. Wouldn't be surprised if Douglas Costa takes his spot. The balance & workrate excuses won't work at International level.

This guy really compared Drogba's minor injuries to the career threatening injuries both Falcao and Torres suffered lol. Anyway, this thread is beyond awful. I'm out as well.

How about you put up a decent rebuttal instead? Can you really refute anything I said? Do we create as many chances as Arsenal or Man City? Or Barca & Madrid?

Champions can't settle. Costa is a very good player but as he is he's a level or two behind the likes of Suarez, Aguero, Benzema, Ibrahimovic & Lewandowski. If I were Emenalo, Mourinho I'd be looking to sign potential at this point. A young striker with the skillset that matches those players to eventually take Costa's spot in the long term (2-3 seasons).

Why are some people pretending we're Barca/Madrid? Do we really create that many more chances at Chelsea than Man United do? The correct answer would be no. Sure we have Fabregas & Hazard but that doesn't mean we don't regularly go through stretches in games where we struggle to create a meaningful chance. We aren't a great transition team at all (just the 1 goal on the counter last season), we don't attempt or complete those 'killer' passes very often (apart from Cesc none of our players really have that pass in their locker) & of the other contenders only Liverpool cross the ball less than we do which is obviously something Falcao thrives on most. If a club in England is ever going to 'revive' a player like Falcao that thrives on service it'll either be Man City or Arsenal. A player like Benzema is the prototype our system needs.

I'm still in belief that once a striker loses confidence & especially after a major injury there's no return. We saw it with Shevchenko, we saw it with Nando and it'll be the same story all over again with Falcao. Obviously, there will be way less pressure on his shoulders to perform than the former two but it'll matter very little. I wish we'd showed more imagination as we did with Hazard, Oscar, Mata, Azpilicueta a couple of years ago rather than taking a punt on seasoned veterans & hoping for the best. One things for certain if this place becomes anything like it was during the Torres era then it's definitely not going to be any fun to come to. I know I'm not the only one who kept cringing at vile abuse being thrown towards his way. Spouse, children, siblings, no one was off limits to those guys. Every topic no matter how irrelevant automatically became a discussion about Torres. Hopefully the mods do a better job this time around.

I disagree. You watch Neymar for Brazil yesterday and it's obvious Hazard should be doing more.

Wilmots is garbage but there's no excuse for Hazard to play as passively as he does for Belgium. This season he was constantly demanding the ball & he's always involved. In a Belgian kit it's like he's one of many others. A player of his ability should be doing more, take on the fullbacks more rather than always drifting inside, take more shots, play more on the shoulders of defenders, put in more crosses etc Oh and me thinks Belgium players overrate their own ability a tad too much. There's no reason a nothing player like Vertonghen should be constantly waving Hazard off or taking direct free kicks. They've won absolutely nothing yet arrogantly play as if they were Brazil or Spain.

It was the same story the few times he was given a chance by Del Bosque which is why Juanfran took his starting spot very swiftly. He can't build from the back, his crossing is subpar, technically he's nothing special & he doesn't have the stamina to dominate a flank like Ashley Cole did in his prime. He's very good defensively & there's nothing wrong with that but offensively, his limitations are as clear as day & night.

Excellent post mate and couldn't have said it better. "WE WATCH MORE OF OSCAR THAN OTHER FANS SO THEY'RE WRONG I'M RIGHT". Yet these are the same clowns that get emotional over Madrid fans whistling Gareth Bale. I also love constructive criticism rather than the blind and irrational hatred these lot post with. You don't want Oscar to be a starter next season but you at least acknowledge his obvious talent & potential. Some of these guys really believe he wouldn't get into a team like Spurs or Southampton for example.

Stop embarrassing yourself. Azpilicueta is a great defensive fullback but he wouldn't get into any top team because he's a complete liability offensively. There's a reason he can't buy a callup for Spain. Filipe Luis was part of one of the greatest defensive teams in La Liga history before he joined us but yeah he's a completely liability offensively. You constantly slag off Oscar who Jose loves so save us the faux-outrage about us not believing Jose is always right.