LDN Blue

Didn't you get the memo? He's not "good enough" compared to the 29yo who's almost gone 12 months after signing

Bare in mind though, players are still on vacation. When they're due back I'm sure we'll be seeing way more activity on the Sterling front.

Thus, the signing of Filipe Luis lacked logic entirely. Even if he intended to make Azpilicueta his undisputed left-back, at least buy an Atletico right-back ffs

Yea I do understand this factor, which is why for his own sake he should leave Chelsea by the way. But even then, I think his inconsistency and his nature that tends to see him disappear from games is telling. What's more telling is that Mourinho prefers Fabregas as a number 10 in big matches and benches Oscar. It's better for player and club if he was to move on. We can fetch a nice price for the young Brazilian and he wouldn't be short of suitors. I just hope we don't fucking sell him to another rival..

This. So much! "Sterling is overrated" smh. It seems the ones who say he's overrated are those that are guilty of the same. Kid's 20.. Of course he's not a world class Ronaldo-esq mould player yet. His value is inflated because teams are paying for the obvious potential he's shown over the last 2 seasons. If Sterling does reach that potential then he's going to become much better than Turan ever was/will be (and that's no disrespect to Arda). (Also for argument sake, I don't see why we can't have both. Arda can be a utility player for depth, since we're probably gonna part ways with Salah & Cuadrado.)

Damn, I really thought Oscar would step up when Mata was sold.. We just haven't seen the magic he showed in Juve consistently or, and even worse, in any frequency.

This signing lacked logic in its beginning and lacks even more so now. Shame, Luis is actually a talented full-back and should really be playing with Cesar at RB. I guess this means Ivanovic will continue as our #1 RB.

I had to pinch myself when I read that, people don't seriously believe this do they?

I hope Begovic will be allowed to play the domestic cup games, he really is a talented goalkeeper and shouldn't waste away.

After going through the Lampard affair, I think a lot more people than otherwise will also feel the same as you. End of the day Cech doesn't want to play for Arsenal because they're Arsenal.. It's simply because they're the only other club in London with the ambition & level he expects as a professional and legend.

To be honest, I see Cech being as humble towards us at Arsenal as he was here. He'll never has the same connection with Arsenal fans that he will with us, they'll know that he's one of us and no matter if he wins the FA Cup with Arsenal, he'll never replicate the vast amount of success he's had here. That will always be a bitter reminder for Arsenal fans. Full of players who've won European and domestic success with their former clubs but not with the current Arsenal. Big Pete, it's been a pleasure and an honour to watch you play week after week! Let's hope the relationship between Mourinho & Abramovich won't deteriorate as a result of this.

Yeah, I do agree about the issue at right-wing and there are players that can be recruited as winger specialists. But AOC wouldn't stop that happening, because of his versatility he can play with anyone and anywhere.. He gives an extra dimension to any team. I'm a massive fan of him, ever since his Southampton days, because I really do think his natural talent can make him a great player. After all, he is only 21.

Absolutely. What's shocking is one of the excuses was that Sterling & co weren't playing. But hell look at that Italy team, they didn't have a single 'senior' player who was part of Italy's XI in their u21s and still made easy work of England. They have to stop, imo, paying these kids so much!! There are 16-19 year olds making more money, in a week, than most people will ever make in a year! How exactly is that meant to keep them motivated? You see Sterling rejecting a £100,000/year contract and think how can anyone offer so much money to a kid?

It's incredible really how broken English football is. Horrible if you're a young player trying to make it here, there's simply no environment for these kids to make the steps up from u19 to u21 to seniors. Anyway, the usual rhetoric and excuses will come out and nothing will progress. We're lucky the PL can still attract foreign stars, albeit at a declining rate.

Come on England ffs!

Ah I see. How old is Witsel now, you think he can back a come back at Milan?

That's why I doubted people when they said he's the best in his position in the world.. Particularly when he's applying his trade in Russia. Anyway, interesting to see what happens with MvG now.

It's a nice dream, isn't it? Chalobah, RLC, Izzy & Solanke..

Of course they are, it's Liverpool. Media's darlings -- Out of interest, is this guy good? £29m good?

No, no, you see that's when Terry was the sympathetic one to him!

The Zenit move I get is money, but Milan? Yeah it's not official, but there's a lot of talk that seems to validate it. If that transpires then you've got to ask, where's the giants chasing him?

A lot of people on here rate Witsel highly, but you look at his career.. Zenit and now AC Milan? He can't be as good as what people believe on here then.

They go hand in hand surely? The reason Salah and Moses didn't make an impact was because of their style of play, they're traditional wingers who didn't fit the bill. Oxlade won't have that problem because he can literally play anywhere in midfield.. He would definitely be important the older he gets.

You're not serious are you? If you are, I think you need to pay more attention to him, because he's a completely different player to Salah or Moses. AOC is one of the most versatile midfielders in the league right now and with the age he is, he'll only go on to get better. I think this would be a great signing if we pulled it off, but I doubt Arsenal is going to let him come to us so easily.

This is the key point. It's all good having squad players for depth, but we're not shy of that at the moment either. With guys like Ramires, RLC, Cuadrado & Willian in the fold we still have players to play these dead-rubber games and the league cup matches at stages that don't require our first XI. We've been down that path where we signed guys like Benayoun and Meireles, and despite the latter helping to get us to that CL final it's not enough. Signing Sterling keeps us as one of the major forces in England and hopefully Europe. You're also right about the London factor. Let's not forget, Liverpool picked him up from QPR so he's definitely got a sense of home in London.