Stats

Hazard definitely has goals in him, he just needs to be more selfish sometimes. He got 18 goals for us last season and even minus the penalties his record would still reach into double figures. Hazard was our top scorer iirc and even in the previous seasons he has proved that he is capable of getting into double figures. Hazard would have had more last season had we had a striker like Costa whose link up play was good. We did not have that really apart from Eto'o. His goal against Newcastle a perfect example. Now we have Costa, I think that will help Hazard, plus the addition of Luis there will be more of Hazard.

Agreed. John Terry at his age is still a quality CB but he will not be able to play every game imo and will need the odd rest. While Ivanovic is a solid CB and that is probably his best position, has he played there often enough for us to prove he can be excellent cover if Terry suffered a long term injury? I am not sure. Zouma is a hot prospect but he still is a kid and while I think he will be a success I am not sure if he can be trusted to be thrown into the deep end if he were needed in PL games. I am impressed with what I have seen of Omeruo but again there is a big difference in playing for a team who aims to win the PL every season whilst also competing for the UCL. Big difference. Mourinho has shown he means business for next season and I would be very happy to see Terry, Cahill, Benatia and Ivanovic as our main CB next season. At this case I would be hopeful that Zouma can get a PL loan and avoid a similar situation to Kalas. Man City's poor defence excluding Kompany so nearly cost them last season and while Demichellis improved towards the end it was clearly a position they needed to address thus why they are spending a lot on Mangala. They now have on paper, 3 solid CB in Kompany, Mangala and Demichellis and a good young CB in Nastasic who has played enough PL games to show he is a decent option. If we have serious ambitions to win the league I would rather have quality CB and let the young ones develop at other clubs. Furthermore this sort of signing would make sure Terry and Cahill are not guaranteed a start every week as there is a CB who is rated as world class by some waiting to play and is good enough to start and thus hopefully will keep them at the top of their game but like you I am all for this signing. Makes sense.

While he is a brilliant option of the bench he has more than proved his worth when starting matches. Hatrick against Fulham for a start, 2 excellent goals against Stoke and a very good finish against PSG. He is a big game player. I don't think it is picked up on a lot but his finishing with his 'weaker' foot is excellent. Just look at his goal for Germany against Brazil for a start which is up there for goal of the tournament. His assist for the winning goal for Germany in the final was with his weaker foot. When we lost to Stoke 3-2 last season both goals were from Schurrle on his left foot and they were fantastic finishes. The 3-1 victory at Craven Cottage when he scored a hattrick, at least 2 of his goals were well executed finishes with his left foot, Very valuable player and when you have a player who is able to score goals from the offset or as a sub and is adapt on either foot I would definitely count him as an important first team player, especially if you also consider some of the key/big games his goals have came in.

By sending him on loan to other clubs? Basically we just bought him and dumped him on loan to other clubs. We hardly had a say in developing him.

I wonder how some of the top strikers of today were rated at 21 years of age. Guarantee you some of them had their faults but with age they improved. You are judging him as if he is the finished article. He still has got over a decade at playing at the top level. Give the lad a chance. Drogba probably was criticised heavily at a similar age and we know how good he turned out to be...

But even if he requested a transfer/loan away from the club he proved what he was capable of and justified why he should be part of our team for this season. I know Mourinho likes people who work hard but Mourinho could have been more stubborn himself and given Lukaku justification as to why he wants him around. Not just loan him out because one requested it and I would say last season was last season we should move on. Mourinho should maybe just see that Lukaku panicked a little as it was WC year but now we have seen what he can do for 2 seasons running, Mourinho should really just leave what was in the past in the past and keep him around. That is what I will appreciate rather than selling a player for non-football reasons.

Still don't agree with him being sold at all. I know he is in the wrong for speaking out and it gets on Mourinho's and fans nerves but if he does the business on the football pitch I really don't give two shits and the honest truth. Him speaking all the time is just probably a sign of immaturity or someone who is eager to play. If he is here alongside Costa I would be extremely happy. If he actually spends a season at us I am sure he will be disciplined and you will see an improved striker and more goals from our strikers. Also I don't agree with this justifying process that Courtois has the right to speak out and Lukaku does because of what he has achieved compared to Lukaku. In the end of the day they are both 2 players who have done very well in the last 2 seasons and while Courtois has done more in terms of achievement, Lukaku has scored more goals than all our strikers for 2 seasons running and almost all our strikers put together and yes he is not ready to be no.1 here but he is a fantastic option as back up and we should see sense and keep him here. Didn't Ronaldo and Mourinho have a fall out? That did not stop Ronaldo from scoring goals. My point being is you can have the slightest of rifts and get on one another nerves but if a player performs I don't care about no petty comments or rifts because I am sure he can do the business next season coming off the bench or when he is given starts. Mourinho made comments about Eto'o which yes was recorded secretly but at the same time was a bit silly and oblivious of Mourinho and this obviously got Eto'o annoyed but like any professional he got in with his job and scored goals and contributed well for the team. Same situation I will use for Lukaku. Ignore his petty comments. He will be disciplined next season then hopefully we will judge him on his contribution to the team rather than off the pitch comments. Would just hate to see an investment like him get moved on when the reality is he has never been given a proper chance.

This. I get that Zouma is a top prospect but people need to be realistic about including him in our lineup. His first game will probably be a carling cup game or so. If one of Terry or Cahill get injured, God forbid I would expect Jose to play Ivanovic at CB because he is more experienced and don't think Jose wants to take risks at this stage. Furthermore leaving Cahill out our line up is a huge disrespect to him. He was in the PFA team of the season last year for a reason and was excellent throughout last season. He is one of the first name on the team sheets.

Or Charly Musonda:

Like someone said before his final kick against Bayern should remain his final kick with Chelsea. He left in a brilliant way and Didier is a legend but we have to move on. We shouldnt be bringing him back at 36 years of age. Not supportive of this idea at all and hope there is no truth to it. I would rather us discipline Lukaku and keep him along than get Drogba back.

Cahill??? Yes, agree bout Ramires. Unlike some think he will prove to be a valuable player.

Rotation will be a big thing for Arsenal next season. They are strong in depth. I would say Sanchez, Ozil and Walcott behind Giroud. Sometimes Sanchez will even play upfront with Giroud imo. Walcott when fully fit is a guaranteed starter. But I agree that Sanchez and Walcott will benefit with Ozil in the squad and vice-versa. There may be a sale or 2 but look at their squad depth. Imagine if they do have Sanchez, Ozil and Walcott and Giroud. There is still Cazorla, Podolski, Chamberlain, Rosicky and a few talented youngsters. They definitely will be more of a threat imo.

Fabregas- Matic Schurrle- Hazard- Willian Costa Yes please. That will pose danger to any team and will guarantee goals for sure. I hope to see this lineup a lot next season.

Well he scored but let's be honest he was a headless chicken himself. As a no.10 you need a lot more. This is not the only game. He needs to do more than keep running around. If people slate Fred tonight then as much criticism goes to Oscar. No creativity from the midfield. The no.10 who was meant to be Oscar created nothing and seemed shy to even receive the ball until the last minutes of the game. For club and country he needs to do more because right now and like I have said before his game is limited on the offensive side of things.

That is the exact reason I want him around next season. Costa hopefully will do the business against these teams who come with the plan of containing us and even if it annoys him I want Lukaku around. We saw how devastating he looked when he came on against USA and I reckon he can be used to effect the exact same way next season to kill of games. It would benefit us and him imo.

I am not sure but the stats show that Lukaku done better than our strikers for the past 2 seasons. That is what I call underrated and I am not saying he is good enough to be no.1 but definitely can do role as back up/rotation as imo he is better than all the strikers we have and had on board last season. Also Ba and Lukaku are different strikers. Lukaku is much better. Ba suited Newcastle but at a team like Chelsea is style his limited. Lukaku has everything he has in one but Ba doesnt have what Lukaku does have. Just for the record I do agree with you about Eto'o but the goals from our strikers were not enough and had we had consistent goalscorers maybe we might have the PL title in our trophy cabinet.

He done well but there were games where he struggled as well. But yes he was our best striker last season but that is not to say Lukaku would have not scored more than all of our strikers. It can't be proven but I reckon he would have. I am not slating Eto'o as I appreciated what he contributed but in general our strikers could have contributed a lot more last season, especially when Hazard was at the top of the charts for most created chances with Nasri and in return that is why all their strikers got into double figures.

But he still outshone our strikers. End of story....

Someone should ask Mourinho if he is ashamed that our strikers were all outperformed by Lukaku then.... Look I know it is frustrating to see him opening his mouth but when I see comments like that it irritates me as it is hypocritical. If you wanted to use that against him you can basically say the same thing about him proving our managers wrong as he has outperformed our strikers for 2 seasons running. Like I said I am not going to say I disagree with people who are annoyed about him keep talking but I will stick up for him if people say he should feel ashamed etc for being outperformed in the WC.

Fernandinho is very good at what he does but in no way if Yaya Toure was sold would they let Fernandinho take over his role. They probably would go all out to get Pogba. Fernandinho is nothing like Toure going forward so he would not be able to take that role. Anyway don't think City will sell Toure at whatever cost anyway. However in games where City don't want to play with 2 strikers they sometimes will have Fernando and Fernandinho as a partnership with Toure further advanced in the no.10 role.

People in future should give Lukaku a chance based on how he performs for the club rather than how poor he was for 2 WC games. But yeah some fans are bloody fickle nowadays. Hazard had a bad world cup but I guarantee that Hazard will still tear apart the PL next season and should we give Lukaku a role here he will prove his point.

If anything it is more surprsing that Koscielny is not favoured over Sakho considering the season he has had. Mangala is like 4th choice CB but in Sakho's defence he has looked very solid for France and I think he will succeed at Liverpool eventually.

http://www1.skysports.com/football/news/11668/9370090/transfer-news-borussia-monchengladbach-claim-thorgan-hazard-deal

This. In fact on the ball he is very good at running at speed with the ball and creating a chance or scoring a goal. You just have to look at clips of his days at Arsenal to know that he is no slouch. I will name a few that strike out the most and there are more. When Arsenal beat Milan 2-0 at the San Siro a few years ago there is a perfect example of him using his ability and acceleration on the ball. He is not blessed with speed but he is very effective when running with the ball. Also when Arsenal battered Tottenham 3-0 I think it was a few years ago, Fabregas must have run past around 4 players from near the half way line and ended up scoring a fantastic goal. His lack of pace is nothing to worry about as you stated. In fact he does not have a lack of pace. He just is not blessed with blistering pace as you said. I think people will be surprised with how effective he is while running at speed.

I agree but Willmots counts Mirallas as a make shift striker. In fact the game against Korea was where Mirallas was played. Many Belgians who I know were surprised that Batshuayi was not in the squad but I guess for Wilmotts having Lukaku and Origi and Mirallas as strikers are fine. Will be interesting to see what he does in the future when all strikers are fit.