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You are right that he is somewhat wasted there but tbh that is where he would be used in Arsenal's best team. My relative who is a fervent Arsenal fan says the best team bar Ozil would of look like : Ramsey- Arteta Walcott--- Wilshere----Cazorla Giroud He is definitely best in the AMC role but more often than not he is played on the LW. He started off on in the AMC role but Wenger started to use him on the left and with Ozil coming in you will see much more of Cazorla on the left and Wilshere dropping back to a much deeper role with Ramsey.

Giroud is going to be there no.1 striker regardless right now so makes sense in not spending too much if they can get a striker like Ba on loan. I reckon that would be good business.

You mean Giroud?

He burns out a lot round the 70th plus min but usually does the damage by then.

Well United if anything. They are going desperate in their transfer search whereas Arsenal are closing in on their marquee signing.

While people will state they will not win trophies, they do look stronger. Giroud is improving and scoring. Ramsey is producing quality this season and a threesome of Cazorla, Ozil and Walcott looks menacing. I do actually take Arsenal seriously this season bar that first game of the season. This is why I do not want Ba going there at any cost. He would be decent backup/rotation for Giroud.

Thanks lord someone is on the same wavelength as me!

Check the match reports or go on Real's site. He always played under Mourinho, was just subbed frequently.

It is too much but they have the money and one of the biggest revenues in the world. They are not losing anything. They have debt but will have it covered and looking at Bale statistics it will only make Real stronger. Do get the best, you got to pay over the top sometimes.

Well you did not state that at first. yes the fee is too much but Bale himself said Ronaldo is the main man. Even if Ronaldo does score more goals, no surprise. Real were desperate to get him so they payed loads of money. Plus the fact that Ronaldo has not committed his long term future to Real it is understandable and Bale is 4 years younger than Ronaldo. Way too much money but more positives than negatives IMO definitely.

I hate when people claim a player is overrated just because he does not play for us. If he played for us it would be a totally different thing. Yes the fee is very high but they can afford it and I reckon he will come good there. Why is Bale overrated? He single-handedly carried Tottenham last season and has improved every single season. He scored 26 goals for Spurs last season IIRC. That is fucking brilliant. How the hell is he overrated? You don't get much players who can change a game with a moment of brilliance. He is one of them. Those late goals against West Ham and Sunderland last season that he scored were priceless. Real Madrid now have another player apart from Ronaldo who they can rely on to score goals outside the penalty area. From what I saw he has a better goal ratio from free kicks than Ronaldo has and that is striking considering Ronaldo averages more free kicks than him. He is still young and a player I will personally miss in the PL. Great signing for Real, regardless of fee, they added quality.

HAHA, yes. I got a bit bored of CFC_Lucas so thought I would change it

Looking like Ba will end up at Arsenal on loan. If we are going to get rid of him I think we should sell him not loan him. While it may not worked out for him here, he is stilla good striker and I reckon he would do a good job at Arsenal rotating with Giroud. We should not be strengthening our rivals like this, especially as they are likely to sign Ozil.

I never nominate no one anymore until someone gives me some recognition

Are you serious? If Jose did not rate KDB he would not have started him in 2 of the PL games. Mourinho started him against United and that says it all. He knows his qualities. While he is not been playing Mata as much so far, he is keeping him around for a reason because he knows of his qualities. We have a big squad and competition is massive so everyone has to work for their place. If Mourinho never rated KDB he would of let him go out on loan from weeks ago but he stated he wanted him to stay for a reason. Look at MVG. Mourinho bought him but has not started him yet. It does not mean he does not rate him, just that there are so many good players around the squad. If Mata and KDB stay which I am hopeful they will do, they will get their game time as the season goes on.

Yep, some of their choices are controversial sometimes: http://www1.skysports.com/football/live/match/287307

Funny because SkySports listed Baines as MOTM yesterday

LOL, Mourinho would have asked Lamps to cover more distance than Mikel. Mikel did not do this because he is lazy. He done what he was told to and tbh I thought he done a good job. You look for anything to slate him, really. Even Kojo, who is not his biggest fan knows when to accept when he done his job but you are looking for the slightest of excuse to criticize his performance. He done well, what do you want him to do? Go out of his way to expose our defence and try dribble past 11 Bayern players? Of course not. It was a clear instruction for Mikel to just sit deep and Lampard do more chasing. Wake up and stop your blind hate.

???

Yes, agree we are not a one man team but Mata was such a deciding influence many of the times we played. Bar City, he has been a key influence against United several times. He scored the winner there last season, scored a magnificent goal at our ground in the 3-2 loss which we got cheated out of and was it not him who provided the assist for Ba's wonderful goal against United in the FA Cup replay last season? When we won the CL how key was he to our run? Scored the key away goal in Naples, was the best player on the pitch in the return leg. He also scored home and away against Arsenal when we done the double over them last season. In fact every game he has played against Arsenal when he has started he has scored from what I remember.Also when we beat Spurs 4-2 at WHL last season he scored 2 and assisted the final goal for Sturridge. Yes, sometimes I agree that he has found it difficult in big games but more times than not he has proved a decisive factor and that is not easy to replace. He proved last season that if he was an indispensable player. He saved are team so much for the last 2 seasons.

Lampard always comes up with the goods against Everton so I am sure he will start this one. The amount of goals he has score against Everton home and away over the years is countless. His 2 goals was vital in this fixture last season in that 2-1 win. Will be interesting to see with Torres, Eto'o and Lukaku around now. Eto'o is fully match fit so if Jose feels to start him he will but he probably will bench him first couple or so I am thinking. It may strenghen United, it may not but it looks like Fellaini will be a United play by the time this fixture comes around. Baines could be as well but less likely. Anyway I am confident in our squad depth now and feel we will win this. COYB!

Cazorla plays on the left and Mata would play in the AM position with Walcott on the right I guess. Let's just pray this move does not happen but on deadline day the weirdest and unexpected transfers happen.

He does not have to make up for anything. Sorry but what sort of bullshit is that? "Lukaku is gonna have to start making up for that miss soon or his future is finished" complete rubbish. It is a fucking penalty ffs. You take the penalty and the keeper tries to guess where the player goes. It is not the worse thing in football history. He is 20 and has a big future ahead of him. Mata missed our penalty against Bayern last time we played. Would it be fair to state that he owes it to his teammates because he missed while the rest of them scored? Of course not. The main thing that fans should be doing is getting behind him. Lord have mercy! He missed a penalty so it means we should punish him? Of course it does not. How can you state his future is finished if he does not make up for that miss? Are you actually serious? Like my point about Mata, when we last played Bayern and Schweinsteiger missed that last penalty do you really think any ludicrous supporter would want him punished or to be kicked away from the team? NO. It happens and he will learn and come back stronger. You post is absurd, really!

Arsenal are at 3/1 to get him. Those prices are quite short. Hope he stays but I can only gain security after the window is closed. Although Arsenal have not signed anyone I can really see them making 1 or 2 big signings before the window closes. Do not sell at any cost please!

This. Some comments based on pre-season were stating that he is not going to fit in. Do not have anything against KDB but people judged out pre-season games to prove that KDB is going to be a much better fit than Schurlle because of this. He is a very good player, young and he has the physical and technical attributes to succeed here I am sure. The way judgments on players can switch on these forums sometimes are amazing.