Stats

You read too much into things. He has played more football than nearly the rest of the entire squad, if not. Would you say the same thing about Mata not appearing yesterday?

I don't understand when people cry out that we need a striker when Lukaku can't get into the game. Obviously right now Rooney is a better player/striker than him however when you have the service Lukaku had yesterday it is always going to be hard. There is no proof to say Rooney would have scored. He would of dropped deep, sprayed a few passes, but looking back at yesterday I think any striker would struggle with the services put forward to them. He got himself into a few decent runs but could not get the ball as much as he wanted to. When we played Barca at the Nou Camp two seasons ago and drew 2-2, did Drogba do much attacking wise? No, because service to him was not great and Barca dominated the possession. No Suarez or Rooney, or RVP would of miraculously got us goals yesterday. They are not superman. It stars from the midfield because even Rooney would have struggled yesterday.

But City are still ahead of us IMHO. Yes, they have a new manager but they still have most of the spine of the team together, similar to Real. Also proves when we play City, they are stronger than us and dominate us, reminded me of this game today. city finished second last season and although they have lost Tevez, I think they look slightly stronger for next season. Jovetic, Navas, Negredo and Fernandinho. I think Toure and Fernandinho will form a formidable partnership and they have good options in the attacking field. Plus all three strikers for them are proven goalscorers.

Well we will dominate possession from the offset against Hull. They are far inferior but against other big teams it will be a problem.

Well according to many people here who love him, we have two of the best players in the world on the pitch in KDB and Ronaldo

Does frustrate me that most time we play the big teams we seem to lose out on possession big time. Real Madrid have looked superb so far, must admit. Hopefully second half brings an improvement. MVG started off sluggish but has significantly improved as the game has got on. Want to see more from Hazard and I don't want to hear rubbish about Lukaku being poor. None of our other strikers would of made an actual difference as the service has not been great.

Also, let me question you on stats and your opinion on this. Oscar,a player I really rate and believe he is forever improving did not do too much stats wise but what he contributed overall was very good and was a good performer. if you looked at stats alone he would like he was under performing however stats are not the only thing but in 34 PL matches Oscar and Coutinho like literally have the near same amount of goals and assists although Coutinho has only played 13 PL games. What conclusions do you draw from that then? I don't believe Coutinho is better however my conclusion is don't let stats override the actual ability of a player and what they contribute to the team.

LOL, you clearly know nothing about Wilshere and why he was kept out then. Firstly you can ask Arsenal fans who their three most important players are and the three will be out of Cazorla, Wilshere and Koscielny, maybe Arteta. Wilshere is a quality player and while he may not have the stats, he is a brilliant performer. Seems like you are just being blindsided IMO. Wilshere is not being kept out the team by the aforementioned names because he is playing bad. Wilshere is a key player for Arsenal however when he made his comeback last season Wenger admitted he rushed him back. Wenger had a talk with the medical team and believed it would be best if he sat out some games to save him from burnout. He is only 21 and has loads of potential ahead of him and his going to get better. Please go to any Arsenal fan and ask why Wilshere was kept out the team and they will tell you. If you were to show them what you stated about Wilshere (excluding the comparisons with him and KDB) they would cry with laughter. Like some people here who are giving rave reviews about KDB based on what they have seen, I have watched Wilshere closely and I don't give ratings to people for the sake of it, especially him being an Arsenal player. I have watched him regularly and ignore the stats, he is one of the biggest English talents ever IMO, and along with Cazorla probably their best player. He is exceptional and as I said, he was never dropped because of his performance. There was alrge moments from last season where he carried Arsenal on their own. Yeah, Henderson and Cleverley managed more goals/assists but yeah Wilshere is miles better than both of them, LOL.

http://www.goal.com/en/news/9/england/2013/08/06/4169308/mourinho-hints-at-moses-role?ICID=HP_BN_8

Believe me, many people are. I respect that you have watched which I stated some people have actually done before he came here however if you see the amount of comments that hyped him up because of that goal against the Indonesian team I think it was plus the goal against Milan, just seems to be many overhyped reactions. Had he looked sluggish in pre-season, apart from the people that had rated him before the pre-season games, the hype would have been flattened a little. I have not once denied that he is a talent but as I was saying, let's see him prove it in the Premier League first. I genuinely believe you have watched him, however had players like Schurrle scored a few in pre-season, the bandwagon would probably be with him. I see some comments of people saying Schurrle is a stupid buy and not needed. Based on what? He ws one of the Bundesliga's best players as well right? For the last 2 seasons we have been chasing him and there is a reason why but not as much hype. I hope he does become a key player for the team but like many others think he will become a key player this season I slightly disagree. Not because I don't think he is good enough but because I think Mourinho will have a lot of rotation. I still think that Hazard and in some ways Mata are indispensable players of the team and I don't think KDB is considered that way. Oscar has come of an impressive season for club and country, Schurrle has been bought, Moses is around and has looked better than KDB in pre-season IMO, although KDB has impressed me. I think he will have his role to play next season but I don't think it will be to maybe a couple of season until we can call him a key player for the team. Next season I reckon he will be used as rotation. I hope people don't think I am degrading his qualities, I just think he needs time because I think people expect too much from him this season.

I have big hopes for KDB my self and I believe he will become a good player for us but I believe some of us (not all) are expecting too much of him based in pre-season. He looks good but the Premier League is a different thing. I mean like before Schurrle scored against Milan there are many that are judging him and claiming he was not ready because he looked sloppy and had not seen much from him but because KDB has looked better in pre-season there are better hopes for him. Relax, because even I think he will turn out a good player he might just need time. For example I see the above user has stated that he believes KDB is better than Wilshere. His opinion which he is entitled to, however Wilshere can pass, dribble and has been a marquee player for Arsenal since Fabregas left and while they don't win trophies, they qualify for the Champions League. KDB has only had 1 full season in a major European league for a team who are far inferior. KDB had a brilliant season there however there is a difference. Wilshere is arguable Arsena;'s best/joint player for a team playing CL footy and slightly younger. KDB is coming to Chelsea but I don't think we should make any comparisons about KDB is better until we see another season in the PL. I respect some of the Belgians opinions on him who have followed him at his Genk however many other people are overhyping him based on pre-season. Like what if he did not turn out as good as expected? I know KDB is a much better player than Marin however Marin had a decent pre-season before getting injured and he was awful in the PL. So my point is calm down some of us and let wait to see him in the PL. I am sure he will become a good player but just seems the wight of expectation for him is far too much which I don't think is needed. Even I am a fan of Moses, he was quality player at Wigan and carried them on their own but stepping up to a team like Chelsea as proved is not so easy, I think they need time. Merely my point about KDB.

Another excellent game for Moses. Hazard is going to be completely unstoppable this year. He is not even 100% fit and glides through the opposition so easily, so enjoyable to watch. Based on merit if things go the way they do I hope Moses starts against Hull because he has shown that despite a new manager and new signings that he is not going to be simply pushed out and surely is giving Mourinho a few selection headaches. Good goal by KDB too and good general performance but MOTM definitely has to go between Hazard and Moses. Terrorised the opposition repeatedly. Mourinho for sure has a tough decision on who is going to play the opening game of the season. Bar Hazard who I am sure will be in the starting lineup against Hull it really is hard to say starting from the two pivots in midfield and the attacking trio, followed by the striker slot, who will start. Good position to be in as we look very strong in depth and players are on form so far

Another excellent performance. Combines his strength with excellent strength which makes it harder for the opposition to stop him. Like Cundy said in the post-match analysis if he can keep this form up, he might just well play his well in the team against Hull. Very impressed. Always supported him. While many may think he could/should be on his way out I believe he has a point to prove and hope he does. Big season for him!

It is a long season. I think it is a decent buy and offers us something different. Let him prove himself.

15 in 15 against Arsenal. Crazy!

Arsenal thought they got rid off the Drog when he left us but he would always come to haunt Arsenal. Brilliant player. Made Mertasacker his bitch.

Arsenal's nemesis at it again! Reminds me of the Chelsea days. Only needed a half to write off Arsenal's only trophy hope

Good on him but tbh I think that is a crazy and stupid decision to make. He is 20, on loan and obviously not going to sign a permanent deal there. I can imagine a few players being unhappy about his appointment as captain. This is a link someone posted btw which supports the view about players being unhappy: http://www.demorgen.be/dm/nl/998/Voetbal/article/detail/1679731/2013/08/02/Thorgan-Hazard-wordt-kapitein-van-Zulte-Waregem.dhtml Really surprised. If it is true I don't understand why we would set that as part of the conditions. Don't think Hazard needs to the burden of being captain. Quite shocking IMO.

Not denying Traore's potential but is ridiculous to think that some people stated he was a better option than Moses based on some pre-season games in Asia. Hope Moses can prove himself because I know he has the quality. Just needs to be consistent.

Hard to tell the difference between Lukaku and Moses sometimes

The league is on the decline in reality. All the best stars beside the players from Real and Barca are moving to other European Leagues and the financial situation is dire out there.

Well tbh I have them as favourites. I think their team is near complete and possibly a bit stronger than ours. Hart makes mistakes but like Cech done himself previous seasons, there still both top keepers. Surprised on your stance about Zabaleta. He was the best RB in the league last season and has vastly improved over the last 2 years.

Definitely will not happen. Their finances are already in a perilous position and they would only be able to afford Torres if he took a half wage cut which is not going to happen. They can get better strikers who are worth less in fee and wages.

No chance. They probably see him as a mercenary for what he has done. They were after a DM anyway so maybe he will stick around.

So sad. Was being reported on twitter initially as a car crash but looks like it is due to peritonitis. So sad, was linked with clubs like Tottenham this summer and played against us a few times. So sad to pass away at such a young age. RIP, condolences to family, only moved to his new club earleir this month http://www.sbnation.com/soccer/2013/7/29/4567382/christian-benitez-chucho-dies