Stuart Pearce has called up Arsenal trio Henri Lansbury, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and surprisingly, Emmanuel Frimpong, for England Under 21’s double header against Azerbaijan and Israel.
Frimpong has previous represented England at Under 16 and Under 17 level, before pledging his allegiance to the country of his birth, Ghana. The 19-year-old is yet to feature for the Black Stars at any level, but was on standby for their friendly in London against Nigeria in early August.
It’s not yet clear whether Frimpong has agreed to switch countries once again, but his inclusion is something Arsène Wenger has previously backed. Elsewhere, Lansbury continues to be a part of the Under 21’s after a strong showing during the European Championships this summer, while Oxlade-Chamberlain will be hoping to add to his solitary cap at this level.
Pearce also has his eye on a fourth Arsenal prospect, with defender Finland Under 19 captain Carl Jenkinson under future consideration.
Hope he gets capped for England simply to prevent losing him to African Nations
also no one would accuse arsenal of not having enough british players
Whoever “thumbs downed” that first comment is not a true arsenal fan.
I’m assuming it’s probably ghanaians giving the thumbs down..let’s not get all narrow minded here!
maybe this is good, we couldn’t afford another player gone for the african cup of nations… he’s making excellent progress…
Would be good for him to play for the Under 21s, he can still represent Ghana after if he chooses.
Shame Jenkinson wasn’t included this time around.
didnt someone on twitter (perhaps you?) say that frimpong was called up to Ghana for their training match 2 weeks ago but Wenger stopped him from going as he was needed more at Arsenal?
weird all this :S
Sounds about right. In 2011, most ‘England’ youth players are in fact African. Hopefully Ghana call him up and he rightfully plays for them. The same goes for Chuks Aneke, Benik Afobe and the rest.
Tom,
The world is one big melting pot now. These boys have lived in England almost all their lives, and more importantly, through their formative years. They are more English than African. All their development has come courtesy of opportunities in England. Opportunities which they may not have had back in Africa. I know this because I’m African. If the boys decide to play for England, then they should, if they are good enough.
Rightfully so???
Where does that come from? By all accounts Frimpong, Afobe and Aneke have British passports after choosing to live here, or being born here and make use of the excellent services that this country provides, Education, Health, etc.
There is an old saying do not bite the hand that feed you.
Ya Tom that was a moronic thing to say. Should Germany kick out Mezut Ozil and Khedira? Their parents are from Turkey. What about Boateng. His dad is from Ghana as well.
Being born in a country and educated there means that you are a native of that country. Frimpong wouldn’t have a clue if you dropped him off in Ghana. He is English. Maybe not by blood but definitely by culture and birth.
@TexasGooner – Just because a person is born in England doesn’t mean they are not culturally aware of their roots. Frimpong regularly visits Ghana.He is a player who values pride when playing and i feel he will be ‘prouder’ playing for Ghana.
To right Tom. Look at all these racist wankers claiming Africa is still under enslavement by the British empire. Note how they all whine that Frimpong, Aneke and Afobe are ‘British’ and have a British passport. British is not an ethnicity. You racist lot what to see Frimpong in the England team but don’t even consider him English ( which he isn’t of course )which is shocking really and sums up the beastly same old racist attitude that the English have always had. No wonder when ‘The greatest Briton’ Winstone Churchill would regularly call for ” all the savage coloured races to be replaced by Whites in their own homelands for the good of mankind.”
To right Tom. Look at all these racist wankers claiming Africa is still under enslavement by the British empire. Note how they all whine that Frimpong, Aneke and Afobe are ‘British’ and have a British passport. British is not an ethnicity. You racist lot what to see Frimpong in the England team but don’t even consider him English ( which he isn’t of course )which is shocking really and sums up the beastly same old racist attitude that the English have always had. No wonder when ‘The greatest Briton’ Winstone Churchill would regularly call for ” all the savage coloured races to be replaced by Whites in their own homelands for the good of mankind.”
So going by that Australians aren’t really Australians, Americans aren’t really Americans and most of the South African cricket team shouldn’t be playing for them or does this racism only go one way Tom?
What’s the latest status on Lansbury, Jamie? Is he gonna stay or not? Surely Rosicky and Arshavin have 1-2 seasons left in them max. Think we should we keep Lansbury at all costs considering this.
Is refreshing to hear Frimpong speak about the club and his love since childhood.
Arsenal needs fans like Jack, Afobe, Frimpong, Gibbs, Lansbury to play for her not the mercenaries Arsene Wenger always bring in. These mercenaries, mainly from France come here for training and development only. Eventually they jump ship yet Arsene Wenger keeps on buying only his countrymen.
Some of our most dedicated players have come from France. It is annoying when people only see what they want. You ignore the David Bentleys and Ashley Coles. The french league has played a massive role over the past several years from our glories days of Arsenal to the back bone of Chelsea’s team with Drgoba, Cech, Malouda, and Essein.
The players you mentioned have all been developed by the same manager as well. As for mercenaries, don’t forget the Bentleys and the Coles. Some of our greatest players have been French or come from the French league – forgotten the likes of Henry and Viera have you?
The reason Wenger buys french is because of his contacts in the country and the excellent value they tend to provide over their English counterparts! Get your head straightened out lad.
Jack is a West Ham fan…
He said on his Facebook a couple years ago that he definitely was choosing Ghana. You never know but as a football fan, I hope he chooses Ghana. I always wish for better competition in world football.
as an arsenal fan i wish he plays for england
For competition’s sake, you want him to play for England.
England has plenty of good players. They just have crappy coaching and horrible media that tears them apart (very similar to how they treat Arsenal).
Of topic, I really think that city’s aim is to make arsenal weaker so much that we are not capable to compete with them. They are buying our best tallent, but problem is not with them. look what atletico did, they sold aguero but buyed falcao. arsene’s fault is lack of reinvestment
its not arsene’s fault.he does not keep the money in his pocket.he can only spend when the board asks him to
I dont usually comment but i think its rude to claim that Frimpong should represent England out of guilt because his parents may have wanted a better life here. his passport may be English but that can always be changed his ethnicity, blood and patronage is that of Ghana and as such should represent them despite the incovenience of a competition which isnt even every year.
Quite worried about Lansburys place in Wenger’s plans,seems like he’s a little bit out of favour-or is he just behind of the others in physical terms(would be interesting,seeing Jones,Smalling,Cleverley and Welbeck all hitting top form,but Henderson is also making it at Liverpool)?
Pulled out from the CL squad in the last minute also seems quite odd to me,with only 4 recognized midfilders traveling to Italy.Is he on the verge of a move?
I think we should try him in the middle,like Wilshere last season,but more box to box,especially when we only have Rosicky in the squad as a midfielder above 21 year(Diaby doesn’t count).
He sure deserves a chance,even if Wenger doesn’t think that he has what it takes to be in a team that targets a top4 spot-i mean it’s not like that the team is good enough to reach those height any more.
Never saw him as a winger,also we’re now stuffed on the flanks with 18 year olds,and we are about to cut out all the experience,why won’t we do an all in?
Frimpong,Coquelin,Wilshere,Ramsey,Lansbury as midfilders,with only Song,Rosicky and Diaby over 21-would be a fascinating season!
Why do people persist in pushing this myth that Arsenal don’t spend money? A quick look at the accounts will show anyone who bothers to check that Wenger spends every penny available. We don’t have as much money as other clubs out there, end of story.
please someone help me out. im stuck at work, no tv, and am desperate to watch the arsenal game, i normally se myp2p but it isnt working. help me ot and post a link to tonights match v udinese. please. help a gooner out. the radio just aint the same
flick through veetle.com
i also found cricfree.tv a cricket site but showing this game tonight
van persie just equalised
i worry more about losing frimpong to ghana, i hope he stays with england.
i dont worry about jenky boy coz by xmas he might even get full england cap, wow! how many england internationals at arsenal.
Racist are we Sam? Do African Coutries not deserve to have their own players born and bred and from both African parents actually play for them? The British empire is long dead Sam, Africa is no longer a slave continent for England. You need to move with the times Sam.
Ghana will be after him I’m sure after his performances so far this season.
What a terrific result and an excellent performance tonight. For once we really did show some of that infamous “mental strength” . How important could that unbelievable penalty save by Wojech be…. what a man.
As I’ve said many times before, Theo infinitely better when he’s not played as a hug-the-touchline right winger. Complete fail when he’s played there for us (Eg: the Liverpool game on Saturday)or England. He’s diabolical in that role. You let him drift centrally and make those runs in behind the centre backs and he’s always a threat. He’s a terrific finisher as well 1 on 1 with the keeper. A massively underrated attribute of his.
Thought Song was absolutely tremendous tonight. Sczcesny and Sagna awesome as ever. Jenkinson had a cracking game too, what a night for the guy. Fairy tale rise to fame really. And Rosicky, I’ve been critical of him in recent times but he did a terrific job when he came on.
He should be in the England first team squad, better than Barry. He could also make an impression and have the possibility of playing at Euro’s
Jenkinson too should have been included at least in the under 21s, if he can do it for Arsenal he can do it for England.
We (England) seriously cannot afford to lose these quality players if we want to compete, but with numpties like Pearce + Capello in charge what can we expect…
I’m sorry that Frimpong had to be sacrificed for Rosicky in the second half BUT I’ve always liked Rosicky, even when he was down and he played very well tonight!!! I think that Frimpong can learn a lot from Song!!! They are pretty similar and they both can play the ball well. I don’t think Song is that much further ahead than Frimpong. That just tells you how good Frimpong is!!! I’d be more than happy to have either one in my squad and starting 11!!! Frimpong didn’t play that well in the 1st half, but I know he has the talent to really push Song!!! I have seen Coquelin play as well and I have been impressed with him too. VERY different player to Frimpong. I actually think he’s the better prospect because of his mobility, but we’ll see in time. Frimpong is a bit faster than Song and Coquelin is a bit faster than Frimpong. It depends who plays the best and I would hate to see one of the 3 leave our club!!! Especially Frimpong as he’s a true Gunner at heart and is so talented. I hope they all stay and we can accomodate them all!!! I know it will be hard but they are all young and defensive midfield is a physically taxing position to play. Song also accumulates a lot of yellow cards as well as Frimpong, so having all 3 around to help would be ideal!!! We’re going to Europe!!! We’re back in the Champions League!!!
Jamie S, is that correct, about Boateng going on loan to Swindon Town???
I do not get the Frimpong selection because he has said on a number of occasions that he will only play for Ghana at senior level so why has Pearce picked him in an U21’s squad then
P.S Frimpong has just said this on his Twitter account, England 21s Isnt true Ghana paaa 3den :], P.P.S Pearce had better have asked him first before naming him because if he did not then he has made himself look like a right twat again
I think they think he is dumb of something. He only has to look at the likes of Ameobi and Agbonlahor to figure out that he would be making a big mistake.
If i were him I’d just keep my nose ouut of intl football for now. Dont play for Ghana or England, just take a couple yeats to establish yourself in the team, then around age 21 or so, pick a country – few people have such a luxury – he should use it well by saving his options.
Anyone, what does this Frimpongs tweet mean? Don’t understand what he wants to saY?
@TexasGooner6 Frimpong was born in Ghana and moved to England when he was nine.
I don’t think any of these players should feel obligated to play for England just because they used the education or health systems that is in place.
Choosing what national team to play for is a very personal decision and is completely up to the player. I don’t think Arsenal should be trying to pressure these players into playing for European countries over African countries just because the Africa Nations clashes with the European football calender.
Plus this goes both way, Carl Jenkinson was born and raised in England but has chosen to play for Finland. We can only speculate why, perhaps a close relationship with his Finnish mother. But for whatever reason he feels closer to the Finnish national team than the English, and you have to respect that decision.
I think the reason why Carl chose Finland over England was that in the England team it would have been way much difficult to establish a place in than in Finnish one. He is now the U-21 captain. Not sure, he would have been the captain for the England side!
=)
Exactly. There are some pretty wild comments flying about here with regard to social debt, racism and all the rest. You can’t make these kinds of generalisations – people have lots of different reasons for relating more strongly to one country than another, and every player has a right to make that choice for himself. Personally, if a player decides to call himself English, then great – we’re all descended from immigrants at some stage, so I couldn’t care less what he looks like or where his parents are from. That is pretty much the opposite of racism. But equally, if a player feels he has a stronger tie to another country, what business is that of mine? I don’t know his reasons and he doesn’t need anyone’s approval.
Just let them make their own minds up. If Frimpong chooses England, I’ll be surprised but delighted. If he chooses Ghana, good luck to him.
Frimpong… love him. I think arsenal is set at that position… Song is tactically sound, technique, footwork and as much as it is having to retract yet happy for me to admit, his postioning in all our games so far that he has played has been beautiful…. I think if frimpong continues to grow with him as a model, with coquelin and ebecilio (really like him hope they play him at DM cos that is so him) wating in the wings that position looks like one of strength. I like frimpongs attitude very “vieiraesque” before arsene tamed him and he’s got above average technique. The game is just a little fast for him right now as you could see in the first half but its not for lack of talent.
off topic but important…. Is it not true Afobe played for us why on Loan @ Huddersfield??? Me and mates placed money on this. Please Jamie respond. Thanx.
@ tjrealus
It’s true. He was playing for Huddersfield on a ‘youth loan’ meaning he was allowed to return to Arsenal and play for the youth/reserve teams without breaching his contract. Definitely something we should be looking to do with one or two of the boys this year.
Oh yeah, forgot to mention. Absolutely buzzin’ about the result last night!
surely this shows just how much frimpong is rated in this country where he has previously switched allegiance to play 4 ghana and england still wnt to snare him away from the clutches of ghana frimpong is a great prospect on a side note it is time for chuks aneke to get a loan to a league one team to progress his development as it is wasted playing in the reserves
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http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XMjk4MTQyNTQ0.html.. wigan reserve game highlights
It is funny that when you actually look at our team, it is not actually far behind our squad last year.
I mean Gervinho can easily replace Nasri. Once Gervinho settles in, he just dust defenders with ease on the dribble.
I have felt we needed another defensive mid for a couple of years now and Frimpong is clearly that. For his age, he is the best u20 defensive mid in the world (that I have seen so far).
Vermaelen one of the top 5 defenders in the world IMO is back.
Koscileny already looks a much better player.
Ramsey will get back to his best along with Wilshere who will improve every year.
And of course, Szczesny is a beast. Honestly if you gave me a choice of Neuer, De Gea, or Szczesny…I would go with Szczesny everytime.
I mean really, we just have lost Fabregas in my eyes which yes will be hard to replace but not impossible (not like for like tho).
Really, from what I felt we needed at the begging of the transfer window, which was a direct wide forward (Gervinho), another good striker, another defensive mid (Frimpong), and a better back up center back (now could be Song).
After all the transfers out and in I feel we sit like this….. a good striker, probably a center back (we should have kept Bartley), a left back (IMO) and a play maker. So really we still need things but it is not that much different.
Song at centre back… dear god no…
adam you show about how little you know about football in almost every comment you make. Song is a quality center back.
@Shane , i have to agree with you on the squad not being too different from last season ability wise. Last night was a confidence building result .It also shows we really do have a fantastic academy system and that A.W can always find young talent to surprise everyone(Jenks).The spirit was rousing despite a nervy first half.Its great to see Frimpong playing with confidence and a real desire and pride in the shirt.People need to remember we played without Cesc and the unmentionable french midfielder for a big part of last season ,and coped.There are gaps to be filled and hopefully we will see some really sound signings in the next few days.Without a doubt the game and victory put things in a much clearer perspective away from the media feeding frenzy that has swept alot of Arsenal fans along with it.Lets hope the spirit and determination continues so that the media crawl back into their holes.
Shane its a bit younger though no? But my oh my does it look determined this year. Before they looked nervous, now they just look like they know what they want. And that is to win.
It depends on how you look at it. I guess yes technically it is younger but Jenkinson replaced a back up and Gibbs is not any worse then Clichy, Gervinho is the same age as Nasri and the only place we went really younger that matters is Ramsey in for Fabregas which as I said, Fabregas is the only big player we need to replace in a sense. On the other hand, Wilshere, Szczesny, Koscielny and Walcott all have a year more of experience and Vermaelen, Song, and Gervinho all entering their primes so as far as experience goes, I would say we are younger but far more experienced now. Then Frimpong is younger then Denilson but twice the player.
We must remember how many of our starters were out in the first 2 games and verse Liverpool, I don’t think we would have lost if Koscielny didn’t get hurt and then the red card. My only point is, we are not as far off as people would suggest. Still work to be done though for sure.
Last years first choice x1 was 254 years old
this years is 256 years old
this is based on the 3 changes and everyone is now a year older
szcesney
sagna
koscielny
vermaelen
clichy (gibbs)
song
wilshire
fabregas (ramsey)
walcott
van persie
nasri (gervinho)
in fact even looking at the total age of last seasons 2nd x1 – 277 years
and this years (assuming no more departures/arrivals) – 275
fabianski
eboue (jenkinson)
squillaci
djourou
gibbs
denilson (frimpong)
diaby
rosicky
bendtner
chamakh
arshavin
This means the age of this years 22 is exactly the same as last years 22 -531
average age 24 years old
The only reason it looks worse at the moment is because 2 youger players that would not normally be in our 1st choice 22 have been involved due to injuries and suspensions
Lansbury & Miquel and Chamberlain has been on the bench. Lansbury and Miquel both played last year and are a year older Chamberlain is 18 and has effectively replaced JET who was 19, i know who i prefer. Sure Ryo is 18 as opposed to Vela who was 21 last season, again i know who i prefer. I guess the only big difference is the 3rd choice keeper who last year was Almunia age 33 compared to Mannone who is 23, but i know who i would rather have.
RVP want us to buy just look at his interview in the arsenal tv. He want us to buy players and looked frustrated a little bit in the interview. Sure some players have experiance but are they good enough to win the CL? RVP knows this is a season it might be his last to win something for Arsenal… he is getting old and with Theo and gervinho both looking awesome and capable to play upfront I don’t know for how much longer he can keep his place. He is the captain right now but I really think vermaelen should get it. I think Wenger gave it too him so he can keep RVP in the team but he will leave soon if we don’t win anything. At the moment I think 2 new strikers must come in. Bendtner seems to stay :(
Is it just me or does anyone else think that Jenkinson should be our right back and Sagna should stay out on the left??? I thought Sagna was much more dangerous cutting to the inside with his right foot on the left wing and it gives the other side something to think about. People have complained about the offensive part of his play for a while, and he put in a superb performance, both attacking and defending wise last night!!! Of course if injuries occur or he doesn’t like playing on the left, he can switch back to the right, but after last nights performance, aside from a bad throw in which lead to Udinese’s only goal, Jenkinson put in a spotless performance out on the right!!! This is a good dilema to have and I don’t mind if people don’t agree with me, I’m just pointing out another option that is viable if we have injuries or suspensions. It CAN work as we saw and I, for one, hope that Wenger uses it more often!!!
I think it can work too but we need dangerous wingers and very hard working ones too like gervinho and walcott in that side when sagna is playing lf. walcott was superb and was tracking back a lot to help. If Arshavin would have played there… ohh god… could have been a lot of crosses coming in in that side or many counter attacks too. We need a solid winger who is great in positioning and tracking back when it comes to defending.
so I say it might depends on who is playing in the wings too. But never 2 right back in the same time.. we never knows when one is injured and suddenly we have only 1 right back and then what if he is injured too? let gibbs playing rb? come on that is chocking. so we need to be caution about it.
Play sagna as the first choice left back and jenkinson at right back?!You must be insane!Just because we won one game with them in those positions,unbelievable..If you listen to all wengers latest interviews he’s basically saying we either won’t buy anyone else or we’ll get one player,if that’s the case then the one player has to be a playmaker or we’ll end up no where this year,Ramsey just can’t do the job yet.I don’t see why we couldn’t offer sochaux a tempting enough offer for marvin Martin,he can’t be that desperate to stay there surely?I honestly can’t see a defender being bought and if we did sign one it’d be another squillaci style signing as vermaelen,kos and djourou ain’t going no where plus Bartley next year will be part of the plans and then you’ve got miquel to include too,we all know wenger plans ahead and buying a big time defender just to stand in their way won’t happen.If we did get a second signing too I’d love a top striker to alternate with van persie but that’s just a dream that’ll never happen,there’s too much burden on RVP as chamakh is toilet
Further outlets picking up on the England vs. Ghana issue.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2030190/England-Ghana-battle-Arsenals-Emmanuel-Frimpong.html
http://www.englandfootballblog.com/2011/08/24/england-u21-squad-overshadowed-by-frimpong-callup/
I still think he should never have been picked. Stuart Pearce shows his naivety once again, coming through with such a decision.
This decision also mirrors that of Aneke, who the Nigerian FA are sniffing around.
I would rather Frimpong get picked by Ghana, play for Ghana, and that be that. Pearce should be giving other players opportunities…not clutch at straws like this…
As for Jenkinson. Someone who WANTS to play for England – where’s his phone call?
Frimpong is a great talent and he still need to learnt how to tackles smartly especially in important matches.I believed he will learn fast.
Dailymail had this to report http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2030190/England-Ghana-battle-Arsenals-Emmanuel-Frimpong.html on Ghana FA decision to start their registration process due to that idiot Pearce.
So I wonder Wenger will anticipated losing him to ANC i the future and start playing Coqulein, another huge talent more instead of loan to Lorient yet again. IMO add body and expose more healthy competitions. Maybe I am wrong!
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Tell me something, what’s the point of writing no. of comments at the synopsis of article?
No. of hits i can understand, but no. of comments??
I think Young guns is already famous. Why use such cheap tactics to show people are talking about your article. If you want to show it show it indicate it at the beginning/end of your article not so aggressively.
Just an honest suggestion to make this wonderful blog even more wonderful.
this Yan M’vila character… does anyone know how good he is? watched some youtube videos but i couldnt find anything and i forgot to watch their Europa cup game today to catch a closer glimpse (doesnt that make him cup tied??? dont know)…. you tube videos didnt show me much. Can someone fill me in? I see too many rumors bout this kid.
He is quality. Big, strong, athletic player who is good on the ball and is a good passer. Good player in my opinion.
Does anyone know about Joel Campbell’s work permit? I’m assuming that he needs one, being from Costa Rica? Seems to have gone rather quiet of the JC front
He’ll fit in well with the England U21 team…and perhaps even the senior team.
England wouldn’t mind the services of a hard tackling midfielder like Frimpong would they.
Any news on this Andy Polo kid?
Please tell me when Song has had a good game at centre back for us Shane. Very good in midfield, he’s poor at centre back. He’s too slow, and against quick players he’s made to look cumbersome and clumsy. Ideally you’d want your centre halves to be an inch or two taller than him as well. Especially when you consider the fact that a lack of height at the back and thus getting owned by set pieces and long balls is a very obvious weakness of ours.
I remember in the 08/09 season we had to play him and Silvestre at centre back together at times and he was actually the poorer of the two, which says it all. As I say I don’t rate him there and plus he’s a vital cog in our midfield. If he’s fit he has to play there.
Classic you though Shane. Someone doesn’t agree with your opinion so you have to result to insults. Pretty pathetic.
I only insult people that continuously insult our players. Alex has always played good at center back and I am not referring to him being our starting center back. He is our starting defensive mid but Frimpong is more then capable of playing in the defensive mid now if we had injury issues at center back.
I also don’t get your comment about his pace. It is like some people have not watched football in a few years. Song clearly improved his mobility last year and compared to most center backs, he is in no way slow not to mention, early in his career because of his lack of pace it was thought that he would be better at center back because you have to cover more ground in the midfield. In fact name me a bunch of “fast” center backs.
Koscielny, Vermaelen, Djourou. There’s 3 from our club alone. We play with a high line so need players quick on the turn and quick over the first few yards. Song is not.
You still haven’t named one game where Song has played well at centre back for us.
Song has not been a starter at centerback and we have played hundreds of games. Excuse me for not remembering the exact details of every game we have ever played. I appologise. Song is not that slow compared to most center backs. He is not slower then Cahill, Bartley, Miquel, Dann or Squilacci. People keep associating Song with a couple years ago which I don’t get. He is actually very good at chasing down players in the midfield now. I am not saying Song should be our first choice center back. I am saying he is good enough to be the 4th choice and I don’t think their would be to many 4th choice center backs better then Song.
And yes, know shit Koscielny and Vermaelen are faster. They are 2 of the fastest center backs in world football and I am not saying Song should be first choice center back (once again lol)
I’m kind of split with this one..I don’t believe song is anywhere near being a centre back at this level..I think he’s pretty average wen it comes to pace and far to clumsy(gives away so many fouls in midfield!) on the other hand I think Koscielny gets a tough time he’s actually a quality footballer and a run alongside vermaelen wil cut out the mistakes because I feel he only makes them wen our defence r on edge(whenever djourou or Squillaci r playing) cahill is probably more robust but I agree with Shane that he’s not mistake free he needs work too be complete…we need someone tho because for me djourou is a disaster not far of squillacis level..I’m not sure why anyone of football knowledge rates him!
Our interest in Rennes’ all-action midfielder seems to be firming up. The Guardian’s David Hynter spoke to the boss this morning, and apparently “Wenger is confident of signing M’Vila.” We’ll see.
Link Here: http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/blog/2011/aug/26/football-live-blog-26-august#block-22
For those of you who don’t know much about M’Vila, here’s a handy profile: http://www.whoscored.com/Blog/qdxtgnkone2lvlhdyyo11a/Show/Why-Yann-MVila-is-Mr-Dependable-for-Rennes-and-France-at-Just-21#.TlYQTDWcNgw.twitter%20
IMO Replacing a player like Fabregas without spending lunatic money on a Sneijder is almost impossible. So instead we move Jack, our single most gifted midfielder, into the playmaker role and replace his defensive work. Trust me, a combination of Song, M’Vila and Wilshere would be mouthwatering.
I completely agree with moving Wilshere up. Wilshere is a player that would be great at about 5 positions. He can play on the wing in both a 4-3-3 and a 4-4-2. He can at a CDM or in any of the 3 attacking midfield spots in a 4-2-3-1 and he can play in the bergkamp role in a 4-4-1-1. As long as we can add and then pick the right tactics then we will be alright.
Signing Rennes’ Yann M’Villa make perfect sense, as Wenger might at time due to Center Back injuries push Song there. Yes these purchase might take away Coquelin possible future place but ACN and injuries over the many competitions of the long season might take our depleted squad thin. That way we can perhaps not required to buy Cahill if the price is not right. Just my thoughts throw out.
I sense Joel Campbell work permit not dusted otherwise Wenger wouldn’t want to dip in the market for a striker over the offical site
Sorry for my earlier silly comments. Mine oh mine we still need a Center Back to keep Squilachi off the games. Sell him or release him as he can unnerve me when he start any games.
Song is definitely slower than Cahill, not to mention infinitely inferior as a centre back. I really hope we can get a deal done for Cahill. He’s an absolute perfect fit for us. Excellent, excellent defender. Tall, strong, tackles well, reads the game well, great in the air, quick across the ground and he’s good on the ball.
Cahill-Vermaelen with Kos and DJ providing very able backup would be absolutely superb imo.
Koscielny is better than Cahill when fully fit. You all will see this. Koscielny and Vermaelen were always going to be our first choice pair at centre back.
He’s not. Although I like Kos a lot. He’s potentially great but he’s still a little weak physically and a little rash at times.
Koscielny has got a lot going for him though: he’s very quick, he’s got a very good leap and as far as making interceptions go he’s as good as anyone. He’d make an excellent 3rd choice as I said, very good backup. But yeah, he’s not better than Cahill.
The only centre backs that are better than Cahill in this league are Vermaelen, Terry, Vidic, Rio, Kompany and Ledley King if he wasn’t a cripple.
I still am not a big fan of Cahill’s. He’s not as good as everyone thinks he is. He’s great attacking but we don’t need that. It’s only my opinion but to me he’s a BIT over-rated. Out of Cahill, Jagielka and Samba, I’d rather we not buy any of them and see how Bartley does this season or next!!! We don’t need a starting centre-half!!! We don’t need to spend that amount of money, which you nkow is going to be huge!!! We just don’t need to. IF we buy him then that’s fine, but I wouldn’t expect him to just walk in to the starting 11 without a really strong fight from Koscielny. So in short, I think you are wrong Adam.
I am not going to call you dumb for having your opinion on Cahill because it is a fair point but in my opinion Koscielny is much better then Cahill. The only player that is available (aka not on the big 8 european teams or on one of the money teams) that I would choose over Koscielny is Matt Hummels which I doubt we would land him. Koscielny has as much potential as anyone. The way he reads the game is just out of this world and he has gotten stronger. Him and Vermaelen look like a great tandem already.
By the way, on the “Koscielny is a little rash at times”, you don’t think Cahill ever makes a mistake? He is just never in the spot light like you are at big clubs.
@ Shane …. Yes I prefer Matt Hummels but an impossible like I say earlier our board and owner will not pay over the odds for his wages. Buying Cahill looks to be a deal till the transfer window last moment as their Chairman and manager is classless. You could see they are trying to auction Cahill to the highest bidder but Wenger being Wenger will only do a deal this late for two simple reasons… 1) All the big spending clubs had their business done, 2)this case his contract in the last year.
Not sure you stayed with me on my point, which was that Koscielny and Vermaelen are the best partnership for me. I was not saying, anything about targeting Hummels, just using Hummels do show my point on Koscielny being good.
Personally, I think we could go either way with a defensive mid or a center back because of the versatility of Song.
Mats Hummels is absolutely superb, as is his central defensive partner Neven Subotic. I’d love either here. We don’t seem to be after them though and you can understand why. They’re still young guys learning the trade and they’ve no premier league experience.
“By the way, on the “Koscielny is a little rash at times”, you don’t think Cahill ever makes a mistake? He is just never in the spot light like you are at big clubs.”
That’s a fair point. He’ll absolutely be under more scrutiny here but I’ve seen enough of him to be in no doubt that he could cope. I don’t think some of you realise quite how good Cahill is. He’s a bloody good defender. He’s got all the attributes to be a success here, he’s a great age and he’s got good premier league experience. If we do sign him I’d love to save some of these “he’s overrated” “he’s not good enough” comments and come back to them at the end of the season. I think a few of you might be eating a little humble pie.
Again please don’t try and twist it to me saying Koscielny is not good enough or whatever. As I said before I like him A LOT. he’s potentially brilliant. You only have to look at that Barca game at the Emirates. He was ridiculously good in that game. But the point still stands that he’s a little rash at times and he’s not the strongest physically. I appreciate that he is improving his strength and hopefully it’ll continue to improve.
Nobody is twisting you points mate. We understand that you are not saying Koscielny is bad. I just feel your points are based on what a lot of players (aka most) deal with in their first season in a new league. You can already tell this year he is a completely new player. He is plenty strong now and in his short time he was looked a solid as anyone. In the Udinese game, our midfield and full backs were leaving Vermaelen and Koscielny hung out to dry but they stood up to everything.
On Cahill, it is not that we don’t think he is a good player. Fact is at 17 million pounds he is extremely over rated not to mention considering is contract situation. The simple fact is most of us don’t feel 17 million should be spent on a guy that most of us would consider a 3rd choice here. Yes he could prove us wrong and I for one am never upset to find out that an Arsenal player was better then I thought (Not sure when the last time that happened was but still lol)…..Oh yah, it was Frimpong and I am ecstatic about that one. If we sign him for a reasonable fee then none of us would complain.
8-2 is evidence enough that Cahill would improve this team.
I think Frimpong should be allowed to play for whatever country he wants, he obviously has ties to both so let him decide, both teams would be happy to have a player of his promise.