Amaury Bischoff’s debut goal for Portugal’s Under 21’s on Tuesday helped propel the play-maker back into the thoughts of Arsène Wenger.
Several sides from his adopted country have made checks on the 21-year-old – including Sporting Lisbon and Boavista – but Bischoff has pledged his loyalty to the Frenchman who rescued him from oblivion.
“I suffered very serious groin trouble at Werder, but Arsène Wenger wanted me anyway. He hired me for one season while I was still injured.”
“The first five months at London, I was training all alone. Arsenal saved me. Wenger gave me one more year to come back to the best level.”
Amaury’s 4th minute curling finish was the perfect way to mark his long awaited Portugal debut. The diminutive midfielder put in a terrific display and finally looked like he’d got back to the form that enticed Arsenal and Werder Bremen to scrap for his signature. Make no mistakes, despite his previous groin injury; Bischoff is a player with a lot of potential.
Postponements to Reserve games and the Carling Cup exit have done the Alsatian no favours, but with the F.A Cup replay against Cardiff on Monday, and injuries to a handful of Wenger’s usual regulars, a place on the bench should be the perfect way to make inroads towards the first team.
Yet should it not arrive, Amaury seems calm about his longer term future, despite having just a few months left on his contract.
“After eight months I have already played two matches and appeared a few times in the professional group. But the coach doesn’t want to rush.”
Although Bischoff is still the subject of many Gooners’ jokes, his hard work and now performances must be rewarded with the opportunity to play, or Amaury’s signing will be a waste of his, and our time.
Article By – J.Sanderson
Agreed, what is there too lose
What positions can he play in, and what would be his best position, in your opinion?
Him on the right instead of EE? Yep, dont see why the fook not!
We will see
fa cup vs cardiff?
we are lacking in mid fielders after eboue and diaby are ruled out.
He can play left, right, centre, or his favourite which is just off the striker.
Very versatile, and a tidy passer.
I don’t mean to be glib but he HAS to be better than EE, give him a go, nothing to lose.
Eboue’s no miss. The sooner he is out of the club the better IMO.
Isn’t he supposed to be a Iniesta type player, he certainly looks like Iniesta.
I don’t think he should be in contention yet. He’s still to gain fitness over a season. He needs matches, Wenger and him need to undestand what his greatest position is, not what he prefers playing.
His signing isn’t a waste of time. He is learning.
If he’s good to go, why not?
J,would you say hes better than ramsey / wilshere tho? Think I would put them first but Id certainly like to see him in the first team set up this season
Good article. Its obvious that Bischoff has potential, he lacks a bit of pace but make up for it with his great tachnique and on his good days hes extremely cool and collected on the ball, and as he plays more and grows in confidance those days will become more regular.
If this guy haddnt gone through such a terrible injury at such a critical time in his development i recon he could have been one of europes rising stars.
The point is he might still beable to forfill his potential, and if he can do that with us we will see ourselves with a very useful player on our books who we got for nothing.
He needs a proper chance which rightly or wrongly he hasnt really been given yet, hes performances for the reserves have steadily improved and its time we gave him the shot at the first team he needs and what with all out injuries we also need.
The odds are still stacked against him which ever way you look at it but if he isnt given a chance then him having a career at the top level of football anywhere, not just with us, is almost impossible, since many clubs wouldent touch him and i doubt any will touch him if Wenger turns around nd says he hasnt got it. Sure he’ll have a career but him playing in our championship or the german second division, or one of the many second rate superliga sides in portugal who fight to stay in the top division every year with next to no chance of ever challenging for high table positions and when playing the big sides over there concerntrate on keeping the goal defecit to a minimum and hoping beyond hope to grind out a draw, could be one of the biggest wastes of talent this decade. He might still not make it, but if he doesnt get the chance we’ll never know how far he could have gone.
For once I don’t agree. I just can’t see anything special in him, he hasn’t been any better than Randall or Lansbury in the reserves. NOT GOOD ENOUGH FOR ARSENAL!!
But to be fairm it is a bit like when Bentley was at Arsenal, he had Ljungberg, Pires etc,,, in front of him. Bischoff plays off the striker, but is he better than Rosicky, Arshavin, Nasri, Walcott, RVP and the like? I mean I doubt he is better than Wilshere when I have seen him. I think he should praise Arsenal and Wenger for given him the spotlight at one of the best clubs in europe. I am sure he could play in France where it is slower much easily.
Sorry I meant not better than Wilshere as Wilshere will be top draw..
Just imagine Bischoff and Fonte up front?
Is he in the same mold as Denilson and Merida?
If ever Bischoff will get a chance, it must be this in this match.
I suppose Wenger as usual will start with the most experienced members of the squad that he has, meaning Vela on the left wing, in the middle sadly Denilson and Song, on right it should be Nasri.
Although the squad is very short and Wenger knows it best, he seems to have some cards still to play.
We can expect to see on the subs: Wilshere, Bischoff, Eduardo, Merida as an offensive players, and that’s a nice line up of fine players to come on as an impact players.
Creative wise I think it should be : vela, Nasri, Bischoff and Wilshere playing together, but its up to the manager to decide which is better and more balanced team, on the other hand it shows how much depth the team has.
It could be the berth of a star, and I can’t wait for the match to start.
Hes better than denilson hes got pace, hes like iniesta from barcelona. Hes quite strong as well but dont know where wenger will play him. I saw Aaron ramsey today in enfield town at macdonalds. The guy does not look injured
Agree with the post. Maybe he should sign a one year extension, or more if Arsène sees he has a future, at least to be sold for a fee.
One of Vela, Wilshere or him will have to start on Monday. Nasri is the only other wide player we have available. Denilson and Song in the middle and that’s it, we have nothing else. Eduardo on the bench, and two of Vela, Wilshere and Bishoff on the bench alongside… erm… one of our five available defenders, Gibbs… and… someone! There’s not a lot else. Merida maybe, as Ramsey is injured.
heard him being compared to iniesta a number of times
I think as time goes on he is going to get the chance needs.
arseguns.blogspot.com
john, he wouldn’t look injured but in the top flight professional football clubs won’t risk players if there’s any chance of aggravating the injury further unless there’s absolutely no other option. Being injured doesn’t mean you have to be on crutches or unable to walk, just because he can walk properly may not necessarily mean he can run or handle a professional football match.
I like Bischoff, he improves steadily with each game and it’s always nice to see players improve like that rather than be thrown into the spotlight after one impressive performance and then be criticized for not replicating that performance every game. I doubt he could be worse than Eboue, even though Eboue was actually having a great game against Tottenham but it’s just not worth keeping players who can be a liability like that and give the club such a poor image. Eboue’s far too inconsistent and annoying, but we can’t expect too much of Bischoff either if Bischoff does replace him.
to john: What was Ramsey doing at a McDonald’s?! Isn’t that professional suicide for a footballer?
I am quite curious about Bischoff. I’ve heard mixed reviews about his performances for us in the Reserves. His signing was a bit of a surprise as I had never heard of him before, and I don’t mean to sound egotistical or whatever, but I usually know a little at the very least of the players that Wenger goes for.
As for Randall/Lansbury being better, I don’t know about that, but I will say that I’ve only had the opportunity to see Randall and Lansbury in the Carling Cup. But, if those performances are anything to judge, then I’d say that Bischoff is better, from what I’ve heard.
An Iniesta type player?? Oh only if that were true.. That Iniesta chap is REALLY REALLY REALLY good…
It’s all up to Bischoff, but he will have to prove himself amongst an over-supply of central midfielders. A handful of these guys will have to go over the next couple of years – Randall, Ramsey, Wilshere, Fabregas, Lansbury, Song, Denilson, Diaby, Bischoff, Merida, Thomas, and maybe Arshavin plays there as well.
One thing that has been extremely frustrating to watch with the first team this season is their lack of width. This is why they often have 70%+ possession yet struggle to get shots on goal. Having lost Rosicky and Walcott through injury, I can’t understand why Wenger is reluctant to play Vela on the left. Since Fabregas was injured, Nasri has shown to be competent and comfortable in the middle. And Wenger has just rotated Ade and Bendtner with RvP up front. Now Eduardo can be added so Vela will be no.5 choice there – he won’t get a look in.
I don’t think his performances this season have been as scratchy as Bendtner’s, but he is being given little time on the pitch, and he is just a terrble waste on the bench. Not sure what others think, but my feeling is the more he would play, the better he’ll get.