Arsenal Action

[Gaffer]

I think this is the way it is, quit simply;

We can survive without bolstering the squad, but we will struggle to win if we do not.

Now, it just comes down to priorities, really; profit or silverware. The irony being we would make a lot of money if we won.

Good point, If we won the league the we would make back what we spent and more

I dont understand it?

[Sinbad]

Following the return of Sol Campbell, Wenger has put in bids for Barry White, Alexander O'Neil, and Oprah Winfrey. He wants to play a Fat Black four

[Curt.B]

What, no Ledley King?

[Deano]

Following the return of Sol Campbell, Wenger has put in bids for Barry White, Alexander O'Neil, and Oprah Winfrey. He wants to play a Fat Black four

Barry White passed away in 2003 you clumsy twunt.

[Craigie]

I think this is the way it is, quit simply;

We can survive without bolstering the squad, but we will struggle to win if we do not.

Now, it just comes down to priorities, really; profit or silverware. The irony being we would make a lot of money if we won.

Good point, If we won the league the we would make back what we spent and more

I dont understand it?

I might be wrong but I don't think there's much difference in reward from first to second, and TV revenue is where the money is and we're not going to get more of that this season by finishing first unless we get to the Champions League final too. Maybe being champions would make more of our games shown next season which would make money in the long run. United didn't make that much more than Chelsea the year they both got to the final and finished first and second.

But really it's the old money vs success. We could spend £30million on Dzeko or someone, but what if he flopped? Or what if we still finished second and got knocked out of the CL by Porto? Our first 11 is comparable to most other teams, the only position that has any value for us to spend big money on would be a keeper because ours is not comparable.

We won't buy a good striker, because we only use one and we have van Persie, the rest are all understudies. Maybe we'd get one and put Robin on the wing, but really his back to goal work as the lone striker is world class. If he didn't get his leg chopped off we'd be walking the league right now. We won't buy any midfielders, because Song is proving more than capable and Fabregas is Fabregas, the only dodgy thing is the third player in that trio and as long as it's Nasri (and in the future maybe Ramsey or Diaby) we'll be fine. Our fullbacks are as good as any likely alternatives, and if we bought a centre back we would have to leave one on the bench always because you don't want to break up a good partnership, although it's possible if it's a long term replacement for Gallas.

As for squad players, Eboue, Gibbs, Campbell, Bendtner, Eduardo, Walcott, Djourou, Ramsey, Diaby, Denilson aren't bad so apart from the fact 4 of them are currently injured we can't moan about not having a bench anymore. We'll never get anywhere without gambling though. Big teams will gamble £15-20million on unproven young talent like Pato, Aguero, Higuain, and reap the rewards but we won't do that even though they're players that would cost us £40-50million now. We gamble £0-3million on our foreign talent and end up with players like Vela, Denilson and Diaby who take years to get anywhere near decent. But then you've got players like Anderson and Nani who were big gambles who are no better than any of ours except United are now bankrupt.

[Curt.B]

Don't obsess yourself with the idea of a'big deal'' ie, Dzeko for 30 million. Nobody is calling for this CRaigie. Just bolstering the squad depth. This is where many people lose sight of the realistic nature of this argument.

EDIT: An also, Nani is starting to look brilliant. He clearly just needed time to settle in. He is has begun to prove himself as a fantastic playmaker in the past 3 games.

[Curt.B]

BENDTNER VOWS TO LEAD TITLE CHARGE
Posted 28/01/10 15:26

Nicklas Bendtner is ready to grab the chance to finally establish himself as an Arsenal first team regular - and sustain their title hopes - ahead of a trio of crunch Barclays Premier League games.

And the Denmark international is confident the Gunners are "capable of winning every game" after hauling themselves back into contention via a 10-game unbeaten run which has yielded 24 points.

Bendtner returned after a three month lay-off following groin surgery as a substitute in Wednesday night's goalless league clash at Aston Villa.

It is a timely comeback as Eduardo suffered a hamstring strain which Gunners boss Arsene Wenger confirmed would rule him out of Sunday's home meeting with Manchester United.

With Robin van Persie still sidelined with the ankle injury sustained on international duty with Holland, it is an opportunity for Bendtner to prove his worth, especially with Wenger reported to be searching for a new striker.

The Gunners visit Chelsea and then entertain Liverpool after facing the Red Devils.

Bendtner said: "We have a lot of big games coming up. I've only trained one time with the team and played half an hour at Villa and everything feels okay.

"We will see how I am during the week and hopefully things will keep progressing so I will be 100% when the weekend comes.

"If Eduardo is out, am I ready to come in? I wouldn't be here if I was wasn't ready. If I play Sunday, I will be ready as well and Manchester United is the sort of big game you'd love to come back into.

"Is this a chance to become the number one striker? That is my plan. Is it achievable? Of course.

"Why am I so confident? It is simple. I am a good player. I've always had that belief. People ask me everytime we speak 'why are you like that?' and that's just the way it is.

"If I didn't think I could do it, I wouldn't be standing here telling you I could!"

Bendtner admitted: "These games coming up will have a big bearing on the title. We have fought to get ourselves into a good position.

"We have three big matches, and a few more which are quite important, and we need to get as many points as we can from those.

"We have done really well. We have got ourselves into a great position now where we are fighting at the top of the league.

"We know why we have got here and we are capable of winning every game and winning the championship and that is why we are focused."

Bendtner does not believes United's gruelling Carling Cup extra-time semi-final win over Manchester City will hand Arsenal an advantage for Sunday's game.

He said: "People ask if the semi-final will have taken a lot out of United but they are a big team, they prepare well for every game and I am sure they will be just as ready as we are on Sunday."

Bendtner is delighted to be back in action after such a lengthy lay-off after aggravating his groin problem against Tottenham in late October.

He said: "It is so good to be back and to taste the atmosphere, the smell of the grass, everything. It is just fantastic.

"I don't think you realise when you are out for so long how much you miss it and, when you come back, you are so happy."

Wenger was today awaiting the results of x-rays to determine the extent of defender Thomas Vermaelen's leg injury sustained at Villa Park admidst fears he may have suffered a fracture.

[Craigie]

Don't obsess yourself with the idea of a'big deal'' ie, Dzeko for 30 million. Nobody is calling for this CRaigie. Just bolstering the squad depth. This is where many people lose sight of the realistic nature of this argument.

EDIT: An also, Nani is starting to look brilliant. He clearly just needed time to settle in. He is has begun to prove himself as a fantastic playmaker in the past 3 games.

The thing is it takes a very special player to join the toughest league in the world at the end of January and make instant impact. Joining from a lower league, even the Spanish league is no guarantee that the player will be able to perform straight away. I think a special player like Villa could, but we'd never sign him and If we'd signed someone like Rémy or Gignac and he hadn't settled straight away (and therefore didn't play over Bendtner or Eduardo) people wouldn't like it. Unless you're buying from Russia there aren't players available in January anyway.

It's been the biggest topic on this forum for years, people seem to want Wenger to buy for the sake of it, just because any signing will make them feel a little happier. Before they had a point, because it always looked like we had no good defensive midfielder, Toure/Gallas were shaky and one/both of them had to be replaced, we had no cover for Clichy, Bendtner, Denilson, Diaby, Walcott, Eboue aren't good enough etc. but now all those situations don't look that bad.

As for Nani, I like him and when I'm supporting Portugal I don't mind him playing, but he's been there 3 years, and yeah he's had some good games but he's also had quite a few complete shockers. Considering he cost them around the same they paid for Valencia and it's taken him time to get to a good level he's not what I'd call a good buy.

[damir]

Wenger wont buy in January so what's the problem?maybe he should or maybe he shouldn't buy,I wonder when will come the time when some of the guys here will understand that's the matter of personal view and accept it like that!?sorry but I can't understand why do we have those sharp and express reactions of defending and passion for suppressing different opinions!for example I think he should buy someone like Vermaelen,cause Wenger is really good in finding anonymous but excellent players and in same time players with reasonable price,I think that couldn't harm to us in January,and what is the problem when I or someone else is saying that,I understand all reasons which are saying we shouldn't buy,most of those points are very good,I just may or may not agree with them,but I can't see why should I have problem with that or get rush on my skin every time when someone is saying we shouldn't buy!I never condemned him for not buying,never said 'we wont win the title,it's Wenger's fault..'
-...and I have noticed one important thing,and I said it before,I am often saying very positive things about Wenger,but I never saw that from all those guys who are reacting promptly on any signs of doubting in some of his decisions,all I am seeing from day to day is defending,justifying,persuading,and I think that's damaging his reputation in real,not some small criticism here and there,cause if you see someone is constantly in defending position with the times go by to an neutral eye it may appear like that person is really guilty for something...lets say something positive about our manager for a change,not just 'Wenger knows',that's general expression,lets go deeper than that

[Gaffer]

Wenger - Further January signings unlikely
http://www.arsenal.com/news/news-archiv ... ws+Feed%29
Arsène Wenger says it is unlikely that Arsenal will make any further signings before the current transfer window closes on Monday evening but hasn't completely ruled it out.

At the end of last year the manager told Arsenal TV Online that he may look for a new striker in the window, fuelling newspaper speculation linking the Gunners to a host of forwards.

But Sol Campbell's return to the Club is the only deal to be completed so far this January.

Wenger's pre-match press conference took place early on Friday morning and the manager turned up in a suit rather than his usual training attire. However, that wasn't because he was about to sign a new player.

"My dress doesn't mean we will sign anyone today, I have a board meeting," he told journalists.

"It is not impossible [to sign a player before the window shuts] but at the moment it is unlikely."