i gotta say this is the first time i read such nice article comparing the str and weakness of a defender
what more its coming from an unglamourous signing lol
two thumbs up!

Laici looks like a good signing, but just in case, one more

"If a French player receives an offer from Arsene Wenger, it's practically impossible to turn down,'' Squillaci told the Guardian.

"It was a sensational offer for me and I was happy Sevilla let me go. It was a difficult situation but I knew I had to take this chance."

And despite Squillaci raising some eyebrows in Spain after asking to be left out of Sevilla's Champions League play-off with Braga last week - in order to avoid being cup-tied - he has no regrets about the way the transfer has developed.

"I knew if I played against Braga then I would not have been able to play for Arsenal in the Champions League, he said.

"Arsenal were always the team I watched out for. For any spectator like me, you had to watch a squad with [Thierry] Henry, [Robert] Pires, [Patrick] Vieira and [William] Gallas. Now, I'm happy to have my name in the history books.

"For me, this is a great new challenge and I've gone there purely to be part of that. I don't think my age is a problem. My experience in football is great and players of my age tend to be at the peak of their playing career.''


from soccernet. damn steady men this guy, supa confident

buzzfizz..one more defender?

This post has been edited by Quick`: Aug 24 2010, 04:47 PM

So our first choice CBs are Vermaelen and Squillaci right? With that we have Djourou,Koscielny, Nordtveit and Song as backups? From those backups I think we'll only see more of Koscielny as Djourou is injury-prone,Song will play at DM and Nordtveit....I don't think Wenger will blood him yet. So as buzzfizz said, need one more CB and we're well prepared at defence.

---

Added on August 24, 2010, 4:55 pmI'm not sure about this but are we out of the 25-man squad limit yet? I think we have lots of home-grown players so we can slot in a few more signings right? And there are still rumours relating us to defenders like Ciani and Juan.

This post has been edited by hakimix: Aug 24 2010, 04:59 PM

Squillaci guy looks very promising now it seems. I think between Kosc,Vermy,Squillaci they can rotate with each other depending on the type of teams.

Vermaelan 2nd year in Arsenal and now already seems like the senior of all the defenders lol

I wonder if that's really true that AW commands such high respect in French football. It's something like FM with cheat for French player then.

how is our eduardo doing after his transfer?

i guess no gk is coming in this transfer window, no club will release their keepers so late when the window is almost closing. almunia had to keep up his french lesson so he can communicate better with the defenders

Eduardo doing just fine, he has scored 2 goals for his club although he not start as first 11 at every matches.

ahhh... schwarzer ... damm arsene still wanna give almunia chance .. get schwarzer or given .. both would be an EXCELLENT replacement for alumnia .. aih ..

another GK will do

its been a while since we last had threesome signings
chamy, koci, laici
hopefully it goes foursome with given or schwarzer

I also share the sentiment that Walcott was lacking of football intelligence last season.

This season, he has proven me wrong. He had impressed me during his first match against Liverpool. Back then, I was one of few members here gave credits to his improvements. Last match against Blackpool, he has finally sent a big message to everyone that AW wasn't wrong to get him and nurture him.

Seeing him starts cutting inside whenever possible, shows his improvement. His willing to shoot also a surprise to me. Let's hope he can share some share of goal-scoring for the team this season.... may our season lands us a trophy or two

The best role model for Vela would be Robin. He went through the same phase of 20 minutes every weekend throughout the years, and continued to work on his flaws (chocoleg) while improving other aspects of his game (vision, passing). Vela has speed and trickery in his bag but physique and playmaking skills are far from fully-developed.

Vela will be used regularly as long as he is fit and doesn't come back crocked/fatigued from Mexican NT games. If Vela is impatient then he can leave. He's nowhere near the status and capabilities of Arshavin, so the best way for him is to be patient and impress whenever he gets the chance. The departure of Dudu paves way for him to nail the left wing spot but if he's unwilling to wait then too bad for him. It's worth remembering that those who were impatient never really fulfilled their potential - read Pennant, Bentley. Those who are, are still improving on a steady state - read Nicklas and Theo.

and also de barca-dna mereida.

and squilaici look like a zombie.

my internet'd been cut off....cant join u guys dat often but i will come back one surely...

for me, Carlos have the excel skill of
1. An aerial crossing ability better than Eboue, i can say he is best in the squad, but lack of game time and most of the time the suppose tall receiver aka Bendtner is not playing, but now got Chamakh, but still i believe Arsene wouldn't wanna play him because no point to play 1 trick pony rather to play an all-round ashavin
2. Trickery, too bad Arshavin and Nasri can do better than him and this is no La liga which provide enough space for him
3. his game reading and passing vision is 2nd after Fab


however, i believe if Carlos can constantly provide assists and goal when against minnow team (CL Group stage) and FA cup, he will get the change to play, further more it is time for Ashavin reveal his barca-DNA he is over 30 liao, prolly his contract will be on 12months basis and thus he will left us just like Robert >.<"

http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/sport/duncanw...sses-the-point/

good article i guess,do read the whole thing.
Theo Walcott is evolving from agumon to greymon,

for heaven's sake Wenger, please get Shay Given.

Can't judge Merida so far as he's yet to feature regularly for Alt Madrid. Let's see how well he does after this season finishes. Nevertheless it's understandable why he left - there's no way he is starting ahead of Fabs or Nasri who are similar in age, nor is he better than Jack and Rambo. Let's just say he's at the wrong place at the wrong time.

2nd after Fab? That's a bit disrespectful to Robin, Tommy, Nasri, and Andy who all have shown better vision than Vela. But anyway, Vela is indeed a vital player in Arsene's long term plans, plus now that he has Overmars's 11 I hope he will eventually take over Arshavin's left wing position in the next 5 years when the latter leaves/retires.

looking forward to next game...

if theo perform good on next match..then i can salute for his consistency and we will c him on starting 11 for most of the match..