http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/18712651 I bet this is going to haunt Arsenal. Star player after star player is now obviously unconvinced at Arsenal's ambition. Van Persie is making most of the difference there and I'm betting he has questioned Wenger & Co what they intend to do about it, to make his prospects better at winning something at club level.
As long as Wenger doesn't fish in our pond, I don't mind. I can see him now watching our season review DVD. "Hmmm, Le Lambert looks useful......."
This has been obvious for a while you can't but two world class strikers like Podolski and Giroud and then claim that you're going to keep the one you already had as well, two would have to sit on the bench as they play 433. Admittedly Podolski can play on the left but that stifles more talent like Gerviniho and Chambo.
Shame.Wenger will have to rebuild and find another "RVP" and I'm sure he will in due course. Wenger's teams need to man up otherwise they will continue to fall short of winning competitions and the big names will leave.I don't think it is entirely Wenger's fault that his teams bottle it,they just need to man up and do it,it's up to them. He will go to Man City...
Podolski is you only have to look at his international record to see that, Giroud may not be. I suppose I meant players that could get into Arsenals first team if RVP didn't exist.
A player of his quality can't spend his whole career finishing 3rd or 4th. Arsenal's signings have been poor yet again.
His club record where he plays teams only from Germany, and his club is relegation fodder every year. Where as for his national team he plays teams from all over the WORLD with world class players around him so he can actually do damage. He flopped at Bayern so everyone thinks he's ****e, but if you look at his scoring record at Koln pre Bayern: 2002–2004 1. FC Köln II 2 (0) 2003–2006 1. FC Köln 81 (46) And post Bayern: 2009–2012 1. FC Köln 88 (33) It's pretty impressive not to mention his astonishing international record. 2004– Germany 101 (44)
Pretty impressive isn't world class. When he played for Koln every single attack was built around getting him the ball, of course he was going to score a lot because he got so many opportunities. Whereas when he was part of an actual team, Bayern, he was appalling. And international football is a completely different game. He's been good for Koln, sure, but world class, really?
His reasoning, that Arsenal don't share his ambition, is pretty flimsy considering their transfer activity has been markedly more ambitious than usual. I think what he's really talking about is they won't pay him £200k a week. Don't understand this sentiment. They've bought two international players already, compared with most teams, including us, they're on track for a very good transfer window (RVP aside obviously).
Yes world class. You can't just say international football is a different game it is just as hard if not harder than club football and he has an astonishing record which you want to ignore because "it's a completely different game". Attacks going through him is not a valid argument he was in a team that was relegation fodder every year and he was there best player of course they are going to pass to him and give him chances to score, or is the only way to prove your world class to go have to make every chance yourself?
Lets hope they cut their loses & he's gone by the time we play them. Not long now so get a move on ManCity!
i hope he does. People over estimate how important he was to us. Even statistically i read somehwhere rvp has one of the worst goals to chances ratio. I understand why most of you will be pleased he is leaving so won't comment on that but i'm sure even you guys would agree it would be nice to see more general loyalty in football. You guys have some great talents like shaw, calumm chamber and james prowse and if they stay i'm sure you will be a force and i hope you do become one.
Just because they're international doesn't mean they're good signings. Podolski might be alright, though it's a massive step up from playing at Koln. I don't believe that Giroud is that good a player, and I definitely don't think he suits Arsenal at all. Van Persie wants and deserves trophies, and Arsenal are a long way from being good enough to deliver. They haven't been nearly ambitious enough with their signings, and still look pretty beatable in midfield and defense.
You're just ignoring club football though?! Even with every attack going through him he wasn't world class. When Bayern were desperate to get rid of him, why did only a relegation fodder team pick him up? Because he's world class? Righto, let's see Van Persie head to Wigan then. Ohh wait, world class players tend to go to world class teams. When he was getting 5 or 6 opportunities a game at Koln, he had a good scoring record, not a world class one. If you're saying that putting away one out of every 12/13 good opportunities is world class then let's get Emile Heskey... Your entire justification for saying he's world class is "let's ignore the one time he's been at a decent club for several years because.. um, anyway, he scores quite a lot, not loads, but a lot, at international level and when he's his team's only option, therefore he's world class!" Unless, of course, you define anyone as "world class" if they're good. To me, world class players have to be around top 5 in their position. I can think of 10 better strikers than Podolski, let alone 5. There's absolutely no way I can justify saying somebody outside of the top 10 in their position is world class.
No I'm not! I went on for ages about Koln! And your point about him not being world class because he didn't get picked up by a big club he's just earned a move to Arsenal! Who never buy anyone over 25! That should be justification that managers view him as world class surely? I think our disagreement is quite common as peoples view of world class is subjective rather than defined. I classify someone as world class based on what I think of them not on facts and figures, I'm not sure how you classify them but it's bound to be different to me which is fine but also the reason why we will never agree on this. David Silva, Fabregas, Xavi, Iniesta, Alonso, Ozil, Kaka, Yaya Toure, Scweinsteiger (sp), Pirlo, Sneijder, Modric, All play in central midfield or have done for most of their careers according to your have to be in the top ten logic two of those players aren't world class.
Do you think he's in the top 5/10 strikers in the world, or are you far more lenient with the phrase "world class"?
