Last season he was our best player after RVP. His passing, tackling, and the way he reads the game are superb. Every team needs a Xabi Alonso, and he is every bit as good as the Real Madrid man. He should be the first name on the team sheet. We win when he is playing, plain and simple. I can only imagine how lethal a partnership he will form with Cazorla and Wilshere this season. The real reason for this thread though is this exceptional video I found showing his exploits for us last season: [video=youtube;qaPNZz8wfC0]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qaPNZz8wfC0[/video]
speaking of compilation heres one each of giroud and cazorla vs cologne. Didn't see the match due to personal problems (which also forced me to sell my arsenal sunderland ticket!) but it seems like cazorla had a great game http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uMyy175GS8E&feature=youtu.be http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7flb9xRbuxI&feature=g-all-u
Awesome. I missed the 1st half too. In the second Gervinho looked back to his form from early last season. All signs are that we'll start the season really well.
I remember people slating Wenger last summer for his 'panic' buys. Out of them all, Park is the only one who was a mystery, the others have all done really well. Arteta Brilliantly
Arteta is in the 2011-12 whoscored.com Team of the Season, coming 6th in overall rating and having the highest number of passes per game with 76.9. However he only got two assists, proving he was a rubbish signing.
Xabi Alonso got no assists at all for Spain in Euro 2012, yet he was their best player, and best passer of the ball. Playing the final ball is only one pass in many that leads up to a goal.
Now with Cazorla I cant agree actually. Arteta is awesome but... Wilshere and Arteta will more than likley be fighting for the same position. Wilshere has the same quality of passing but he's better with the ball at his feet. He can run with the ball and like Paul Scholes he rarely gives it away. Song does'nt have the technical quality of either but he has boundless energy and is the best defensively of all our midfielders. -------------Song---------Arteta/Wilshere-------------- ----------------------Cazorla---------------------------- Unless of course we go with a 4-4-1-1.
Call me cynical, but I've always believed that Park's signing was largely motivated by the prospect of gaining new fans/selling shirts in Korea. Of course, I've no evidence for this.
I wouldn't worry about Arteta's assist total at all. I am not entirely certain what it takes to be a great premier league midfielder, but I can pretty much guarantee that whatever it is, isn't solely measured by the number of assists that midfielder gets in a season.
You nailed it. Would you swap him for Nasri ? I will not. And to think he was less than half of Nasri price... Not as young though. but still has another 3-4 good years. Something tells me he will be even better for us this season now when he has settled and established himself as a key player in a truly big club.. Him and Cazorla together will be seriously good methinks. I do hope Arteta still has an ambition to play for Spain, he deserves to be in their squad. And it would be a great motivation.
Arteta will never make the spanish squad, Del Bosque picks his favourites, not those who've been playing well, thats why Torres started and Llorente didn't feature at all in euro 2012. Plus Arteta is up against people like Xavi, who are better than him.
Negredo has a case, it was Torres' inclusion that was bewildering. I guess it didn't matter much anyway, they played without a striker in the end.
