I really want him to stay with Arsenal. He said " Andre Santos says the competition for the left-back spot at Arsenal has made him a better player. The 29-year-old made 21 appearances last season, one fewer than Kieran Gibbs, but the England man has kept Santos out of the starting line-up for all but one game this term. That will change at Norwich on Saturday when Santos replaces Gibbs, who is nursing an injury he suffered against West Ham before the international break. The Brazilian international is determined to take his chance and he believes that his friendly rivalry with Gibbs has benefited both players. "Of course it does," Santos told Arsenal Player. "In life you always find competition and this competition exists but it is only on the pitch and this is good for the team. "Kieran is an exceptional player, and I know I have qualities too. This is a very healthy competition, we're always talking about it between us before and after training. Kieran is a good friend and I respect the hard work he puts in every day and I know he feels the same way about me. "He has been playing well and, even if we fight for the same position, I know how good he is. I know that he's having a good spell in the squad and obviously I respect that and am pleased for him. "I believe that whoever is better at the moment will keep on playing and it's the manager's choice. However, he will always give opportunities to all the players. "Of course it is hard [when you are not playing]," added Santos. "At every club I've been at I've always played regularly. It is difficult to be on the bench, but we are a team, we are doing well and I'll just keep on working hard so I can be back on the pitch regularly." Santos has recently been the subject of transfer speculation but he was quick to quash rumours that he was considering a move back to Turkey. "There were some rumours that my name was involved in this possible comeback," he said. "I had people asking me on Twitter and even players from Fenerbache asking if it was true, but I'm very happy here at Arsenal and I hope to stay here at Arsenal for a long time. "I have a contract and I'm very happy here, not only at Arsenal but in London too, it is a great city. The Arsenal fans are amazing, this is a great club, and I hope to stay here for a good while."
Hopefully he'll stay, he's an underrated player on the field, and good for the team off the field, he's like Eboue mk2, a bit of a card, but thats why we love him.
I like Santos a lot. He's a decent defender, strong and agile. He's also good going forward and is not afraid to shoot either. LB position looks good at Arsenal now. We should NEVER play Vermaelen there again
As you love stats so much, i feel i should mention that Statistically, Santos was actually (suprisingly) our best defender last season (when he played). He had the highest number of successful 1 on 1 tackles, the most important clearances etc. And why am i even bothering, as you're a narrow minded pillock who hates everything about this club.
Santos can make mistakes, but like any defender they are always highlighted more than players in other positions. He is not a liability. A fair assessment of his game is that he's a robust defender and offers some decent attacking play too.
We should also use him on the left wing. I think Wenger sees a role for him there, as he was played as a left winger for most of pre-season.
In all honesty, ever since the departure of Clichy, neither Santos or Gibbs have been as much liability as Clichy was to our team.
Clichy was great for us when Cashley left and for a couple of seasons he looked like the real deal, then he just seemed to be so out of sorts and give up at Arsenal, I was gutted when he sold, but I wasn't disappointed either. .if you understand what I mean . .
The funny thing about Clichy is that I hear a lot of people talk about that mistake he made against Birmingham in the 2008 season, but if you watch that incident again, he actually got the ball. Was never ever a pen. We was cursed on that day.
But what the hell was he thinking BEFORE he had to make that tackle????????? Clichy's mistakes always cost us bad, remember the other mistake vs Spurs when were 4-2 up and cruising, he lost the ball in the worst way, then it came 4-3 and that basically led to our downfall and defeat.
Of course, there is no excusing that, but if the ref also did his job we would have won that game. Oh and the mistake against Spurs was more unforgivable, that was born out of pure arrogance.
Ok, Kyle?. Just for that, I'm going to watch Santos intensely tomorrow with a pen and notepad, and write down every bad move that he makes in the game, and then I'll post them here.
