Hmm, not scrolling back page after page just to find one... can't see any quote stories on google anywhere though.
Personally I'm still hoping for Mandzukic as he offers more in terms of work rate and versatility up front than Balotelli for me, although I'd still be thrilled if we signed Balotelli. I'd be pretty gutted if we ended up with Remy or Bony but I don't see that happening to be honest.
For me he is too similar to Giroud and I'd rather we go for a striker that offers something different. Yes Mandzukic is better than Giroud but Balo offers something different to those two. Also Balo has that touch of genius about him than those two don't.
I'd be happy with either tbh but I just think Mandzukic offers more. He is similar to Giroud, but that's where he would be an asset in that he'd slot seamlessly into our team. The role that Giroud/Mandzukic plays is to bring other players into the game and create chances, Giroud got 11 assists last season and was a key man in helping Ramsey get so many goals. Add to that the 22 goals he scored himself and it was a decent season for Giroud last time around. What he lacks though is that clinical killer finish which I think Mandzukic would provide. Balotelli would offer that touch of genius and something very different from Giroud, I don't think he works nearly as hard for the team though and relies more on the ball being fed into him than creating chances for himself. That said he's a natural goalscorer and with the service from our players, he'd get plenty of goals. If we did sign him I'd like to see Wenger develop him to become a more rounded attacking player than simply a CF.
My problem with Balotelli is his discipline.It's OK paying £30 million for him but how many games will he miss through suspension ? A good Balotelli has the talent to be World Class but I'm afraid we too often see the bad Balotelli.
Realistically, will Giroud get much game time if most people consider him to be a lesser version of Manzukic? The thing with Giroud, he's good as a CF, holding up play and distributing the ball there. If Manzukic does the exact same thing but a little better, and both really can't play anywhere else, then what's the point of having Giroud? If Wenger has to change systems then bringing on Giroud wouldn't change that. With Balo he is as talented as Ozil and they will be able to get the most out of each other. Throw in Cazorla, Ramsey, Walcott etc and you will get a tremendously quick counter-acting team. Saying that, Giroud isn't all that bad but Balo has levels which Wenger will be able to exploit. I still don't think we've seen the best of Balo and if one man can exploit that then Wenger can.
I think Balo has calmed down quite a bit and Wenger would be a really good influence on him. Wenger has a good track record and I can't think of many players who have said a bad word about him.
All we can do is look at Wenger's track record and he's done well with players so far. Obviously barring Bendtner's underwear exploits ...
I still think there will be news concerning transfers on July 10th up until then we will have to live on a diet of rumour scraps
To be honest i'm not really following the rumors like i did last year, which I got burnt. But Ozil was a lovely surprise though...
I get burnt every year. Without fail. I don't think I'm a stupid person either but I have a gravitational pull towards this bollards that I can't resist. Moth to flame style, much as I am when I see a nice pair of tits and I know the wife will clobber me if she sees me staring. Can I stop? The bruises tell the answer there. I honestly don't know where we stand this year with transfers. I think we need 4-5 players but can only see us getting 3 max. Of those, I think I'll be pleased-ish with one of them!
Hahahaha so so right and even more difficult in this lovely sunny weather. But I'm with you on the transfers, I think the Aurier transfer will probably come in and so will a striker, but who that player is anyone's guess. But i'm leaning towards a good valued striker (following our track record), so that would probably be Mandukic.
We all get sucked in by the rumours especially when they're in the media day after day.Balotelli is getting mentioned daily and now we are beginning to believe there is truth in the rumour much the same as Higuain last summer.In the end Balotelli may come out and say he's happy in Milan or may go elsewhere,this will then start the usual meltdown among Arsenal fans.Until the rumours started I don't recall many Arsenal fans having Balotelli at the top of their most wanted strikers list but because of media rumours we'll go mental if we don't sign him.How many people have stopped to think that Wenger's attitude may be "I don't want that disruptive **** at my club"
Hugely presumptuous of lots of fans. I really don't think Arsenal fans would go into 'meltdown' simply just for not signing Balotelli. But they'd rightly go into meltdown if we failed to sign any top quality striker at all.
