It is a bit of a dreamy question - but looking back at last year transfer window - who out of all transfers do you wish we signed now in retrospect? My pick would be a FREE one.....and no it is not Demba Ba ...but something we really lacked (creative midfielder)....and it would be PIRLO! He went for free from Milano to Juventus. That would have been a great bargain!
Juan Mata. Pirlo is old, i know he's not playing like he's old, but he only has a couple of seasons left in him realistically.
He's not THAT good. Hes had a good game against one of the poorest teams in the tournament. Against decent opposition he's been quiet for long periods. At club level he'd be even more out of his depth with no fitness. He definitely couldn't cope with a fast paced league.
Would have been either Juan Mata or Eden Hazard, two players we were strongly linked with anyway. I rate Pirlo really highly, but in the Premier League he wouldn't get the time to pick those passes and it would be easier to defend him once the opposition teams get used to him. Arteta has done a fine job for us, can't see Pirlo eclipsing that.
Hmm I cant help but think Arsenal fans are starting to sound like Arsene Wenger. He's old but he's still playing fantastically well. Look at Giggs, Scholes, Klose, Maldini, Seedorf, Van Bummel, Di Natalie etc.. just because you are in your 30's does'nt automatically mean you are finished as a footballer. Besides with advances in Nutrition and medical treatments athletes are going longer than ever before.
I'd love Aguero at the Arse .. what a signing. Pirlo is quality and like you saw him make fools out of Parker and Gerrard, he'd do the same to the rest of the Premier league. Did you not notice how he only passed when HE was ready to do so ? He held players off until he was ready. Pirlo is on another level of great when it comes to midfielders.
I didn't get to watch the match as I was working yesterday, but there was a laptop up front in the bar playing the game so I saw glimpses. I said on ja606 that Gerrard would fail when faced with a classy midfielder like Pirlo and I was right. People have to realise that when they are calling glorypunters like Gerrard world class they are putting him on the level of guys like Pirlo.
Definately Mata. Some of the others like Aguero are a pipe dream but Mata was within our grasp. We have gone on to regret not getting him now. Was one of the best players of the premiership this season. Another player that was a big miss was Jose Enrique. Another blunder and another success story for another club. A proven premiership player with skill and good defensive ability. He wanted to come to us too. A no brainer and another brain fart from our Arsenal administration.
They didn't come up against eachother often, Gerrard switched out to the wing at times and Pirlo was largely given the freedom to do what he wanted as Rooney was meant to be tracking him.
