Lots of talk about Manchester City's squad at the moment and about how good it is, and you can't disagree with those statements, but when you spend the money they did, that's hardly a surprise. And Chelsea to a lesser extent also have a great squad and many argue that is what gives those two the edge over us. For me, I think the depth and quality of our squad is a bit underrated to be honest. Goal Keepers: Wojciech Szczesny Lukasz Fabianski Emiliano Viviano That is pretty strong, IMO. Chensey has been brilliant this season and Fabianski showed last season that he can be a very good keeper if given a chance. In fact he was seriously unlucky to lose his place in the first place, because he did well against Bayern and then got injured. Defence: Bacary Sagna Carl Jenkinson Laurent Koscielny Per Mertesacker Thomas Vermaelen Nacho Monreal Kieran Gibbs At left back, we are secured for me because both Gibbs and Monreal are very solid and neither will let you down, the competition for that spot is great. At right back, we are very reliant on Sagna at the moment, cause Jenkinson has not built on his early season form from last season and has struggled this season. He works hard, but lacks quality. Thomas Vermalen is our back up CB and he is not bad back up to have. The only worry, I have is that if paired alongside Kos, he can look awful. Ideally we need one more CB, but Sagna can also cover at CB. Basically, if we are to do anything this season, Mert and Sagna need to stay fit. Midfield Mikel Arteta Mathieu Flamini Jack Wilshere Aaron Ramsey Mesut Ozil Santi Cazorla Tomas Rosicky Alex Oxlade Chamberlain Serge Gnabry Clearly the strongest unit in our squad and we truly are blessed in these positions. At DM, Arteta and Flamini are both great, in CM, we have Wilshere and Ramsey. Then you have the others can play in various different positions and still do a job. If one or two of these players picks up an injury, I think we can cope with it. For example, Arteta and Ramsey have been currently injured, and their absences have hardly been noticed. The worry is that only two of those players provide any real pace in our entire squad, so we need the OX and Gnabry to stay fit. But even then, we have Rosicky and Podolski who can cover on the wings. Forwards: Olivier Giroud Lukas Podolski Nicklas Bendtner And this is the weakest part of our squad. If Giroud gets injured we could be in trouble. Podolski for me is not good enough to play as a lone CF. Bendtner is an interesting option to have when he gets back because he can do what Giroud does, but with Bendtner there are so many other factors. He has the talent to be a good squad player for us, but does he give a ****? If he knuckles down and works hard, then Wenger may not even need to invest. In the 07-08, Bendtner was a great squad player and that was when he was still a kid. So basically IMO, we can't afford to lose Giroud,Mertesacker or Sagna. Manchester City need Kompany to stay fit, while Chelsea need Hazard,Terry and Cech to stay fit.
Keepers - We're sorted, Chez has been world class, Fabianski's ditched the "flappy" tag, and Viviano was a major part of Fiorentina's good season last year, so i have faith in all 3. Defence - LB we're sorted, great argument to have over who to start, both are great options. We need 1 more CB, Verm is a great 3rd choice, we need a 4th. RB is a problem. If Sagna leaves, we need a guy, Jenkinson is nowhere near ready, i'd consider Debuchy of Newcastle, now he's settled into the league, he looks really good. Only if Bacman leaves though, Sagna is the 2nd best RB in Europe (after Lahm). Midfield - Pretty much sorted, wouldn't mind another DM though, someone like Matuidi from PSG would be a good shout. We don't need any more winger-cum-forward players though, we already have too many. Striker - This is where everything comes crashing down. All well and good having a solid defence and world class midfield, but when you have a flower pot as your striker, things go badly. We need a starting striker, Giroud can be backup.
We need a new striker, and a new CB, and then we're fully sorted. But I also wouldn't mind another new DMF, someone on a level above Arteta-Flamini. Arteta is very good on the ball, and he's good in his defensive work, but obviously there are better defensive orientated midfielders...Flamini on the other hand is very good defensively, but his on the ball play isn't that good or at the level of Arteta, so I'd like to see us have a DMF who's very good at defending, and very good on the ball being able to control and dictate play.
I agree with SJW. The squad is a lot stronger than most people, certainly the pundits, give them credit for. I doubt if we can really strengthen it much this month except as a backup striker, and even that might be a bit hopeful. I think at this stage any attempt to bring a new player in, as a starter, is not going to be a good move, and I think we will be lucky to find a player good enough to be a backup, who is willing to be backup.
I think the OP pretty much nails it. We've sorted our Goalkeeper and Defence out and our midfield has been it's strongest (or stronger) since the 2008 team. Again the glaring problem is the CF position. Once we get a top player in for the CF slot, then we're pretty much complete.
Yep pretty much reflecting what has already been said. CF is a priority and with Walcott out we might want to be looking at another winger too.
Midfield is up there with the best in Europe in terms of strength in depth. CB pairing looks brilliant, keeper has been solid this season but don't rate your strike force, similarly to many of you it looks like.
I think we can improve everything bar nets! Goal - Love Chezzers, think he's come on leaps and bounds. Not the finished article but very promising and, happily, improving. Fabianski is a really solid backup. My concern is that Fab will be off at the end of the season and I imagine Viviano will be too as he's not been looked at so we'd need a new backup. Defence - LB I don't rate either as highly as the rest of you. I think both are solid players but neither extraordinary. I've always hankered after Baines but that ain't going to happen and I also like Luke Shaw but, again, unlikely. It's a good position but think we could upgrade one of 'em. CB Put simply we just need one more. Love, love, love the current starting pairing but after that it goes pear-shaped. Per and Kos = awesome. Per and TV = very solid. Anything without Per = frowny face. Can he be cloned? RB Weakest part of our defence. Love Bac but he's just one man and possibly off at the end of the season. Love CJ's attitude but don't think he's up to it. I'd like him to prove me wrong but I don't think it's going to happen. A new RB needed for me. Overall I'd actually go new RB first and foremost as I think Sagna does a good job at CB when needed but whenever we do that it means Jenkins goes RB. Midfield - Obviously really strong, especially centrally. We've no genuine out and out wingers but then we don't really play with that system. I do like having the option that Theo brings so, if being choosy, I'd like maybe another speed merchant able to stretch defences and whip a ball in. But in all honesty that's me being greedy. Forwards - Our weakest area. Bar Giroud I don't really rate our options (Podolski I see more as a wide midfielder/forward). I'd like a quick, technical, clinical player to offer another option. Also, being greedy, I'd not object to a cheeky punt at Balotelli. Please don't get me wrong folks. I think our starting 11 is incredibly strong and, when ticking, capable of beating anyone. I just think we're a couple of key injuries away from and excellent side becomming a reasonable side. I don't think we'll buy anyone this month and, being honest, I don't really mind that much. Obviously I'd love to see an amazing forward snapped up but it has every chance of disrupting the unity we have right now. Do I think we have the best team? No. But the best team doesn't always win. Team spirit/moral, cohesion and tactics are every bit as important and we have bucketloads right now.
Luckily football isn't won based on what the fans or the pundits think. I think you are crazy if you want to change a winning team and start tinkering with a squad that is top of the league. Until this lot let us down, I'm not going to let them down by doubting them without reason. ****, what has Jenkinson done wrong, or Giroud, to earn your disfavour, or even Bendtner for that matter? This team is playing at a very high level right now - don't mess with them.
Agree on the two but with Bendtner, he's damn lucky to still be with us after the **** he's pulled. But he's with us and he'll do a job for us, hopefully his season.
He is - I stretched it a little, but I still think after all his years with us, he is still going to be better than someone who isn't starting regularly with a title contending team, and I just can't see us getting an A-list player like that.
I assume you purposefully ignored my penultimate paragraph then. I'll refresh your memory anyway. I also didn't say I disliked Giroud. I even said "bar him" I don't rate our options which surely means I do rate. Jenkinson I think is decidedly average and I think we are a weaker team when he plays. By all means think he's a quality player but I'm allowed to think he's not. As for Bendtner, well he burned his bridges with me a long time back and a couple of goals won't change that.
You just reiterate that some of the current squad don't measure up to your standards. OK - you have an opinion, I've never said you can't think what you like. Why does anyone think that their opinion on the ability or merit of the players is important? I really don't get this obsession with rating players on this very one dimensional scale. A player is good or bad, or not good enough with no nuance whatsoever. I don't know how your mind works for things like Cazorla, who has taken a while to get going this season. Is there no idea that Jenkinson, if he had a run in the team, would similarly improve? So, I'm not challenging your opinion on players' current ability, but I just don't get how it is relevant, given that it is so superficial. And I am not just saying that about you, I would say that about any fan's rating of a player's ability, including my own.
As you said, Baines is unlikely and Shaw is going to cost £20 Mil plus, and there is no way in hell we should spend that amount of money on a LB. Apart from those two, all the other top LB's play for big teams and probably happy earning loads of dosh and winning trophies, the bastards.
Oh absolutely. This is me being uber greedy and in all honesty it's the last position I'd adjust. Toledo, you seem to get the impression I'm unhappy with the team or that I don't rate them. On the contrary I think the vast majority are excellent. Not to my standards, to Man City's and, after the emphatic spanking they gave us, I think it's reasonable to ask a few questions. The point of the thread was how good the team is in comparison to others and I just don't think we're as strong as them. Hardly surprising considering the obscene money they've spent.
I think he looks pretty damn good. Plus, throw on the crazy english "tax" and you can see people justifying that as his price tag. I can see City or Chelsea paying it to be honest.
Spanking is harsh. They were at home and we did put 3 by them, should have been 1 or 2 more. I'll agree with you that I think we have room for improvement, but that is what really gives me optimism. I see us getting better, whereas I think City/Chelsea are playing just about as well as they can right now. City are getting all the breaks, are on top form, and are still behind us. We aren't playing our best and are still ahead of them. I don't know about you, but I think I know which team should be more worried.
