New Contracts - Ding Ding Ding

PeterRICK

PeterRICK

Well-Known Member
Jun 2, 2011
2,341
352
83
In a corner, sulking.
Well, Koscielny, Giroud and Coquelin have all renewed anyway. Obviously not the Alexis/Özil news people wanted to hear but still good news, especially for the first two. Kos is one of the best defenders in the world and OG currently has the best shot/assist to minute ratio in Europe.

Just hope we spunk up the money for the other two now..

AOC...if the right money came in I'd sell him but wouldn't be unhappy if he signed a new deal.
 
This is my first comment on here in a long long time.

I'm happy with Kos and Coq signing, but less so about Giroud. Giroud regularly has a spell of good form of up to 2 months but after that tends to be awful like last season when he didnt score at all in February, March or April and then went on to get a hatrick in the last game of the season that was meaningless which increased his league goals from 13 to 16 making the stats look a little better, but still less than a club like Arsenal should be getting from a CF who appeared in all 38 league games last season. He should be considered no more than a sub.
 
I think the main problem with Giroud over the years is we've had too many seasons when we've been far too reliant on him and he's burnt out. I think he's a really useful squad player and incredibly effective when used as a sub against tiring defences. He also offers the height and strength that none of our other players have.

Make no mistake I'm disappointed we've moved away from the Alexis as our starting forward plan but it doesn't mean he shouldn't be part of the team.
 
News like this is good for stability, especially Koscielny who has been a mainstay in the team for the last 5 and a half years.

As much as some may be sighing with disbelief about Giroud signing a new contract, he's 30 years old and is a very useful impact player to have, which I imagine is the role he will have for the foreseeable future. He's scored some crucial goals for us and could be vital in our future success, so I'd rather keep him in the squad than let him go.
 
I don't get the dislike for Giroud. Of course he's not a top top player but he's still really decent and certainly doesn't warrant the hate.

Out of interest, what figure do people think you could get for him now he's signed a new deal? 30 years old, in good form etc etc.
 
PeterRICK said:
I don't get the dislike for Giroud. Of course he's not a top top player but he's still really decent and certainly doesn't warrant the hate.

Out of interest, what figure do people think you could get for him now he's signed a new deal? 30 years old, in good form etc etc.
Click to expand...
I don't think many people specifically hacked off with Giroud. I think they're hacked off that he is/was our main striker for so long when he's clearly not good enough to be
 
I am Gooner said:
This is my first comment on here in a long long time.

I'm happy with Kos and Coq signing, but less so about Giroud. Giroud regularly has a spell of good form of up to 2 months but after that tends to be awful like last season when he didnt score at all in February, March or April and then went on to get a hatrick in the last game of the season that was meaningless which increased his league goals from 13 to 16 making the stats look a little better, but still less than a club like Arsenal should be getting from a CF who appeared in all 38 league games last season. He should be considered no more than a sub.
Click to expand...

Giroud is definitely good to have in the squad though. I share some of the frustrations about having him as our main striker, but he's definitely worth hanging onto.

Really happy to hear about Kos and Coq signing extensions, just need Sanchez and Ozil to do likewise now <ok>

P.S. Welcome back fella
 
PeterRICK said:
I don't get the dislike for Giroud. Of course he's not a top top player but he's still really decent and certainly doesn't warrant the hate.

Out of interest, what figure do people think you could get for him now he's signed a new deal? 30 years old, in good form etc etc.
Click to expand...
I was thinking about this recently actually and the main issue with Giroud is simply that he is the main reason we haven't gone out and bought an elite striker over the last few Seasons. This is why he gets the hate he does.

It's not his fault. While we have a no.1 CF who scores 20 goals a Season, Barca have Messi who will score upwards of 50 every Season, Suarez and Neymar who can get similar numbers. Real have Ronaldo (another 40-50 goal a Season guy) and Bale and Benzema. Bayern have Lewandowski, Juve have Higuain, PSG have Cavani, United have an ageing Zlatan who still seems capable of 30 plus. City have Aguero and Chelsea have Costa.

Every BIG European club seemingly has a striker capable of 40 goals except for ourselves. In my mind this is the biggest problem we have had with our squad over the last 10 years. It's even more ridiculous when you consider our style of play. I do wonder if National pride clouds Wengers judgement on Giroud.
 
Reports in France (yeah I know, unsubstantiated) have said Giroud took a £10k a week pay cut to sign his extension. Can't have wanted to leave as much as the media made out if true.

Also say Coquelin is now on £75k p/w which seems a lot to me. Doesn't mention Kos but as I rate him hugely I wouldn't be bothered if he was on a sh*t-load.
 
Its not hate with Giroud. Its frustration. We really should not have had a striker of his limitations for so long. He is a good player for short bursts followed by long bursts of being very poor. Fatigue sets in fat too quickly and lasts too long for him to be considered good enough.
 
What about Chambers and Holding? We should try and develop them instead of giving a new contract to a player well past his prime. Koscielny, Mustafi, Gabriel, Mertesacker, Holding, Chambers (on loan). Five defenders is way too much. They'll send Holding or Chambers out on loan again ffs
 
Henryj said:
What about Chambers and Holding? We should try and develop them instead of giving a new contract to a player well past his prime. Koscielny, Mustafi, Gabriel, Mertesacker, Holding, Chambers (on loan). Five defenders is way too much. They'll send Holding or Chambers out on loan again ffs
Click to expand...
Good point on Holding. He looks like a TOP prospect IMO.
 
Henryj said:
What about Chambers and Holding? We should try and develop them instead of giving a new contract to a player well past his prime. Koscielny, Mustafi, Gabriel, Mertesacker, Holding, Chambers (on loan). Five defenders is way too much. They'll send Holding or Chambers out on loan again ffs
Click to expand...

I think Gabriel and Holding are going to cover right back for the duration. that makes things a tittle more comfortable at the back in terms of slots and the BFG will be happy to be a backup for the backups, which would not be true of anyone else.
 
What's the issue with the BFG? I know he's knocking on but pace has never been an issue for him what with never having any in the first place. What he does have is a wealth of experience and a fantastic attitude towards the club (really touching story he told when he extended his deal if people care to search). I don't think he'll be a regular but he'd be a good back up and good mentor for the likes of Holding.
 
  • Like
Reactions: TheBear
PeterRICK said:
What's the issue with the BFG? I know he's knocking on but pace has never been an issue for him what with never having any in the first place. What he does have is a wealth of experience and a fantastic attitude towards the club (really touching story he told when he extended his deal if people care to search). I don't think he'll be a regular but he'd be a good back up and good mentor for the likes of Holding.
Click to expand...
Mertesacker was always under-rated. Used to be scape-goated for alot of our defensive problems. Staistically though we always did better when he was in the side. I would still take him in our line up ahead of Gabriel.

My only issue is that Holding has all the ingredients to be a TOP CB but he needs games.( and Wengers not known for rotating.)
 
Last edited:
My issue with Mertesacker was that he wasn't utilised properly. And that's the fault of the manager.

You simply cannot play a high line when the core of your team is so slow. I remember on numerous occasions where the spine of our team consisted of Mertesacker, Arteta and Giroud, yet we tried to press high up the pitch. Tactical suicide if I've ever seen it.

Whenever we dropped deeper and looked to play on the counter, Mertesacker was effective. But we always ran the risk of getting hit on the break any time an opposing attacker tried to play on the shoulder of the last defender.

If he's used as cover or played in the right system, I have no doubt he will be an important player. But that's a big 'if'.
 
BrunelGooner said:
My issue with Mertesacker was that he wasn't utilised properly. And that's the fault of the manager.

You simply cannot play a high line when the core of your team is so slow. I remember on numerous occasions where the spine of our team consisted of Mertesacker, Arteta and Giroud, yet we tried to press high up the pitch. Tactical suicide if I've ever seen it.

Whenever we dropped deeper and looked to play on the counter, Mertesacker was effective. But we always ran the risk of getting hit on the break any time an opposing attacker tried to play on the shoulder of the last defender.

If he's used as cover or played in the right system, I have no doubt he will be an important player. But that's a big 'if'.
Click to expand...

Agree, Mertesacker is a good CB but not in a team that plays a high line as he is too slow. He makes up for a lot of this with his position sense, which is generally pretty good, but it's like expecting a Lorry to keep up with a sports car, when pacey forwards are running at him.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom
Back