re: Arsenal 2013/2014 Season Long Thread

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Or KJH (who wouldn't be a bad addition at 14m)

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Yeah he would. A 30 year old striker at above 10 mil would be bad business. Also his production has fallen massively the last two years. I don't want him. I'd rather go after Lacazette from Lyon, who can play across the line as well as at striker if we are going to spend over 10 mil. Or Alessio Cerci. Or Roberto Frimino.

I also wouldn't mind taking a punt on Ricardo Rodriguez and playing Gibbs on the left wing. Rodriguez is a really good LB going forward and Gibbs is a willing runner who rarely asks for the ball into feet and has enough technique to play forward if we need him to.

All we need is runners to open up space. Otherwise we are pretty superb at breaking down teams with ten behind the ball.

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he's 27 (would be 28 in August) and has 12 goals in 17 BL matches this season.

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For some reason ESPN says he was born in 86, but Wiki says he was born in 83. Also the Bundesliga site has him born in 83, which would make him 30. I don't know what site is right though. Still wouldn't want him if he's above 10 m. Firmino and Lacazette would be near the same price and have much more upside.

Eta: Espnfc says 86. Wiki says 30. All seem believable. Don't know who to trust.

The difference between Monreal and Gibbs is that Monreal needs another player to help him close down the 2 v 1 situations that often develop while Gibbs has the speed to cover both situations. They are the best LB pair we've had since Cole and Clichy though. Both are pretty great going forward, in terms of penetration though both don't have superb final balls. Rodriguez is a superb LB who we should get anyway regardless of Gibbs and Monreal's situation.

I'm not convinced by his movement. Seems that he won't do the defensive work that we need him to do. I

I actually wanted huntelaar a while back, before giroud. We could have easily snagged him. If still take him, but he def is regressing with age. Could be a stop gap, still would rather someone a lil diff than giroud.

I bet a bunch are from that one Chelsea match, amirite?

Nice end to the season. Ramsey is a God.

Optimistic we can win the league next year with a quality buy or two and some luck with health.*

*said every supporter after every season, but still it is true

I know the title race is complex and could be broken down into a lot of contributing factors, but I can't help but think the difference between arsenal and city/pool basically boils down to the health of their respective talismans.

Players like Gerard, Sturridge, Aguero, Silva, Ozil, Cazorla are all amazing but I think it's safe to say that Suarez, Toure, and Ramsey each exerted a gravitational pull on their teams. All 3 teams' style of play when at their best was perfectly in line with their strengths.

Stats:
Suarez: .91 goals per game, .35 assists per game
Toure: .55 goals per game, .25 assists per game
Ramsey: .46 goals per game, . 33 assists per game

When you factor in that Ramsey did by far the most defensive work of the three, i think it's clear all 3 were pretty equally valuable and productive for their sides. Major difference? Toure-36 games played, Suarez 34 games played, Ramsey-24 games played. If Ramsey plays 10-12 more games this season I think that would've been worth 8 points

yeah, i think there's a good chance we win the title with Rambo (or Theo for that matter), but we'll never know. that's just how it goes. that month without ozil, rambo, and theo really killed us. death blow to any chances. just glad we got to the FA Cup final. get a trophy. get a couple or three huge signings, let's do it next year.

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congrats to Diaby on getting some PT.

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One of the highlights of the day for me. Great to see him back.

Oh well. I'm just ready for Saturday. Will worry about the health of our players in Brasil, then I'll worry about the transfer market.

I LOVE THIS TEAM !!!