From James :
For me the signing of Auba has been soured by the sale of Giroud to Chelsea.
I am far sadder that he has left than Sanchez.
Yes Sanchez had dazzling ability, scorer of great goals & before this season a huge work rate.
He was, however, a self-involved prima donna who immediately acted as though we were privileged to have him.
It was noticeably different to how the better player Suarez was at Liverpool. Win as a team, lose as a team was not Sanchez.
Tedious tantrums every time he was substituted including the ludicrous occasion at Swansea when he was subbed a few minutes from time with Arsenal 4-0 up. If he had taken a second to reflect he might have shown some humility seeing he was being replaced by Welbeck who was simply happy to step onto the pitch after 2 injury misery years.
While the pathetic defending was understandably frustrating, he himself often held onto the ball for too long & was frequently dispossessed. I wonder how many conceded counter attack goals were sourced from the dispossession of Sanchez.
In contrast Giroud is a thoroughly decent man as demonstrated by his graceful goodbye messages to Club & fans. Frequently I heard sneering comments that Arsenal could not win the League with Giroud as Striker when the truth is & was the continuing failure to buy a top Defensive midfielder & poor if any ‘Defence drilling’.
Giroud’s goals per minutes record was very good.
He was a team player who would pass to a colleague in a better position. One classic example was another Swansea away match when he passed to give Ramsey an open goal when 99% of strikers would have taken the shot from a good position.
Contrast that to the always greedy Sturridge, who early in the Iceland match at the Euros shot from a ludicrous angle when a pass would have provided a tap-in open goal. Who knows how the game would have panned out thereafter? Selling Giroud is disappointing in itself but selling to Chelsea is inexplicable.
I wish him good luck & hope he scores goals in Chelsea defeats & draws that secure him a place in France’s World Cup XI.
Please someone explain to me the point of Granit Xhaka??
To me he is not an Arsenal player in the manner of the playing style. His only asset is his long passing which should be an asset from deep to start counter attacks but he has so little defensive discipline.
Only Wenger’s vanity keeps him in the team as he would be an embarrassing expensive outcast. So frustrating that Kante could have been bought for nearly half the Xhaka fee. If the team was selected on merit then Maitland-Niles should play instead of Xhaka & actually fulfil the role of a Defensive midfield player.
Transfer windows have frequently been disappointing for Arsenal fans & even now the signings of Auba & Mkhi are offset by the sad sale of Giroud & desperate need for new top notch Goalkeeper & Defensive midfielder & the feeling we are stuck with Wenger for eternity!!
James LeBlanc
Witham
Essex
Myles says:
Giroud might help Chelsea to grab a place in the Champions League.
But he’s joined a club where aggro is visible, James, where strife is audible twice a week, where Conte is asking for the sack. If he loses at Watford, he’s gone. Maybe. That was one story over the weekend. Is it credible? We shall soon find out
You’re right about Xhaka. And you’re not the first to suggest to me that Maitland-Niles could handle that role. He has the skills and mobility to become efficient in there.