GWT: PL Match Week 4

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booyakasha

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Oct 11, 2007
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Gary Neville also said Xhaka is "an experienced player who never becomes experienced," which pretty accurately sums up how terrible he is as he just consistently does the same things wrong game after game.
as sad as this is to say, but he deserves the Eboue treatment, and I would feel no sympathy towards him.
I felt bad for what happened to Eboue, but would not feel anything for xhaka if Emirates replied in kind.
 

TheMoreYouKnow

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May 3, 2007
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I look at Arsenal's squad, and it just seems so pointless. It's not a young team built for the future, it's a team meant to compete now but is just not all that good. At least with Chelsea and United there's sort of an understanding of a youth movement being imperative...
 

robertmac43

Forever 43!
Mar 31, 2015
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I look at Arsenal's squad, and it just seems so pointless. It's not a young team built for the future, it's a team meant to compete now but is just not all that good. At least with Chelsea and United there's sort of an understanding of a youth movement being imperative...

I think its a team with good win now pieces that has been trying to fill in the wholes with solutions that are good but still have plenty of room to grow, and I think they have done a good job at that. No one expects this squad to win a league title or anything.
 

bluesfan94

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Jan 7, 2008
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I look at Arsenal's squad, and it just seems so pointless. It's not a young team built for the future, it's a team meant to compete now but is just not all that good. At least with Chelsea and United there's sort of an understanding of a youth movement being imperative...
They’re going after young guys (Martinelli, Tierney, Pepe) but still trying to make CL
 

Cassano

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Aug 31, 2013
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At least when another manager picks a favorite, they're a young player with a lot of room to grow. Like Rodgers with Choudhury and Pep with Zinchenko. This Xhaka obsession is totally absurd and he has no business playing for any team in the top half.
It's even more puzzling considering they have a young English Midfielder that has put in good performances for them that occupies the same position.
 
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YNWA14

Onbreekbaar
Dec 29, 2010
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Arsenal will be fine. They'll be able to win against most teams just because they have so many strong offensive options. They'll be forced to use better midfielders than Xhaka throughout the season too. They'll comfortably finish top 4 this season based on what we've seen so far. I'm not sure about Spurs, Chelsea and United. Leicester, Everton and West Ham look on a similar level. I have more confidence that Tottenham will be able to right the ship than the other two though.
 
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Live in the Now

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Dec 17, 2005
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Mane was apparently embarrassed about his reaction and everything is fine. Didn't realize Senegal and Egypt weren't playing during this break, so Mane and Salah both get two weeks off.
 

Corto

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Sep 28, 2005
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They'll comfortably finish top 4 this season based on what we've seen so far. I'm not sure about Spurs, Chelsea and United. Leicester, Everton and West Ham look on a similar level.

This is the most excited I've been about the boys since Bilic's first season.

Haller alone changes this team from "interesting" to "dangerous". Having a proper striker after so long, it feels so good.
 

Peen

Rejoicing in a Benning-free world
Oct 6, 2013
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It's sad how much Azpi has fallen this season. While he's being asked to do new things, this is eerily similar to the way Ivanovic fell off strongly one season.

Will be nice to have Rudi and Kante back for sure..
 

maclean

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Jan 4, 2014
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At least when another manager picks a favorite, they're a young player with a lot of room to grow. Like Rodgers with Choudhury and Pep with Zinchenko. This Xhaka obsession is totally absurd and he has no business playing for any team in the top half.

The weirdest thing is he was a Wenger favourite too. The guy must give amazing.. backrubs
 

Theokritos

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Apr 6, 2010
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Gary Neville also said Xhaka is "an experienced player who never becomes experienced," which pretty accurately sums up how terrible he is as he just consistently does the same things wrong game after game.

Xhaka is lucky there are also experienced coaches who never become experienced.
 
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Mar 1, 2002
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Spurs are in deep ****.

Having said that, they've played 2 of their 3 toughest matches already, at ManCity and at Arsenal. They are at Leicester and Liverpool by the end of October. With essentially all of their toughest matches behind them, this year may the be the opposite of last year when they faltered at the end.

Spurs are at ManCity, Arsenal, Leicester, Liverpool, Everton and ManU before they get ANY of last years top 10 at home.......that's rather staggering.
 

AB13

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Apr 29, 2019
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Having said that, they've played 2 of their 3 toughest matches already, at ManCity and at Arsenal. They are at Leicester and Liverpool by the end of October. With essentially all of their toughest matches behind them, this year may the be the opposite of last year when they faltered at the end.

Spurs are at ManCity, Arsenal, Leicester, Liverpool, Everton and ManU before they get ANY of last years top 10 at home.......that's rather staggering.

If they keep playing absolutely awful football they will keep dropping points to lesser sides regardless though.
 
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AB13

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I look at Arsenal's squad, and it just seems so pointless. It's not a young team built for the future, it's a team meant to compete now but is just not all that good. At least with Chelsea and United there's sort of an understanding of a youth movement being imperative...

What are you talking about? Arsenal is a young team built for the future, the definition of it, we have a lot more young peices than every team in the top 6 without anyone being even remotely close. We have Pepé, Holding, Tierney, Bellerin, Torriera, Maitland-Niles, Guendouzi, Willock, Smith-Rowe, Nelson, Saliba and Martinelli with by far the best academy crop in England, producing players like Saka, John-Jules, Balogun and Azeez. Not many teams in Europe can compete with that young core, but of course everyone will not develop.

Arsenal are also offloading older players and giving more minutes to youngsters. We are not built to win now.
 

TheMoreYouKnow

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Your key acquisition of the offseason was a 32 year old defender. He is now paired with veteran Sokratis. Your best forwards are 28 and 30 years old. You have two extremely expensive attacking midfielders with Ozil and Mkhitaryan who are on the wrong side of 30. Arsenals money is tied up mostly in players who arent getting better and are now just barely good enough to compete for 4th place.

Every team has young players, a team with a young core is one where the key roles are occupied by youngsters on the rise. Thats not the case with Arsenal. Arsenal has all these old guys playing because theres no young talent that could play key roles and still get CL qualification.
 

bluesfan94

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Jan 7, 2008
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Your key acquisition of the offseason was a 32 year old defender. He is now paired with veteran Sokratis. Your best forwards are 28 and 30 years old. You have two extremely expensive attacking midfielders with Ozil and Mkhitaryan who are on the wrong side of 30. Arsenals money is tied up mostly in players who arent getting better and are now just barely good enough to compete for 4th place.

Every team has young players, a team with a young core is one where the key roles are occupied by youngsters on the rise. Thats not the case with Arsenal. Arsenal has all these old guys playing because theres no young talent that could play key roles and still get CL qualification.
Yeah, it’s transitioning younger while competing. The midfield is all young. You include Mkhi who’s gone. Ozil doesn’t start. You claim the key acquisition is Luiz, whos a clear stopgap for the young CB they signed. Signed a young LB. have a young RB. Pepe is the largest buy from the summer. He’s young. So is martinelli. They’re clearly trying to rebuild while finishing top 4.

This just seems like one of those posts where someone tries to be edgy without knowledge and just comes off as uninformed.
 
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phisherman

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Apr 17, 2015
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Yeah, it’s transitioning younger while competing. The midfield is all young. You include Mkhi who’s gone. Ozil doesn’t start. You claim the key acquisition is Luiz, whos a clear stopgap for the young CB they signed. Signed a young LB. have a young RB. Pepe is the largest buy from the summer. He’s young. So is martinelli. They’re clearly trying to rebuild while finishing top 4.

This just seems like one of those posts where someone tries to be edgy without knowledge and just comes off as uninformed.

You find quite a few posters that post about Arsenal without having any knowledge of them.

The only thing they should post, which would be right, is that Xhaka is garbage and somehow can con Wenger and Emery to keep starting him.
 
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AB13

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Your key acquisition of the offseason was a 32 year old defender. He is now paired with veteran Sokratis. Your best forwards are 28 and 30 years old. You have two extremely expensive attacking midfielders with Ozil and Mkhitaryan who are on the wrong side of 30. Arsenals money is tied up mostly in players who arent getting better and are now just barely good enough to compete for 4th place.

Every team has young players, a team with a young core is one where the key roles are occupied by youngsters on the rise. Thats not the case with Arsenal. Arsenal has all these old guys playing because theres no young talent that could play key roles and still get CL qualification.

Key acquisition? He was the least important of all of our 6 signings. We have so many young players tied up on long term deals, having older players doesn't change that fact at all. Willock and Guendouzi have both started almost all games this season, Nelson has started two, and besides Auba and Laca all of our key players are young ( Pepe, Torriera, Bellerin, Tierney, Holding, Leno). We have very young fullbacks, wingers and midfielders. Such an ill-informed post. We have an abundance of young players and probably the best U24-25 group in the world at the moment, it doesn't matter what role they currently play, almost all of them expected to take on big roles soon.
 

phisherman

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Apr 17, 2015
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We have so many young players tied up on long term deals, having older players doesn't change that fact at all. Willock and Guendouzi have both started almost all games this season, Nelson has started two, and besides Auba and Laca all of our key players are young ( Torriera, Bellerin, Tierney, Holding, Leno). We have very young fullbacks, wingers and midfielders. Such an ill-informed post.

And Pepe is only 24.
 
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