After a run of middling form over the last month, Arsenal have dropped to 7th place in the Premier League table, and recently suffered the embarrassment of elimination from the Capital One Cup at the hands of League two club Bradford City. Arsene Wenger spent a lot of money in the summer on some seemingly quality players, but Liverpool legend Jan Molby insists that the Frenchman's buys may turn out to be big-money flops.
Speaking to Eurosport over the weekend, Molby claimed that Wenger got 'two out three' transfers 'wrong' in the summer. He argued:
"Wenger made three big signings in the summer. Supposedly they were the finished article, but on the evidence so far, he looks to have got two out of three wrong.
"Santi Cazorla looks a top player, although he has not helped himself with his diving antics against West Brom. Lukas Podolski hasn't produced so far, and I'm not sure Olivier Giroud has the speed to cut it in the long run".
"Those three cost £35 million, so there is no guarantee of great results if Wenger dips into the reported £70m kitty at his disposal".
Arsenal may be struggling a little at the moment, but they've made it to the Champions League knockout stages, and if they beat bottom club Reading tonight, they'll move up to fifth in the Premier League table, only two points away from 4th place. Hardly panic stations.
I also don't see how it's accurate to say that Lucas Podolski 'hasn't produced'. The German international is a top class player, and he's not doing too badly so far:
* 7 goals/4 assists in 21 games
* League only: goal or assist every 1.6 games
That's far superior to any of Liverpool's attacking players bar Luis Suarez, and he is a striker; Podolski is not.
Cazorla is also a superb player, and fits perfectly into Arsenal's preferred style of play. The only misfire so far is Giroud, who hasn't come close to matching Robin Van Persi's striker rate. However, unlike the ridiculous £35m paid out by Liverpool for Andy Carroll, the France International only cost £12m, so if he ends up being a massive flop, there's still a chance Arsenal will be able to recoup the majority of the transfer fee.
I would love to have Podolski and Cazorla at Liverpool, two players who would definitely enhance the squad.
Molby may not be impressed, but Wenger has a lot of support from other ex-Liverpool players. In his column for The Telegraph today, Alan Hansen described Wenger as a 'football visionary', adding:
"Arsenal still have the right man to lead them for the next five years and longer. There is no one more suited to the club’s needs than Wenger"
Hansen's former team-mate Mark Lawrenson concurs, as he told The Mirror today:
"Arsene Wenger has earned the right to manage over this difficult time. When you look at what he has achieved and the consistency he has maintained he deserves respect"
I agree with Hansen and Lawro: Wenger is a top manager, and the Premier League is a richer place with him in it. He'll always be a legend in my eyes for his display of defiance after getting sent off against Man United in August 2009.
After Robin Van Persie's late goal was disallowed for allegedly being offside, Wenger was sent-off by card-happy referee Mike Dean for the heinous crime of kicking a water bottle in frustration. Wenger didn't leave the field though; he headed straight for Old Trafford's main stand - right next to a baying mob of United fans - and crossed his arms in defiance:
Wenger later received an apology from referees chief Keith Hackett over the incident.
Long live Arsene Wenger!
Jaimie Kanwar
Speaking to Eurosport over the weekend, Molby claimed that Wenger got 'two out three' transfers 'wrong' in the summer. He argued:
"Wenger made three big signings in the summer. Supposedly they were the finished article, but on the evidence so far, he looks to have got two out of three wrong.
"Santi Cazorla looks a top player, although he has not helped himself with his diving antics against West Brom. Lukas Podolski hasn't produced so far, and I'm not sure Olivier Giroud has the speed to cut it in the long run".
"Those three cost £35 million, so there is no guarantee of great results if Wenger dips into the reported £70m kitty at his disposal".
Arsenal may be struggling a little at the moment, but they've made it to the Champions League knockout stages, and if they beat bottom club Reading tonight, they'll move up to fifth in the Premier League table, only two points away from 4th place. Hardly panic stations.
I also don't see how it's accurate to say that Lucas Podolski 'hasn't produced'. The German international is a top class player, and he's not doing too badly so far:
* 7 goals/4 assists in 21 games
* League only: goal or assist every 1.6 games
That's far superior to any of Liverpool's attacking players bar Luis Suarez, and he is a striker; Podolski is not.
Cazorla is also a superb player, and fits perfectly into Arsenal's preferred style of play. The only misfire so far is Giroud, who hasn't come close to matching Robin Van Persi's striker rate. However, unlike the ridiculous £35m paid out by Liverpool for Andy Carroll, the France International only cost £12m, so if he ends up being a massive flop, there's still a chance Arsenal will be able to recoup the majority of the transfer fee.
I would love to have Podolski and Cazorla at Liverpool, two players who would definitely enhance the squad.
Molby may not be impressed, but Wenger has a lot of support from other ex-Liverpool players. In his column for The Telegraph today, Alan Hansen described Wenger as a 'football visionary', adding:
"Arsenal still have the right man to lead them for the next five years and longer. There is no one more suited to the club’s needs than Wenger"
Hansen's former team-mate Mark Lawrenson concurs, as he told The Mirror today:
"Arsene Wenger has earned the right to manage over this difficult time. When you look at what he has achieved and the consistency he has maintained he deserves respect"
I agree with Hansen and Lawro: Wenger is a top manager, and the Premier League is a richer place with him in it. He'll always be a legend in my eyes for his display of defiance after getting sent off against Man United in August 2009.
After Robin Van Persie's late goal was disallowed for allegedly being offside, Wenger was sent-off by card-happy referee Mike Dean for the heinous crime of kicking a water bottle in frustration. Wenger didn't leave the field though; he headed straight for Old Trafford's main stand - right next to a baying mob of United fans - and crossed his arms in defiance:
Wenger later received an apology from referees chief Keith Hackett over the incident.
Long live Arsene Wenger!
Jaimie Kanwar
THE 3 PLAYERS WENGER BOUGHT FOR 35MILLION ARE WAY BETTER VALUE THAN THE TWO WE BOUGHT FOR 26MILLION
ReplyDeleteLong live Wenger?! What the hells this sentiment doing on a LIVERPOOL website?
ReplyDeleteTHEY'RE ALSO 6/7 YEARS OLDER.
ReplyDeleteToo early to judge...such defeatism on this website its pathetic...
It's called appreciation of other managers, especially those that are a credit to the game. Just because I'm an LFC fan doesn't mean I shoukd be insular and only ever discuss LFC.
ReplyDeleteFor me, its not the new boys that are the problems, its Gervinho that is putting the spanner in the works, when it comes to Arsenal in the last third. Absolutely horrendous against Bradford, although Poldi was hardly any better. Giroud hasn't been that bad, imo, especially for a new signing and prefer his performances over Podolski's, from what I have seen of Arsenal. Not much of a difference between their goals/assists contribution this season.
ReplyDeleteWell, they are definitely better than the one we've bought for 35m. You know, the one who fell over an eddy of air last season at Newcastle.
ReplyDeleteI think its too early to tell if he got them wrong or not, but one thing I do know is Aresnal massively over achieve when compared to how much they spend. This is down purely to Wenger. He might not be winning them much, but his teams should finish mid table, yet normally there top 4 every year. The only people to blame for Arsenal not winning is there board, and tbh I don`t think how they run it is wrong at all. They spend what they earn, excatly how all football clubs should be run imo.
ReplyDeleteAnyone who does that at old crapford gets mine long live...
ReplyDeleteI would take those 3 for 35mn instead of Andy Carroll.
ReplyDeleteIndeed!
ReplyDeleteWow that clip brought back memories! Wenger is a very good manager! He is very shrewd with his transfer dealings.
ReplyDeleteIm a massive fan of Wenger ..it wouldn't surprise me if he bought downing for peanuts and made him look like a 20 million pound player a which point we would buy him back LoL
ReplyDeleteI sing it like a see it....i have no bias ( unlike some on this forum) to any particular player if they play good i say so if they play bad i say so .....perhaps your happy to let the club or manager waste money with out giving an opinion ...and if that's the case i respect it...perhaps if more fans caused an outcry when we waste money and wages on dross the ones signing the cheques just may take a look at who we are buying IE will they fit in....do they carry problem baggage ...are they only signing for the money...do we really need them....are they better than what we have....can they cut it mentally....if thats defeatism im a defeatist
ReplyDeleteagrre jaimie but you could start another site and discuss them topics on there i think you should run a competition to find the best name for it lol my effort JAIMIE K the sportsmanship way
ReplyDeleteA goal and a assist for Poldi tonight so far.
ReplyDeleteand what does Jan think about the Carroll for 35mill , Henderson 20 mill, Downing (DOWNING ffs) 20mill, Aquilani (INJURED) 20mill, Keane 20mill, Borini 11mill, Sahin 5million loan fee WTF???, Cole crazy wages. Wenger has done a class job for Arsenal with little or no funds. Even when he sells he doesnt get to keep it all.. Look at how much moneys been wasted at Anfield. Everyone laughed at the Carroll, Henderson & Downing deals at the time. Everyone besides KK could see that those deals were ridiculous. How did he value those players that high. I still dont get it. 35 MILLION FOR CARROLL !! Its unbelievable.
ReplyDeleteAnd another assist for Poldi and another goal for Cazorla
ReplyDeleteits a liverpool website so you talk about liverpool. we dont want to read stuff about arsenal.
ReplyDeleteBut its his site, his toy (like they say about Roman).
ReplyDeleteGosh, bit like Abrahmovich and Chelsea fans in a twisted way eh JK ;)
The only club i give a monkeys about is liverpool, i may be old school but there you go
ReplyDeleteSo Molby (a living legend, don't get me wrong) is having a dig at Wenger for spending £35m on players that he considers a waste yet they've not played half a season yet, but he nothing to say about Kenny's signings for a club he actually has a link to, some of whom are literally the worst signings in football history. Good stuff
ReplyDelete