2 Feb 2013

He's one of their 'worst players ever' - Didi slates Arsenal's Andre Santos

After Liverpool's 2-2 Premier League draw at the Emirates on Wednesday, defender Andre Santos took to Twitter to apologise to for his below-par performances for the Gunners. The Brazilian - who caused controversy earlier in the season by asking for Robin Van Persie's shirt during a game with Manchester United - put in another shaky display against the Reds, prompting Anfield legend Dietmar Hamann to deliver a withering assessment of the 29-year old's ability.

After the game, Hamann described the result as 'fair' and a 'good point for Liverpool', but warned that it will be a 'long road back into the Champions League'. The Kaiser also accused Arsenal of 'dreadful defending', and highlighted Santos as one of the key culprits. He scathed:

"Dreadful defending by Arsenal. Santos nearly done it again [cost Arsenal a goal]. He's got to be up there with the worst players ever wearing an Arsenal shirt"

When asked yesterday if he thought the regular criticism of Santos is unfair, Gunners boss Arsene Wenger told Reporters:

"Yes [the criticism of Santos is unfair] because if you watch the [Liverpool] game again and you analyse very well his performance, you will be less critical. Maybe people say that he had a difficult game [against Liverpool] but he lacks competition. He is a style of player who needs competition because he is not a nervous type of player, he is a stamina type of player and get sharper through competition".

Santos - who cost Arsenal €7m - was definitely a weak link on Wednesday, but I haven't watched him enough to make a fair overall judgement. The Brazilian seems to be aware of the criticism though, and after the Liverpool game, he tweeted:

"Thank you very much to the fans that support me. Slowly I'll reach my the ideal form"

Is Santos any worse defensively than LFC's second-string defenders like Jack Robinson, Sebastian Coates, Jon Flanagan, and Martin Kelly? Arsenal have conceded 45 goals in 40 games with the Brazilian in the team, but despite his flaws, the Gunners still have a better defensive record than Liverpool in the league this season.

With that in mind, If Santos is one of the 'worst' players to ever wear an Arsenal shirt, what does that makes Liverpool's defenders?

Jaimie Kanwar

NOTE: Please stick to the Comment Policy (Click to read)


38 comments:

  1. Crap. But that's only to robbo.... Coates too..... Would rather play him CDM....

    ReplyDelete
  2. A lot of our goals have come from bad team defending not just the defenders it self, Joe Allen is a case in point his bad tactical positioning throws the whole team out and the team always looks better and more balanced when he isn't playing   

    ReplyDelete
  3. coates is the worst player i have ever seen PERIOD

    ReplyDelete
  4. You must be too young to remember the 90's then. Kozma or Piechnik anyone?

    ReplyDelete
  5. Coates is suffering from not getting game time. I watched him play against Stoke at anfield last season and he was excellent against a very physical side. Then again against Man city at the start of the season where he had a very good game against Tevez. Since that day though he has barely had any game time except the Europa league. So because of that he is not developing. The best thing we could possibly do is send him out on loan where he can play every week and hopefully find his form again. I know he had a terrible game against Oldham but I'm not quite ready to give up on him yet..

    ReplyDelete
  6. you haven't watched much football then?

    ReplyDelete
  7. i agree that he did do well in the games that you stated. not getting game time? i don't like that excuse for such shocking performances such as last week. he, and others, should be going out and grabbing their chances by the throat. he, and others, didn't want to know. that was unacceptable. we don't want players like that at the club.

    ReplyDelete
  8. walters, stewart, kennedy(mark), james, carter, i could go on................

    ReplyDelete
  9. Coates Flanagan and Robinson are young and can only get better Kelly is well ahead of Santos already though injury prone.

    ReplyDelete
  10. I just believe that by not playing in proper competitive games, players can become a bit rusty and off the pace. I know Coates will be playing football everyday in training but its not the same as a game. Loaning him out to another premier league team would of got him game time and if he was still having a bad time of it then we cut our losses and sell him on.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Is it me or does it seem like Coates's attitude isn't in the right place. It's like he doesn't have any intention or drive to his games, the key word im looking for in his play is urgency, and I never see that with him, its like hes baked. 

    ReplyDelete
  12. Robinson has had one bad game and he's crap?? Players have bad games, it happens. Doesn't mean they are crap.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Yeh maybe, he does seem quite laid back.

    ReplyDelete
  14. and kelly apparently wants 45k a week on a new contract or he's leaving.

    ReplyDelete
  15. If that really is the case, and not just media hype, like they did with Sterling, then he can leave IMO. Kelly aint a bad player, but he is always out injured, plus he is third choice at RB for me right now, with both Glen and Wisdom before him, and even lower down the pecking list for CB, so def not worth 45k a week to us.

    ReplyDelete
  16. I'll just assume you're young and haven't had much time to actually see what real bad players are like so. The guy barely plays don't expect him to be a world beater when he's playing in a weakened side in a cup match!

    ReplyDelete
  17. Yeah! I like the guy but if that is the case(which I hope its not) then let him go. I have a lot of faith in Wisdom. He's a rock!

    ReplyDelete
  18. our defense is suspect now. they are not crap. Buck should get into man marking system instead of zonal. This is costing us dearly. Top teams do not allow soft goals in set pieces. Buck is stubborn in his tactics and we are getting fcuked.

    ReplyDelete
  19. You sound like you are on your period, because that is fucking hysterical.

    ReplyDelete
  20. To be fair to Didi, whether it is fitness related or not, Andre Santos is a diabolical defender.

    ReplyDelete
  21. if that is true and not paper talk, then bye, bye. injury prone and still to prove he has what it takes to be a regular starter.  

    ReplyDelete
  22. The LFC players mentioned are, essentially, still kids and learning their trade. Santos is 29 and, for a defender, should be in his peak right now. Look at that wanker Cole, he's classed as one of the best LBs in the world (by some papers) and he's no spring chicken. 
    As good as a player he might be, I still think he's a wanker who needs a good slap.

    ReplyDelete
  23. santos is playing in the wrong position. If you actualy look at him his footskill is very good, dribbling and passing are good. Whats let him down a bit is his weight and fitness have been bad. Positionaly he is not responsible enough. I think hed probably work better as a wing back in a 3-5-2 as hes good at driving forward. his workrate defending is terribly really though. I could see him playing well in italy or somewhere where the tempo is lower, we just cant afford to have him when we have error prone centre-backs. Im far more worried by vermaelens form, or lack of.

    ReplyDelete
  24. im sick of people making excuses for players who play crap ...playing to many...not playing enough ...coates and robinson are crap

    ReplyDelete
  25. why will they get better ...it not a definate...player only get better if they have the raw ingrediants and desire

    ReplyDelete
  26. adios kelly.....always injured...i just dont think he has the physical genetics to play top flight football  

    ReplyDelete
  27. i dont know if you actually saw the lineup that day but it looked pretty decent to me....if you are exposed all round by an oldham centre forward its time to go

    ReplyDelete
  28. hes that laid back hes left his talent in south america

    ReplyDelete
  29.  its not ALlens job to defend

    ReplyDelete
  30. preferably for juventus with a tranfer fee

    ReplyDelete
  31. Suarez didn't have his best game today, does this mean he's crap?

    ReplyDelete
  32. It's the job of the whole team to defend not just the back four.

    ReplyDelete
  33. Arsenal's defence generally looks shaky. Difficult to single one player out. Put a weak player in an otherwise solid back four and he won't look half as weak.

    ReplyDelete
  34. I think Voronin was worse. Or Dundee. Or Degen. May I go on? Djimie Traore.

    ReplyDelete
  35.  i was being ironic

    ReplyDelete
  36. Martin Kelly will be a center back, and a top class one too. Wisdom will also move to the middle eventually. I really think Kelly would have imposed himself as an automatic starter this season, but for the knee injury. I'd like to see him and Agger together in the central defense - more than a passing resemblance to Lawro/Hansen.

    ReplyDelete
  37. Good Question at the end of the article but what does it got to do with ANYTHING??? Man U has conceded goals and they are on top of the league what does that say about the rest of the league??? YOu spent too much time on what's wrong with LFC. Man U with all their accolades they have made many mistakes on everything you say is wrong with LFC. No team is perfect...

    ReplyDelete