End the Eboue experiment already

[Arsenal_pwns_all]

For most of the games he played in he has been nothing but our weakest link. I was wondering if he could make it at the right wing but results has been disappointing and doesn't seem likely to improve. The biggest problem being that he will only make worse our old complains of how our wingers are not scoring goals. Not only that his passing and crossing is not consistently good enough to be a good winger; I know that he has made some great crosses but he doesn't give enough of them.

[Chop]

I have to agree. How many times have you watched Eboue ruin a build by missing his man on a pass, take a dive or just have a mental lapse defensively.

He's been a failure at RW in nearly every way.

[Skizz]

Hit the post yesterday.

I've always said there are people ahead of him, he's not bad as cover but as a starter I think Wenger's using him to tire out the LB and LW and then throw Walcott on to take advantage of them at the back when they are tired.

[phishy]

http://www.samanther.com/pictotd/panic-button.jpg

[gunner0007]

Yes....very good plan. Im sure reading the Art of War was part of Wenger's course in college.



I must admit he does frustrate me. The thing that frustrates me the most is when he goes up the wing but really doesnt know what to do. It seems he has a brain freeze most of the time. He did hit the post, and of course if he scored people would sing a different tune, but its just his creativity is what i think is lacking. I'd give him until the summer tho, I honestly think he will improve.

Hit the post yesterday.

I've always said there are people ahead of him, he's not bad as cover but as a starter I think Wenger's using him to tire out the LB and LW and then throw Walcott on to take advantage of them at the back when they are tired.

[Val1]

I dislike Eboue, his diving and whining are annoying, and he escalates any on-field fracas (Ade's red card, anyone?) but I think it is too soon to write off this experiment. He became a much crosser last season and he has speed to burn. My biggest frustration is that you'd think you'd get better defensive play from a guy who started out as a RB.

[biggonez]

Have none of you learned from the countless "exxperiments", position changes, transfers, etc, that AW has used? Everyone one of them you whine about how bad he is, "bench him, "get rid of him", blah blah blah. Then a year or so later he comes on and he's "irreplaceable". Most recently Hleb was "useless" and Flamini ran around like "a chicken with his head cut off". Now what?

Eboue's doing adequately. And he's not costing Arsenal games. I see alot of promise and am actually excited about him b/c when/if he turns out, he would be our only natural winger. True he's a FB, but there's not much difference from a winger.

[KevTheGooner]

Something tells me Wenger is starting Eboue now as a mini-rotation policy in advance of the ACN. When he's gone in January we'll see more of what Wenger has in mind on the right...

[DougG_ATL]

Something tells me Wenger is starting Eboue now as a mini-rotation policy in advance of the ACN. When he's gone in January we'll see more of what Wenger has in mind on the right...

Bingo. Beginning with the ACN and barring any major injuries or surprise January acquisitions, I think we'll see a more stable, regular starting squad to make the EPL and CL run. I think now is a much better time to experiment than waiting until late in the season, when the stakes are even higher.

[DaPrince84]

I dont think he was that bad yesterday to be honest... outside of a few messes... still would rather see him gone...

[surfcam]

His play yesterday wasn't great, but I am more fed up with the flopping and play acting than anything else. He layed on the pitch for a long time (while Arsenal was trying to build an offensive movement, mind you) and when he finally saw the ref was not going to give a foul or a card, he jumped right up. It seems he realized he was moving too well and then bent over in agony again. It is a bit too much IMO. If he put that much energy and work into his regular play, he'd be a star.

[shincan]

Geez.

I thought he looked good on the dribble, and when he and Sagna are both there, we can be fairly confident that the overlap will still be covered defensively. And when Eboue gets some of those shots on net.... So, I'm in favor of going w/it for a while. After all, we are playing well.

And, if someone with a different style of play can come off the bench and change the game...

[mobjack]

He's not playing as well as he was a year ago, but he'll probably come around. Of course he could be getting the starts and the minutes to up his transfer fee in January.

[Travarelli]

It's almost like I'm the only one watching the matches....he's lazy, he flops, he's bad it. He gives the ball away roughly 4 to 5 times for every nice cross or post hit. We're effectively playing with 10 men when he's on the pitch. No bump that, it's 10 vs 12 as he likes to pass the ball directly to the other team.

Worthless.

[thesoothsayer]

I hate his play acting but if Wenger sees something in him as a right midfielder, then I'd rather trust his judgement since he works with him all the time.

[The Jitty Slitter]

I hate his play acting but if Wenger sees something in him as a right midfielder, then I'd rather trust his judgement since he works with him all the time.



fast
strong
overlaps well with sagna


his defensive work is no worse than rozzer or hleb

[And_ROOS]

fast
strong
overlaps well with sagna
his defensive work is no worse than rozzer or hleb

BUT as an ex right back it should be a hell of alot better. When we have had players move positions they generally take the best of their old position to their new, Eboue isnt doing that and generally doesnt work hard enough at times.

[Rungostar]

Wow. During our Champions League run, everyone couldn't stop talking about how Wenger uncovered another one. His play was fantastic when he came in for Lauren. Now, all of a sudden, he's not worth a damn, even though he's playing in a relatively new position?? Seriously, the guy is a huge talent. He sets up and plays a one-two on the wing better than most (see the build up to Henry's finisher against Manure last year -- not a one time thing). He strikes the ball better than most of our outside mids. AND he is capable of defending better than all of our outside mids. That doesn't mean that he's been doing it, but he's certainly more than capable based on his history. So, at the end of the day, people are crying to end the experiment of a player who can certainly do a job (in certain games) better than our other options, merely because they are not pleased with his current form. We've seen this attitude with Hleb and Flamini and the doubters have been proven wrong. It would be a different situation if Eboue fundamentally lacked the talent. He doesn't.

The one massively annoying thing about Eboue is his penchant for diving. As with Reyes, I think we can all say that he needs to clean that up. People with his skill set should get the benefit of the doubt to improve and clean up their play, rather than get shown the door when their play is less than stellar. I'm glad our manager doesn't make the rash decisions that many here would employ -- otherwise, there'd be a lot of players who would have come into their own at another club, rather than with the Gunners. One thing that Wenger has rarely, if ever done, is give up on a player too early. Eboue has, and should have, plently of time to show that he can grow as a player and eliminate the parts of his game that annoy.

[Bucks Gunner]

I hate that he makes us all hypocrites when we complain against "He Who Shall Remain Unnamed". That flop on Sunday was simply embarrassing.

That being said, I think he'll settle in as a serviceable backup RM and RFB.

[Val1]

Wow. During our Champions League run, everyone couldn't stop talking about how Wenger uncovered another one. His play was fantastic when he came in for Lauren. Now, all of a sudden, he's not worth a damn, even though he's playing in a relatively new position??
I don't think this unhappiness is "all of a sudden". His defensive shortcomings have been apparent for quite a while, as has been his tackiness/lack of character. How much older does he have to get to outgrow it?

Having said that, it is still too early to give up on his transition to a wing midfielder.