Is he that cooked tho is the real question. I don’t watch Bayern much, but watched him play against spurs not long ago and he was solid. Way better positionally that mustafi, wins every header, and his passing is still very good. Moura couldn’t beat him for pace either, so I’m not convinced he couldn’t pull it together for another couple of seasons if he really was motivated. Luiz and Sokratis are looking better recently, but the JB I saw would walk into this squad just two months ago. Again, not ideal, but I’m not totally opposed.
IMO he is more lightly toasted than cooked We need an experienced CB as it is unlikely we can buy a good one in Jan. I think the worry is more bringing him in on big ££ and him not being that bothered. Although some of that talk may be sour piss from Hoeness than actual bad attitude (old whitey doesn't like his US stardom) The fact that Bayern wanted to get rid of him for over 1 year but haven't managed it, is some indication that they also still place a reasonable ££ value on him, and have been determined to get paid a decent amount. Remember Hummels was also supposedly done, and he's been excellent this season.
i still feel like iwobi can do a job out wide if allowed some room but, man, i think he could be terrific in the middle.
totally respect that. i mean, if he's NOT done then it'd be great. and, as you said, he is likely better than what we are left with^H^H^H^H^H^H "featuring" right now.
The Arteta factor gives me more confidence in him being decent if he comes. I think JB liked Pep and would probably be keen to gtfo of Bayern if it means playing for Pepino and living in London. Not sure how friendly he and ozil are, but there is that connection as well as Per. Plus, he’s familiar with the league and England. I guess I’m a also little more into this because I’m salivating at having a physically dominant CB at the club again. Saliba is a specimen, but he will likely need some time. Jérôme for 1-2 seasons can possibly bridge that gap and bring some winning mentality to the dressing room. but as you say, it will come down to the money. He will be worthless at the end of his deal, so the terms need to be fair.
You obviously havent seen him play in the last two years. If you want a German CB by all means then go for Freiburg's Robin Koch
I get it for free but I don't understand paying money for a very obvious stopgap at the tail-end of his career, we already have two of those CBs
I just said I watched him play vs spurs. But enlighten me, which game should I watch that shows how bad he is now?
I thought Iwobi could have been the player that we thought Ceballos was going to be. He's got so much skill that fits right into being a box to box player.
and one of the few times our youth pipeline produced someone with footballing intelligence to go with their physical and technical gifts. although some of the current batch like maitland-niles (yes, i'm still high on him) seem to be of the same.
I was convinced that he could have been a Cazorla replacement in that midfield role. Less skilled (who isn't) but more athletic. And like you said, seemed to have a good feel for the game.
they were showing highlights of the everton-liverpool game at half-time and two of our former players popped up, walcott and oxlade-chamberlain. oxlade-chamberlain is the one i would have been curious about whether arteta could fix. he seemed coachable and seemed like someone who wants to learn but, at least to me, he REALLY needs clear and concise direction and role to excel. something you were never going to get from wenger, even from his "good" days.
During his time here Ox's talent was only evident physically. He's fast and strong. His technique is fair but he almost never displayed any vision or creativity. In all the games I saw him play I never saw a glimpse that he would develop any abilities to complement his athletic gifts.
you may well be right. for me, his technique with regards to finishing were decent/acceptable, though he tends to play with his head down if he is at all thinking about shooting. it may well be cognitive bias on my part but i felt like his technique with regards to movement and dribbling saw a jump with the arrival of cazorla then again with sanchez (which makes me go, "WTF" about the general coaching). i agree with you that his vision and passing range were just . . . oof, not great. even walcott, i think, was much better with his cutbacks. that said, as you said, he is fast and strong. it seemed like he was willing to work if directed and others were working. and, i think, if given simple, directed instructions like arteta seems to, i think he could have become a solid contributor.
Mario Götze is set to leave Borussia Dortmund and move abroad when his contract expires in the summer
Hopefully we can get some better players than Ox and Iwobi I am really interested to see what happens to the midfielders we have, once Arteta teaches them to play midfield properly.