Right-Back OVERLOAD!!

I agree that there too many - someone has to go. Even with the moving of eboue to RM, it's still much, as he is not a natural midfielder, and can't dribble/pass his way out of tight situations like hleb could.

It also means eboue or sagna will be spending a lot of time on the bench - and I don't see that happening. If eboue gets the amount of time playing at RM to get the experience there to become proficient at it, it would mean hleb is sitting on the bench a lot while a rb learns his position.

And when does hoyte ever make an experience - eboue will be played at RB occassionally as well even if he moves up to the midfield.

 

Good thread.

I'll reserve my opinion till I see a few matches. Want to see what Wenger does with this situation before commenting. But Eboue at RM might just be what we need to get Hleb to shift up the gears. Might end up benefitting us, in a round about way.

 

I'll vote after the Emerites Cup. However Hoyte can also play LB too so it might be a case where all four stay.

 

Ive seen enough to suggest Sagna will be a better right back defensively then Eboue is, and im all for Eboue being pushed up the wing, so that is what made my choice.

 

We spent about 7.5m on sagna. Us spending 7.5m on a right back when we already have 3, plus 2-3 other players who can fill in there means that he is obviously brought in to be a starter.

Wenger might not have him as starter when the season first starts, but by mid-october, I don't see eboue ever starting ahead of him - unless he goes the way of baptista, which I doubt.

 

Yeah, but Hoyte clearly isn't as good on the left, which led to him getting a lot of unfair criticism earlier on in the season last year.

Once he settled in and began playing regularly on the right side, he began playing much better.

I think Hoyte offers better cover than Eboue... better tackling and passing out of the back. But he's not adventurous at all, and won't really foray forward much – and when he does, doesn't offer nearly as much as Eboue does. Eboue is a little bit more of a risk/reward player... he'll go forward, which means he has the potential to get burned – but he also had 4 assists last season.

Sagna, well... I can't really speak to Sagna because I've never seen him play. He did have 5 assists last season, that much I am aware of, so I imagine he's good in the attack on the wings.

 

The only reason I can probably think of why Wenger would want 4 RBs is to avoid last season's debacle of Big Phil playing at RB at all course. Even if it means forking out 6m for a position which already has 2 backups.

 

If Eboue starts at RB, it will be his position to lose unless AW does have other plans for him, which is certainly possible. If Eboue plays brilliant football for the first two months of the season, which you must admit is a possibility as he unquestionalbly has the ability, do you really think Wenger will say, "Thanks Eboue, now take a seat next to me and let Sagna play."

I'm fully aware that we've shelled out a pretty penny, but I think that how the starters at the beginning of the season play will dictate what happens. Regardless of what Wenger pays for someone, its what you do on the field that makes you a perpetual starter. Similarly, if Hleb raises his game, and is playing welll with Eboue, AW will not just make Sagna a starter just because he he was a significant purchase.

However, another alternative is that AW just starts the season with Sagna at RB and moves Eboue. It's rare for AW to just plug in a new guy, but I guess one has to assume that its a possibility.

 

I maintain the same position as I did last season when Lauren was on his way back from injury: RB is Eboue's to job to lose. I wont go as far as saying that he's "solidified" himself in the position, but he has played there consistently the past 2 seasons. Don't know much about Sagna, but I do know that 1) He has yet to play in the Premiership and 2) He has yet to play within the Arsenal system.

 

So if eboue is playing well at RB, what becomes of sagna? It's stupid to move eboue up to midfield if he is doing great at the back.

If eboue and hleb are playing well, did we just spend 7.5m on a backup? That's not our style, and has never been. If wenger just wanted a back up he would have hit the bargain bins again, but the fact that he spent that much of Sagna, means he obviously intends for sagna to become a big part of the team.

Wenger is the last person to spend 7.5m on a player just incase one of our current players, doesn't snap into good form. We aren't going to end up in a situation where eboue is playing well, hleb is playing well, and wenger will just shrug and say I guess we didn't need sagna afterall.

We already had backups for eboue, 2 more dedicated RBs, plus other players to slot in at that position. It was hardly an area we needed cover for. Sagna will not be someone to just provide cover at rb.

 

Then what are you saying?

 

Sagna was brought here to be a starter, and unless eboue's performances are good enough to bill him as one of the top3 rightbacks in the league, or possibly THE top rb(there is hardly much competition for this) - he will be replaced full time by sagna - and if doesn't become a better than right mid than hleb, he could probably see himself sold in the next year.

 

Honestly, I thought Eboue's performances were already good enough to bill him as one of the top right backs in the league.

I don't know, this signing is a strange one. Time will tell.

 

I was satisfied with eboue's performances. He had a bad patch last season, but so did hleb, cesc, and a lot of our team.

I would have been perfectly happy with him being our rb again this season, and if he wasn't showing any improvement this season either, I would have considered replacing him.

This signing is still very puzzling, but all will be revealed in due time I guess.

 

I've never seen Sagna. But given our leaky defending last season, upgrading RB is a priority. Eboue is a liability defensively and mentally, remember Ade getting sent off? We don't have the cash to splash 7.5 million on someone destined to not be a starter. And for newcomers who started very quickly, both Hleb and Rosicky were fixtures quickly.

 

Indeed. If you are going to be playing a 4-3-3 then you need a defensive right-back and Eboue is not that.

 

Never seen Sagna play either.

I'm an Eboue fan, I think he is creative and strong and a personality amongst the team (Adebayor interview 4-4-2 Mag July Issue!) He set up a lot last year, and yes he occaisonally dives. But who can honestly say (Gooners) you didn't cheer when big Sol scored the header from the free kick in the CL Final?!?!

I also like Hoyte, though I didn't before last season. He grew on me with some good displays and I think he'll also get better. Plus, he's English. Kerrea Gilbert is young, and I think another loan isn't out of the question maybe. But I like him too!!


So for now, Sagna is probably my third choice, in from of Gilbert! But, that is because I've yet to see him. £7.5m on a sub...I don't think so. Time will tell, I'll vote after the Amsterdam Tournament.

 

You can hardly lay the blame for our leaky defense on Eboue. And what does Ade's send off have to do with anything? People get sent off all the time and I hardly think that any one episode should condemn someone with the talent that Eboue has. Certainly, he was no worse in terms of his play on the field than the average player on the field, and there were numerous times when his play changed the nature of the game for the better.

Unless you're of the opinion that Sagna is going to be the RB from day 1, which I admit is a possibility, there's no reason for AW to pull Eboue mid-season, if in fact Eboue starts the season brightly. There's no precedent to him doing that and generally, there is little precedent for any decent manager doing that. If Eboue is on form, especially with his continuity in the position, he'll play. See Senderos displacing Campbell, Eboue replacing Lauren, and the list goes on. At the end of the day, if Eboue starts the season at right back, it's his position to lose. You don't disrupt a season going well by starting someone who has never played in the Prem and who you didn't have the confidence to start from the beginning of the season.

 

I voted for Hoyte because he's cool.

 

So what do you recommend we do with "La sagna"?

It seems the general agreement has become that if eboue plays well, sagna is a waste of 7.5m.

 

Arsene knows.

 

Repped!