Alexis Sanchez: Off to the Old Toilet

[Jury]

Take it you haven't watched him much this season, or the one before last. Don't get me wrong, he's not terrible but he's not good enough for a top club

I think he's definitely got what it takes tbh. Seeing is believing.

 

[4R5Emaniac]

Mahrez is not good enough for a top club? With that high a technical level and quality of performance...Its not like he is a pace merchant. Has stunning technical ability and creativity.

 

[Hunta]

Firme la cosa, Alexis.

 

[Makingtrax]

Firme la cosa, Alexis.

Sólo firmaré si Wenger firma también.

 

[Aevi]

Wenger on whether Alexis' demands could destabilise dressing room:

"Always. What we always had was a wage structure that was respected."

"People tell me: 'Just give him what he wants'. But then you cannot respect any wage structure and you put the club in trouble."

"I understand [keeping] top players is a big priority, but even for important players you can only pay as much as you can afford."

 

[Hunta]

He wants £384k (very precise) a week apparently.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/football...ears-breaking-arsenals-wage-structure-alexis/







So does Özil.

 

[4R5Emaniac]

Wenger on whether Alexis' demands could destabilise dressing room:

"Always. What we always had was a wage structure that was respected."

"People tell me: 'Just give him what he wants'. But then you cannot respect any wage structure and you put the club in trouble."

"I understand [keeping] top players is a big priority, but even for important players you can only pay as much as you can afford."

Bull$hit! We overpay more than half of the squad and extend deals for the likes of Mertesacker on the judgment call of AW that clearly has nothing to do with output on the pitch.

 

[WhatAFC]

Mahrez is not good enough for a top club? With that high a technical level and quality of performance...Its not like he is a pace merchant. Has stunning technical ability and creativity.

He's 26 and has had one exceptional season in his career. He doesn't have stunning technical ability, he's a dribbler who has and will keep being figured out. Is he capable of a brilliant goal? Yes, is he a top winger in Europe? No. I've made a point of watching him a lot this season after everyone calling to sign him last summer, he's been poor.

The athletico game this week was a prime example, consistently giving the ball away and trying to just knock it past players in his own half and run. Give him space and one on ones and he can look good, how many teams allow us to isolate full backs? None, as teams sit deep with players behind the ball.

 

[Tir Na Nog]

For 3 years I've been saying the telegraph is the absolute worst source for Arsenal news and it still falls on deaf ears, why do I bother?

They literally make up a completely different Arsenal story every day, slightly changing details each time.

 

[4R5Emaniac]

He's 26 and has had one exceptional season in his career. He doesn't have stunning technical ability, he's a dribbler who has and will keep being figured out. Is he capable of a brilliant goal? Yes, is he a top winger in Europe? No. I've made a point of watching him a lot this season after everyone calling to sign him last summer, he's been poor.

The athletico game this week was a prime example, consistently giving the ball away and trying to just knock it past players in his own half and run. Give him space and one on ones and he can look good, how many teams allow us to isolate full backs? None, as teams sit deep with players behind the ball.

Dribbling is one of the most sought after skill at the highest level and you need to be technically really good to dribble like he does. The way he keeps the ball close to the inside of his foot in a run takes exceptional ball control.

Last season he was clearly one of the top wingers in Europe and this season he is not which puts him under a question mark for sure.

Very few players are good at one on ones tbf and getting that space or defenders in isolation is dependent on also how the team is set up by the coach- Guardiola's teams regularly use dribbling as a major tactic despite being a possession oriented team and he frequently gets his wide players in a situation to dribble. And losing the ball in the final third by winger or forward player is a natural occurrence since they are meant to be attacking. Most attacks in a game don't come off and Mahrez, if he played for us, would be higher up the pitch in place of being in his own half like at Leicester.

Anyways, I'm not advocating we buy Mahrez. I want Fekir, Lemar or even Bernardo Silva out wide before him but I would welcome Mahrez if all else fails. His age as well is not that big an issue.

 

[mm76]

I want Fekir

His mum's a nun apparently - Mother Fekir

 

[4R5Emaniac]

His mum's a nun apparently - Mother Fekir

Brilliant! "Fekir" also sounds similar to "Fakir" which is Bengali means beggar.

 

[karl]

He wants £384k (very precise) a week apparently.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/football...ears-breaking-arsenals-wage-structure-alexis/







So does Özil.

What happened to the days of having an exceptional season to earn a top wage?

 

[Taylor Gang Gunners]

People surely aren't still on the mahrez hype?

It isn't hype. He's a quality player.

 

[WhatAFC]

Dribbling is one of the most sought after skill at the highest level and you need to be technically really good to dribble like he does. The way he keeps the ball close to the inside of his foot in a run takes exceptional ball control.

Last season he was clearly one of the top wingers in Europe and this season he is not which puts him under a question mark for sure.

Very few players are good at one on ones tbf and getting that space or defenders in isolation is dependent on also how the team is set up by the coach- Guardiola's teams regularly use dribbling as a major tactic despite being a possession oriented team and he frequently gets his wide players in a situation to dribble. And losing the ball in the final third by winger or forward player is a natural occurrence since they are meant to be attacking. Most attacks in a game don't come off and Mahrez, if he played for us, would be higher up the pitch in place of being in his own half like at Leicester.

Anyways, I'm not advocating we buy Mahrez. I want Fekir, Lemar or even Bernardo Silva out wide before him but I would welcome Mahrez if all else fails. His age as well is not that big an issue.

There are plenty of players who have done it for a season and got found out. Danny drinkwater looked like a better player than he ever has last year, this year he's back to his level. Football is littered with players who kill it for a season and never reach that level again.

Mahrez doesn't play mainly in his own half, he's given mostly free reign unless the opponents full backs are pushing up and creating 2vs1's.

If he played for us he would be against teams that are far more compact and a lot harder to successfully dribble against. He'd be doubled up on even more due to our laboured build up play.

Saying that, I actually agree with a lot of what you've said, there are better options that a club of our size should be taking advantage of

 

[Kobi]

There are plenty of players who have done it for a season and got found out. Danny drinkwater looked like a better player than he ever has last year, this year he's back to his level. Football is littered with players who kill it for a season and never reach that level again.

Mahrez doesn't play mainly in his own half, he's given mostly free reign unless the opponents full backs are pushing up and creating 2vs1's.

If he played for us he would be against teams that are far more compact and a lot harder to successfully dribble against. He'd be doubled up on even more due to our laboured build up play.

Saying that, I actually agree with a lot of what you've said, there are better options that a club of our size should be taking advantage of

To be fair to Danny Drinkwater (there's something I never thought I'd say) I think it has less to do with being "found out" and more to do with the fact that after playing alongside Kante last season he has spent the majority of this season playing in a two man midfield with Andy King.
Going from having one man who was basically two men running around for you to a bloke from League One who barely moves about is going to have an effect on your game.
It's the same with Mahrez, though less directly, the team hasn't found a way to function properly without Kante and Okazaki in that system (only recently Okazaki came back and Ndidi came in) and it's had a detremental effect on everyone, plus seemingly internal rifts.

I sincerely doubt it's a case of Mahrez being found out, some of the stuff he did last year was magic, undefendable.
His head has just dropped, he's a brilliant player.

 

[say yes]

Wenger on whether Alexis' demands could destabilise dressing room:

"Always. What we always had was a wage structure that was respected."

"People tell me: 'Just give him what he wants'. But then you cannot respect any wage structure and you put the club in trouble."

"I understand [keeping] top players is a big priority, but even for important players you can only pay as much as you can afford."

We've got £200m in the bank you tight prick. We can afford to pay Sanchez whatever he wants.

Trying to import a socialist wage structure into football is so mind-bogglingly stupid.

Our fans pay the highest ticket prices in world football (sport?!). They pay that money so we can attract and retain the best players, not watch spacks like Gabriel struggle to take a throw-in.

 

[Kobi]

Trying to import a socialist wage structure into football is so mind-bogglingly stupid.

It's astonishing that for such an intelligent man he didn't foresee the scenario where all the best players leave because they would earn more at a non-socialist club (every other club) and all the duds stay and see out their contract because they would earn less at a non-socialist club (every other club).
Was this not pretty obvious?

 

[say yes]

It's astonishing that for such an intelligent man he didn't foresee the scenario where all the best players leave because they would earn more at a non-socialist club (every other club) and all the duds stay and see out their contract because they would earn less at a non-socialist club (every other club).
Was this not pretty obvious?

Maybe I'm being blinded by my (dwindling) respect for Arsène, but I hope this socialist wage structure crap is all fart, no poo. It's just far too stupid.

 

[WhatAFC]

To be fair to Danny Drinkwater (there's something I never thought I'd say) I think it has less to do with being "found out" and more to do with the fact that after playing alongside Kante last season he has spent the majority of this season playing in a two man midfield with Andy King.
Going from having one man who was basically two men running around for you to a bloke from League One who barely moves about is going to have an effect on your game.
It's the same with Mahrez, though less directly, the team hasn't found a way to function properly without Kante and Okazaki in that system (only recently Okazaki came back and Ndidi came in) and it's had a detremental effect on everyone, plus seemingly internal rifts.

I sincerely doubt it's a case of Mahrez being found out, some of the stuff he did last year was magic, undefendable.
His head has just dropped, he's a brilliant player.

Drinkwater was just an example of players having seasons which are better than they'll likely ever have again.

Wingers & strikers get found out constantly and unless they are WC have to adapt and change their game and patterns.

We've only got to look at Ramsey as an example, the guy was doing unbelievable things for a season and he's never even come close to replicating that again.

Anyway, I've gone massively off the topic of this tread so I'll leave it from this post onwards.