Alou Diarra

[Jkreffer]

No mods are on at the moment thats why.

 

[ramon12]

This is stupidity NO MODS?? Ashburrn has to hear this

 

[ramon12]

YESS MARK IS ON

 

[Grampus_Eight]

I certainly have more than a few doubts about Alou Diarra.  

I'm on record as saying that Alou gives the ball away too cheaply and chases the ball around too much, sometimes disregarding his positional responsibilities.  

I also think he looked better than he actually is when playing for France in the world cup and France's tune-up matches because he was often partnered with Makelele.  Preferred Stephen Appiah, even though he's isn't a DM specialist.  

Nonetheless, the midfield desperately needs to be bolstered.  Everyone tends to forget that Gilberto missed seven months with a career threatening back injury. He did fantastically well to return, quickly returning to his best, just outstanding on his part.  But you can't assume that he won't have any problems in the future.  What happens if we loose Gilberto for a stretch?  Is Song ready?  Flamini has never convinced me.  

Given that Diaby is recovering ahead of schedule and Rosicky has ability to play in the center when Cesc isn't available, there's no need for another creative midfielder (ex. Yaya Toure), but we still need a backup for Gilberto. It's the club's most pressing concern.  

Alou Diarra has imposing physical abilities and has a very competitive temperament. If his price tag is only around £4M, he's a steal.  He could offer a real alternative/deputy for Gilberto who turns 30 on October 7.  

Unfortunately, it looks like he's off to Roma to replace Dacourt though.  

http://home.skysports.com/list.asp?hlid ... a+deadline

http://www.clubcall.com/index.jsp?storyID=286909

http://www.tribalfootball.com/article.php?id=6944

Come on Boss, get in there with a bid!

 

[anesumachoko]

I was watching the games which we dubbed the physical nes , the bolton and rovers and actually discovered that we had good games and what lacked was not physical presence but confidence because we created a hot of chances and just unlucky

 

[Grampus_Eight]

I was watching the games which we dubbed the physical nes , the bolton and rovers and actually discovered that we had good games and what lacked was not physical presence but confidence because we created a hot of chances and just unlucky

I don't think you're right at all. Our finishing is often wasteful. Otherwise, considering the awesome chances we create, we'd average 4 or 5 goals.  We were physically and mentally beaten by both of these teams and in our northern trips in general.

Since you watched these matches you'll see that we conceded all three goals rather cheaply.  At Bolton for some reason Cesc was covering their biggest, strongest, scariest player (Faye) on that corner where our zonal system was exposed.  Faye easily leapt over Cesc and buried the ball.  Not Cesc's fault, but Lehmann's and the central defenders fault for not organising the defence.  On the second goal Gilberto had his worst moment in an Arsenal shirt.  Nolan picked his pocket and worst of all Gilberto didn't even make an effort to try to recover.  Nolan centers the ball for Stelios - game over. Almost entirely Gilberto's fault.

Against Blackburn we got caught on the counter (if forget who turned it over) and Bellamy destroyed Big Phil. Squared the ball for Pederson.  He scores. Nobody was there to help big Phil and our man didn't do the smart thing and foul the little bastard.

I'll write more in this later, but our away form wasn't plain bad luck.  It was about: the older players not having faith in the younger players (Freddie and Gilberto in particular); the younger players experiencing some growing pains (Phil especially); older players making too many mistakes (Gil); Sol being a disgrace; Cashley perhaps not caring to make a swift recovery; having a smaller less physical players (Cesc, Reyes, Hleb).  Injuries (often due to mid-week internationals) and too thin a squad to replace injured players.  

If, god forbid, anyone of Jens, Kolo, Gilberto or Henry is out with a long-term injury do we write off the season?  Call it bad luck?

No! Instead, we should make the squad strong enough so injuries won't decimate our chances. Upgrade from Almunia, bring in another CB (even a short-term option), buy Alou Diarra (or a similar physical DM) and hope that v.Persie, Adebayor and Reyes can collectively flourish.

 

[GoonerGurjit]

Lens' £4m-rated midfielder Alou Diarra has also caught Arsenal's eye. (NotW)

 

[Jameel46]

William Gallas will snub Chelsea's £80,000-a-week deal and move across London to Arsenal. (News of the World)

The Gunners will add to their attacking options with the £16m capture of Marseille's wantaway international winger Franck Ribery. (The People)

Arsène Wenger will raise the necessary funds by off-loading Jose Antonio Reyes. The winger will join Real Madrid for £16m this week. (People)

Lens' £4m-rated midfielder Alou Diarra has also caught Arsenal's eye. (NotW)

While Lyon's France left-back Eric Abidal is set for a move to the Emirates Stadium. (Daily Star Sunday)

And Arsenal have made enquiries about Fiorentina striker Luca Toni, who has also interested Newcastle and Manchester United. (Sunday Express)

the papers are going crazy over our transfer targets, things seem to be heating up. 8)

 

[Harding]

mr ribery....well well well looks like he is most definetly on the move and appears to be pretty confident about which club he wants to join and this club play champions league football!

So in my opinion its most definetly out of:
The Gunners
Lyon
Man Utd

 

[KlurgsSporg]

Alou Diarra or Abou Diaby

no need to sign Diarra really is there

 

[eldanielfire]

If we want success THIS season then yes. Diaby is ot for ages.

Also the one thing Chelski has showed competition between great players for places is always a posistive.

For Arsenal we could do with more competition in Central midfield and centre back posistions.

In CM we have Fabregas and Gilberto at the start of the season. Thats it. Flamini has show to be very weak in big games there so another injury and we are screwed.

Adding Diarra would open things up and when Diaby returns they'll all have to play out of their skins and thats good for their developement and Arsenal.

 

[GoonerGurjit]

I thought Diarra was as good as signed for Roma?

 

[EMIR8_SOLDIER]

to be honest ive been very "pickey and choosey" but if these players are going to make us stonger then why not close in on them

 

[been]

id rather have toure then diarra rmember if diarra is 4m and monaco are expected to sing tour for 5m i would take him as hes a great talent

 

[Grampus_Eight]

Yaya isn't a DM and that's what we need. Diaby isn't really a DM either. The defensive side of his game is what needs the most work. Flamini isn't good enough to offer real competition with Gilberto at DM and Song isn't ready yet.

Even though I don't think his first touch and passing are necessarily good enough, at this point I'm all for signing Alou Diarra, he is the best remaining option at DM. We need a more players capable of doing the dirty work.

If we are going to play Rosicky/Reyes, Cesc and Hleb across the midfield we need a big, physical athlete who can cover a lot of ground and knock our opponents on their asses. Flamini isn't it. Song might be, but probably not for a year or two.

Right now, if Gilberto were to go down with injury we'd be in a lot of trouble. DM is (along with GK) our weakest positions on the depth chart where the backups just aren't good enough and would cost us games where they needed for an extended run.

At £4M Diarra would absolutely be worth taking a chance on. He is a guy who could dominate if he were to improve his passing. He's also going to be a big player for France until Mavuba, L. Diarra and Diaby are ready to make the jump.

A lot of people seem to like Borja Oubiña. I've only seen him on a couple of occasions, but I don't think he's the sort of dynamic athlete that Cesc (and are other smaller midfielders) needs as a partner. He's also something of a deep-lying playmaker in the Alonso mould. That's great when you play a 3 or 5 man midfield and play next to to great athletes like Stevie G. and Mo Sisoko.

But we've already got enough player makers (including the often deep lying Cesc). We need another destroyer.

Anatoliy Tymoshchuk might be another option, but he's rumored to cost more in the neighborhood of £7M (Ukraine's richest man billionaire Rinat Akhmetov owns Shakhtar and is demanding top dollar if he is to sell). At 27 Tymoshchuk is probably too old for the Boss, plus he'd need a haircut if he ever came to the Grove.

 

[fabregas_is_our_king]

TBH i dont think we need another cm, attacking or defensive, rosicky and diaby could be good cover for fabregas. While song (as he becomes better techincally) and flamini (under pressure he seems to play well, remember the CL run?) would be good enough cover for gilberto

 

[Grampus_Eight]

I think we need another DM more than we need another CB. Senderos will be back long before Diaby who had about as serious an injury as a player can have without ending his career.

I don't remember Flamini playing particularly well during our CL run at DM. I remember him being outstanding at LB. Two completely different positions.

In my opinion, Flamini who doesn't read the game well enough to play DM. He can man mark well and could shadow a dangerous player, but he doesn't get zonal marking. He often rotates to the wrong man or over-pursues when he should let a wide player chase, thus leaving his defenders exposed.

Of course I love Flamini though. He would gladly bleed for the shirt. And I think he can play any of the wide positions (midfield or fullback) where graft can count for so much more. I know he's a really important player for France's youth teams, but I think that Mavuba, Diaby and L. Diarra will all be ahead of him.

The Boss is too loyal towards Flamini. He let Edu go because he thought Flamini something special and especially cheap. So he Flamini is far too inspirational for the Boss to give up on him anytime soon, but not good enough to provide an alternative to Gilberto in terms of competition for places or as a credible backup should Gil get hurt.

Alou Diarra is worth the risk. Yes, he has his problems, but he is available for literally just a bit more than a song (£2.7M v. £4M).

We also need more size considering how small our first choice midfielders, excepting, Gilberto are. Diaby won’t likely return to first team action until after Christmas. Song looks like he’s markedly improved, but he is still very young and pre-season doesn’t always indicate how a player will perform once the season and the pressure starts.

 

[fabregas_is_our_king]

I think we need another DM more than we need another CB. Senderos will be back long before Diaby who had about as serious an injury as a player can have without ending his career.

I don't remember Flamini playing particularly well during our CL run at DM. I remember him being outstanding at LB. Two completely different positions.

In my opinion, Flamini who doesn't read the game well enough to play DM. He can man mark well and could shadow a dangerous player, but he doesn't get zonal marking. He often rotates to the wrong man or over-pursues when he should let a wide player chase, thus leaving his defenders exposed.

Of course I love Flamini though. He would gladly bleed for the shirt. And I think he can play any of the wide positions (midfield or fullback) where graft can count for so much more. I know he's a really important player for France's youth teams, but I think that Mavuba, Diaby and L. Diarra will all be ahead of him.

The Boss is too loyal towards Flamini. He let Edu go because he thought Flamini something special and especially cheap. So he Flamini is far too inspirational for the Boss to give up on him anytime soon, but not good enough to provide an alternative to Gilberto in terms of competition for places or as a credible backup should Gil get hurt.

Alou Diarra is worth the risk. Yes, he has his problems, but he is available for literally just a bit more than a song (£2.7M v. £4M).

We also need more size considering how small our first choice midfielders, excepting, Gilberto are. Diaby won’t likely return to first team action until after Christmas. Song looks like he’s markedly improved, but he is still very young and pre-season doesn’t always indicate how a player will perform once the season and the pressure starts.

fair enough, you've won me over

 

[anesumachoko]

we need a dm and urgently or we are ****ed up because if you look at last season when gilberto lost form we were screwed and when he started to gain his form back thats when we mounted a serious challenge to Sp**s


http://www.worldfootballers.com/footbal ... p?id=14646

 

[Grampus_Eight]

I've been away for the last couple of weeks and was hoping we would have made a signing or two by now.

I can't understand why we would potentially risk having to play Flamini or Song at DM if Gilberto were to go down with a serious injury.

There's no chance of signing Senna since he's far too old and his wages too high to justify any significant transfer fee. Not to mention the Boss' one year contract policy on players 30 and older.

But Alou Diarra is very much still available and his price gets closer and closer to a Song (£2.7m) as Roma have apparently agreed to £3.4m for the lad. Alou Diarra £3.4m v. Hargreaves £13-£17m.

Come on Arsène you can do it, Come on Arsène there's nothing to it!

http://home.skysports.com/list.aspx?hli ... a+deadline