Bradley Barcola

[viktor]

These people don't watch football. A man said Saliba doesn't have a good passing range when you can go to any game thread from 22/23 and see posts of people losing their mind over the passes he's playing and of course we have access to video.

They formulate an opinion of a player or players and don't ever bother to actually make sure that said opinion jives with reality. There's not a single thing Martinelli does better than Barcola except defend. He's light years behind in every other way.

"A man said Saliba doesn't have a good passing range"

maybe this forum have direction to become washed lol

i even laughing after read what @A_G said below because imo there is no way one of the greatest of all time play as false nine have zero knock out goal in world cup 2014 but fifa still gave golden ball to him, how make it more impressive

Messi derangement syndrome means people don’t realise winning the Golden Ball without spamming G/A actually makes it more impressive

 

[Trilly]

It doesn't really matter what he earns because we can easily afford it. If he was an impediment, I would get it but he is an absolute luxury player.

If he only plays Carling Cup and FA Cup games and relieves the pressure on Havertz and Gyokeres - that for me is a good outcome.

He's going to leave in a year when his contract ends, so I have no issue keeping him if it means we can completely rest our starting forwards in the domestic cups.

The thing is our club seem to penny pinch when it comes to salaries and new attacking signings so I would guess that Jesus being here is stopping us from signing a Kroupi or something.

Just because we can afford it doesn’t mean we should pay it if it’s poor business and Jesus on his wage packet is probably one of the first problems they want to fix this summer. We’ve been trying to get rid of him for a few years now.

 

[A_G]

i even cannot believe after read what @A_G said below because imo there is no way one of the greatest of all time play as false nine have zero knock out goal in world cup 2014 but fifa still gave golden ball to him, how make it more impressive

It’s more impressive because it shows how good his general play is. Ronaldo could never.

Olise will probably win the Golden Ball this year with zero goals in the whole tournament.

 

[outlawz]

The thing is our club seem to penny pinch when it comes to salaries and new attacking signings so I would guess that Jesus being here is stopping us from signing a Kroupi or something.

Just because we can afford it doesn’t mean we should pay it if it’s poor business and Jesus on his wage packet is probably one of the first problems they want to fix this summer. We’ve been trying to get rid of him for a few years now.

I don't think there's any chance of us signing a third striker to come in to replace Jesus. As it stands, in my mind it's a choice between Jesus and No Body, while you think it's a choice between Jesus and someone like Kroupi. If we genuinely were to replace him, I would be driving him to the airport but I just don't think that's going to happen.

We've only ended up in this position because both Havertz and Jesus picked up long term injuries. It's like having Ramsdale as third choice GK, overly qualified is never a bad thing in my book.

If the way your squad is built is through former starters falling into squad roles as they have lost their form or mojo, you will end up with many players whose wages don't align with their squad role, but that shouldn't be a blocker though otherwise you lose a great route through which to build a top class squad.

If for example, we bought Yamal and Saka ends up on the bench. A 300k bench player financially wouldn't make sense but from a squad capabilities perspective, you are laughing.

 

[BanterJenks]

This thread literally exposes lack of ball knowledge.

And the worst part? All you have to do is watch a Martinelli comp then a Barcola comp. The difference in technical ability, decision making and guile should be clear from the jump.

I thought the debate in this thread would be about if Barcola can realise his potential as an elite player. Didn’t expect there to be genuine discussion around him being better than Martinelli. Martinelli???

Has anyone in here argued Martinelli is better/same level as Barcola? I think you are debating with a strawman.

Let me ask you: are you confident that spending 100m (or whatever the amount will be) on Barcola is the right move and one that would unlock us offensively, including being an x factor in the biggest games of the season? Because if anything is debated in this thread it is precisely that much.

 

[hydrofluoric acid]

People always think my choice of weapon is the keyes or custom made small spoon or even a combat-knife when I cant do lines. But my favorite tool is actually nail clippers.

 

[Trilly]

Has anyone in here argued Martinelli is better/same level as Barcola? I think you are debating with a strawman.

It was literally in the last few pages, yeah.

Let me ask you: are you confident that spending 100m (or whatever the amount will be) on Barcola is the right move and one that would unlock us offensively, including being an x factor in the biggest games of the season? Because if anything is debated in this thread it is precisely that much.

Absolutely.

His pace alone would tactically change many games before they even begin.

We need a LW and he’s undoubtedly the best available LW in the market. A guy the best team in the world are trying to keep but there seems to be the misconception that he’s a bench player they’re trying to flog.

 

[Sulosky]

Can't understand why people keep wan*ing over this poor man's Nelli.

 

[BanterJenks]

Absolutely.

Gotcha. I'm not as convinced as I don't know how much of his output could translate to the PL and the biggest games. But if we sign him I'd be excited and hoping to be proven very wrong.

I guess I am worried about splashing on a Mudryk or a Pepe (different profiles, I know!). But I don't see great alternatives to Barcola either and would hate us to do nothing substantial for the wings so I can see your point.

 

[jaystewart]

Barcola is nearly 24 and currently playing in the easiest league he will ever play in - we've seen everything he has to offer. He isn't turning up trees in France and you'd be extremely lucky to get the similar performances out of him here. He is not magically going up a level.

You can't rationalise buying Barcola just because you hate Martinelli. We should defintely not be paying for 'potential' in Barcolas case. Apply the tax to his output and you might as well stick with Martinelli.

Do you really think he is going to thrive under Arteta in the prem when he out of favour for a dominant/fluid PSG team who beat up farmers every week?

 

[rich1990]

1 PL goal last season.

Yes but I actually thought he played reasonably well overall and does well in Europe. As i say, an upgrade is needed but i still see him as an asset. A braver decision would be to sell Madueke and find somebody to match Saka.

 

[DuBB]

Barcola is nearly 24 and currently playing in the easiest league he will ever play in - we've seen everything he has to offer. He isn't turning up trees in France and you'd be extremely lucky to get the similar performances out of him here. He is not magically going up a level.

14 G 6 A (3000 minutes)
23 G 13 A (3500 minutes)

21 G 21 A (4000 minutes)
13 G 7 A (3500 minutes)

One of those is Bradley Barcola's last 2 seasons in France.
The other is Nicolas Pepe's last 2 seasons in France.

Just to throw the cat amongst the pigeons before I log off for a few weeks

 

[El Duderino]

Ah, we've reached the "he's not that better than Martinelli" stage of discourse.

Like the forum has not collectively watched Gabi have his head down for the past two seasons, constantly running into blind alleys or ruining counters.

I cannot stress enough how his inability to have his head up 90% of the time he's running, dribbling, passing, crossing and shooting kills our attacking intent.

Even if Barcola wasn't better (he is) it is at least something different.

 

[Trilly]

14 G 6 A (3000 minutes)
23 G 13 A (3500 minutes)

21 G 21 A (4000 minutes)
13 G 7 A (3500 minutes)

One of those is Bradley Barcola's last 2 seasons in France.
The other is Nicolas Pepe's last 2 seasons in France.

Just to throw the cat amongst the pigeons before I log off for a few weeks

What point are you making?

 

[Legend14]

Martinelli won’t be sold because he’s on 180k a week and no club with serious money would be looking at him

Maybe these teams can’t afford him, but many teams could use him. Not sure why we think there are so many great players and great teams out there that are better than what we have. There just isn’t.

 

[Wright_I_am]

As long as we have Arteta in charge, maybe buying expensive forwards is a waste? Let's stick with what we do best: defenders and midfielders. Our best attackers seem to pop out of the academy anyways.

 

[Sebastes]

1 PL goal last season.

And he had 15 goals and 5 assists a few seasons ago. Compare that to Barcola’s 11+1 in Ligue 1 this season. And before the playing time argument comes up because of PSG’s rotation, Martinelli had a better g/a per minute ratio.

Or we could look at more recent stats. Barcola has a goal or assist every 154th minute this season, all comps. Martinelli is on one every 133rd minute.

They have 13+6 (Barcola) and 11+7 (Nelli) in 2,931 and 2,394 minutes respectively. And Barcola plays for a team that completely dominates their domestic scene.

There’s genuinely not that much between them. In saying that, I definitely think we can upgrade LW, but Barcola isn’t the answer. To get the most out of him you literally have to play transition football. We did that in 22/23 and Martinelli excelled then.

I think the club knows this and that’s why Rogers is highest on our list. I don’t like either and would rather have had Trossard and someone who’s more of a wildcard with massive upside. Say a Diomande or even Monga.

 

[A_G]

And he had 15 goals and 5 assists a few seasons ago. Compare that to Barcola’s 11+1 in Ligue 1 this season. And before the playing time argument comes up because of PSG’s rotation, Martinelli had a better g/a per minute ratio.

Or we could look at more recent stats. Barcola has a goal or assist every 154th minute this season, all comps. Martinelli is on one every 133rd minute.

They have 13+6 (Barcola) and 11+7 (Nelli) in 2,931 and 2,394 minutes respectively. And Barcola plays for a team that completely dominates their domestic scene.

There’s genuinely not that much between them. In saying that, I definitely think we can upgrade LW, but Barcola isn’t the answer. To get the most out of him you literally have to play transition football. We did that in 22/23 and Martinelli excelled then.

I think the club knows this and that’s why Rogers is highest on our list. I don’t like either and would rather have had Trossard and someone who’s more of a wildcard with massive upside. Say a Diomande or even Monga.

I don’t compare stats across leagues because it’s misleading. The question isn’t how Barcola did in comparison to Martinelli, it’s how he would do if he was in the matter’s position at Arsenal. Same reason I wanted Nico Williams when everyone was crowing about his stats.

22/23 was a mediocre season for him outside of a purple patch in the spring, there’s a reason we were willing to drop €90m on Mudryk. This team was crying out for a new LW just like it has for every window since.

Even this season, he was a stat padder. 7 of Martinelli’s G/A were against Kairat Almaty, Brugge, Wigan, Portsmouth and Mansfield Town.

 

[MikelHadADream]

What point are you making?

There is some proper rubbish discourse in this thread.

A lot of these guys are moaning but if you have them the option of Barcola or what we currently have the majority would bring Bradley in asap.

 

[Sebastes]

I don’t compare stats across leagues because it’s misleading. The question isn’t how Barcola did in comparison to Martinelli, it’s how he would do if he was in the matter’s position at Arsenal. Same reason I wanted Nico Williams when everyone was crowing about his stats.

22/23 was a mediocre season for him outside of a purple patch in the spring, there’s a reason we were willing to drop €90m on Mudryk. This team was crying out for a new LW just like it has for every window since.

Even this season, he was a stat padder. 7 of Martinelli’s G/A were against Kairat Almaty, Brugge, Wigan, Portsmouth and Mansfield Town.

Why is it pointless to compare across leagues? Because then it’d be pointless to make the argument that Barcola is a good signing because of 11+1 in Ligue 1, as it can’t be an indicator of how he would fare in the PL?

I don’t disagree on us having needed to upgrade LW for a long time, but in the end, my argument is that Barcola is a transition player and he will not make us better unless we play to his strengths. And that’d be the exact same as to play to Martinelli’s strengths. Barcola might perform better in such a context, but not nearly enough to make a significant outlay on him worth the money.

It’s the same with Gyökeres, I wasn’t particularly high on him because I didn’t believe we’d play to his strengths. We mostly haven’t and that is part why he has struggled.

I agree(d) on Williams btw and would still rather us take him than either Barcola or Rogers, if it wasn’t for his injury.