William Carvalho

[Tir Na Nog]

I thought he was pretty good when he came on in the world cup, when he came on against the U.S he looked absolutely monstrous, winning the ball off everyone and a real presence in midfield. He looks an assured passer and a real power house plus at his age he can only get better.

 

[Iceman10]

Does anyone know if Carvalho is half competent as a CB as I see it mentioned that he can play there. Javi Martinez obviously would be my ultimate signing.

 

[celestis]

A little bit more Tony leen

Tony Leen @tonyleen · 8h
@T_Morgan10 I know that Arsenal were very interested in Alexis Sanchez, Seamus Coleman and carvalho. They got one so far.

 

[darthwenger]

Now it seems the Carvalho dealings have slipped out, I'd actually prefer him over Khedira.

Carvalho is probably nearer to what we actually need in the centre of the park, (breaking up play, ball winning and shielding the cb's) over say Khedira who I think is nearer to a box to box.

Not saying Khedira isn't quality or wouldn't make an impact but think Carvalho is the better fit. Hope it happens.

 

[The_Playmaker]

I thought he was pretty good when he came on in the world cup, when he came on against the U.S he looked absolutely monstrous, winning the ball off everyone and a real presence in midfield. He looks an assured passer and a real power house plus at his age he can only get better.

How much can we really see from what he showed at the world cup? We know he is physically a beast and can win the ball back. What is his stamina like? How is his reading of the game?

Anyone can look assured on the ball in the world cup and in European football when not pressurized. Arteta when pressed is forced to play side ways and backwards. We need a player who is good enough to turn while under pressure and still play forwards. Someone who can't do that, isn't worth anything upwards of £20 million otherwise we may aswell buy Cattermole.

 

[BobP]

Hate Portuguese clubs for this reason, attach ridiculous buyout clauses to players who are barely worth it and as a result clubs think that the player is worth that amount and get robbed.

 

[Yousif Arsenal]

now that Khedira deal is OFF hopefully we give Sporting Lisbon the 30M full cash and we get this deal done.

 

[The_Playmaker]

I just got pm'ed this compilation to show that he can retain the ball under pressure.

<a class="postlink" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZGs6QGag5Ng" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZGs6QGag5Ng</a>

Now the majority of that compilation shows his tackling ability. I don't question his strength or ability to win the ball. What I do question is his passing ability and ball retention under pressure. From the above compilation he heavily relies on his strength, which isn't a bad thing at all, but in England he will come up against players who are physically just as strong in midfield. I don't think he would struggle at all in physical battles though.

My main concern is how good he is on the ball and from what I can see, he relies on a lot of lucky ricochets because he is so strong and tends to over run the ball and get himself into situations that he struggles to get out of when under pressure. That is the difference between someone who is worth £20 million upwards and someone who isn't. He looks a good prospect, but from what I have seen he looks more like a centre back playing defensive midfield.

Remember, the key to a defensive midfielder is how comfortable they are in possession, under pressure in their own half of the pitch. Players like Matic and Mikel are players with that ball retention ability I am looking for if we are going to spend a serious amount of money. If you ignore Mikel's flaws, when in possession of that ball, he is very difficult to tackle and he has that ability to turn on a six pence. Something that Fabregas used to do with ease when he played deeper, something that Ramsey does so easily for us now. It is a key aspect I look for in a defensive midfielder. I want to know that if our holder comes under pressure he can simply turn and drive forward, rather than fighting the player who is trying to tackle him, and either losing the battle or simply playing backwards.

I haven't seen enough of him to say that he can do that, but if anyone can post a match compilation with him vs a top team that puts him under pressure, I believe he played vs Man United? It would be helpful.

 

[truth_hurts]

Got to admit this is a massive switch from a ball player like Scniederlin or an energy god like Khedira or Bender. Carvalho is a pure defensive player which surprises me. Not sure how to feel about the prospect of this.

 

[Jasard]

My attitude right now is "it beats Flamini or Arteta" so sign him up

 

[Hunta]

Crazy how we give Flamini a three year deal, how the **** did he talk himself into that...

 

[bingobob]

A little bit more Tony leen

Tony Leen @tonyleen · 8h
@T_Morgan10 I know that Arsenal were very interested in Alexis Sanchez, Seamus Coleman and carvalho. They got one so far.

That would have been an interesting trio to acquire.

To end up with two of our top three targets would be impressive.

 

[Yousif Arsenal]

Crazy how we give Flamini a three year deal, how the **** did he talk himself into that...

Cuz we were desperate for backup. I think Flamini and Arteta will go out next summer.

 

[Taylor Gang Gunners]

Crazy how we give Flamini a three year deal, how the **** did he talk himself into that...

because we were desperate for backup. I think Flamini and Arteta will go out next summer.

Even so, it should have been a one year deal with a 'possible' extension, no way should he have been given 3 years, I knew that him "training with us for fitness" would result in him getting a contract here. Three years is far too much, not like we can get anything significant for him in the transfer market either.

 

[Tir Na Nog]

To be fair for the first 3/4 months of last season a lot of the media were regarding Flamini as coup of last summer. He was experienced and was guaranteed to be a leader and work hard and initially looked a solid signing.

 

[Iceman10]

... and to add to that the second half of last season we had to rely on Flamteta a lot when both Ramsey and Wilshere were injured (and to make it worse we had Theo out which meant we had little mobility overall going forwards). Flamteta makes him do things he wouldn't otherwise do if he was able to sit and allow Ramsey to rampage forward. A three year contract was needless though, he would have signed virtually anything to have his second stint at the club.

 

[GUNNERS4L1FE]

Crazy how we give Flamini a three year deal, how the **** did he talk himself into that...

 

[GDeep™]

Flamini makes sense if you consider him a utility man type with Arteta being phased out for a new guy.

 

[Enfield]

If this guy is the best out there then get him. If not then move on.

Its really that simple for us, its obviously Wengers call on who is the better player.

We are in a very strong position squad wise with plenty of cash to spend therefore we don't need to buy to cover a few positions or spend on poorer players to keep money for another average player.

Go hard or go home

 

[Swallow]

Madre de Dios! I don't know whether it's the Portuguese league that too weak for him but his youtube compilations make him look like a Yaya Touré who loves to sit deep. He is quite impressive for his age. I think we should get him ahead of all our other CM CDM targets. He looks the real deal.