Football - Aftermath of the Euros

[Spockydog]

1 hour ago, Mexal said:

Word from Coquelin is he's now training at CB. We're, once again, going to jerry-rig this shit instead of actually buying a legitimate, experienced CB.

I think this might be a blessing in disguise. Everyone knows the priority so far has been a striker and a right winger. There's no way Wenger would have bought another first team CB this summer. But with Koscielny 31 in a couple of months and Mertesacker two tackles away from the glue yard, it's something we should be looking at. Now we have to, and there seems to be some credibility to the Mustafi rumours. Don't know anything about the guy, but the internet seems to think he's decent.

Regardless, I think we'll be okay. Gabriel has the makings of a decent player. I love his style and commitment, and if he can eradicate some of the errors, he'll be a great player for us. And Chambers looked tidy enough at CB last season, so I've got no problem with him being given a chance. As for Holden, he was the Bolton supporters' player of the season last year, so he must have something to offer. 

And if signing a CB means we don't sign a winger, it won't really bother me. Same with Coquelin training at CB. We've an abundance of midfielders and Xhaka looks the absolute dog's bollocks. And we have Alex Iwobi. Yes, he's still young, but looks really, really good. If he can kick on from last season, he'll be deadly. 

The only thing that will upset me now is if Theo fucking Walcott is leading the line against Liverpool.

 

[Spockydog]

1 hour ago, MisterOJ said:

You know, the games I saw him there, I thought Lucas did a pretty decent job at CB.

Me too. As for Coquelin, he's got all the attributes of a good CB. He reads the game well, is strong in the tackle and great in the air. Got no problem with him at CB. He could end up becoming the new Mascherano. 

This season we're going to have le Coq, Elneny, Xhaka, Ramsey, Santi, Wilshere (and perhaps Bielik), all competing for the two slots behind Mesut Ozil. I'm looking at that list trying to pick my #1 midfield pairing and I'm struggling. There's some good fucking players there, and maybe Coquelin realizes this and is only too keen to help out at CB.

ETA: Looking at that list of midfielders again, does anyone, on paper at least, have a better midfield than us? I don't think so.