It's too early to judge him, but i'm thinking about Chamakh and then tend to agree with you. Those type of players don't suit Arsenal although both are fantastic players.
I saw the last 10 minutes of the match against Stoke (just back from holiday in France) and i saw Wenger's reaction after Girouds goal attempt with the long range lob. Nearly a contender for a goal of the season, but it seemed as if Wenger was furious at Giroud for attempting this...This sums up Wengers problem with that kind of player. It seems as if Wenger wants his players to pass the ball into the goal where players like Chamakh and Giroud have a far more direct approach towards the game...
PS: Is it true that Sahin will go to Liverpool and not Arsenal? I really don't understand that unless Madrid prefer him to go to Liverpool because they don't play CL...
Totally agree with this, Gerd. I had exactly the same thoughts about Wenger's reaction to Giroud lobbying the keeper. It's the kind of stuff you have to encourage, not reprehend. He's our Centre Forward, for crying out loud! If Wenger can't understand his instinct, then I'm disappointed. And it's not as if Ramsey was wide open, he had a Stoke defender marking him. Plus, the keeper was asking to be lobbied.
My reaction to that was "WOW, well done"! He nearly grabbed a sensational goal, in a match where our attack was pretty much innocuous, and that lobby was cheeky as hell. He had attempted a nice volley from a corner earlier too.
Today I had the clear impression that Giroud is starting to get comfortable and even begins to dare trying some new things. This is what we need, a striker in full confidence.
Right now he's an unknown quantity. He could turn out a very good buy or a second Chamakh. I hope he proves he's more than a pretty face
I am also one of Diaby's biggest critics but today he didn't have a bad match at all. It's unbelievable, seeing him play 90 minutes like that.
I liked what our new guy Podolski brought too, more in terms of attitude. Goal chances he will have more, I'm sure. But Cazorla is the highlight of this team for me right now. Such a good signing! He's the most classic possible type of a playmaker. He should be our number 10 (nothing against Jack though). But he is exactly what Arsenal lacked since Fabregas went. And dare I say he's a better specialist than Fabregas! Cesc was a really good creative midfielder who could score goals, but when I see Cazorla dribbling past defenders, that's the typical playmaker of my dreams, who can do it all, pass, shoot, dribble.
Overall, I will see the silver lining of it. The fact that Arsenal has 2 clean sheets and looks much more organised in defence (maybe the Bould effect already). Today when I saw Mannone I feared for the worst. But Mannone wasn't exposed at all, thanks to a solid shift from our defence. And that's the difference from previous performances we had there at Stoke.
Worthy of note that Mertesacker is surprisingly composed on the ball and most of the times he seems unable to jump at all! I was expecting him to be a monster with aerial balls and limited with his foot. But it's all the opposite
All in all the team played well, I must say. Our midfield three (lots of praise here for Arteta too, who was MOTM) was excellent, our defence is doing its job. The only area where we were found wanting is the attack.
Gervinho, once again, boy oh boy... I cannot see this boy doing it for us in the Premier League. Even if he's full of energy and has all good intentions, he's just too frustrating. He beats 1 or 2 defenders and then lets the ball slip over the line. He seems to have little or no end product. With him, Walcott and Arshavin in poor form, maybe Wenger should be using The Ox more as a winger instead of midfielder.
But not only the front 3, but attacking as a team, Arsenal look toothless. I'm all for possession football, but you have to be incisive sometimes. Only Cazorla seems capable of having a go from outside the box. The rest of the team seems allergic to it - and it's quite telling that only the new boys are trying long range efforts: Cazorla, Giroud and Podolski, at times. Wenger clearly didn't have time to instil his irritating philosophy of never shooting from long range.
I really miss this aspect of the game. I was looking at how other teams attack those loose balls from set pieces (look at Kagawa's goal, after a great long range effort from Cleverley). Look at Pienaar's screamer against Villa. That's the kind of thing I miss Arsenal doing, and Wenger should find a balance there.
PPS: in my country we seem to have good players: Hazard, Dembele, Fellaini...
Totally agree with this. Belgium have quite a generation shaping up for the World Cup. Hazard came justifying all the talk about him and Fellaini ate Man United alive on Monday. I have become a fan of Dembele since last season, and I'll complete that list with Vermaelen, who is not venturing to attack as much as before but still shows he's very good on the ball. And that Sunderland keeper Mignolet looks quite good to me.