Who Lifted Arsenal More in Their First Season: Ozil or Cazorla?
By Bootoomee
This is a very polarising topic and one that I have really struggled to write. This is particularly difficult for me because I am against pitting Arsenal players against each other. I am a socialistic supporter: the team wins because all players are great and loses because they all didn’t do enough. Of course, I am not that blinkered to think that all players make equal contributions but I prefer to not over criticise under-performing players and not over-praise the ones on form.
With this mindset, why embark on a venture to draw a line under the performances of 2 of our most important players? Why start a Cazorla vs Ozil battle?
Well, as much as I want all Arsenal players to be viewed the same as much as possible, I have no power to make everybody else do this. The implication of this is that people keep praising individual players and giving accolades which aren’t always deserved while making critiques that aren’t always fair. The Libran in me struggles with this injustice and ultimately my desire for justice trumps my unwillingness to pit Arsenal players against each other.
I have had to argue too many times on this site about the impact of Ozil on Arsenal this season and I won’t be surprised if some readers have already concluded that I dislike the guy.
Unlike maybe 90% of Arsenal fans, I was not over the moon when I got confirmation that we’ve signed Ozil. I had exactly the same feeling as when I first saw Koscielny with the number 6 jersey on Arsenal.com a few years back. I have always welcomed new signings with a reserved enthusiasm that goes like this.
“Welcome to Arsenal (name inserted), I know you must have good prospects for Wenger to have signed you. I hope that you realise those potentials for the team.”
I know that I am in a very tiny minority but that was my sentiments about Ozil. And yes, I am quite aware of his stats and reputation, I just like to base my accolades on what players have actually done for the team rather than what they are reputed to be capable of.
At the same time, I was rooting for Ozil to succeed just as I had rooted for Sanogo and every Arsenal player signed before him. I don’t give a damn about how much it cost to bring Ozil over and to be honest, his high price tag (yes, I know we got him for a bargain) was a kind of put off for me. It’s not about Ozil, I am just against huge transfer deals in principle.
As we all know, Ozil was brought in at the tail end of a campaign of calumny against the manager because he “wouldn’t spend the fucking money”. Spending over £42 million and bringing a player of Ozil’s calibre was like killing 2 birds with a stone. A quality player has been brought in and the “fucking money has been spent”.
When I hear the media and many of our fans repeat the mantra: “Ozil has lifted Arsenal”, I want to tear out the little hair in my balding head. Ozil has not “lifted” Arsenal; spirit or performance. Some fans’ obsession to see a big name signing has just been appeased by who the player is and how much he cost; no more, no less. We did not lose to Aston Villa in the first match of the season because the “fucking money hasn’t been spent”. We had also gone on to win our next 4 games, home and away, before the “fucking money” was spent. In short, the Aston Villa loss was quickly proven to be a freak result and the team was back to its usual self before the signing of Ozil was completed.
Ozil hit the ground running and even if he hadn’t, I wouldn’t give him any stick over it. The guy is real class though and we all agree that the money was well spent.
I, unlike many Gooners that I know, however, was never comfortable with the over the top praise of Ozil and I get agitated whenever I hear anyone ascribe the team’s success to his signing. It is not only wrong and unfair to all our other players but shows lack of any sense of perspective on the part of those doing it. I have looked at all our results against the top teams (our one true fair criticism at the moment) and compared pre and post Ozil ones head to head. We came out a little better pre Ozil! Our results against the lower teams have been pretty consistent pre and post.
So, how exactly has Ozil lifted Arsenal? Making disgruntled “buy-buy-buy” brigade happy does not count in my book. I decided to write this piece after thinking about the circumstances that we were in at the time of Ozil signing and that of Cazorla’s. I therefore decided to compare the impacts of the 2 players and hence the title.
Cazorla joined Arsenal for £15 million from Malaga in the summer that we lost our most important player along with arguably our most important midfielder. The loss of RvP and Song was a very big one and it was a despondent time for most of us fans. We did not finish the season before that anywhere near being the best team at the latter half of the season and we have lost 2 very important players. Cazorla hit the ground running and for me personally, he was a beauty and great joy to behold. Cazorla amassed Man of the Match awards match after match and he was the Player of the Month for his first 2 months in the club according to voters on Arsenal.com who I want to believe were Arsenal fans.
Nobody in the media or amongst our fans ever said that Cazorla lifted Arsenal despite the overwhelming evidence that he actually did. Yes, Cazorla got the accolades that he deserved but that silly line about lifting the club was never used. Cazorla ended the season with 5 Player of the Month awards and was justifiably voted Arsenal Player of the 2012/13 season. That was his first season, in case anyone is wondering.
| May 2013 | Aaron Ramsey |
| April 2013 | Santi Cazorla |
| March 2013 | Santi Cazorla |
| February 2013 | Santi Cazorla |
| January 2013 | Olivier Giroud |
| December 2012 | Theo Walcott |
| November 2012 | Theo Walcott |
| October 2012 | Theo Walcott |
| September 2012 | Santi Cazorla |
| August 2012 | Santi Cazorla |
Cazorla joined a badly depleted team that was really low on morale after losing its captain and league’s best striker along with our best midfield enforcer. He joined a team that was not in any kind of consistent run from the previous season.
True we came 3rd in the league but it was a crazy season in which Newcastle came 5th and the Tinies threw away a 13 point lead between within 3 months! Okay, I love that bit, especially them making way for 6th placed Chelsea as UCL winners. Happy days! Bottom line, before I wander off again, is that Cazorla indeed lifted Arsenal in his first season and his numerous awards are a testament to that fact.
Ozil joined a very stable Arsenal team that was the best team in the second half of the previous season’s league and that had a very successful pre-season for £42.5 million. The team had already proved with their next for victories that the debacle against Aston Villa was just a blip and they were just carrying on as they ended the previous season. But if anyone had been asleep for the last year, they would be forgiven if they thought that Ozil joined a failing team and single handedly turned its fortunes around.
List of winners of the Arsenal.com Player of the Month awards for the season so far:
| January 2014 | Santi Cazorla |
| December 2013 | Theo Walcott |
| November 2013 | Aaron Ramsey |
| October 2013 | Aaron Ramsey |
| September 2013 | Aaron Ramsey |
| August 2013 | Aaron Ramsey |
In the absence of an objective means of comparing Arsenal players, I think the player of the month is a pretty decent yardstick because it is based on votes by Gooners and they have never been controversial. They are close sometimes but they are never controversial. If an Arsenal player is ‘lifting’ the team, I would expect that Gooners will recognise that and honour him accordingly with votes but the best that Ozil has done is come a very distant second in September and a close second in October, both to Ramsey. A cursory look at the tables shows a few important facts.
1. If we were so eager to use the term “lift the team” for any player, we should have used it for Santi Cazorla who indeed lifted the team in his first season.
2. Ozil is a great guy, a fantastic player and a very humble person but he has not lifted Arsenal. The fact that those who are desperate to see us spend are happy that we signed him is not the same as him lifting the club.
3. We have done incredibly well in the absence of our most important player – Aaron Ramsey. Let’s hope that he gets back soon and returns with his pre-injury form.
An objective look at this team for the last 14 months shows that we are a great team that has been made better by the inclusion of talents like Ozil and Flamini. Based on available evidence, no new player is lifting the team.
Finally, if there is any good thing that can be taken from the media’s latest campaign against the player that they had originally labelled as our saviour, it is the fact that if we win a trophy this season, they (hopefully) won’t give the credit to Ozil. That will be a great injustice to our dedicated band of brothers. All for one and one for all!
- Woolwich Arsenal: The club that changed football – Arsenal’s early years
- Making the Arsenal – how the modern Arsenal was born in 1910
- The Crowd at Woolwich Arsenal
What is interesting is if you look on some of the other Arsenal blogs frequented by the ‘spend some fuckin money’ type of fan Ozil is getting more and more stick and it wouldn’t surprise me to see those same fans who clamoured for a ‘stellar signing’ and greeted him like the second coming now turn on him as they did Gervinho and many more before him. You would think that those who wanted a big name expensive signing would give that very player their full backing and support, but such is the fickle nature of these kind of supporters they are more likely to turn against them at the first sign of a drop in performance. If we have a bad run these next few games I fear Ozil will be the scapegoat.
I agree that both players are exceptional talents. I also share the view that the collective team quality is the most decisive factor, that no individual contribution should be exaggerated and that no members of the squad should ever be attacked and treated as scapegoats.
“Lifted the club ”
Is the catch phrase to me.Lifted the club from where to where ?
Before the signing of the aforementioned players where we in free flowing ?
Certainly no.
Assign the catch phrase to certain players at certain times and you fall pray to the evil media.
Where I would like to see results from the presence of a player, be it Ozil, Cazorla or anyone else, is how they teach or provide incentive to others on the team. If someone is an exceptionally good passer, do others on the team become better at passing? Do others on the team become better at making runs into position reached by that better passing?
Ozil wil come good.high expectations are too weighing on him.of coz Ozil added just a psychological boost otherwise this team was not bad at all.Ozil is still learning how epl is executed otherwise he is ok.the media doesnt like us but we dont give a damn.i hate DM wit passion.gutter journalism
I wouldn’t want to choose between Ozil & Cazorla, they are both class players in what has become a class team.
I think the point you are trying to target is that the press touted the line that the purchase of Ozil had lifted the team. It may or may not have done so, but the purchase probably did lift the fan base, just as the purchase of Cazorla had done so the year before.
But, we have a very fine collection of midfielders (in a an excellent squad) who to some extent compliment each other, I find it hard to find that any one will lift the team more than the others. For now, what is important is that each and every player gives of his all, where possible lifting his own game and hence that of the team as we try to maximize our results as we move into the final stage of the season.
bjtgooner,
Isn’t it interesting that the same folks who kept ascribing the team’s achievements to Ozil are also the first to start knocking him once they couldn’t go on blaming Giroud when he under-performs?
My position is to be even in my praise and critique of our players. Anyhow we choose to look at it though, the only ‘lifting’ that the signing of Ozil has done is make those who desperately wanted the club to spend big happy. Result-wise, I just can’t see the lifting. We have remained essentially the same we were before Ozil was signed.
On the contrary, it could be argued, with evidence, that we might not have made 4th last season without Cazorla’s contributions.
Cazorla and Ozil are great players and the latter might even be considered better but in terms of what they did for the club in their first season, the former wins hands down. I just find it odd that no one ever said he lifted the team last season.
@Bootoomee
“My position is to be even in my praise and critique of our players.”
I fully agree with this comment & try to do the same.
AW usually plans well ahead when building a team & I have a feeling he will tweak the squad a little over the summer & hopefully, building on the present good base, we will be closer to the final article next season.
Just watching Liverpool game. 3 mins added time only. 1 penalty, 5 subs and 1 injury break. Only 3 mins????…..
Sorry off topic
Well, as a brand, Ozil did us much better than Carzola did. If you wanted to attract top players, and between Ozil and Carzola, to whom would they look before signing? That’s the argument. Ozil lifted the club, not points-wise, but in terms of the feel good. He was indication that now we have bridged the gap between the big boys and an average PL team. He is indication that we can now shop at Woolworths, not down town. That is the importance of Ozil. You may even fond that football wise, Sanogo may one day become more important, but Ozil was so, so important this season.
JohnW,
Sorry but I find your comment on Ozil helping us to attract players illogical. How did we attract the great Ozil then?
We need to stop letting the media lead us by our noses with their cliched reporting. Ozil himself said he joined Arsenal because of Arsene Wenger; so as long as we have AW and are willing to pay the price, we can sign anyone. Also if Cazorla and other players haven’t secured a CL place, would Ozil have joined us? I doubt it very much.
All that Man City had to assemble their team is money, just like Chelsea before them. So I don’t buy the rationale that because we signed Ozil, other players will now automatically join us. Players don’t join clubs because of other players the clubs have, they join for a lot of other reasons and money is usually on top of the list.
I happened to experience no sort of fuzzy feeling because Arsenal signed Ozil. I have enjoyed watching him play for us as I have done Rosicky, Fabregas Cazorla (to name a few) before him.
I think the media have led some fans to believe that spending big is the only way to achieve success. It’s also part of the ‘instant’ culture… someone wrote on this site ‘patience is no longer a virtue’ I whole heartedly agree with that sentiment.
I heard a basketball coach say that he did not understand the media’s obsession with praising this or that one’s personal abilities, he said it’s a team game… if my memory serves me right. Again I agree.
I think the media coined the phrase ‘Ozil has lifted the team’ for many reasons one of which I suspect is that when Ozil has a ‘perceived’ drop in form they go on the attack… Ozil is lazy etc.
I want every member of the team is do well for the team, the manager, the club, the fans and themselves personally.
@Bootoomee: Thanks for this interesting article. I’d like to think I’m a reasonably balanced person too, although others can comment on that better : ). I do get what you are trying to say and largely, you’re right – football IS a team sport and if we do win something it will NOT be only because of Ozil. That’s extremely clear.
I do however disagree with what the Ozil signing did to us, apart from the pitch. It’s more psychological – let me try and explain.
a) Human beings, by and large are emotional people. That’s the reason that most are very happy when things go well and very sad when they dont. Most find it hard to stay balanced. All these years, our transfer windows have been painful a lot of the time, with lots of time wasted online and in the media about ‘Who will go?’ rather than looking at the +ves to take forward to the next campaign and do better.
Ozil coming in..snapped that trend. For the first time in a while, we didn’t sell but bought..and bought a truly good player. Santi came and he is class too, no one denies that, but RVP left in the same season, and hence it felt like a replacement, more than an addition. .. which in a way it was. I do not want to compare what each brings to the table – they’re both important. But a big star – world known – German number 10 – coming to Arsenal, and we being able to afford it, was..make no mistake about it…a very +ve statement. Which brings me to my next point…
b) AW has always said he will spend big if he sees quality. And Arsenal have maintained that there would be more funds (though not as much as the AAA would have you believe) from this year (last year). Them buying Ozil meant that Arsenal and AW DID NOT lie. They stuck to their word. That for me was even more important. Had we not bought Ozil, I would still have trusted AW…but this was a clear clear demonstration…he did what he said.
Did I have a warm fuzzy feeling? When Ozil came? Truth to be told, a little more than the rest…not AS MUCH as was made out to be. But it was more elation at point b) that .. AW had told the truth, and excitement…that if needed and if the manager felt the need we could compete at that level.
c) And lastly..sort of a follow up to point a) .. the impact on the players. Everyone inside recognizes what Ozil brings to a team..and every Arsenal player has come out and lauded the signing. It gave an already strong, well knit, talented squad..a little shot of adrenaline at the start..and strengthened their beliefs further.
I won’t ramble on. In a nutshell though..yes.. Ozil was great… but if we win something it’s the team..overall. Football IS a team sport – you have no chance if it becomes about 1 player.
The strength of the squad (in terms of morale etc.) that Ozil joined was as much about who had left as who joined. The departure of Arshavin, I believe, had the potential to lift spirits around the whole Club, both on and off the field. He had been seriously short on contribution for the best part of two years and yet was, reputedly, the highest paid player.
With him gone all sorts of opportunities opened up in terms of finances and positions on the pitch and on the bench.
It was very noticeable that Ivan Gazidis, for the first time I believe, said in his opening remarks at the supporters Christmas party that the Club had ‘no prima donnas’ implying that, in the past, it perhaps had.
Whether he plays in the middle or out wide Cazorla lifts the team and the crowd, as will Ozil once he has settled in.
Arshavin, I believe, rarely did that after his first season and, if our team spirit (and defending) is better this season look no further than his departure for the reason.
Well I was in the Himalayas on that deadline day. When I got in touch with civilization, first thing I did was to check the result of the NLD. My reaction was ” we signed Ozil. Was he even available?”
Signing a player of Ozils calibre does lift the team. But then this is Arsenal. We have excellent players already on the roster. So his impact is not as evident.
Well said, Bootoomee. It’s indeed nice to know I’m not the only one concerned by the incongruity of the over-the-top reaction to Ozil’s arrival. Unfortunately for the lad, the media morons have swung the other extreme now he’s having a natural dip in form. The sensible thing is for us to keep supporting every player who dons the Arsenal shirt and leave all else to their foolishness.
Yesterday doing the dedication of a the statue of a former arsenal player, sorry I don’t recall his name’, he said, I thank the gunners fans for making me comfortable during my first 6 month at Arsenal , so it was the case with Henry. A new player has to be adjusting to the team, different lineup and players, Ozil is a great player. He is pressing hard to please the fans and the media. He is not stupid, he reads what is written and said about him. With a prize tag on his head, he is more sensitive to deliver. I told my wife yesterday after the game that every one now will say, Arsenal is doing good without Ozil. And he will say the hell with them, I can sit around and collect my wages and if they want to sell me that is fine with me. Please get off his back and give him breathing room.
This is a very well balanced and interesting article and I agree with some points you are making although I am a bit surprised to find out that you have ‘little hair in your balding head’ ,as from your fiery style of posting I have always imagined you with an orange Mohawk 🙂
In your Ozil / Cazorla comparison it’s difficult to argue with the numbers and statistics because those usually tell the truth . Having said that , certain aspects of football go beyond numbers and stats and you have to take them on faith and when I say faith ,I mean believing the players themselves who had stated that Ozil signing was a major boost to their morale.
It might not be important to you what club a player comes from and what reputation as a player he brings with him but it is to other players at the new club. Having bought Ozil in his prime from a top club like RM sends a message that Arsenal are no longer a selling club and In fact are capable of competing with the big boys in the transfer market and the top players in the squad no longer have to look over their shoulder thinking how long before the next RVP, Nasri or Fabregas leaves the club and the rebuilding process starts again.
You also seem to minimize the importance of Ozil signing to Arsenal fans and you don’t think loosing to Villa was a direct result of not spending and getting reinforcements , well I have to call bullshit on this one.
Every bad decision Taylor made that day was preceded by a mistake or a blown assignment by an Arsenal player.
Not having a proper DM in that game allowed Agbonlahor run free on to our defenders and past them ,forcing Kos and Szczesny to make challenges they otherwise wouldn’t have to make.
Not having a deep enough squad even after the entire summer TW has forced Wenger to play Cazorla on two days rest after playing and putting in a MOTM performance for Spain half way around the World against Ecuador . If you remember Cazorla looked off pace and gave up the ball twice for two of the three Villa’s goals .
Pleasing ‘buy!,buy! Brigade’ might not be important in ‘your book’ but when ‘spend the fucking money’ brigade becomes disruptive beyond the point of ignoring them ,it’s the only smart thing for a club with over 150 M in the bank to do.
And lastly , comparing Ozil’s and Cazorla’s contributions don’t have to be polarizing unless you make it so.
They are both wonderful players and under the right circumstances they are both World class.
Cazorla is more of a possession style player and when he joined Arsenal he didn’t have to adjust his game while Ozil is more direct type passer and with a shortage of speedy outlets in Arsenal squad at the moment his game suffers a bit.
As for the media calling Ozil a savior or flop , he’s neither and I have learnt to ignore them long time ago.
Bootoomee
Know you mean well, but a discussion that could be interpreted as comparing players from the same club could have a negative effect if seized upon by the wrong elements of society. To me they’re all important and contributed differently to team morale in their different ways and I’ll leave it at that. The media have their own agenda and will try and pay more praise to one instead of another, but to me noone is more important than the other. To me a team is like a human body; no body part is more important than the other. Lose one part and the rest of your body suffers. It maybe a crude example I know. Sorry maybe I shouldn’t be commenting if I don’t believe in weighing and comparing each person’s contribution, but just hoped this doesn’t get seized upon by some sections and used to attack our players.
AL,
It will appear that we are on the same page but do you agree that until recently, the popular opinion was that Ozil is the reason why we are doing well? If you agree then you might understand why I had to write this article.
Ozil is not the problem. The problem is the media and a section of our fans who, unfortunately, set the guy up for a very big fall by over-hyping both his arrival and initial contributions to the team.
I brought Cazorla into it because there is evidence of him ACTUALLY lifting us in his first season, result-wise, but with no one saying then that he lifted the team. I happen to care more about what players do on the field and how they contribute to the team than their price tags or reputations. Unfortunately for Ozil, the praise singers have put him in his current spot where he is now being equally over-criticised.
Those who want to demonise Ozil or any of our players will do so anyway, whether I write about it or not. I don’t think anybody cares about my silly opinion anyway 🙂
Tom,
I get your point but if there is evidence of Cazorla joining us at a difficult time and LIFTING us with his performances but with no one ever saying so, don’t you consider it disingenuous for another player to be said to be lifting the team when he joined us at a very stable period and with no evidence in our results to back the claim?
My article is neither anti-Ozil nor pro-Cazorla. It is anti-hyping without evidence. It is pro-fairness in our praise of our players.
I keep hearing that the other players are lifted by the arrival of Ozil and I ask: REALLY? How do we know this for a fact? Wouldn’t basic human psychology tell us that the players who have sweated and sacrificed to put us on the path that we currently are might just be, even if a little bit, resentful that a Johnny-Come-Lately is taking all the glory?
Sphinx37,
I wrote and sent this piece to Tony on Thursday. It has nothing to do with yesterday’s match and result.
Wale Motajo,
I’m glad to know that I am not alone.
Thanks omo iya mi 🙂
Both of them are superb players Ozil looks like he needs a rest….and maybe a bit of ref protection as well, but am sure he will play a major part in this team. Cazorla…..what more can you say about the man, just a joy to watch ,have in the team, and a real bargain for a man with such abilities who has been capped so many times in the best international team going.
Take Toms point about such a signing lifting players and the point of this article that the team is what matters.They have all lifted the team at times, sagnas defiant attitude when dean tried to let bale cheat us, rosickys energy, Szcz in Italy, Jack against Barca,….Kos and Per holding back tides….to name but a few but a player that is inspirational, brilliant , strong, and just lifts the spirit by his very existence in the team and on the planet……..well the fans have been getting that one right all season, step forward Aaron Ramsey.
Yes, Ozil strengthened a team that was good already. I know the media tend to put too much spotlight on any of our players who may be deemed to do be doing well for their own selfish reasons. If it’s not a case of ‘building them up to knock them down’, then it is a case of putting the player in the shop window for the vultures (rvp, Song, Fabregas, etc). In Ozil’s case, I think it was more so to “provide a reason” why we were doing so well, so that the spend brigade could then turn around and say see what happens when you spend some money. At the same time Arsenal spending that kind of money was always going to be attacked, hence the quick drawing of knives as soon as a hint of a drop in form was detected. Imo the media are shaping this nicely from their point of view; Arsenal wins something and they’ll sing the told you to spend to compete tune, lose and it’ll be the 42m wasted tune instead. Where am I going with this? The media were and still are serving their agenda by praising Ozil too much or attacking him. Either way, they’ll still come out winners.
AL,
That last sentence is sad but true. The media are like Las Vegas, they never lose.
Mandy Dodd,
Spot on!
Trying to figure out who is the MVP (or who lifted a club) is problematic. The question assumes we are talking about the MVP for the 26 or so players who have donned the AFC shirt over the course of the year. To do this without having been in the dressing room is difficult. Statistics only go so far. Who is the true leader of the team? Who is inspired by whom, etc? To figure out the MVP of the CLUB adds the concerns of the supporters to further cloud matters. And when we add those who help the bottom line (for the bean counters of our club)by helping us commercially (selling shirts)the exercise becomes futile.
At the recently completed olympic ice hockey competition, the top goaltender as voted by the technical panel was not voted in as an all-star for the tournament (voted by the journalists). The comment was that since he won gold and had a good team in front of him, he was less valuable and also less good. weird these votes.
@GoingGoing Gooner
I will suggest, that if the manager is doing his job to the best of his ability, it should NOT be possible for anyone to declare a MVP.
All players are optimally used to the best of their ability, regardless of how many times they appear in the starting lineup, or as a substitute.
@Bootoomee – Good write up…and I entirely agree with you.
The essence of this article is not to show who is a better player among the two but rather on media’s misrepresentation of facts to make it believe that Ozil has been a saviour for us and without spending this money we would have been doomed…which is just not right! The team does it together…its not about who is a better player…
@ARSENAL 13 -PGMOL at work. They don’t want Liverpool out of the mix. Notice how many times Hannibal Lecter dives and fakes being fouled? Yet PGMOL don’t make an issue of it. Gerrard also gets away with a lot.
The greatest ‘lift’ Arsenal can get is an honest set of match officials with a true sporting interpretation of the Laws.
Arsenal play a clean game without diving and ‘professional cheating’ that seems to be the norm at other clubs.
Martinez has noticed some of it, but there is a lot more that goes unseen. It is time for open publication of Referees reports and assessors reports. Open access to the radio communication of the Match officials as in Rugby. The funds from the sale of radios can be used to improve training of officials (particularly in the unrepresented south of England!!).
Asif,
Thank you!
Menace like your Hannibal Lecter description. The media were going crazy over Liverpool, according to them Hannibal was from a ‘different planet’ and everything Gerrard did was ‘brilliant’.
Off topic but what a shame the tiny tots have lost two on the bounce.
What a waste of time….me reading this article.
A bag of sand…..
Ramsey and Giroud. Simples.
But what about KOZ AND PER?
Cazorla’s effect from last season is clearly higher than Ozil’s of this year.
The team needed a world class player at the front when Cazorla joined and he filled up that gap. Don’t forget Ramsey was quite down and Wilshere were injured.
Ozil joined when there were the mid field were filled with talents and Ramsey became good.
On the other hand, it is a simple law of deminishing return. The better your team, the more you need to spend to improve it by a bit. This is clearly the case. The price difference between a 20M valued player (Cazorla came on a bargain, he worth 25 M at least and Arsenal got him at 15) and a 40M player is a lot but that 40M player certainly won;t double your goals and double the assists and work rate and interception.
He improves a position by a little and his talent can turn a few matches around.
If you have the money to add that little bit to 3 or 4 positions, you got a champion team.
@Bootoomee, you meant well by writing this article and it’s well thought out. We won’t be distracted by the media and ‘our friends’. Is there any player in our current team that the media and ‘our friends’ had not labelled ‘shit’ or worse?
All Gooners should concentrate on what matters to all Untolders. And should anybody wonder what that is, simply check the top of this page. That exactly we would do for our players, manager and club for the last lap of this season in all competitions.
By the way, I think some of our friends are hungry, I like to humbly request that Brickfields Gunners serve them with their favourites….SH*T!
COYG
@ Damilare – Was not able to go online today at work as the internet was down. Am just catching up with Sunday’s articles and some of Sat.’s comments.
As per you wish , I found this in my e-mail .Just a reminder to all , listen , try to understand and if in doubt or confused ,clarify .Her read on…
Texting Mistake
A man received text from his (foreign ) neighbor … :”Sorry sir, I am using your wife…I am using day and night …I am using when you are not present at home….In fact I am using more than You are using……I confess this because now I feel very much guilt…Hope You will accept my sincere apologies “… And the man shot his wife…….Few minutes later he received another text: Sorry sir,” spelling mistake … wifi not wife.”
Brickfields 2:58pm
🙂 🙂 🙂