I love Dempsey's work rate and his experience is an attractive element of his repertoire so I rate him above Sigursson as I don't know much about him other than the fact that he's another unproven exciting young talent. The only drawback about Dempsey is his age, 29. He's still very much in the prime of his career but how long would we expect it to last with him? 2-3 years?

Younes Belhanda
Club: Montpellier HSC DOB: 25/02/90 Position: Midfielder

Montpellier is this season’s big surprise package, and it is mainly due to the
rise of young players like Younes Belhanda. The Moroccan starlet has been
one of the revelations in the campaign, displaying his tricky style of play. Last
season Montpellier’s target man Oliver Giroud didn’t get much support from
the midfield as Marco Estrada seemed to be the only player able to give him a
decent through passes.

This has changed radically this season with Rene Girard implementing
Belhanda as an advanced playmaker. It is impossible not to be impressed by
his intelligent passing game. Just like Lille’s Eden Hazard, Younes Belhanda
possesses great balance and has the technical ability to take on and beat a
man or three. Montpellier president Louis Nicollin has even said Belhanda is
able to become an even better player than Hazard.

Even if most people would disagree with that point of view, he is still attracting
interest from big Premier League clubs, especially after his impressive
performance in Montpelier’s top of the table clash at PSG. Just before the
break Giroud and Belhanda reversed their roles with the Moroccan nodding
in the 1-0-goal; a perfectly timed run sneaking behind the back of Mamadou
Sakho. And as always he celebrated with his acrobatic summersaults. It is
remarkable to see how the player has improved over the last season, although
he has always been reckoned a big talent. Like many other Montpellier players
Belhanda rose after winning the 2008 Coupe de Gambardella, the most rated
youth tournament in France.

There is no doubt Belhanda is gaining confidence, and just this season he has
humiliated opponents by scoring three “panenka” penalties (two for Montpellier
and one for the Morocco national team). The only thing Belhanda gets criticism
for is his temper. Sometimes he gets hot headed, a weakness seen before in
young talents like PSG captain Sakho or Wayne Rooney. Just like them, as
part of a maturing process, he will have to grow out of it, and when he does
Belhanda will show us even more what he is capable of.
-----------------------
Jordan Ayew
Club: Marseille DOB: 11/09/91 Position: Forward
Often overshadowed by his better known brother, Jordan Ayew is a young
talent in his own right and looks set to have an extremely promising future.
The Ghanaian, who is the son of former L’OM favourite Abedi Pele, joined
Marseille in 2006 as a trainee and signed his first professional contract three
years later. He made his debut in December 2009 away against Lorient and he
sensationally scored a crucial equalising goal during the match!

Since then, he has gone on to make 47 appearances for Marseille, scoring five
goals in the process. He is a very versatile attacker and capable of playing
anywhere the final third. Just as strong with his right foot as he is with his
left, he is a real double threat. Despite being very versatile in attack, it is that
versatility that could be his biggest downfall. At the moment you can sense
that the player himself doesn’t quite know his best position and he has been
tried out all over the pitch, more often than not he has played on the right
hand side or as a central striker.

He does have an eye for goal, but overall he doesn’t seem like a natural
striker to me. In this current season 2011/12 Marseille coach Didier
Deschamps has been trying him in a more attacking midfield role and this
looks like it might have potential. He does have excellent vision and a creative
brain, as well as being light on his feet.

Jordan will always be compared strongly to his brother Andre, who is another
youngster of exceptional talent and who also has the potential to become a
world class player.
------------
YANN M’VILA
Club: Rennes DOB: 20/06/90 Position: Midfielder

At only 21, Yann M’Vila is without a doubt one of the brightest prospects as
well as one of the most sought-after young players in the world of football.
Over 113 professional matches, 16 caps with France and a set of outstanding
abilities that have caught the eye of scouts from all major European teams.

Born in Amiens, M’Vila went through the ranks of the renowned Stade Rennais
Academy, in Brittany. Following in the footsteps of prestigious former alumni
such as Sylvain Wiltord or Yoann Gourcuff, he led an exceptional generation
of young “Rouge et Noir” to victories in both the U18 France Championship in
2007, and famously the Gambardella Cup triumph in 2008.

Already monitored by some of the biggest European clubs, M’Vila signed his
first professional contract with Rennes a few days after the Gambardella Cup
final. After waiting for a year, with Guy Lacombe denying him access to the
professional squad, a loan was on the cards for him the following season until
Frédéric Antonetti discovered him in the reserve squad following his arrival in
summer 2009.

Within the weeks following his professional debut, M’Vila impressed fans and
pundits alike and affirmed himself as an essential member of the Rennes
eleven. Gifted with exceptional physical abilities, M’Vila initially shone with his
capacity to repeat defensive efforts tirelessly game after game, proving one of
the most efficient defensive midfielders in Ligue 1 through solid tackling and a
superior ability to read and anticipate the moves of the opposition.

However, under the guidance of Antonetti he soon started exploiting what is
arguably the strongest of his qualities and one of his personal trade-marks:
focused vertical passing. Although a player of defensive vocation, M’Vila plays
the role of a deep-lying playmaker using his outstanding vision and passing
accuracy to deliver the perfect first-pass and create havoc within the defensive
lines of the opposition.

JUST SOME player profiles
French Football Weekly

check it out here if you havent already
http://frenchfootballweekly.com/download/Le50.pdf

MJGunner wrote:I love Dempsey's work rate and his experience is an attractive element of his repertoire so I rate him above Sigursson as I don't know much about him other than the fact that he's another unproven exciting young talent. The only drawback about Dempsey is his age, 29. He's still very much in the prime of his career but how long would we expect it to last with him? 2-3 years?

Dempsey is having his best season in the EPL right now, given that he has a great conditioning and other intangibles he could still be good for at least 3 years, look at Forlan, he is still a quality player at the age of 32. He just might have to move to the midfield if he began to loose a step, like how we should be playing Arshavin, in the mid as an AM.
:dance:

I wish you hadn't brought up Forlan, lol he's not in the best of form. One goal in Serie A and the rest of his time has been spent injured.


http://www.ftbpro.com/posts/sydney.nicholls/22652/arsenal-plan-bid-for-new-frank-lampard

Article on Sigurdsson^ Being compared to Frank Lampard.

Ajax coach Frank de Boer - "Vertonghen will leave. It's 100% sure." - http://t.co/p2IVZo1G

Wenger - "Giroud is a big player, and every big player interests Arsenal." (Telefoot) (via @TahsinOv )

Giroud: "My next step will be England. It has always been my dream." (Telefoot)

Interesting rumours !ya
LOL i don't know what 2say but i have 2edit my post..coz !

Samuelj29060 wrote:Ajax coach Frank de Boer - "Vertonghen will leave. It's 100% sure." - http://t.co/p2IVZo1G

Wenger - "Giroud is a big player, and every big player interests Arsenal." (Telefoot) (via @TahsinOv )

Giroud: "My next step will be England. It has always been my dream." (Telefoot)

Sell Bendtner, Vela, Park and Chamakh - bring Giroud and Podolski anyone?

Samuelj29060 wrote:Ajax coach Frank de Boer - "Vertonghen will leave. It's 100% sure." - http://t.co/p2IVZo1G

Wenger - "Giroud is a big player, and every big player interests Arsenal." (Telefoot) (via @TahsinOv )

Giroud: "My next step will be England. It has always been my dream." (Telefoot)

i had a dream. it was giroud on one side and some other player on the other side. in front of me was wenger. i said to wenger giroud cant see me i didnt know him(grioud) before this nor i do it now, what i know is he was wengers main man.

Does anyone else think we should sell/loan out Ramsey?
I'd prefer sell, since he has been terrible this year, and it would give us room in the midfield.

You simply don't sell a 21 year old who's as talented as Ramsey is. One season where he perhaps hasn't kicked on as much as he should have is not enough justification to get rid of him, especially not when we've devoted as much time into his development as we have done.

I'd be more open to a loan, but I believe he'll improve next season. He's not been terrible this year. Disappointing in some games, yes, but "terrible" is an over-reaction.

GoonerJay29 wrote:You simply don't sell a 21 year old who's as talented as Ramsey is. One season where he perhaps hasn't kicked on as much as he should have is not enough justification to get rid of him, especially not when we've devoted as much time into his development as we have done.

I'd be more open to a loan, but I believe he'll improve next season. He's not been terrible this year. Disappointing in some games, yes, but "terrible" is an over-reaction.

Great post.

Jay almost every game he has been terrible, Walcott is another player who is just lost.

Walcott is not a starter and next seaon he should warm the bench.

He hasn't been bad in every game, and neither has Walcott. Walcott is having a good season, scoring and assisting. Don't know why people are so insistent that he shouldn't be starting games. He deserves to be.

Ramsey is an easy scapegoat, because he tries and does things and they don't always come off for him. The important thing though is that he is trying. He doesn't hide in games, and it all it takes is for something to "click" and all of the sudden we've got a great player. I doubt that we'd be having this discussion had he scored today.

It's simply far too soon to abandon all hope on him. He is still young and he has played more games than he should have. Wenger playing him out of position isn't helping, either. He'll be better next season, because he's a determined player who will learn from his shortcomings and he'll have more competition for a starting place.

Ramsey has the skills to be a great player if he stops with all forced moves and just make the simple pass but Walcott is another story, the way he just disappears and lose the ball is just crazy.

If it was not for RVP heroic efforts to score those goals Walcott would not have had as many as assist he has and the amount of chances he messed up one on one with the goalie is just embarrassing.

If it was not for RVP heroic efforts to score those goals Walcott would not have had as many as assist he has and the amount of chances he messed up one on one with the goalie is just embarrassing.

You're clutching at straws here. If not for Walcott putting the ball on a plate for van Persie, van Persie would not have as many goals as he does. Whether the player Walcott sets-up scores or not is irrelevant because it does not change the fact that Walcott had set-up that player in the first place.

Walcott has missed one-on-ones but so has van Persie, and so have Messi and Ronaldo. I don't know why you're making Walcott out to be an incompetent finsiher, because he is not, and regardless of those misses he has scored some crucial goals for us.

GoonerJay29 wrote:

If it was not for RVP heroic efforts to score those goals Walcott would not have had as many as assist he has and the amount of chances he messed up one on one with the goalie is just embarrassing.

You're clutching at straws here. If not for Walcott putting the ball on a plate for van Persie, van Persie would not have as many goals as he does. Whether the player Walcott sets-up scores or not is irrelevant because it does not change the fact that Walcott had set-up that player in the first place.

Walcott has missed one-on-ones but so has van Persie, and so have Messi and Ronaldo. I don't know why you're making Walcott out to be an incompetent finsiher, because he is not, and regardless of those misses he has scored some crucial goals for us.

He has as many assists in the Epl as Song, our DM, so then how has he been giving rvp the goals on a plate then, RVP has created for himself, and Walcott isn't good enough to be a starter, he would be a great 70th minuted sub though with his pace.

He has as many assists in the Epl as Song, our DM, so then how has he been giving rvp the goals on a plate then, RVP has created for himself, and Walcott isn't good enough to be a starter, he would be a great 70th minuted sub though with his pace.

To start off with, Song is having an outstanding season and is clearly more than just our DM. Song has more assists than some of the Premier League's most creative players. It's by no means a bad thing to have as many assists as him and Walcott is not a bad player because of it.

Watch Walcott's assists. He's clearly setting things up on a plate for van Persie. He gets into the position to cut the ball back through his movement and pace and almost always finds the right pass. Van Persie himself even acknowledged that Walcott is one of the main reasons why he has so many goals. It's not just this season, either.

Walcott has 10 goals and 11 assists. How is he not good enough to be a starter? His job as a wide forward is to provide goals for the striker and to chip in with goals himslef, which he's doing now and did last season.

Walcott has done better than Bale/nani/young this season, But he shouldn't be our starter ?

GoonerJay29 wrote:You simply don't sell a 21 year old who's as talented as Ramsey is. One season where he perhaps hasn't kicked on as much as he should have is not enough justification to get rid of him, especially not when we've devoted as much time into his development as we have done.

I'd be more open to a loan, but I believe he'll improve next season. He's not been terrible this year. Disappointing in some games, yes, but "terrible" is an over-reaction.

he's been bad. and as much he pisses me off you're right you cant sell someone like him. but i'd bet if we sold coquelin, all of you defending ramsey wouldnt care, and he's much more talented than he is....


but anyways i do think he can improve as much as i despise ramsey this season, he has one characteristic i really like. he seems to be the one of the few players on this team that will look to score goals for himself. almost everybody else desperately tries to find RvP so he can finish off chances, in such a timid fashion. Ramsey doesnt, he wants to bang them in himself, and i like that attitude.

I can't speak for any other but I would be more mad if we sold Coquelin than if we sold Ramsey. The only situation in which I'd be understanding is if he simply wasn't getting enough games, and we had to move him on for the betterment of his career. Even then though I'd be annoyed that we couldn't give the guy more opportunities.

Arsenal to sell Per Mertesacker this summer & replace him with Jan Vertonghen - http://t.co/UQzOEK7T

People going out of their way to fault Walcott for imaginary flaws

sell mertesacker after the 1st season ? doubt it

TBF Ramsey has played too many games at such a young age ... it could only benefit him in the future...keep the faith!

Samuelj29060 wrote:Arsenal to sell Per Mertesacker this summer & replace him with Jan Vertonghen - http://t.co/UQzOEK7T

Do not want