Robert Pires, gloriousness in male form, believes Arsenal’s priority this summer must be signing a striker who can play alongside Olivier Giroud.
Pinpointing the importance of bringing in a player who both complements his compatriot and affords Arsene Wenger to change the shape of his side, the ‘Invincible’ told Sky Sports:
“It’s very important to buy the other striker because maybe you can play 4-4-2. The priority must be a new striker to play with Olivier Giroud.”
It’s not like we Arsenal fans haven’t heard (or indeed screamed) that before, but when it’s said in a throaty Gallic accent and followed up by a cheeky grin and a smile that sets pulses racing well…well, you just can’t ignore it.
A partisan disciple of Wenger, Pires also spoke optimistically about the Gunners aims for the rest of the season as they prepare for a crunch game against Manchester City at the Emirates.
“For the moment, it’s a good season. They are fourth and they are playing against Wigan in the semi-final of the FA Cup.
“On Saturday, against Manchester City, it’s like a final for the future. If Arsenal win, it’s possible to win the title. You never know when you’re talking about football.
“I always believe in Arsene Wenger, in this team and the players themselves. I’m confident for Arsenal.
“If we lose against Manchester City, the season is finished in terms of the Premier League.”
“If we lose against Manchester City..”
WE..*Swoooooooooooons*
Makes me all giddy inside knowing pires *swoon* is suffering coz of the Arsenal too. he he!
“we…”
*swoons*
Ah, Turkis Gooner it seems you have faster fingers than I…
*hangs head in shame for causing repetition on the comments section*
Its alright mate…keep swooning 😉
Swooning all around the globe 😉
I can’t see Wenger reverting to a 4-4-2. It would be too hard to accommodate all our tippy tappy midfielders and they haven’t really thrived when played out wide. We’d need a proper left winger, assuming Walcott could continue on the right and assuming we played one holding midfielder, we would then have Ox, Ramsey, Wilshere, Özil, Cazorla and Rosicky all vying for one place as the ball carrier. I just can’t see it happening, as I say, not without starting all over again with a new rebuilding project, which would feel a bit like throwing the baby out with… Read more »
I agree, Draxler doesn’t seem to have gathered enough form this season to merit a big money move, Griezmann I suppose can provide goals and assists, other than him though unless we’re looking at developing Gnabry more in that role I can’t really think who we could bring in to upgrade our left wing position. (Can’t see Reus leaving dortmund until the year after, those guys have been stripped bare as it is).
How ’bout using the Ox as a winger– more likely as a backup for Theo & whomever we bring in to play left mid, but he could certainly start on the left as well. Ozil and especially Cazorla & Rosicky can also certainly play on the wings as well. For Ozil & Rosicky that’s probably a waste of their talents, but they can play there in a pinch.
To line up in 4-4-2 you need two quality strikers, that really understand each other. Although in the modern game it is totally possible to use that formation ‘fluidly’ in a game, if you line up in a 4-5-1 (ie 4-2-3-1) and the extra midfielder in the hole or in the CAM pushes up to almost working as a second striker, looking at Barca as a prime example, Munich as well are seriously good at reverting to the 4-4-2 fluidly in a game. You just need the quality to pull it off.. I mean when we were pulling that trick… Read more »
I think its possible. If we play a formation like man city with Ramsey and wilshere as our two central midfielders because Wenger says that wilshere’s future position is defensive midfielder anyway. Then we can play ozil/Walcott on the right and cazorla/ox/rosicky on the left, giroud as the center forward, and a striker with quick movement playing off him. Come too think of it, giroud plays as an advance playmaker anyways, so balance of the team should be retained
In a way, I think when Walcott plays we basically play this same formation, with ozil on the right and cazortla on the left and Walcott playing off giroud
I see the talk of reverting to a 4-4-2 stupid. Teams overloading their midfields with three in the center will always get the better of us. The modern game asks for a 4-5-1 or a 4-3-3 as you’d like to call it. A better striker upfront is all that we need. We have a lot of numbers in the midfield area, it’s all about using them correctly and getting a bit of a better luck with injuries. I don’t see any team in the league having 4 of their best midfielders out (Walcott, Ramsey, Wilshere, Ozil) and still being able… Read more »
I like that ROBERT FREAKING PIRES: an Arsenal legend thinks too we have lamppost infront and that we need to get the real thing! sort of makes my issues valid. I like that feeling.
I don’t remember him saying that…
to be precise, “a striker who can play alongside Olivier Giroud”
Yes as if he was going to say “oiy get that frenchie of mine outtha team”
Heroldgoon, no wonder I don’t care much for your posts in general, you can’t fuckin read mate. You are one of them people with vivid imagination though.
herold – I would say this were a case of confirmation bias, but this is downright delusion. Where did he say anything about replacing Giroud??
He was talking with the handbrake on.
He knows what he should REALLY be saying
I imagine the feeling you’re getting is the warm piss that trickles slowly down your leg as your weak bladder gives way to the excitement.
Another striker? We’ve already got 2 and a half. We’ll have Joel Campbell next season. New striker. How rediculous.
With wengers track record, If he doesn’t get what he wants(a certain type of player) in his mind he will rather stick with what he has. but then again this is glaringly obvious he better go hard. Wont mind if we only buy a player if that player is some like suarez, cavani,jakson martinez esque.
What do you guys think about this fella ?
http://hereisthecity.com/en-gb/2014/03/26/video-arsenal-target-drmic-hits-a-brace-can-he-solve-arsenals-st/
He seems pretty good to me.
In response to Hi-Brid. I don’t think he meant converting completely to a 4-4-2, but more so having a tactical possibility at employing said formation. Besides, when you suffer as many injuries as we do, it’s not entirely plausible to imagine all of our midfielders being healthy and vying for the same spot. Additionally, having this type of tactical repertoire would allow us to rotate the squad a bit and keep other managers on their toes, tactically speaking. IMO, one of our main issues right now is that we’re so very predictable. Basically, you play the Arsenal one way and… Read more »
Fair point. I’m all for a bit more flexibility. But even though I know we’ll never have all those six I mentioned fit at once, I’d still prefer the option of playing 2-3 of them together. It’s easy to forget, with our recent disasters, that we have actually clicked and played some football at times this season that has been not only pretty but effective. I don’t even think we’ve been as one-dimensional in terms of our set up as we have been in recent seasons. The have been a fair few games this season when we’ve opted to let… Read more »
Nolo_IX, Spot on mate. I believe some people refer to it as having a “Plan B.” Not just trying the same thing over and over again expecting something to change.
I feel Dzeko is the only feasible option. But he is also more similar to Giroud. I don’t see costa joining us because of chelskis so keen on him. The form Benzema is in i don’t feel Real madrid let him go. Else only some second grade striker from juventus will be available. Its really going to be a hard time for us to fill void upfront.
City woudn’t sell us a teacake. They’d probably sell us that error prone singer from Extreme though.
Özil would fit the DB10 role in a 442. Fact is, HFB just isn’t good enough.
COYG!
Take out City this weekend!
Let the previous games take care of themselves. Let the future games take care of themselves. This weekend is City, at Ashburton Grove.
COYG!
Wenger will walk this Summer.
I agree. He will.
What do you mean?? He always walks…He learnt it at the age of 1 or 2 may be…
Is Pirez one of our coaches? He should be 🙂
Yeah, right, to play *with* Giroud. I’m sure this has been dredged up on numerous occasions but Wenger’s spoken about the need for having a physical presence up front, and basically Diego Costa is just Giroud except he’s got finishing, pace, dribbling and the ability to unashamedly fire a snot rocket right in a defenders eye (alright so he’s perfect for Chelsea) 30m release clause not extortionate, start flashing some ankle Arsene.
A striker who would compliment Giroud’s play is one that runs the channels and offers pace in behind, runs on to his flicks and knock ons. Walcott was the only player in the team who did that. So we need another attacker with pace that makes good runs, whether from a strikers position, from out wide or just off the striker. Without that, the play has been a bit predictable with Giroud only able to hold up and play it back instead of having the option to play it through which he can do very well. He is only one… Read more »
Pedro of Barcelona, Pedro of Barcelonaaaaaa!!!
Balls to Barca. We offered 12m for David Villa and they refused. They then sold him to another Spanish club for about 3m. They hate us for making them wait for Cesc or something.
Poldi could play with giroud but wenger never tries it. Which makes me think he doesnt want to play with 2 strikers
To play another striker you would have to reshape your entire team. Giroud is not worth such an endevour.
Bobby is just to nice to say ‘replace’.
15 goals and 8 assists so far isn’t too bad. Being completely knackered probably doesn’t help matters either. We need another striker even if they don’t play at the same time.
spot on. giroud is having a good season.he has improved a lot from last year. And Arsene has used and abused of him. He has play too much football.First half of the season he was sharper. And the fans who say Arsenal deserve a better striker don’t want to face the reality of our level.We are trophyless for almost ten years.do people seriously think a top class striker or player would come if not for wenger or the money? And sadly Arsene’s aura is fading, and we do not have the money to pay overpriced transferts and huge wages. To… Read more »
The best transfer this summer would be to have a new coach with a winning mentality, cause Arsene’s lost that.I still can’t figure how he chose to trust the same players that were so shameful against chelsea. They can be terrible but they know they will play the next game… that’s terrible. And I fear for tomorow cause if it’s the same team we will get trashed. The players are knackered.
You just forget all your Arsenal troubles just by hearing the shire mention of that man. The dreamiest…
If at this point,a lot of us don’t see the reason why giroud isn’t good enough,then we don’t want progress. Take it or leave it,it’s the bitter truth. Arteta,giroud,et al,just checkout
I agree, but you have to remember, that its arsene that plays arteta as a DM. In terms of his positioning and intelligence, he is an amazing player even at DM. But you just cant expect a man of his size(even flamini) to hold his own against the Toures and Bonys of the PL. I dont fault either for effort. Giroud in general, and Arteta for a DM/Deep-lying position are not good enough against the top teams atleast.
Arteta as an attacking midfielder now will be even worse. slow, back and sidewaypasses all day long. He is not yet past it but i feel he is not the rosicky type. His time at the absolute top level is numbered. Needs MLS in 2015.
Did you bother watching the FA Cup game vs Everton? Arteta did quite nicely as th e more attacking central midfielder. I just dont get this blind hate for our own players. Do you use FIFA 14 as a measure of how good a player is?
@ Toby; instead of trying to ship players out, the priority should be to get better players in 1st.
In regards to the game vs City,I refuse to get my hopes up, i can’t afford another heartbreak.
The only consolation is the fact that it’s at the Emirates, we surely can’t get thrashed at home!!!! Can we?!? 🙁
Two HFBs.
One of the Arsenal class of 10 years ago.
One of the Arsenal class of today; shit, who categorises The Beatles together with Green Day, when interviewed about his fan-made song based on one of the 20th century’s iconic pop rock songs.
Giroud is a starter in Ligue 1. He’s a backup for the Arsenal
Wenger won’t be buying anyone.
He may well leave the project if he feels he is only taking us laterally and hitting his head against the wall. His tactics have often been covered by his acumen in the market but he is one player or two shy of making the market count in his favour in flattering to deceive against his faults tactically.
I think he will stay IF he wins the FA (consolation) cup and we can finish 3rd or better. that would be sufficient modicum of improvement to justify the project is going in the right direction despite cock ups.
Good points, but I still think he’ll walk. But my points go further than him leaving. It seems to me that in the transfer market there are now 3 prices put on any player. 1). The real price (the fair value price – whatever fair value is). 2). The ridiculous price (usually the asking price). 3). The Wenger price (usually a 20+ % premium on the asking price – because that’s the selling price to a desperate man). Wenger always goes for “the real price”. Which means he’ll never buy anyone of note, or with that “liddle bid qualitee”. I… Read more »
We need speed. Costa will be a big target for some of the other teams (namely Chelsea), Falcao may get poached by the likes of Real. Maybe Mazukic but IMO if Real are willing to let go, Benzema may be perfect for us. he has sufficient height (6’2) and is able to play deep or break away at speed. He is also relatively young 26 and coming into his peak age. I wanted us to have a good look at Pato in January and possibly take him on loan with an option to buy at the end of the season.… Read more »
I believe what has ailed us most in terms of injuries and overall team development has been our inability to put teams away early enough to make appropriate substitutions.The theme for this season has been leaving it so late or being under the cosh for large sections of a match, that ii simply becomes too risky to take off our main players and possibly give much needed game time to our younger players and fringe players. No wonder this season has seen our younger players e.g. gnabry have developed at a much slower pace than we would have wanted.Similarly, we… Read more »
A new striker? Really? REALLY? Wow….couldn’t see it myself.
Yes, a new striker. Basically our most-pressing need currently, is exactly the same most-pressing need we had 12 months ago.
Maybe it’s just me, but there doesn’t seem to be as many really top strikers around as there was, say 10 years ago? the game seems to be more about midfielders these days, which is reflected in Arsenal’s and other squads. I fully agree we need a top striker, I even think we could do with two more to be honest. Remember the days when we had Bergkamp, Henry, Kanu and Wiltord in the squad? We could play any two from those four and be a real threat. I seem to remember having all of them on the pitch at… Read more »
Watching Liverpool tonight, you could see the difference. Saying they have better strikers is stating the bleedin’ obvious, but it’s not just that. In the forst half Sturridge got the ball on the right about 30 yards from goal. No real chance looked on, but he pushed the ball past the defender to cut inside and just took a pop at goal from 20 yards from the right side of the area. He missed. I said to my mate ”We would’ve passed that ball back to midfield.” He said ”Yeah. And kept the ball. It’s a goal kick to Sunderland.”… Read more »
We need a striker that offers something different from Giroud. A striker with pace and strength like Lukaku or Benteke would offer something different up front. Sometimes our team lacks that grit and strength up front.
Apart from that, a physical presence in the midfield that will bully off players off the ball would contribute to the team and compete both domestically and in Europe. Bender from Bayer or Ginter appears to be on Arsenals wish list according to John Cross from The Mirror.
Worked wonders for me on FIFA14 🙂
COYG!!!
Your Benteke reference is 6 months out of date, dude is average, not particularly a big upgrade on Giroud and for £20m, hell no.
Play 3-5-2
The man has spoken…
Had a funny conversation today. One of my mates wants Wenger sacked. As do many people it seems. I gave him a test. This will only work on Arsenal fans with at least 12 years service. Ask them that if the board agreed to sack him on the condition that they go and tell Wenger the news themselves…could they do it? Personally, although I’m still on Wenger’s side (just) I would find that impossible to do (my mate also said he wouldn’t be able to do that). If he fails to bring in a top striker this summer saying ”We… Read more »
is it me…from reading everybody’s comment…no mention we have NO LEADER in the centre-half like Adams,Keown Midfielder viera who’s with (man city) club can’t work-out or understand…Mr WENGER & SHAREHOLDERS are very,very,very hard-head stubborn….how can we attract quality players when we sale our best….reading Paul scholes comments today each and every word he state said the true picture of my RED ARMY CLUB!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
How about ross barckley. I think he can be converted as an stricker, looks good to me.
The thing I like about Barkley is he’s strong as an ox and difficult to barge off the ball. Our current midfielders are all slightly built and too easily pushed off
Anyone else thing Chicharito would be a good summer signing? He’s elusive and a poacher in the box, might play well off of Giroud…plus he seems out of favor at United.
Any New striker need to be a primary striker. Im fine with Giroud playing backup, but he is not a title aspiring team’s first choice kind of player. Striker’s better than Giroud whom is playing for mid table teams Include Bony, Benteke, Carrol, Remy and Lukaku. Looking at player ratings and what they have contributed to the team while taking into account how many minutes they have played, all of these have been better than Giroud this season. Giroud is fine as backup, but i dont fancy the idea of him getting a key player contract worth 100+ k a… Read more »
Carroll is not better than Giroud.
Carroll??
Your scientific analysis is surely flawed. 1 goal in 8 appearances.
None have more goals. Remy has the same, but only 2 assists. None have more assists. Lukaku is the only one as balanced. Good luck talking Mourinho into that.
I hope we aim higher.
Lukaku deal can done if the price is the right. Arsene is willing to spend on young players like Lukaku with big potential.
But then we would be like every other deadline day, waiting on the other team to get one in before maybe getting what we’re after, or more likely Chelsea stringing us along until all we can do is pick up a backup from the bargain bin, and pulling the rug out. No thanks.
Don’t get me wrong, Lukaku seems a great option, but I don’t have much interest in gambling on Mr Strategery selling to direct rivals.
And we still need speed around him that is willing to attack the goal.
I would seriously consider Julian Draxler and not pussyfoot around like we have before with Juan Mata and Eden Hazard the past few seasons
Rumoured we have agreed personal terms with Morata (but not a fee with madrid). Decent player, can play wide too. But i worry that he’s another developmental player, who could well become world class, but I don’t think it’s what we need. Unless of course we get him along with a proven striker. However, my guess for transfers this summer (based on nothing other than meaningless opinion) would be; 1. Corchia from Sochaux (if relegated, price goes down he remains french. Cheap+French = AW dream) to replace Sagna. 2. Go balls out for Lars Bender (outside chances of M’Vila like… Read more »
What happened?? AW is the guy who brought us Anelka, Henry, RVP, Adebayor (when he was on form)… but the last few strikers he’s signed have been Giroud (debatable but not the calibre of those mentioned), Park Chu Young (need I say anymore), Chamakh (cmon?), Sanogo (maybe decent in the future but not good enough yet), Podolski (seems to be a failure by virtue of Wenger’s own conduct). How do you just lose the ability to sign strikers like that? Cmon AW find us another gem!
Tell us all something we dont know Pires……..
It’s actually a joke that when comparing other top teams in the league, we have 1, just 1 reputable striker.
Man City- Aguero/negredo/dzeko/jovetic
Liverpool- Saurez/Sturridge/Aspas
Chelsea- Torres/Ba/Eto’o/Seen schurle play there too
Man Utd- Cuntbag/chicarito/welbeck/rooney
Everton- Lukaku/Naismith/traore/Kone
Sp*rs- Adebayor/Soldado/Defo (until recently)
Arsenal- Giroud…….
Can you imagine what a shit storm it would be if he hadnt stayed fit all season? Wenger is just seriously rolling the dice with our season year after year and its about time it stopped.
Seriously, how the fuck are you mentioning Aspas, the guy is one of the worst strikers in the entire Premier League, George Boyd is better than him. Perhaps if you said Borini, would have been a bit more plausible.
Anyway we have Joel Campbell with us for next season, he offers us actually what we are crying out for, a pacy striker that take players on & is not afraid to shoot.
Gervinho would’ve been a better option up front than Giroud. He misses plenty of chances, but at least he can run and beat a man.
You Moron.
Gervinho could not have scored half the goals that Giroud has this season.
It was tongue in cheek. Moron.
This is when I know people have lost it on here, when they start waxing nostalgic for Gervinho. Giroud was pretty fucking good in the first half of the season (remember the Wilshere goal at Norwich?), it just didn’t last. Did we fuck up transfers last summer? Partly, but we got Ozil. Did we need a striker in January? Did we fuck. Was there one available? No, except for shit like Kalou. And Wenger doesn’t want to clog up his toilet with players like that. Look at Bendtner, they will not flush. I don’t blame Wenger: he doesn’t want another… Read more »
Surely a right back to replace Sagna, 2 Centre backs to replace vermalaen (and Sagna to an extent) and goalkeepers to replace fabianski and viviano are higher priorities? Best not take a backwards step trying to go forward.
Loic Remy would be a great addition and option up front. He can finish, has pace, can play also on the wing, and he wants to play with Arsenal. Sign him up!!
http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/transfer-news/arsenal-loic-remy-transfer-french-3273707
Agree Remy would be welcome as well as Joel Campbell but need dominate centre midfielder paul pogba or sami khedira please would be great as well as replacement for Sagna
Even roberto knows what is a weakness with gunners attack a team but of all weaknesses in our last 2 prem games is 8 goals, pressure builds
Maybe a silly comment but I believe that the Ox could be a world class striker. he has pace, skills to pass defender, he is strong and a great finisher.
If my memory serves me still, Mancity won the league with mix of 433 and 442 throughout the season. Same with MU last year. I always personally feel that in certain games we should trust 442 because it naturally offers more threat with the two strikers. Another thing, we arent exactly prosper with 433, 451 either.
Pires is French so he’s not going to say we need to buy a striker bcos Giroud is not good enough, but that’s exactly what he meant 😉