[RobC]

Originally Posted by joslicx

He did spend the money but really is Ozil what you guys need? ...

Cazorla could be played out wide like he does for his national team. Moreover, attacking midfield positions in the Arsenal team are not very strictly assigned. Interchanging of positions seems to happen continuously in the course of a match.

Originally Posted by deetjohn

Too early to tell man. I honestly don't know. But I think Wenger has a plan. Ozil is the king of assists in the world of football. Maybe Wenger' plan is to make Poldi and Theo strikers. I don't know. Remember, Cesc made even an average Adebayor look so good in 2008. Also, I guess we will have goals from all around the park. ......

Maybe he trusts Sanogo a lot more than the fans do. And given the form that Giroud is in, every Gooner will be hoping that he stays fit.

Also, Bendtner's move to Crystal Palace was stopped because Chelsea wouldn't let Demba Ba move to Arsenal on loan. Hope Bendtner can get his head out of the clouds and stay fit and show some focus / professionalism.

Originally Posted by wanderlustindia

Talking of transfers, did Utd manage to sign Fellaini? I can't seem to find any news confirming such. I know they failed to get Baines!

Its going to be tough for DM to lift Utd after a goalless last two matches! January window is his next hope now!

Fellaini was signed for 27.5m pounds.

[wanderlustindia]

Originally Posted by RobC

Fellaini was signed for 27.5m pounds.

Originally Posted by Recompose

Fellaini signed for ManU in a GBP 27.5M deal.

Yep. Got to read it sometime back. That said it isn't good enough from MU's POV. Lets see how the season pans out for them. The trouble is the Jan transfer window is not for big-name signings. Its an opportunity lost and my feeling is Utd will finish 2nd or even 3rd this season!

[Tats07]

Originally Posted by vb-san

Good to see that David Moyes’ Anfield jinx is intact....

....I feel Spurs is already feeling the pinch of losing Bale.

Moyes, at best, is a very average manager in my view. I could not understand why Sir Alex recommended him.

Spurs are getting 100M EUR for Bale. They should spend it wisely - they have received too much for a player who is definitely not in the class of Ronaldo or Messi. I wonder what Madrid were thinking when they made the 100M offer!

I hope Liverpool's run of form continues - I, for one, would love to see them back to the top! Their iconic captain deserves much better.

[joslicx]

Originally Posted by deetjohn

Too early to tell man. I honestly don't know. But I think Wenger has a plan. Ozil is the king of assists in the world of football. Maybe Wenger' plan is to make Poldi and Theo strikers. I don't know. Remember, Cesc made even an average Adebayor look so good in 2008. Also, I guess we will have goals from all around the park.

I think our defense is pretty much fine with a good goal keeper. The defensive record was very good even last season. And we signed Viviano as the 3rd choice GK. Also, don't forget about Flamini who will add steel to midfield and protect the back four.

Wenger' biggest problem in the past few years have been spending money and attracting established targets. That's why I am very excited about Ozil.

Ozil was "king of assists" as you say as he had a monster in the name of Ronaldo to feed to! Thats a 50 goals a season player. Whos gonna do that at Arsenal?

Also GK an defense are most vital positions if you want to win the league. If you look at SAF's or Mourinho's or Wenger's title winning teams they all had very solid defences. I'm afraid I cant say the same about Arsenal right now.

Originally Posted by wanderlustindia

Yep. Got to read it sometime back. That said it isn't good enough from MU's POV. Lets see how the season pans out for them. The trouble is the Jan transfer window is not for big-name signings. Its an opportunity lost and my feeling is Utd will finish 2nd or even 3rd this season!

Well United kept all their title winning team an have added Fellaini who can add much needed steel to the midfield. thats real strengthening. We have also signed nani to new contract and surely our wingers cant/wont be as bad this season as last one. I'm optimistic. Title would be hard but we'll still challenge for it.

Originally Posted by Tats07

Moyes, at best, is a very average manager in my view. I could not understand why Sir Alex recommended him.

Spurs are getting 100M EUR for Bale. They should spend it wisely - they have received too much for a player who is definitely not in the class of Ronaldo or Messi. I wonder what Madrid were thinking when they made the 100M offer!

I hope Liverpool's run of form continues - I, for one, would love to see them back to the top! Their iconic captain deserves much better.

Moyes was recommended as he is good at developing young players and United do not have 100m budgets to blow on players despite their riches. You see we could have signed a flashier name like Ancelotti or Mourinho but could they have worked on 25m budget or with young players??? Sir Alex's net spending during his time at United is less than 10m per season!

Spurs have had a super summer really. They duped Madrid into paying over the odds for Bale (how stupid they were to let go of Ozil after that!!!) and have bought some really good players. Once the team gels they will be a sight to watch!

Liverpool - I dont see any improvements for them still same old key players who have won nothing in the game.

[deetjohn]

Originally Posted by joslicx

Ozil was "king of assists" as you say as he had a monster in the name of Ronaldo to feed to! Thats a 50 goals a season player. Whos gonna do that at Arsenal?

Like I said, the idea is to share the goals in the absence of a monster.

Originally Posted by joslicx

Also GK an defense are most vital positions if you want to win the league. If you look at SAF's or Mourinho's or Wenger's title winning teams they all had very solid defences. I'm afraid I cant say the same about Arsenal right now.

Arsenal let in 37 goals last season. 2nd best in the league behind Man C. I would call it solid.

[Tats07]

Originally Posted by joslicx

Moyes was recommended as he is good at developing young players and United do not have 100m budgets to blow on players despite their riches. You see we could have signed a flashier name like Ancelotti or Mourinho but could they have worked on 25m budget or with young players??? Sir Alex's net spending during his time at United is less than 10m per season!

We will see how Moyes performs in developing young players. And that does not change the fact that he is very very average. Though he may ride couple of seasons on what was built by Sir Alex over years. And I dislike his treatment of Wayne Rooney.

Just for the records, I have been an avid watcher of EPL ever since it started on TV (Year 2000, was it?), and have not exactly been a supporter of any team. I have loved watching the teams when they play well - be it ManU, Chelsea, City, Liverpool, and all others, including lesser known ones like like WBA or Reading. I particularly think that Steven Gerrard is an excellent player, and Liverpool owes him some honors towards the closure of his career.

[joslicx]

Originally Posted by deetjohn

Like I said, the idea is to share the goals in the absence of a monster.

Yes these things can work sometimes. A player can galvanize the team. We did not need RVP last year but SAF got him and we won the season at a canter. And we've been playing with an ordinary midfield for ages now!

Arsenal let in 37 goals last season. 2nd best in the league behind Man C. I would call it solid.

Does it really inspire confidence! Arsenal get beaten easily, especially by sides that shouldnt be beating them. I wouldnt call it solid. But maybe Arsene's idea is to play kamikaze football, like we did last season. You score two we score three. That would be great.

[vb-san]

Even though decision was pushed to the very end (indirectly by Spurs), I would say the best bit of business in this window was Arsenal’s capture of Ozil.
Their midfield is pretty loaded now with the likes of Ozil, Carzola, Ramsey, Flamini, Rosicky etc.

Originally Posted by joslicx

Well United kept all their title winning team an have added Fellaini who can add much needed steel to the midfield. thats real strengthening. We have also signed nani to new contract and surely our wingers cant/wont be as bad this season as last one. I'm optimistic. Title would be hard but we'll still challenge for it.

I somehow feel that Fellaini is quite an overrated player. Will be interested to see how will transform as a Man U player. He along with his boss have to go through that learning curve of getting into the big team mentality.

Originally Posted by joslicx

Liverpool - I dont see any improvements for them still same old key players who have won nothing in the game.

Well, we had a perfect start to the season, and the signs so far are quite promising

To be honest, I feel the current Man U team is quite ordinary, but the difference there was Sir Alex, and his habit of winning. I did not see that kind of steel in the games against Chelsea and Liverpool. Infact, against Liverpool the performance was quite Everton-like. Things may change if Rooney get back into the mix, and Moyes show some faith in good players like Kagawa.

------
I would like see your predictions on the top 4 this season. Here is my list:
1) Chelsea
+ves – Mou + a very capable squad.
-ves – Still a bit tentative upfront, thanks to Torres.

2) Man City
+ves – Pellegrini
-ves – Too much dependant on Kompany at the back, and Hart’s dip in form.

3) Man United
+ves – RVP, De Gea, holding on to Rooney.
-ves – Moyes’ acclimatization to the big stage, midfield; someone like Cesc should have made a huge difference.

4) Arsenal / Liverpool
Arsenal
+ves – Strong midfield, proven ability to scramble through for a top-four finish, Giroud finding form.
-ves – Hold n’ cold goal keeper + defense

Liverpool
+ves – Functioning well as a team, good additions starting from January this year, holding on to Suarez.
-ves – Lack of killer instinct, tendency to go cold in the second half of the game.

Spurs maybe the big spenders but somehow I don’t see them finishing in top 4 atleast this season. The team was too reliant on Bale, and they may take some time to get back into shape.

[deetjohn]

Nice weekend at EPL.

Love it when Ramsey scores against Stoke.

[naveenroy]

Originally Posted by deetjohn

Nice weekend at EPL.

Love it when Ramsey scores against Stoke.

Yup, nice to see Arsenal play confidently though the defense is still a little shaky. Nice game for Giroud, Gnabry and Ozil!

But the best part of the weekend was watching Manchester United get thrashed 4-1. Would've been even better if the scoreline had stayed 4-0. Aaah, satisfaction!

[deetjohn]

Originally Posted by naveenroy

Yup, nice to see Arsenal play confidently though the defense is still a little shaky. Nice game for Giroud, Gnabry and Ozil!

But the best part of the weekend was watching Manchester United get thrashed 4-1. Would've been even better if the scoreline had stayed 4-0. Aaah, satisfaction!

Talk about Stoke being outstoked! I was very impressed by Gnabry and Miyaichi.

[nfsfreak]

Originally Posted by naveenroy

Yup, nice to see Arsenal play confidently though the defense is still a little shaky. Nice game for Giroud, Gnabry and Ozil!

Being Arsenal Fan, It is nice to see them top the EPL table (atleast for now). Ozil is proving that he is true assist king (assisting all three goals is really something) and his pin-point set piece deliveries are too good.
He is surely a joy to watch and good part is he can only get better!!!
With Ozil setting in nicely & Ramsey and Giroud started well & Poldi, Ox, Cazorla to return - an optimist in me says we can really be a team to challenge for EPL and not a mere top 4 finish this term (conveniently ignoring the thin defence line).

UCL remains a very tough challenge to get out of that group of death, with Napoli started this campaign excellently and Dortmund is never an easy team to beat with the talent they got.

Originally Posted by naveenroy

But the best part of the weekend was watching Manchester United get thrashed 4-1. Would've been even better if the scoreline had stayed 4-0. Aaah, satisfaction!

For me, team to watch this season is City as they bullied United last weekend and I also wished the scoreline could've stayed 4-0

City's new signings are settling well and In Pelligrini, they have a good tactician and a manager who knows how to keep the team in good spirit (remember, Malaga even under crisis played well under him).

On other teams:
Hope Chelsea's early season blues continues for a long time, and let Mou's second spell be a disaster
They lost against Pep's Bayern and have not started UCL well (home defeat against Basel). So lets see how Mou handles the team this time.

Spurs will be a very good team if their new signings gel well. They made very a good start this term but deciding factor would be how they fare after december, where they slipped in past two seasons. For me, they are surely a contenders for Top4.

Liverpool at most, can challenge for a top 4 spot. Would be Interesting to see how well Suarez fares for them this term. That would be a deciding factor for their ambitions.

[Tats07]

City almost toyed with United this weekend. I don't remember much of the 6-1 thrashing that happened 2 years ago, but even in that match, I think it was 3-1 till the last few mins of the game. But this was very different! Vindicates my earlier thought few posts back - Moyes seems to be an awful choice! It is not the result, but the way they lost the match says it all. And I honestly don't think RVP would have made much difference on that day.

At the end of it all, it shows why SAF is SAF.

[vb-san]

An interesting weekend in the premier league. An unusual top four at the moment, and the current champions in the bottom half of the table with just two wins from six. David Moyes should be a very worried man. That said, I expect them to bounce back soon. Rooney is in great nick, and Moyes should play the likes of Kagawa, Jones and Nani more often, than going with folks like Welbeck, Young etc. And Rio looks like a liability in defense now.

Arsenal quickly got over that indifferent start, and with quite a few match winners like Ramsey, Ozil and the new boy Gnabry, the season looks really promising for Wenger and his team. And they have talents like Carzola to get back on the pitch.

Lastly, good to see Liverpool getting back to the top 4 after the setback last week And it was great to see Suarez making an excellent return by scoring two goals.

[naveenroy]

Nice to watch Arsenal on top of the table. They had a good game. Gnabry looks to be a good find.

Once Cazorla is back, I think we will be amazing. I just want to see Ozil and Cazorla team up.

Though too early - I really think we will be EPL Champions this season.