aimaad22

Thats true enough but you cant jump to that conclusion just yet either. At the very least he deserves the benefit of the doubt about his form considering the circumstances. He's got some brushing up to do alright but we shouldnt be calling for his head as some people have been doing.

If you had put Messi in some of the teams we have played with this season he would have struggled. Football is a team game, sometimes when you've got patched up teams half full of below average/unexperienced players you will struggle. Some people just dont get that. Like I said people like Jonas/Tiote have some brushing up to do without a doubt but the kind of criticism people are coming up with is just silly.

Bloody hell, Messi is good because he has Xavi and Iniesta behind him, Iniesta is good because he plays for a world class team, Xavi is good because he has world class players around him.....ffs its like a dog going around in circles chasing its tail

Going through a rough patch mostly because of how the team as a whole has suffered this season. Im not saying they dont need to work on anything or improve their games, but its ridiculous how quickly we turn on players these days.

For us yes, but sometimes it gets to the point where even as a neutral you start thinking WTF?

Well said Fish. Its a fickle fickle world today, people like Cisse and Tiote who were incredible around a year ago are suddenly public enemies despite the fact they've been trying to hold things together in a team that has gone through hell this season.

Hoofball may be generally regarded as the the most boring form of football, but sometimes when its not happening for Arsenal and they keep trying the tippy tappy stuff, its absolutely agonizing to watch

If you're talking about the 'wonder of watching them', I think Ronaldinho was very very good value. Some of the things he could do with the ball not even the other people mentioned in this thread could.

Messi by country miles for me. Its quite funny how some people attribute Messi's success to Barca yet forget to think about what a massive part of that incredible team he himself is. And its not like Ronaldo is playing in a team of bums now is he

Thats what I love about the guy. Even if he isnt playing as well as he usually does, he drops back in midfield and makes a complete nuisance of himself looking to chase down people and tryibng to get the ball. Watching Ronaldo on Wednesday, its just not the same. There is not the same level of involvement in the game, the will to get involved. Thats something that puts Iniesta and Messi above everyone else imo.

Yup, going to be a slippery affair though. Seems like the exact type of game we usually mess up.

The new found Tiote hate will at least get people off Jonas' back, hopefully.

Perch has some mates in the police it seems.

Have to agree about Iniesta, its not just the quality but the fact he's been able to maintain that quality throughout his career. Some of his play can be mind boggling at times. Not the biggest fan of you have to win a world cup to be great argument either.

Tiote, Cisse and Jonas have suffered because of what we've gone through as a team this season. They are all still key figures for us imo, though Jonas does seem to be getting on a bit.

I thought Perch did alright to be honest but I agree Tiote is by far the better option in the long term. Great news about Gouffran because has certainly added a new dimension to our attack, a much needed one too.

Encouraging nonetheless.

I wonder what category Messi falls in, sometimes it seems as if he's using lightening pace to beat people. Sometimes it seems more like control and dribbling. Probably both to be honest

Yes, Ben Arfa doesnt really use pace does he? Its pure dribbling, drop of the shoulder, a feint here and there, dont even know how to describe it really. Most enjoyable player to watch in a long time. That style of play of Bales' is probably why he is compared to Ronaldo, its much the same with him. Doesnt mean he's anywhere near as good as him though.

The ability to run like that with the ball is priceless, as soon as you get a player who can do that he will immediately be compared with the world's best. Same reason we value Ben Arfa for.

Sums up my feelings for the weekend.

Get his car keys before he tries to drive away to QPR

Yup, hope Marveaux will try to work a bit harder for the European games then he did yesterday.

Along with a bit of excitement in Europe hopefully!

God I dont know what people are expecting Cisse to do when he barely has one decent chance setup for him in the whole game. In the circumstances he did pretty much everything you could ask an abondoned lone striker to do. Sissoko's not going to score two goals every week, thought he was still better than our other attacking players in that al least he was able to make a pass in the final third where the others just lost it today. Keep the faith. Ben Arfa will provide that X factor which was what we lacked today and Spurs had in Bale.