I have seen the rumours as well. It may be as you say the price tags for others are out of our range. Italians tend to want to stay in Italy by and large. Can't remember an Italian striker doing well since Zolla.

Truth is Paddy was a one-off - a wonderful combination of defensive and attacking attributes which made him dominant for so long. Even the similarly gifted greats like Keane, Seedorf and Schweinsteiger were in his shadow. He was irreplaceable, and as you say we have yet to see anybody in our shirt who comes near to him. There have been some top creative guys since Paddy left - e.g. Fabregas, Rosicky, Nasri and Wilshere - but nobody with his all-round game.

Though your judgement is sometimes in question these days, Old Man - “Unless weather helps, England to get mullered in the current match I fear” - you do still have your moments.

SPOT BLEEDING ON in regard to Paddy.

This is tricky (and it changes) but my current position is that Cesc is the best creative midfielder I’ve ever seen - anywhere - and Thierry is the most exciting and skilful attacking player I’ve ever seen watching football. However I have Paddy as the best player I’ve ever seen, full stop. In his pomp and before he was hobbled by vicious, partial and predatory refereeing, he was a one-man midfield. He was an utter colossus.

For me, it’s truly remarkable that all three played for my team in my time. How lucky am I? And even more remarkably, I haven’t mentioned Dennis.

True, Paddy is a one off. Not asking for his twin but someone who can dominate the middle for us when needed. Other sides have dominant center mids. Why can't we? Again, not asking Paddy II but just someone in the middle that can dominate at times. Is that asking for too much?

Wins no confidence

There is a report that Man City are offering Jesus to Ath Madrid and Real Madrid as well as us. But RM have to get rid of a foreign player or get him citizenship.

I did mine by phone. Think it was Saturday. Much easier in my view.

Fabregas the best creative midfielder you’ve seen? Good Lord DHD. He’s not even as good as Brady who could run with the ball. Hudson at his best (which was rare at Arsenal, I admit) was better. Other clubs? Give me Hoddle at his best any day of the week. What about Platini and Zidane?

Vieira is overall the best all round midfielder I’ve seen at Arsenal. Counting other clubs, perhaps second to the more skilful Lothar Mattheus. Vieira didn’t have the technical brilliance of some, but combined fine technique with tremendous ball winning and physical dominance.

However, I do remember the much missed Fish Bar saying of Vieira that while she saw him as a great Arsenal player, she never considered him a true Arsenal man. I think his annual flirting with Real Madrid urinated her off a bit (she used a word beginning with a ‘p’, then an ‘i’, then double ‘s’ so ‘ss’, then an ‘e’ and lastly a ‘d’). But that would be edited out with the forum rules.

I consider Henry the best Arsenal player I’ve seen. It’s a statistic everyone knows, but more goals than Wright and more assists than Bergkamp.

I'll add on to this after some thought. In LA at the pub, a common argument/debate between gooners and manc supporters was the Cantona vs Bergkamp debate. I always maintained, Dennis could do everything Cantona could if we leave out pace. But Cantona couldn't do everything Bergkamp could do.

I always argued with them that Berkgamp could score any type of goal Cantona could including the one he was most famous for when he did the Caesar after the Gallic Wars imperious look. Could Cantona score the Bergkamp goal vs Newcastle? Or even have the balls to try it?

Bergkamp is the best passing striker I've ever seen and Henry would be in my top 3 to 5 best passing strikers with his assists to support that.

Fabregas had vision of the entire pitch. No matter what side he played on (Arsenal, Barca, Chelsea, Monaco) he was able to immediately make the right pass when he was on the pitch. He made it seemed like he had playing history with each side's point man.

I recall when he was on Chelsea under Mourinho in one of his first few games he did a flick on that I didn't see coming and Mourinho said that pass was why they bought him.

Iniesta may have a thing or two say about that but I don't think we realize just how special Fabregas was because he was among very great players. His last few years he was arguably the main if not the only reason we were in the CL.

He said he looked around and realized RvP was the only class player we had (and RvP was injured a lot then) and knew for the forseeable future we would struggle, so he left.

Going back to Paddy, I think with him leading the team out, it gave the rest of the squad the assurance mentally they would not be bullied. I think he was the main reason we thought we could go to Old Trafford and have the audacity to bully RVN after that missed kick.

I have never seen any team go to Old Trafford and not give a f***. A team that had no issue with a melee. Before my time maybe the '91 Arsenal side had that (because they had a melee). I don't know, I wasn't a fan at that time. Maybe some of the great Liverpool sides of the '70s and '80s did. Or maybe the old Revie Leeds sides did. I don't know, only you all can attest to that. I only know what I saw.

I do know this, then as well as in hindsight, the referees had something against him. No one will ever be able to convince me otherwise. And had he been treated fairly by them, who knows how much more he could have done. He'd certainly play with much more freedom.

Lastly, I think had he not gotten injured, Diaby would have made us think he was a poor man's version of Paddy. Not nearly as good defensively (but who is?) and perhaps a bit better going forward. Diaby's early games before injury I was salivating at how good he could be. It really is a same. Also, had RvP been far less injury prone. I have liked him from his Eredivisie days. I always thought he was going to be a monster.

The ones who left too soon for the money: Nasri, Adebayor, Sanchez...ah..what ifs.

At the pub in LA. The one time a player scared the shaving cream out of me on his debut was Cristiano. We (gooners) all looked at each other like WTF?! We knew he was going to be very special. It was obvious.

Conversely, when Fabregas played in that Community Shield for his debut, I recall specificly the Man Utd fans looking in awe and one of them saying 'Where the f*** does Wenger find these kids.' And them asking us where he came from. We answered we were very well aware of him.

I don't think for one second Fabregas was an unknown commodity. He was tearing up the reserves so certainly those that follow English football closely at the youth level were fuily aware of him. Same with Rooney. Anyway, we had a sense of pride that day as gooners.

Am still amazed England won that Test. As ever the bowlers peerformed well, and like Paddy, Root was in a class of his own. He took us to victory, helped by the gumption of Foakes. Otherwise England so wobbly with the bat. The Kiwis must be wondering how they never achieved what would have been a stunning turn around. On to Trent Bridge where England often do well.

Totally agree about the incredible fortune of seeing that incomparable Arsenal team - for a few years the almost perfect side, even when we weren't winning the league. Mee's double team will always hold the most emotional place in my heart, but Arsene's early sides were magnificent.

When we open the book on great midfielders it has many pages! The reason I love Vieira so much is that he came to us as an unknown and immediately took the team to a higher level. Remarkable really because he was just a young guy, yet his on-field leadership was evident straightaway. His debut, under lights at Highbury, was thrilling - the way he glided past opponents drawing comparison with Rocky at his best - smiles on every Arsenal face. Then he went from strength to strength - needed no settling in period, just a duck to water. Energy and committment even beyond Talbot - and as aggressive as Storey. He could be delicate too - how many times did we see that clever move in the centre circle where he would fool his marker and set up an attack? And a hell of a shot - the one off the bar against United to beat Schmeichel was wonderful.

My 2 pennies as it’s an interesting debate. I think you need to take zidane and platini and put them in a special category as they are number 10s and given absolutely free reign to do what they wanted on a football pitch Otherwise you need to include Dennis as well and it gets a bit messy.

If you are therefore classing cesc as a midfielder therefore then I’m with DHD on this and Cesc has a legitimate claim to be the best creative midfield player I’ve seen too. No midfielder I’ve seen has his weight of pass and vision from anywhere on the pitch, he had eyes in the back of his head and could find passes that simply didn’t exist for other players. 125 career goals from midfield and 214 assists (better than Gerrard and Lampard)

It was one of Arsenes biggest mistakes not resigning him and I think if we had our trophy haul could have looked differently. I watched him play for Chelsea and he looked no different to his time with us playing give and go football and his teammates always looking to him for the key pass.

Honestly I think his contribution to football has been overshadowed because the made the mistake of going to Barca to play second fiddle to xavi and iniesta. If not for that he would be more highly regarded. He may not admit it but when he looks back on his career he will privately acknowledge this.

Oh and of *%^@*** course he’s better than Glenda ! Lord have mercy. Wash your mouth out and get in the bin please. Thanks

Turns out my Bank was the issue. My card was being declined - who knew? I've been away for a while and they must've become wary of unusual spending patterns.

An hour or two trying via the website. 75 minutes on the blower to the Box Office ("you are number 42 in the queue") confirmed what was the problem, then another 55 minutes to the Bank to sort it out. Everyone was v polite to me and it clearly wasn't their fault, but as the hours go by, you do feel like ripping their ears off. Not that I did, of course. Sweetness and light. Oh yes.

However like I’ve said before. If Henry was making a run through and my life depended on a player successfully making that through pass to find him I’m asking Dennis to make that pass not Cesc.

For me, a major contributing factor to any measure of greatness is how often I've watched the player live. This adds much more weight to Cesc, Thierry and Paddy since they all played in the era when I was a 'home and away' obsessive. I saw almost all of the games they played for us.

I can't say that about Chippy Brady since I went to very few away games in those days; having said that, I used to believe he was the best I'd seen until the Wenger boys came along. I saw Platini once or twice but I don't think I ever saw Zidane, so they never really made an impact on me.

The exception to that rule was Maradona whom I saw live just once; that was enough.

You’re presumably a newbie and never saw Brady and Hudson at his best then. People moan about Xhaka’s lack of pace. Fabregas was obviously in a different class to him in everything but pace. Also Hoddle could do everything and more that Fabregas could. An utter genius. For me Tottenham’s most skilful player.

Where I think you’re right is the error Fabregas made in f*cking off to Barcelona where he was outshone by Iniesta and Xavi, neither of who I thought were as good as Matthaus.

Glad you mentioned Vieira’s debut. Sheffield Wednesday wasn’t it? Did you see Brady’s against Birmingham? The two best debuts I’ve seen.

Completely agree. Should have mentioned Maradona myself. The single greatest player I’ve seen.

One thing I think has to be mentioned when comparing players from different eras, as we have done with Brady and Fabregas, is the pitch quality. Players these days basically play on grass billiard tables. Highbury was often like a trench at the Somme when Brady and Hudson played on it. And there were worse than Highbury too.

Also, defenders now get booked for breathing heavily within three feet of an opponent. In the old days a defender could stab an opponent to death without even getting a talking to by the ref.

Playing football in modern times is way easier than it used to be in Brady and Hudson’s era.

Fair enough on the poor quality pitches and the homicidal defenders Bern, but the speed and intensity of the modern game more than balances that out. Cesc never enjoyed anything like the time and space given to Brady and Hudson. Whenever you see those games from the '70s and '80s, there's hardly any closing down and no pressing whatever.

I have no doubt Cesc would've shone back then. I'd be less confident that Brady and Hudson would cope with a Citeh-style press.

This is literally the point I was about to make. Henry and Walcott could run a 100metres in 11 seconds. Not even 2 full seconds slower than linford Christie’s best 100 metres.


Aubameyang was clocked at the first 30 metres or something faster than Usain Bolt did in a major race. Then bellerin recorded himself doing likewise.

Remember Henry’s goal v spurs. Literally ate up the whole Highbury pitch in a matter of seconds.

You are talking about physical specimens recruited from all over the world who are freaks of nature that just happen to be able to also control a ball as well.

Also diet. Chippy was called chippy for a reason and it wasn’t because of his love of broccoli

The speed and intensity Brady and Hudson would have easily adapted to, they were that skilful they could not have shone in the modern game. I would say far better than Fabregas would have done on the pitches back then.

Top Gun mentioned Brady liking chips. I have no doubt the modern dietary regimes at top football clubs would have ensured that wouldn’t have been a problem in the modern game. Hudson was an alcoholic. Perhaps modern dietary regimes would have kept him off it?

I think AW was one of (if not) the first to break the accepted talent development strategy of spotting footballing talent and then getting them fit. Under AW the policy mutated to spotting the athletic talent and then honing their footballing skills. That’s a simplification but you see where I’m going.

Brady was a product of the old school development strategy. I watched him from his first games in the reserves and I sincerely believe he had the talent to survive in any era, but in purely physical terms, I think he, as he was then, would struggle today. All those players would.

This is the nonsense of comparing players of different eras.

Hi DHD. The thing is with modern dietary and fitness regimes, Brady would shine today despite liking chips. Chips wouldn’t have been his main foodstuff now, I’m sure of that. Similar in principle, Hudson was a confirmed alcoholic long before he joined Arsenal. I hope, and expect, his moves towards alcoholism would have been stopped long before he got there, at a modern top club. Even on the pitches back then, they had the ability to show their skill. Stick Fabregas on the 1970s mud heap that Highbury was in the winter and I suspect he’d find it harder to adapt than Brady and Hudson would now.

But I agree, it’s so difficult to compare players from different eras. That’s one of the reasons I hate the expression best player of all time. As well as the obvious difference in playing styles and fitness levels, how can any of us who didn’t see Alex James say how Brady and Fabregas compared to him?

Regarding alcoholic players, everyone know about Greaves, Best, Hudson and MacDonald in the 60s and 70s. More recently there’s been Gascoigne, Adams, Sansom and Merson who were well known. But they were still in the 80s and 90s, up to thirty years ago. Can anyone think of a top modern footballer who is a known alcoholic now? I genuinely think top clubs would sort it out better now than what happened in the past.

A story throwing doubt on the likelihood of Arsenal signing Jesus. Might be clickbait, as may the stories that we’ll sign him. I’ve seen links to so many players that I’ve lost count. My advice is wait until the end of the transfer window before assessing the squad. In my view that’s better than reacting to clickbait, 99% of which I reckon is nonsense.

https://www.football.london/arsenal-fc/ ... dium=email

Years back I met someone who had a stint in the priory rehab centre and whilst he was in he said an Arsenal player was in receiving treatment also for a problem relating to alcohol abuse.

I won’t name the player as it’s a totally unsubstantiated rumour and he could have got the players name wrong or something but the player is the last person you’d expect and his playing time crossed the Highbury emirates cross over period so prime wenger days.

I bet there’s a few but we don’t hear about it. That said I think the days of a player like Greavsie literally turning up to play for Barnet pissed are long gone.

Interesting. I guess you must be right and it does still happen. Though I do reckon it must be dealt with more effectively now. Your anonymous player in the stadium move era would have been around about sixteen years ago.

Just looked up our squad for the 2006/07 season, the first year at the Emirates. The player you mention without naming must presumably be one of them. It was Lehmann, Diaby, Cole, Fabregas, Toure, Senderos, Rosicky, Ljungberg, Reyes, van Persie, Lauren, Hleb, Henry, Flamini, Song, Cygan, Gilberto, Djourou, Poom, Clichy, Almunia, Adebayor, Eboue, Aliadiere, Hoyte, Walcott.

The guess is, which one?

My guess is Rosicky. Or possibly Jens.

Interesting idea. There was a rumour about Rosicky being a crack cocaine addict.

https://www.digitalworldz.co.uk/threads ... ct.199683/

Ryanair--Imagine flying all the way from SA to Britain, and then being told you cannot go further because you can't fill in a form in Afrikaans. What the hell is that? What is wrong with them?

Yes, The Owls at night - we were looking ordinary until that young man came on as a sub and changed it all. No, I didn't see Brady's debut or that much of him live throughout his career. For most of the 70s and 80s my priorities didn't include going to football, so I saw very little of an obviously great Arsenal midfielder. I know it is hard comparing players from different eras but surely Brady would have been a star anytime?

Yeah, of course Brady would. The main reason for the elevation of Fabregas’ status above his seems to be Brady, as with all players, not being fit enough in those days to handle the pressing game often used now.

In my view it is entirely logical to accept Brady would be a damn site fitter with a better diet had he played in the time of Fabregas, with the changes in training regimes that occurred across all clubs, than it is to accept Fabregas shining to the same extent as Brady on the mud heaps that were passed off as pitches in those days.

Let me clarify that I do accept Fabregas would have been a very fine player back then, even with the pitches and leg breakers teams had. But I’m sorry, I just cannot consider Fabregas the equal of Brady.

Mind you, what this debate has done is highlight the big problems in comparing players from different eras.

I love the fact that there are extended highlights of Vieira's debut on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JyRTX60BQJU

Yet more on the Saka rumours.

https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football ... dium=email

Thanks for posting that. How good to have a commentator who didn't scream and shout.

https://www.fr12.nl/nieuws/arsenal-en-feyenoord-bespreken-samenwerking

Dutch media reporting both clubs aim to form a 'friendly relationship' and work together as much as possible. Music to my ears!

I loved the bit where Des Walker took out Wrighty at knee level and then proceeded to protest that it was a dive.

...and despite that leg-breaker of a challenge, Ian Wright barely went down.

Thanks for this McQ.

Interesting that Vieira took a while to get into the game. He started quite shakily but grew visibly in the second half. He finished as a different player.