Albert Sambi Lokonga (23)

[Arsenal Tone]

Diaby was levels above Vieira technically and ability-wise, he was unable to develop a consistent all-round game though, something which Vieira of course was able to do.

Denilson was a decent player playing a vital role, keeping the ball moving, being the link between defence and attack, there was nothing wrong with his game, it was basic but vital at the time.

No..
But Diaby was on a vieira-like trajectory. He was more into the skills stuff and not that defensive.
Vieira had more in his locker attitude and personlity-wise. Vieira was more accomplished and rounded..

But Diaby is well above the likes of Partey in my opinion..

Dream on !!! Partey was world class at Athletico Madrid, Diaby was never world class at Arsenal.

Diaby got his first big injury when he was 20. Way before his prime age. He didnt really have a chance to prove himself, did he?

In that case I reckon Wilshere is better than Messi. Never had chance to prove it though.

[Power n Glory]

Diaby was levels above Vieira technically and ability-wise, he was unable to develop a consistent all-round game though, something which Vieira of course was able to do.

Denilson was a decent player playing a vital role, keeping the ball moving, being the link between defence and attack, there was nothing wrong with his game, it was basic but vital at the time.

No..
But Diaby was on a vieira-like trajectory. He was more into the skills stuff and not that defensive.
Vieira had more in his locker attitude and personlity-wise. Vieira was more accomplished and rounded..

But Diaby is well above the likes of Partey in my opinion..

Dream on !!! Partey was world class at Athletico Madrid, Diaby was never world class at Arsenal.

Diaby got his first big injury when he was 20. Way before his prime age. He didnt really have a chance to prove himself, did he?

In that case I reckon Wilshere is better than Messi. Never had chance to prove it though.

But as it stands, performance wise, Diaby has been more impressive for Arsenal than Partey has so far. Partey needs to step up.

[Ach]

Diaby was garbage for us. Partey has been better than garbage but still not good enough

[Fran Solo]

Diaby was levels above Vieira technically and ability-wise, he was unable to develop a consistent all-round game though, something which Vieira of course was able to do.

Denilson was a decent player playing a vital role, keeping the ball moving, being the link between defence and attack, there was nothing wrong with his game, it was basic but vital at the time.

No..
But Diaby was on a vieira-like trajectory. He was more into the skills stuff and not that defensive.
Vieira had more in his locker attitude and personlity-wise. Vieira was more accomplished and rounded..

But Diaby is well above the likes of Partey in my opinion..

Dream on !!! Partey was world class at Athletico Madrid, Diaby was never world class at Arsenal.

Diaby got his first big injury when he was 20. Way before his prime age. He didnt really have a chance to prove himself, did he?

In that case I reckon Wilshere is better than Messi. Never had chance to prove it though.

I doubt that. Even if he stays fit all the time . But, I think you know what I meant. It is hard to evaluate players that almost never stay fit for most of their career. Diaby and Wilshere were talented players that never reached the top because of bad injuries early in their career. On the other hand, Partey still has his chances to prove his worth here.

[Goonerz]

Diaby was levels above Vieira technically and ability-wise, he was unable to develop a consistent all-round game though, something which Vieira of course was able to do.

Denilson was a decent player playing a vital role, keeping the ball moving, being the link between defence and attack, there was nothing wrong with his game, it was basic but vital at the time.

No..
But Diaby was on a vieira-like trajectory. He was more into the skills stuff and not that defensive.
Vieira had more in his locker attitude and personlity-wise. Vieira was more accomplished and rounded..

But Diaby is well above the likes of Partey in my opinion..

Dream on !!! Partey was world class at Athletico Madrid, Diaby was never world class at Arsenal.

Alright mate.

Throwing around “World Class” labels like there is no tomorrow. I know that’s your personal opinion, we all have them but can’t put them forward as “Objective Facts”.

[Goonerz]

Diaby was levels above Vieira technically and ability-wise, he was unable to develop a consistent all-round game though, something which Vieira of course was able to do.

Denilson was a decent player playing a vital role, keeping the ball moving, being the link between defence and attack, there was nothing wrong with his game, it was basic but vital at the time.

No..
But Diaby was on a vieira-like trajectory. He was more into the skills stuff and not that defensive.
Vieira had more in his locker attitude and personlity-wise. Vieira was more accomplished and rounded..

But Diaby is well above the likes of Partey in my opinion..

Dream on !!! Partey was world class at Athletico Madrid, Diaby was never world class at Arsenal.

Diaby got his first big injury when he was 20. Way before his prime age. He didnt really have a chance to prove himself, did he?

In that case I reckon Wilshere is better than Messi. Never had chance to prove it though.

I doubt that. Even if he stays fit all the time . But, I think you know what I meant. It is hard to evaluate players that almost never stay fit for most of their career. Diaby and Wilshere were talented players that never reached the top because of bad injuries early in their career. On the other hand, Partey still has his chances to prove his worth here.

It’s really so difficult trying to have a real mature / intelligent discussion about anything on these social networks. Fallacious reasoning (Red herrings, Strawmans etc).
People just come out already opinionated, dug in, on the defensive and guns blazing on any given topic.

It’s always this “I am right, You are wrong” kind of attitude and mentality.

[theHotHead]

Diaby was levels above Vieira technically and ability-wise, he was unable to develop a consistent all-round game though, something which Vieira of course was able to do.

Denilson was a decent player playing a vital role, keeping the ball moving, being the link between defence and attack, there was nothing wrong with his game, it was basic but vital at the time.

No..
But Diaby was on a vieira-like trajectory. He was more into the skills stuff and not that defensive.
Vieira had more in his locker attitude and personlity-wise. Vieira was more accomplished and rounded..

But Diaby is well above the likes of Partey in my opinion..

Dream on !!! Partey was world class at Athletico Madrid, Diaby was never world class at Arsenal.

Alright mate.

Throwing around “World Class” labels like there is no tomorrow. I know that’s your personal opinion, we all have them but can’t put them forward as “Objective Facts”.

Are you saying you didn't think he was a world class player for Athletico Madrid ?

Who in your opinion is a world class box to box CM ?

[starmandb]

f***ing hilaRIOUS hh SAYS SOME ABSOLUTE DUMBSHIT THEN REALIZES AND GETS APPLAUSE...

jfc

He is being applauded for his humility in recognising his opinion may have been wrong
It’s a nice trait and is all too rare online

[starmandb]

f***ing hilaRIOUS hh SAYS SOME ABSOLUTE DUMBSHIT THEN REALIZES AND GETS APPLAUSE...

jfc

No Los, its just that I am not like most people in the forum that have to be wrong and strong and I can admit when I am wrong.

Its like a breath of fresh air on the forum, watch now as a wave of posters start admitting they are wrong rather that digging their heels in and arguing for the sake of arguing.

Are you jealous that nobody has applauded you, awwwwww poor little munchkin.

I’m Spartacus
And so’s my wife

[VCC]

One of diaby last graces for us was getting insanely sent off 4-0 up at Newcastle cue the 4-4 comeback.
Diaby was a hang over from vierra and the want that he could be replaced umpteen years later we are still trying to replace him, could diaby have done that before his injury who knows, the signs were good but he become injury prone and ineffective we should have cut ties call it ruthless or call it football. If you want to win you dont need passengers

[Goonerz]

.

Are you saying you didn't think he was a world class player for Athletico Madrid ?

Who in your opinion is a world class box to box CM ?

I never thought of him in those terms. I always thought he was a very good decent player at AT Madrid.
I thought he was just your typical stable midfielder that got a job done. To me he is a Alex Song level of talent.

I might be very closed off or have very high standards due to the type of players I grew up watching from the 1990’s to early 2000’s.

I grew up watching the likes of:
Vieira, Yaya Toure, Gerrard, Lampard, So my basis of a world class Box to Box midfielder has to somewhat mirror players in this mould etc. Defensive mids like Makelele, Gilberto, Essien, even pitbull (Gattuso) lol.

Grew up on midfielders likes of Berkamp, Zidane, Zola, Nedved, Seedorf, Figo, Ronaldinho, Xavi, Iniesta, Scholes, Pirlo, Riquelme, Totti, Del Piero etc. So anytime I hear anyone throwing around the label “World class” for any midfield player in recent years my brain automatically starts comparing and contrasting that particular midfield player with a particular player I have listed above. They are my template.

I grew up watching strikers like “the Brazillian Ronaldo, Henry, RVP, Raul, Van Nistelrooy, Cantana, Drogba, Ibrahimovic, Eto’o, David Villa, Alan Shearer etc. So anytime someone throws about the term World class striker my brain starts comparing them to those strikers.

Same with defenders or keepers. I compare them to those of yesteryears.

One has got to have a more objective foundation to base their claims on.

Again, from the short time Partey has been at Arsenal i am not convinced yet whatsoever. He can’t pass, can’t shoot, can’t dominate, hardly ever shows that he is a Box to Box kind of midfielder. He has been as underwhelming as the likes of Pepe, Ozil, Laca, Auba etc..

What has been so world class about Partey since he moved to Arsenal? Can you even think of many games where Partey was the overwhelmingly standout player? Any MOTM’s? Player of the month? Etc..

Whenever I have heard people labelling Auba as world class at Arsenal it always made me cringe. Auba at Arsenal is not even as good as Adebayor was for us. And I don’t think that Adebayor was world class. But he was on that trajectory.

People labelling Ozil as world class at Arsenal never convinced me. Playing for Madrid and Germany he might have been, but not at Arsenal. The likes of Santi, injury prone (Wilshere, Rosicky etc) performed better than him overall at Arsenal in my opinion.

Now people labelling Partey as some sort of world class monster. I don’t see it. From his first season to today he has not done anything of note. He has not outshone Elneny, Xhaka, AMN or Lokonga yet, he has performed as poorly as them. Never stands out. He can’t be world class for sure. Diaby was always injured but there are specific games one can still remember where he was absolutely the standout player.
If this Partey we currently have at Arsenal is what is deemed as a world class midfielder then Denilson, Diaby, Song, Xhaka, Elneny, Lokonga etc can also be labelled as world class..

I feel like the label “World class” has been banded about nonchalantly in recent years that it has lost its gravitas. You can’t tell me that Yaya toure, Vieira were world class then include someone like Partey in the same breathe.

Can’t label Henry, RVP, Drogba, Zlatan, Suarez, Raul, Nistelrooy, Fat Ronaldo etc as world class then in the same breathe include Auba or Laca etc in it. No.

Partey has to got to earn that world class label at Arsenal first. I don’t care about him being world class for AT Madrid. It does not benefit Arsenal. This is the same reason I always clashed with the majority of my fellow gooners when it came to Ozil. I didn’t care about his Madrid or Germany world class exploits. They meant absolutely nothing to me as an Arsenal player. What I cared about was for him to replicate those world class performances for Arsenal in the EPL. In my own opinion he failed for the largets part in his time here.

Partey, Pepe, Ozil, Laca and to a certain extent Auba have been our biggest buys but they have been just Okay / Hit and Miss signings. Lower purchase signings like Santi, Sanchez, Rosicky, Nasri, Hleb, Wilshere, Adebayor, Eduardo, Ramsey etc were bigger performers in comparison.

Lets stop downgrading the label World Class..

[jayramfootball]

Lokonga should have started - he's been our best CM this year. Much better than Partey.
We missed his passing a lot in the game.
I suspect he was dropped for his one bad game against Liverpool, but he was superb against the Saudi regime and should have kept his place.
I'd like to see Arteta NOT change the team and over think it.
Play the same players every week unless they are injured or completely lose form.

[Arsenal Tone]

Lokonga should have started - he's been our best CM this year. Much better than Partey.
We missed his passing a lot in the game.
I suspect he was dropped for his one bad game against Liverpool, but he was superb against the Saudi regime and should have kept his place.
I'd like to see Arteta NOT change the team and over think it.
Play the same players every week unless they are injured or completely lose form.

Problem is, if he'd played and we still lost everyone would be writing him off.

[Power n Glory]

.

Are you saying you didn't think he was a world class player for Athletico Madrid ?

Who in your opinion is a world class box to box CM ?

I never thought of him in those terms. I always thought he was a very good decent player at AT Madrid.
I thought he was just your typical stable midfielder that got a job done. To me he is a Alex Song level of talent.

I might be very closed off or have very high standards due to the type of players I grew up watching from the 1990’s to early 2000’s.

I grew up watching the likes of:
Vieira, Yaya Toure, Gerrard, Lampard, So my basis of a world class Box to Box midfielder has to somewhat mirror players in this mould etc. Defensive mids like Makelele, Gilberto, Essien, even pitbull (Gattuso) lol.

Grew up on midfielders likes of Berkamp, Zidane, Zola, Nedved, Seedorf, Figo, Ronaldinho, Xavi, Iniesta, Scholes, Pirlo, Riquelme, Totti, Del Piero etc. So anytime I hear anyone throwing around the label “World class” for any midfield player in recent years my brain automatically starts comparing and contrasting that particular midfield player with a particular player I have listed above. They are my template.

I grew up watching strikers like “the Brazillian Ronaldo, Henry, RVP, Raul, Van Nistelrooy, Cantana, Drogba, Ibrahimovic, Eto’o, David Villa, Alan Shearer etc. So anytime someone throws about the term World class striker my brain starts comparing them to those strikers.

Same with defenders or keepers. I compare them to those of yesteryears.

One has got to have a more objective foundation to base their claims on.

Again, from the short time Partey has been at Arsenal i am not convinced yet whatsoever. He can’t pass, can’t shoot, can’t dominate, hardly ever shows that he is a Box to Box kind of midfielder. He has been as underwhelming as the likes of Pepe, Ozil, Laca, Auba etc..

What has been so world class about Partey since he moved to Arsenal? Can you even think of many games where Partey was the overwhelmingly standout player? Any MOTM’s? Player of the month? Etc..

Whenever I have heard people labelling Auba as world class at Arsenal it always made me cringe. Auba at Arsenal is not even as good as Adebayor was for us. And I don’t think that Adebayor was world class. But he was on that trajectory.

People labelling Ozil as world class at Arsenal never convinced me. Playing for Madrid and Germany he might have been, but not at Arsenal. The likes of Santi, injury prone (Wilshere, Rosicky etc) performed better than him overall at Arsenal in my opinion.

Now people labelling Partey as some sort of world class monster. I don’t see it. From his first season to today he has not done anything of note. He has not outshone Elneny, Xhaka, AMN or Lokonga yet, he has performed as poorly as them. Never stands out. He can’t be world class for sure. Diaby was always injured but there are specific games one can still remember where he was absolutely the standout player.
If this Partey we currently have at Arsenal is what is deemed as a world class midfielder then Denilson, Diaby, Song, Xhaka, Elneny, Lokonga etc can also be labelled as world class..

I feel like the label “World class” has been banded about nonchalantly in recent years that it has lost its gravitas. You can’t tell me that Yaya toure, Vieira were world class then include someone like Partey in the same breathe.

Can’t label Henry, RVP, Drogba, Zlatan, Suarez, Raul, Nistelrooy, Fat Ronaldo etc as world class then in the same breathe include Auba or Laca etc in it. No.

Partey has to got to earn that world class label at Arsenal first. I don’t care about him being world class for AT Madrid. It does not benefit Arsenal. This is the same reason I always clashed with the majority of my fellow gooners when it came to Ozil. I didn’t care about his Madrid or Germany world class exploits. They meant absolutely nothing to me as an Arsenal player. What I cared about was for him to replicate those world class performances for Arsenal in the EPL. In my own opinion he failed for the largets part in his time here.

Partey, Pepe, Ozil, Laca and to a certain extent Auba have been our biggest buys but they have been just Okay / Hit and Miss signings. Lower purchase signings like Santi, Sanchez, Rosicky, Nasri, Hleb, Wilshere, Adebayor, Eduardo, Ramsey etc were bigger performers in comparison.

Lets stop downgrading the label World Class..

[theHotHead]

Goonerz I don't think anybody has said Partey has been world class for Arsenal, I would say Lokonga has been the better CM of the 2.

Lets hope he can click into gear, a firing Partey is a beast of a CM.