Monday, 1 June 2009

Everyone is soooo divided on Denilson!

Denilson has been the cause of many a discussion between Gooners over the year.

Some think he is shit, some think he is average, and some think he is the dogs bollocks. I happen to think that Denilson is a good player who potentially could evolve into a very good player.

He has his critics, but there are stats that show he has had a good season at Arsenal and is probably a very underrated player at the club.

I'm not one for stats though. I trust my own eyes.

I believe that he needs help to evolve into that very good player. He needs someone to learn from.

Denilson has been thrown in at the deep end this season by Arsene Wenger and I think he has had to learn the hard way. Which isn't fair on the boy.

He has done well in his first season as a first team regular but I can't help but think he could still use a role model to help guide him through. Pretty much like most of this young Arsenal squad really.

An Alonso or Barry would not kill this players career. It would help him become more competitive and also improve Arsenal as a whole.

I don't doubt that he learnt from Gilberto during the time they spent together at the club but I also feel that he would have improved even more had Gilberto still been at Arsenal last season.

I think we need to cut Denilson some slack. He will get even better in the future but he will need help to do so.

But he is not the only one.

Keep it Goonerish.........

80 comments:

abzy said...

1st

Ed Lyne said...

I think the majority of people think Denilson is a good player. The problem I, and many other Gooners have is that he is not a partner for Cesc who ultimately is the better player. This isn't Denilson's fault of course, but our good run coincided with Cesc's injury and a midifeld partnership that worked. If you play Gallas and Toure and Cesc and Denilson you have a spine of a team which is too small to go away to places like Bolton, Stoke, Blackburn (under Alladyce) and consistently get results.

Anonymous said...

Denilson has been fanstastic this season and will be more than good enough in a few years, but he is not quite there yet. Alonso is by no means the answer - the stat comparisons point that out quite clearly, but a player like Mascherano would be fantastic for us.

But I would much rather have Denilson in our midfield than Alonso, who is a deep-lying Fabregas, rather than a destroyer.

Anonymous said...

Also, Denilson is not similar to Fabregas. They could easily play together if Cesc gets some form back and Denilson develops a bit more.

klanibal said...

I think he is good player and Arsenal need a player like this. He had aggressive and that's good. He still young and we should keep him.

Anonymous said...

Objectively, Denilson has been poor this season.

When taking various considerations (such as his age) into consideration, I think it's possible he could, maybe, one day become an excellent player.

But at the moment, he is not - he's a liability, and his inclusion has hurt us badly this year.

malvendent said...

I think wrighty7 is correct on Denilson. I think that he had a fine season. not only did he have to start the season playing a holding position but he had to do it without any guidance whatsoever. He then played strong when cesc was hurt and did his job without much fanfare. was he perfect? absolutly not. so many fans want a hard tackling dm and that is not denilson's way nor do i think it will ever be so people who want that will never be happy. What i want is a dm who does not have to make the tackle because he reads where the ball is going and cuts out the pass then distributes quickly to the more offensive players. I think he is getting to that point. I also think this helps to explain why he sometimes get caught out and does not track back as so many have pointed out. He is caught in two minds knowing that if he does commit to tracking back he could miss the crossing pass. I know stats don't tell the whole story but they do tell a lot of it. To have a young player placed so highly in many of the rankings at least says he developing and has the chance of being incredible. I think people also need to notice how highly other managers rate him. far be it from me to suggest that premier league managers might know a bit more about the game then some(gh), but these opinions must add some weight to the idea that denilson is becoming a very solid player. and if all else fails take it from my brother the fucking shitty sp*rs fan who admitted the other day that denilson was solid.

Anonymous said...

This is a common point of view from people that would like to see someone, anyone, take Denilsons place in the team. But the truth is that the best way for Denilson to learn is not to sit on the sideline and watch Alonso or Barry play beside Cesc, it's to play agianst the likes of Masherano, Barry and Alonso. Denilson is far, far, far better than any of these players were at 21.

Anonymous said...

19:53, there is no way in hell htat Denilson has been poor and is a liability. That is ridicuklous. maybe he is not top top class, but he has been better for us than fabregas, Toure, Clichy and many other players this season.

CescIsGenius said...

Right you are Wrighty...Denilson has been a hot topic in the last week with no less than 1 million blogs discussing whether he has had a good season, if he is overrated, or coming into his own.

I happen to like Denilson, but agree that he needs a 'big brother' to learn from. I was really pretty upset to see him starting in the middle of the park early in the season and really noticed his lack of tracking as a huge problem, but he's grown by leaps and bounds this year.

A prime teacher would be Barry or Alonso.

They both are clever players who have some passing skills (Alonso is a much better passer, but Barry isn't bad) and some grit to do the dirty work.

Hell, why doesn't Wenger buy them both (this should get you all fired up, eh?)

CescIsGenius said...

Sorry Wrighty, but on a different note.

Did anyone see that Arsenal's revenue generated from Champions League and Prem combined for a whopping 73.4 million?

Where is all that money going toward?

This doesn't even include match day ticket sales or merchandise revenue.

Buy some quality Wenger, we have plenty of young guns coming through the ranks!

ClockEndofTimes said...

Denilson has been all over the lot this season - having some really outstanding performances (often over-shadowing Cesc in the early part of the season), but putting in some terrible ones as well.

More importantly he lacks the strength, engine and experience to successfully partner Cesc at the moment. In effect, he remains a very good back up for Fabregas. The most important development for Denilson would be the departure of Diaby, allowing him more chances to play a slightly more attacking role and allowing us to bring in the likes of Flamini, Senna, de Zeeuw, Matuidi or Cana. In short someone who is more willing and able to mind the shop and sees their role as simply getting the best out of Cesc and the more advanced midfielders.

Hopefully, he will not be asked to play so many matches next season (he made more appearances than any other player this year) and will be able to develop more speed, quickness and strength.

Anonymous said...

Alonso really would not be the best signing. Watch him and you can see that he does not defend anywhere near well enough.

MeteorMonster said...

Absolutely right Wrighty,

Denilson is a divisive player through no fault of his own, but you either love him or hate him.

Personally, I dont think he has the skills to be an excellent player. A decent squad player, yes, but nothing else.

His passing is overrated. Anyone can have a high % making 5 yard diagonal passes. He is typically the slowest player on our starting squad, innocuous in the air, lacks passing vision and recovery capability, and is an average tackler and shooter. Great team player, technically sound,non-complaining and has heart, but this does not make him an Arsenal quality player.

In reality, he brings very little substance to the table. Only time will tell, but I will go on record by saying he never will be a star player. He actually could be very effective in the slower Italian leagues.

Anonymous said...

Meteor, he brings more substance than any other Arsenal player, without the fancy skills and massive hair, he just does it.

He does a HELL of a lot more than any of the other DM's and has made the likes of Walcott, Diaby, Adebayor and Toure look utterly average this season.

Anonymous said...

All these arguements were all levied at Gilberto when he first arrived and we all know how thjat turned out.

Anonymous said...

And even when he was playing very well, people said he was poor. And when he was out, we saw the flaws in Vieira's game, and noticed that Cesc and Vieira would never work.

But people still think we need to replace Vieira, and not Gilberto - and Denilson will easily replace Gilberto in time.

Anonymous said...

I think the majority of people arguing that he isnt good enough didnt really understand Gilberto's game either or were too young when the similar debates over Gilberto was raging.

Anonymous said...

There are 101 better players than denilson, in all honesty, does he deserve to be one of the starting 11?

Anonymous said...

I have noticed that a lot teams seem to adopt a tactic of charging in Denilson from the back as soon as he gets the ball, knocking him off early on the game. In a Champion's League match this isn't an issue, however, in the Premier League, refs unfortunately see this as fair game. This aspect needs some attention, although looking at the size of his neck he has bulked up considerably since he joined!

Anonymous said...

He could be an ok player but honestly he's nt good enough to start in an arsenal side.Those of you who think Denilson can partner Fabregas.wake up.Fabregas' parnter should be a good tackler,combative and strong but unfortunately Denilson isnt.

Unknown said...

Wenger once said Denilson is a little bit of Gilbreto and a little bit of Rosicky. Unfortunately he's neither and I doubt he'll ever be as good as either. He's a tidy player which can fit in various roles on the field; however, he is not dominating enough to get a place in the lineup automatically. He may not even sit on the bench of the other big 4 teams.

Anonymous said...

fanner said.. ask yourself, do you think he would get a place in MU, chelsea or liverpool first 11? I don't think he even qualify to warm the bench. There is a factor in every footballer's ability besides skill, that is football brain. A good example of football brainless player is Helb, doesn't know when to pass, to shoot and speed up the game. Densilson would cause us deadly, if he pick the wrong option and give away possession, I remember him passing the ball to Diaby (another brainless footballer) in our own penalty box when we were under pressure, Diaby lost the possession as he brainlessly trying to dribble the ball out of our own box, he lost it and luckily we were not punished for that mistake. Densilson is, a big time liability.

Anonymous said...

fanner said.. oh by the way, Gilberto was not really that good too, but he was lucky as the rest of the 10 players were too good to make up his inability, petit, edu and viera were good examples of top midfielders. Remember how Flamini squeezed him out of the first 11? some said because Gilberto was already old but hey, Edu knocked him out of the first 11 too. People often follow what the majority feel or say, even those pundits, who dare to write a blog to comment on walcott? A player that will always improve? Without space he is as good as invisible, he is being spared because he is English. He would be another michael owen, who would eventually fade when he loses his speed. Anyway he is not even matching Owen's prime.

james said...

Denilson is crap hes nothing but a Mr sideways man. I do wonder how people have the audacity to compare him with Alonso

malvendent said...

James,
here is a nice little article comparing the 2. yes, yes I am aware that stats do not tell the whole story, but to discount them all together is wrong.

http://www.arsenalvision.co.uk/myvision.php?articleid=1209

Anonymous said...

Denilson isn't ready. Bring him along over the next couple of years and eventually when Cesc returns to Spain, we may have a very decent replacement.

But now, this team needs to win something before Wenger, Cesc and Arshavin depart. The team's prospects cannot be further hindered on the hope that eventually in two or three years the likes of Diaby, Denilson and Song will be world class...

By the way, forget about Alonso, it's extremely unlikely to happen. He's likely to stay at Pool, but if he departs it will be to Madrid where he and Lassana Diarra could form a very good partnership. And if on the odd chance he decides to stay in England, but depart his current side, Chelsea and United could easily best us in terms of the transfer fee and wages. We had one chance last summer and it's been widely reported that we wouldn't pay the full fee.

Barry wouldn't be a good partner for Fabregas, he needs a midfielder behind him (McCann, Reo-Coker, Petrov). Concentrate on the likes of Flamini, Felipe Melo, Senna (Villareal are out the CL and Pelligrini looks off to Real), de Zeeuw, Matuidi, Cana - achievable targets.

And yes, Diaby has to go...

H14 said...

Having watched young Denilson all season, I can say that he has been one of our most consistent players. He may not be Viera, but then again he's still at the beginning of his career and has a lot to learn. He's got plenty of heart and he always gives his best. As for James's comment that he only goes sideways...watch Mascherano, has he ever passed a ball forward in his career?...

Anonymous said...

If Anderson can get into Man U's midfield so can Denilson. If Lucas Leiva can so can Denilson Thats two out of the top three. John O'shea FFS!

Flethcher, Masch, Mikel are all sideways men as they hardly pass forwards. Thats what defensive midfielders do, durr!

People shouldnt compare Alonso to Denilson as Alonso is a playmaker and Denilson is Defensive midfielder. That one is simple enough.

Gilberto wasn' that good ..unfurrking believeable, he just was the defensive midfielder when we went 49 unbeaten, he was so bad that when he got injured thats when we started to lose, were even supporting Arsenal then?

It boggles the mind that some of you are so simple that you can only see a destroyer as a defensive midfielder, shit me Mascherano is the best Defensive Mid playing with Messi, Aguero and a whole host of talented players yet they never won the world cup or even the prem with the pool so that idea is redundant. Stop being simple or listening to pundits there isnt only one way to play ball. Manu have won the title on the trot show me their destroyer. Carrick.. as if...!

Anonymous said...

Diaby has to go! You are so blind.

Tommi said...

So funny to see once again so many people who have already made up their mind on Denilson. No matter how he actually plays, what the stats say, what Wenger says. No matter if the guy is the best interceptor in the the Premier League, the most accurate passer, fifth best tackler and the fourth most fouled player, no: he can't pass, at least forward (made those seven assists by mistake), he surely can't tackle and is totally useless in every sense. Please people, would you like to share your view on what exactly would Denilson need to do to even be a decent player?

While Wrighty's comment on trusting your own eyes may fit some people, the most of us should just stick with the stats since it seems many of us just can't watch players objectively. Once a decision is made that a player is rubbish, there is no way changing it.

Unknown said...

did anyone notice this season that it was only when denilson didnt start that we started shipping 4 goals. He wasnt there against united or chelsea.

Anonymous said...

Tommi,

At last a voice of reason, its like someones planted the idea in their heads and they cant think their way past it. Dont copy what people say to you and takle it for gospel.

Denilson is a good player, I bet you any money wenger doesnt buy a midfielder.

Anonymous said...

Exactly Nickc, they didnt notice that at all did they?

Anonymous said...

denilson ius not a dm, he's a cm. i actually think that's part of the problem. he isn't *yet* cut out to sit in front of the defense because he lacks physical strength and positional awareness.

there is no reason for anyone to dislike denilson. he seems a very nice guy, he never makes a fuss, always tries his best and is a very honest and genuine player which is great to see.

the thing is i think far too many people look at just the pass competion % and see that as the defining stat to prove he's good. there's an awful lot more to telling if a [player is good than that stat, even if it is a good one.

his stats don't say whether or not he's lost his marker or whether or not a high % of his passes were not very good even if they found their man one way or another. as far as i'm aware he hasn't contributed a great number of assists, so in truth his only real contribution has been keeping the ball moving across the middle with short passes. for the most part at least that has been his role.

if you compare him with song i think song dwarfs him in many ways. song is a good tackler as demonstrated by his good ability to be a cb. he is without doubt twice as powerful. his decision making on the ball is highly consistent considering song is also more adventurous in his play. he plays a lot more forward passes and tries to make things happen. another thing song possesses over denilson is for the last few months he has chased so much that opposition player have been forced into far more mistakes. denilson does get about a bit, but i don't think other teams are concerned by his presence because he lacks that power or bite to really get stuck in (most of the time). people want someone who doesn't mind ruffling some feathers and song does that. in every game he tends to make a few fouls being too aggressive and i think that's part of what makes him more effective in forcing players to act as he chases them down. finally song has that ability to drop his shoulder and beat a player before making the right pass (something diaby does brilliantly once in a while but is horribly frustrating at for the most part).

in short i think the type of player we need alongside cesc is SONG! but don't misunderstand me. i really like denilson and he has big potential. he has had some very good games this season and has been consistent for the most part. but in truth he's not been the fantastic player a lot of people suggest just because wenger says so based on a couple of passing stats.

i want denilson in our squad so he can improve and stay with us. but just so far, he is no partner for cesc. it's not a coincidence that cesc has played poorly alongside him when it's been a 442. cesc has played much deeper in those games when we've had a 442 with denilson in the middle because denilson isn't gret at protecting the defense.

what i want to see is wenger give a chance to a 442 with song and cesc in the middle. he always seems to play a 451 these days and i don't think it's in our best interest most of the time.

even so i hope denilson will stay and people will not be too mean to him. he's a good guy and a talented player even if he's not incredible. he might well develop that extra 5-10% over the coming season which would make him very good in my eyes as opposed to what he is now, which is just decent.

Anonymous said...

Heres a thought for your minds, you only have to tackle if the ball gets to the player, Denilson has got good tackle rate and also the highest interceptions in the league, basically meaning he is proactive so he doesnt need to destroy as he stops the ball getting thru but when he has to put his foot in he sure can.

Anonymous said...

Actually Denilson is DM he says so himself, Brazillian Footbal, you have a pure DM and another thats a DM that can go forward, he is a DM that can go forward.

Song brings more of a Physical presence yes, and as such he is different from Denilson. Denilson reads the game better than Song and he assists which is a bonafide stat as they result in goals show that he is as adventurous as Song and more successful at it

Heres a thought, maybe Cesc needs to adapt his game better to play with Denilson personally I think they do a good job together.

Pritpal said...

good player but he needs to bulk up a bit if he is to play in that position

Anonymous said...

He did play when we concede four against Liverpool.

Anonymous said...

Yes, Denilson is quite good at intercepting passes.

And this was his first year trying to do more of a defensive job. Previously, he partnered Gilberto and Flamini and Diarra and played in Fabregas' role as a CM in the Carling Cup and as an occasional starter.

And for those who think that the team wouldn't benefit from selling Diaby, perhaps you could let the rest of us know what his position is...?

Surely, as a central attacking midfielder or advanced player-maker operating in the hole he is behind as a midfielder: Nasri - and apparently in Wenger's mind Cesc - not to mention Rosicky fitness permitting and I'd rather see any extra chances go to Wilshere. And surely Arshavin and RvP are ahead of him as second-forwards.

On the left, he has got to be behind Arshavin, Nasri, Vela, Rosicky (if ever fit) and for my mind I'd rather see Traore and Gibbs operating there - and again Wilshere.

In his CM position, he is behind Fabregas and Denilson and Nasri was used to some effect centrally at the end of the season as well. A fit Rosicky is ahead of him here as well. And most supporters would be happy for any extra time to go to Ramsey next term.

Finally, unfortunately Diaby has shown repeatedly that he isn't up for playing a more defensive role where his host of deficiencies - decision-making, taking on too many opponents in bad areas, stray passes, positional ill-discipline, ect. are most readily exposed. At DM, he is already behind Denilson and Song any most everyone agrees another player should arrive as first choice to partner Cesc.

Perhaps the likes of United, Chelsea and Madrid can afford to use a player like Diaby in the odd situation, but our smaller squad needs players who are ready, willing and able to do a job or at least developing as players. Diaby is neither at the moment and given our transfers are always funded through sales, he could bring in a few million to help fund the needed acquisitions at DM and CB.

Anonymous said...

i think he was brilliant for the 1st few games of the season, that's actually when he got his goals and most of his assists. I think he had 3 goals in his first 8 games or something. he was also Higher in the stats if i remember correctly
After that his performances were less consistent. He had some good games, and some uninspiring ones.
It could be that he got tired, lost confidence or that wenger told him to concentrate on another side of his game.
Remember as well he played a few matches out wide and imo did a pretty good job. Didnt look dangerous enough to do it regularly but challenged opponents and kept the ball well.
I think hel turn into a really excellent player, but hes far from the finished article. I agree that a DM signing is necessary and it will not hurt denilson. Song will revert to CB more often and denilson will get plenty of games as backup to cesc/whoever is signed

Anonymous said...

lightweight, slow, feeble, small, pedestrian, non tackler, no presence, non-goalscorer, no assists, sideways merchant, no vision, no power, poor distribution, cant dribble, doesnt shoot, no class, game passses him by, invisible, sloppy, technically ungifted, looks like a chimpanzee, and ... shite. I think that covers it all.

Adds nothing to Arsenal FC. Get rid for heavens sake, if we have any ambition to win anything ever.

james said...

spot on mate. no need to say no more

Anonymous said...

TrueGooner said and is still saying.....Why aren't we asking Cesc to adapt to others around him game? You ungrateful Arsenal Fans no wonder Anelka hates your guts. Never acknowledge your players contribution. This young 20 - 21 year old kept you in fourth, and even though he worked hard till he got burn out for playing so many games. You still insult him. Look who you giving praise to, Cesc. What have he done this season besides being the captain? He's slow, can't adapt playing behind the striker, don't like to shoot even when he's on top of the box, prune to missing sitters, never enforces himself on any game this season and yet he's the one everyone should adapt to. Give Danielson or Song a break. There are other bigger players who did not show up. Cesc had a bad season and you won't say nothing about him, but all day Song this Danielson that. Who do they have to give the ball to this season that could do something good with it? I am not trying to criticize Cesc, but don't blame Danielson or Song for the position we ended in, the team is to blame not just them. look at Bendtner work rate and the amount of goals he have, and the amount of minutes he played. It is almost close to you starting strikers Yet you won't give him the benefit of a doubt. Even though his finishing needs work but he is always at the right spot, that's a good attribute for a striker. leave the kids alone and encourage them in their development. By the way I voted for Danielson as player of the season. He is my player of the season.

Anonymous said...

Denilson has made me crazy all season. How many times was he just knocked off the ball in the first half of the year. I used to count until it got to double figures. I swear he passes sideways everytime he gets the ball, no matter what the situation. He always slowed up our play. Song as the season progressed began making more and more forward and dangerous passes, but not Denilson. He is too weak to tackle properly. Now it is true that he is young and he could get better. But I can not stand to watch him until he is. Loan him out somewhere Arsene so someone else can watch him develop, if he ever does. He is not quality enough for a side like Arsenal.

Anonymous said...

why didn't Song win more tackle then Danielson. Both of these guys helped out equally and are different. Song is slow but has a bit of physical present. Danielson is more mobile and covers a lot of ground. he works harder than Song.

Anonymous said...

i also beleive in what i saw with my eyes. denilson is not fabregas natural partner. his stat shows that he can assist and score goals. he also covers more ground than anyone else. he did made some good interceptions. he also play more games than any other arsenal players. what im trying to say, stats alone dont justifies his overall performance. flamini dont score much goals. he didnt give assist either. but everyone agreed he had a terrific season with arsenal. what we all saw is the truth. dont trust stats too much. what my eyes told me, denilson very much a side to side passer, he made some clumsy passing mistakes, he even missed some very easy passes. he's not ready to start regularly but maybe in 2 3 years time.

Anonymous said...

TrueGooner said are we also taking into account all the mistakes the rest of the Arsenal players made in dismissing Danielson contribution? I hope we are.

malvendent said...

wow i love that 22:57 anonymous comment
"looks like a chimpanzee" nice support.

no goals? try 3
no assists? try 7

your so classy

Anonymous said...

Thats coz everyone who thick he is shit are dickheads.

He's been our best and most consistent player this season so grow up you ignorant pieces of shit or go and support another fucking club you fucking wankers.

Anonymous said...

It is Fabregas who has been shit all season NOT Denilson.

Sell Fabregas. He is a puny, weak, pathetic excuse for a central midfielder who really has no place or natural position in the squad.

Wat has he contibuted this season. FUCK ALL.

EVERY GAME WE HAVE LOST FEATURED FABREGAS.

WE WERE ON AN UNBEATEN RUN UNTIL HE CAME BACK INTO THE SQUAD, RESULTING IN BOTH MAN U AND CHELSEA RAPING US UP THE ARSE.

Denilson, Diaby, Song and Nasri are the players we should be playing in central midfield. If Barcelona are offering £40 million for him then I'll drive him to the airport myself.

Anonymous said...

Tommi has summed it up perfectly.

"So funny to see once again so many people who have already made up their mind on Denilson. No matter how he actually plays, what the stats say, what Wenger says. No matter if the guy is the best interceptor in the the Premier League, the most accurate passer, fifth best tackler and the fourth most fouled player, no: he can't pass, at least forward (made those seven assists by mistake), he surely can't tackle and is totally useless in every sense. Please people, would you like to share your view on what exactly would Denilson need to do to even be a decent player?"

I would like to add that, HE HAD MORE INTERCEPTIONS THAN CLICHY DID LAST YEAR.

GROW UP YOU FUCKING PIECE OF SHIT PLASTIC ARSENAL FANS. IF YOU HAVE NO RESPECT OR AFFINITY TO OUR PLAYERS THEN YOU SHOULD FUCK OFF AND SUPPORT MAN POO OR CHAVSKI.

FABREGAS IS THE PROBLEM FOR ARSENAL.

WE WILL NOT WIN ANY TROPHIES WITH FABREGAS.

Anonymous said...

"He did play when we concede four against Liverpool."

That was because FAB4 was an absolute liability in midfield.

Watch the game before you comment you thick piece of shit.

Anonymous said...

All you stupid twats asking for ALONSO to partner Fabregas have really shown yourselves up for you complete lack of knowledge in football.

ALONSO IS NOT A DEFENSIVE MIDFIELDER!!! WAKE UP YOU THICK SHITS.

Alonso is the type of player that Fabregas should be aspiring to be, ie., a deep lying playmaker who can tackle a bit.

PLEASE WENGER. SELL FABREGAS, SILVESTRE AND SENDEROS. KEEP THE REST OF THE SQUAD TOGETHER. AND BUY LORIK CANA AND A TOP QUALITY CENTRE BACK.

THEN WE WILL BE A TITLE WINNING TEAM.

THE LONGER WE KEEP FAB4, THE LONGER WE WILL REMAIN IN 4TH.

Anonymous said...

To Anonymous 03:05 and 02:06

What the fxxk is wrong with you? At least Fabregas had won the euros with Spain! Although he is not the most consistent player this season, he remains one of our better players.

Regarding Denilson, no offence but he is consistently shit this year. Everytime he plays I feel we would lose (passing the ball to Diaby inside our own penalty box is classic). In fact I do not think he has improved during the season. Song, on the other hand, has improved significantly. Denilson at best would only be a squad player at our club.

Blade Runner said...

Denilson is an average player. It is as simple as that. If he is so goooooood like what many short-sighted gooners claimed why he is not being called up to the Brazil squad yet. Even bit-part player like Lucas Leiva (Liverpool) has been called up to the Brazil squad. To hell with potential. Messi is 21 and he is performing now. Cesc is 21 and he is also performing.Hellooooo!!! wakey, wakey. All of you gooners who thinks we can win anything with these "potentials" must be living in the dreamworld. Chelsea is chasing Kaka and Ribeiry as we speak. Man City is also chasing Kaka. Have faith in our own team ? Don't make me laugh. I live in the real world not the dream world.

Anonymous said...

Denilson discussions hot-up simply because his performance is inconsistent or inconvincible. The best way for him and for Arsenal is loan him away to an EPL team let him prove himself. Song has gone through this process and came back a better player. Denilson go and prove yourself!

Anonymous said...

Well, during our unbeaten run (Despite many injuries and including our captain), we only lost when he's not in the team and that says something.

Anonymous said...

LOL, what an unbeaten run means! Draw, Draw and Draw with average EPL teams how many times?

martian gooner said...

Let's face it... Fabregas needs to play with someone who will cover him.

Size ain't that important, it's about speed n power. You can be small but still have tons of power (look at Tevez).

However Denilson will never be Davids, Flamini (good but overrated), Diarra (top player) or Mascherano.

All the players above have speed or a very fast acceleration, which Denilson doesn't have. Speed brings u momentum which added to weight gives u power.

Fabregas is already slow but u can't have 2 slow central midfielders! u'll never dominate the midfield.

livexp said...

i believe both diaby ,song and denilson ,these are good players and the next season they will prove my word,the big problem of last season was our star cesc.his performance was poor compare to previous season,for me the main problem was hleb ,this guy was fantastic make cesc star that why he could able to copy.look at him in last season he didn't go deep to help partner in midfield as he used to do when he play with flamin;that why statistic show denlison was best player than flamin but he couldn't do good partner with cesc.

Anonymous said...

Denilson is be fine, just wait and see. I like him, I think he's a good player. He just had to learn the hard way. Cut the boy some slack

Anonymous said...

I cant believe the stick denilson has got this season.How many of you remember the first half of the season when almost everyone playing for us was below average?The likes of nasri,denilson, rvp kept us in the contention for atleast 4th.denilson has played the most number of matches in his first full season as a DM for us.hes 21, and is more of a creative player who has been asked to adapt to playing with cesc(albeit with no guidance on how to do it) and has done it exceptionally well without talking shit to the newspapers(like adebayor).He might not be the most towering player in a DM position but he constantly harries opposition, and even when he makes 5 yard passes( what the hell is a DM supposed to do be in a strikers position?) he does a good job of what HE HAS BEEN ASKED TO DO.so if any u have to blame wenger for picking him up and not denilson.i have a hunch that this yr he'll rip it apart in the midfield.he should bulk up a bit more and add a little bit of a bite to his game.thats all...for those of you who doubt his abilities chk out his goals,assists when he joined us...ull be amazed at his vision and range.Now hes been doing the water carrier's job silently.Appreciate him for that.

livexp said...

love football don't fall love with people we have statistic as reliable source of information.majority of our players were flop at beginning of season.i think if hleb was there and cesc was in form ,the guy gonna be a player of the year

Anonymous said...

I think what arsenal need is a defensive minded midfield player to partner fabregas. We need a player that gets stuck in there, breaks things up, makes his presence felt and take control of the midfield area. Put simply denilson is not yet ready to fill that position if arsenal want to win anything next season.Alonso and barry are not the answer. I think we need a more experienced song to play that role.

Anonymous said...

I hope he will learn and improve next season. he is a good player but yet to achieve the level we expect him to be. he is good when arsenal against lower team in the league but when hit comes to the big 4, he's just invisible on the pitch. he couldn't do much on big games and that's what the needs to improve

khoune said...

at denilson`s age in this season we saw how he is agood player just let him pass at least one more when he add more experience and improve his performence on how to shoot prekick and scoring goal then we will see how good is Denilson?

Anonymous said...

I think the problem is that people only watch Arsenal matches and the teams who play against us, and have nothing to compare with.

If you watched Manchester United when one of Vidic or ferdinand were out, you would have doubts over the whole "dominating center half" idea because it is quite clear that we need a partnership, not just a random clogger like Hangeland.

Same goes with Alonso, surely, had people watched some of his games, they would understand that Alonso is not a defensive midfielder?

All Cesc needs to do is learn to sit back more and Wenger needs to adapt a Barca-style 433 with nasri or rosicky playing the Iniesta role.

Arshavin, van persie and Eduardo/Bendtner up top.

Anonymous said...

Pardon my naivety, but if the job of a main job DM is to intercept passes and win tackles, and Denilson rates the highest (according to Stats) in these areas, surely that must mean something, but hey what do I know...

If we are to objectively name the Top 5 Arsenal Players this season, I know Cesc won't be in my list but no one is slating him. (yes I know he was out for 3 months). While majority of our players were rolling in and out of the treatment room, Denilson was busy getting the job done and some still think he's not fit to play for Arsenal.

Anonymous said...

I have been angry about Denilson. As many Arsenal fans comments, I think he can only pass sideway and not agressive and strong enough in def. I would depress. Whenever I found he was on the starting XI list, I would believe it would be a hard game. Even more, I think the main responisibility of Wenger was if he has used Nersi to play as midfield play maker but not Denilon when F4 was not available (i like and respect Wenger and he is important for the team).

However, after reading so much comment on Denilson, now I think he is not outstanding but not super bad. He has not been performed well (in my opinion of course) is because he or Wenger has not found the right position for him.

He is not a good playmaker (I anger with this side pass)and too weak and aggressive to def (not good to be a DM)but he may be quite all rounded to be a CM. Last season and early this season, he did perform well. At that time seems that he played with F4 as kind of parallel CM.Both share the work in moving ball and def. While later on when F4 out of service, he was assigned to be a play maker where he was not capable to be esp in making through pass. After F4 return, Wenger wanted F4 to be an AM instead of CM and Deilson once again loss his ground when he played as a DM.

I did agree some of you guy said, he may not play very good this season, but we should not take him too bad, as last we should respect him.

He may not be a star player and I am not sure whether he can be.At this moment, the team may need to buy an better quality mid to part with F4.

Even so, I think an alternative for the team is using F4 or another new or existing player as CM (I don't prefer F4 play as a play maker but not as an AM, I think his run, pace and shoot are not good enough to be AM but his outstanding passing version will be wasted if he does not has too much create to touch the ball if he stays too front as an AM. If then, Denilson can be a back up player to part with F4

Anonymous said...

Anon 12:04, sorry, but that post is waaaayyy too hard to understand.

Anonymous said...

Arguments against Denilson:

Only passes sideways (7 assists, 3 more than the more offensive minded Alonso, and what else is a defensive midfielder supposed to do?)

Can't tackle to save his life (5th best tackler in the league)

Didn't do anything in our unbeaten run where all we did was draw games (he's a defensive midfielder, we conceded barely any goals in the unbeaten run and it's not his fault that RVP's finishing is shit)

Also, for those of you saying Fabregas is shit, let me remind you this guy got 16 assists this season (about as many as Xavi, probably the best central midfielder in the world) despite missing 3 months of the season. I do think he needs to improve though, and it seems his main problems haven't been addressed over the years.

Anonymous said...

Oh and Denilson always gives 100 per cent and has better endurance than Fabregas.

Anonymous said...

Sell Fabregas?

Jesus! The world has gone mad.

Denilson = Average.

Good squad player. Never a first teamer.

Anonymous said...

Do you think managers of Man U, Chelsea and Liverpool having similar faith in Denilson's ability like AW? I don't think so. Over the year I have never seen a piece of rumour linking him to any other club. That shows Denilson has just been an average player.

Anonymous said...

Denilson is shit. HAHA. You ignorant twats.

Statistics don't lie but they can be misleading. This is especially true when a player who has played very few games manages to have better stats that a player who has played more games.


It took Arshavin (our best player) to come out and say how important Denilson was before anyone took notice. The squad should revolve around Denilson who is the most accurate passer in the league.

Fabregas is the slowest and weakest member of our squad. He really is a pathetically weak excuse of a man. Consistently fouling and giving away dangerous free kicks like the one against Chelsea in the FA Cup Semi final from which Chelsea scored. He should've got sent off in that match because of his poor tackling.

He is playing like a broken man and I feel that there are a lot of players who resent him and his best mate Flamini was the one who inspired him. Now that he is gone he is playing like a broken man.

Fabregas did fuck all for Spain in the Euro's. He was mostly on the bench because the pairing of Xavi and Iniesta forced him out of the squad. With Alonso and Senna also in the Spanish squad he is effectively 5th choice.

Fabregas can't be compared to Iniesta because he doesn't have the speed and trickery to beat players like Iniesta does or even score the kind of goals that Iniesta does.

He is more like Xavi or Alonso in my eyes a deep lying playmaker who can also tackle and in that sense Fabregas must learn how to tackle otherwise he cannot be remotely considered to be the best at what he does.

The only problem is that Fab4 is a long way away from being the finished article. True he is only 21 but I don't see him at his peak until at least 24-25 and the way he constantly flirts with Barcelona every year pisses me off. Send him back to Spain.

A 4-3-3 incorporating Denilson, Diaby and Song is the future and our best hopes of winning silverware.

Sorry FAB4 but your time is over.

Anonymous said...

I am sorry, but what is wrong with some people? I mean mentally wrong. Illness like, you know. Proper mentally ill people like the guy above.

I was thinking, great point about Denilson, then you start coming out with retarded drivel.

Anonymous said...

think you r wrong on the article mate, Denilson is a better player than Cesc. He passes sideways cause there is no bloody movement in front of him. Cesc make him look poor. Denilson needs a new partner, someone like Gerrard who not only makes beautiful passes but also carries his weight and defends!!!

Anonymous said...

u guys seem to not knw much abt soccer, stating Denilson is a better player than Cesc.

Wake up Gooners!!!

Denilson does not belong in the starting 11 at all.

One shud wonder how he ever thought a football as a career!!!

Apollo said...

I agree wit 14.28 fabreagas(tho a good player)is over rated. I personally feel denilson can do wot fabregas does on the pitch plus track players and tackle.basically, denilson is a betterplayer i.e does what he is meant to do,with out any fuss.The reason cesc as been found out this season is because there is no hleb to hold the ball up for him and there is no flamoney to do the harassing and tackling.The 1 thing about world class players is dat they don't need other players to play better.