Tuesday 5 January 2010

Is Carlton Cole good enough for Arsenal?

If you would have asked me whether Carlton Cole was good enough for Arsenal 18 months ago I probably would have pissed my Superman pants with laughter.

A player who began his career at Chelsea, spent loan spells at Wolves, Charlton Athletic and Aston Villa before finally signing for West Ham (confused yet?) on a permanent deal. Does this sound like a player who is Arsenal material?

Probably not.

Nowadays I have to say that my opinion on Cole has completely changed. If you would ask me whether Carlton Cole was good enough for Arsenal at this moment I wouldn't piss my Superman pants with laughter anymore. I would say yes. Why, yes he is.

Carlton Cole has been transformed from the player he was early in his career. The credit for that must go to West Ham and Gianfranco Zola. They have given him the belief to become the force he is today in the Premiership.

An aerial threat, strong, imposing and a handful for any defence, not to mention that he can play as a lone striker, Cole would be ideal for Arsenal. And I think that West Ham, rather reluctantly, would accept an offer below their real valuation of him because of their financial difficulties.

There is also the added bonus that Cole would be available for selection in the Champions League and FA Cup. Not to mention that Cole is very much in mind for Fabio Capello's World Cup squad. The England man will be very keen to impress Capello in the build up to South Africa 2010.

A move to us from West Ham wouldn't unsettle Cole either due to the fact that both clubs are based in London.

My only gripe with Carlton is that in the past he hasn't scored enough goals. Well, he has even improved that aspect of his attributes in recent times scoring 10 times in 27 Premiership appearances last season whilst netting a very impressive 7 in 13 games this campaign.

Well, Adebayor scored many goals for Arsenal so if he can, so can Carlton Cole!

Of all the rumours flying around about who we will sign, and Wenger openly admitting that he wants a striker, I see Cole as a very realistic contender. He is definitely good enough for Arsenal.

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

67 comments:

Anonymous said...

Would rather Dzenko.

goonerrez said...

Still injury prone though. I agree good player reaching a commendable level of consistency. Would you accept another injury prone player at the club? I don't think I could.

Anonymous said...

Myles Palmer reckons Hugo Rodallega but then that prat wouldn't tell the difference from his arse to his elbow.

Gooner P said...

Who's Myles Palmer?

Anonymous said...

NO NO NO

Anonymous said...

He could lead the line for Arsenal very well. We could do with a powerful player like him.

Like it or not, we have lacked a phsical presence since Ade-Whore left.

Anonymous said...

Cole... Yes Please.

Anonymous said...

heard a whisper today that this is on the cards plus wait for it Sol Campbell on a pay as you play contract until the end of the season

Wrighty7 said...

I've heard the Sol rumour too.

Anonymous said...

YES,CARLTON COLE IS BETTER THAN BENDTNER.I RATHER SEE HIM PLAY FOR US THAN BENDTNER.

Anonymous said...

Sol might make sense as what top quality centre half is going to sign knowing they will have to play second fiddle to Gallas and Vermaelan

Juan Carlos said...

Dzeko- Great player but will cost atleast 20million. Do we really, really Need a 20 million striker when we have RVP, arshavin, eduardo, super Nik, vela, watt???

Cole- He would be a Great STOP-GAP signing for 6 months but after that, do you honestly think he would get playing time with the strikers that are AllREADY at our club?

Rodallega? too volatile of a character. i know colombians and they are most deff NOT the type of players wenger ever goes after.

Sol?!?! It would be a Great signing!! we need, stress on NEED another body. he would be cheap, offer another option, and is an arsenal man. we need some decent cover besides silvestre incase our worst nightmare (either gallas or vermaelen get injured, or god forbid both) becomes a reality.

Anonymous said...

I believe people like Cole, Bellamy, Zamora, Bent al suffer from the same, which is they are good for shit teams, but shit for good teams...just look at bellamy for liverpool...

Anonymous said...

Yup, let's buy him & he can fall down like a sack of spuds in the oppositions' penalty boxes when players stand next to him just as he did when playing against us...

Chris M said...

idk bout Cole u guys heard bout GK Jan Mucha coming to us on a trial he's 27 so i guess Wenger does see a lil need in the GK position

Anonymous said...

I can't believe people still think we will sign a Carlton Cole, no chance.

We have Bendtner back in 2 weeks guys, we have Van Persie with him next season.

If you say Bendtner plays forward, we have 6 players capable of playing Forward (Eduardo, Nasri, Walcott, Arshavin, Eboue, Rosicky, Wilshere).

We will maybe make a loan signing or buy a cheap player.

Personally i would like to see us take a flier on Jermaine Beckford, out of contract next season so possibly available for £3m.

Not necessarily the answer but certainnly more plausible than Carlton Cole.

Anonymous said...

Forget Carlton Cole - I Wenger seriously going to let Micah Richards join the Spuds?!? Surely this is a perfect Wenger buy, great cover for the ineveitable injury that will befall one of our CBs and great at RB for Eboue's absence.

I think we need to bombard Wengers office with BUY MICAH RICHARDS flyers!

Anonymous said...

carlton cole...NO please NO, just another cheapest option

Anonymous said...

also people talk about van persie being back next season, forget that, he will be back but he will get injured once again, thats the only guarantee with robin

Anonymous said...

with every passing day i think it's less and less likely we will buy anyone.

arsene should hold out for dzeko. pay i good price but not one over the odds. £17-20 million is probably the right figure. i know they want £30 million but look at the arshavin situation last year. i would rather he didn't buy than bring someone in just for the sake of it.

to those that say "well bendtner is back in two weeks" i say it doesn't matter. van persie is basically out for the entire season. if bendtner gets injured again we are short up front (literally). we need two players and now we have the space for them, especially as wenger doesn't have to give a spot in the squad to merida anymore.

i don't usually agree with myles palmer but i think rodallega isn't actually a bad shout. i like carlton cole but i think he should stay at a team where he's going to be starting every week, otherwise it will probably upset his performances. plus he's just as injury prone as what we already have.

in a dream world i'd love to see us sign dzeko and a player who can cover song AND play centre back. i doubt we will get either but lets see.

Anonymous said...

No. Cole is good enough for West Ham but playing for Arsenal is a different level.
IMHO Nic is a better player and is 6 years (i think) younger.

The fee that Cole would command would be way over his real value, add to that the fact he is English meaning an even more hefty price tag.

As for Sol. He was great for us but that was in the past. His days of playng at the top level are over, they were over 2 years ago.

Signing him is not an option. His last season with us was pretty poor and he's lost more than a yard of pace since then. Sol of 7 years ago, yes but not the Sol of 2010 Thank you.

Song can play centre-half if needed and i think we have enough cover in midfield for that to be an option if it was needed.

We possibly need an extra body at the back and probably a loan deal rather than a permanent signing but Sol is NOT that man.

Chinmay said...

Will Wenger buy a English player?

Anonymous said...

Interesting one this one!
I think Charlton Cole would be a good buy right now, but what do you do afterwards when RVP is back in the side? It's difficult enough to see a physical presence like Bendtner on the wings,although he does well there. But what u do with Cole? Wanna stick him on the wing 2?

Can't see Sol coming, but I'd be happily surprised :)

donut said...

I have been trying to think of a player who can fill in at dmid and cd also and I've found one.... Vincent kompany
when vieria signs for city with Barry, dejong and Ireland he will be surplus at dmid. If city buy new cd he will be surplus there too. He is Belgian and could long term work with verminator also.
Wenger loves to save money and with kompany you get two for one.

Pmj said...

Carlton Cole is only good 4 d Hammers,(look at his stats) n also injury prone. Beside have u really looked at our injury list from start of season. Walcott, Rosicky, Eduardo, Denilson have all been on n off. Bendtner hasn't played in 3months. wats d probability he won't have setbacks beside we never really replace Ade.
Also RVP has always picked injury b4 every Jan ever since we got him, so if we can get another "ARSHAVIN bargain" in Dzeko who rearly gets injuried(14m+player) 2 cover its better than an 'older Jay Simpson' in carlton cole. Fans wake up.

Maran said...

Do not be fooled by talks of Bendtner returning. It is of no use. He is not what Arsenal needs. What Arsenal needs is a world class reliable striker. Even RVP is not there yet. Someone of Dzeko quality will be good. That would signal intent. If not, just continue with the current stock. Carlton Cole is definitely better than Bendtner as striker, but I doubt he can blend with the gunner's blend of football in short notice.

Anonymous said...

1. Myles Palmer is plank. Rodellaga is a waste of space.

2. Carlton Cole would be high on Wenger's list if he was fit today. He isn't so it a pointless signing with our killer games coming up in 3 weeks.

3. Sol Campbell? You're having a laugh! He's so wooden now it looks like someone threw a kitchen table on the pitch. Senderos is better than Sol now.

4. All for the Micah Richards petition. Top player and a Gooner.

5. What are the odds a Bolton cunt injures one of our players tomorrow to add to our list?

Anonymous said...

Cole has improved beyond recognition and I think is a premiership class striker.
I watch most prem matches and he's decent on the ground and in the air.
My one worry would be that he might not fit in to the link up type footie we play.
Adebayor used to break up so many moves where he'd lose control of the ball or end a flowing move with a poor first touch.
I haven't seen any evidence to suggest that Cole can play the Arsenal way.
Pay for Dzeko is the answer.

Smelly said...

Carlton Cole will NEVER play for Arsenal.

You lot are mad.

Anonymous said...

Cole to Arsenal for £9m.
Back Page of Wednesday's Sun.
That must mean its Bollox!

Anonymous said...

Why does Wenger see Chamakh as an Arsenal striker?

He's got quick feet (essential for any Arsenal player).

He's got a good turn of pace.

He makes intelligent runs, both to the ball and in behind.

Any striker we buy will have these attributes. Carlton Cole and Dzeko are not the right TYPE of player for Wenger's system.
They are merely the players so called football experts seem to think we need.

Anonymous said...

he was never on my radar until this post.i'd definately take him for a maximum £10 mil.

Unknown said...

superior work rate and he never gives up......i would say ideal for arsenal is carlton cole....if a player is willin to work his socks off like carlton does then thes no harm givin him a try...

Unknown said...

superior work rate and he never gives up......i would say ideal for arsenal is carlton cole....if a player is willin to work his socks off like carlton does then thes no harm givin him a try...

Anonymous said...

Work rate? We might as well bring back Paul Dickov!

C'mon guys Cole has poor touch, little vision and is no improvement on Bentdner or even Jay Simpson. Just look at all our previous strikers since Wrighty.... Kanu, Henry, Dennis, Wiltord, even Ade*$*#, they can all play Wengerball!

I think there's a clamour for Cole only bcos he's English. If we must have that, then let's use home grown talent and bring Simpson back! Personally I think we need an Arshvin type buy.... someone classy and experienced who will IMPROVE our squad.....oh and yes he will cost some wonga

Anonymous said...

Myles Palmer is a shit talker... ALWAYS SAY WENGER IS NOT GOOD ENOUGH... ALSO SAY HENRY IS A PUFFER...I HATE THIS PERSON..

Anonymous said...

Buy Micah Richards, buy veloso and get cartlton cole! Buy somebody Wenger! Spend some bloody money and go for the EPL title and Champion league! We don't need anymore youngsters who will perform in the future we need experience players NOW!!!

Anonymous said...

personally if we could get him for 9 mil i would do it in a heart beat wenger was looking to pay mor for chamkh and he aint really special everyones saying hes only had one good season need i remind you of ade?reyes? man utd brought christiano ronaldo based on one performance and i think that carlton cole has what it takes hes strong he scores in most situations and right now he is not receiving the support he should be getting but still he makes something out of nothing i would prefer him over dzeko because dzeko has never played in the league and may need time to adjust plus remember the english rule coming into effect next year which means prices for english players will probably go up again!!!

Anonymous said...

you wont sign him, he's english

arsenal are a racist club, wenger probably licks anjem choudary's balls

Siddharth said...

well if you think about it we actually need a sol campbell type replacement upfront as well.. someone who can do the job and when the time come's step down and let the old guns in.. buying another striker is only going to saturate the squad which is weak only due to its injury prone players.. arsenal or the ashton eleven?

Anonymous said...

Gabriel Agbonlahor why has he not mentioned id have him over cole and dzeko any day

Sam_India said...

Micah Richards would solve our Song absence at DM, Eboue absence at RB and once they are back , he could be our 3rd CB. Maybe if Gallas leaves this summer, he would be 1st choice with vermaelen. No adaptation required. He loves arsenal. quick and good in the air.

I believe Micah might cost close to the Vermaelen fee and not too much.

Sam_India said...

And I do not think Carlton cole is good enough for Arsenal and He is injured all the time. We have too many crocks already.

SK Lee said...

Believe it or not, I have thought of Carlton Cole joining Arsenal a few months ago.

He is most definitely good enough for Arsenal. Only thing is, at 26 years old, there might not be too much room for improvement.

Anonymous said...

Micah Richards is toilet, that's why nobody wants him. He's an archetypal english player - big, strong, quick...technically and tactically woeful. the most ludicrous suggestion of all was that he could play DM..ahahahhahahah haha hahahahahah aha ha

Carlton Cole is injured right now, why would we sign him as cover for our own injured players? Amazing.

In an ideal world we take someone on loan for 6 months, someone who is fit right now, warming a sub bench somewhere and raring to play. Babel? Can he hold the ball up? Pavyluchenko? On second thoughts that would mean dealing with that idiot Levy and his 'negotiating skill'. Maybe someone from the Russian league that Arshavin can recommend. Ditch them after 6 months and then put all our cash into an offer for Benzema.

Anonymous said...

you guys wee need cole.I hate it when we play against a team like chelsea because we always get bullied soo bad. its quite embarrassing to be honest. secondly we need a plan B when we play, our slick, intricate, football doesnt always break down the oppositions defence. we need a target man up front who we can cross the ball to so he can get his head to it.(carlton cole) thats my opinion

Anonymous said...

CARLTON COLE IS A GOOD PLAYER AND WE NEED SOME STRONG, BIG, GOOD HEADING ABILITY.. PLEASE NO-ONE ELSE WHO'S TECHNICALLY GIFTED BUT SMALL! WE ARE HARDLY ANY THREAT FROM CORNERS. EVERYONE NEEDS TO YOUTUBE Edin Dzeko AND SEE HOW GOOD THIS GUY IS. FORGET BEING CUP TIED FOR CHAMPIONS LEAGUE. EVEN IF HE COSTS US £20-30 MILLION IT'LL BE WORTH IT. HE IS 23 AND LOOKS AS GOOD, IF NOT BETTER THAN Zlatan Ibrahimović! IF AC MILAN, REAL MADRID AND MAN UTD WANT THIS GUY, THEN HE'S CERTAINLY GOOD ENOUGH FOR US.

Anonymous said...

Adebayor looks better than Pele on YouTube. Don't mean shit.

arsenal said...

How about daren bent?? I think he's better than c.cole.. N for DM I think micah richards is good player.

GoonerVance said...

I understand both sides of the argument, but the prospect of multiple defenders having to contend with a big lone striker is too enticing to pass up. Remember the West Ham game? Carlton Cole troubled Gallas and Vermaelen more than any other striker in the EPL, I don't count Drogba because they just kicked our ass at every position really. Bendtner plays left wing for Denmark and he plays right wing for us, and I haven't seen him have the kind of decisive touch a lone striker needs. Nick needs time on the ball, he can't get that at CF. Cole creates time with his strength and he uses it well. He may not be able to finish as well as RvP, but he has the capability to do things that Van Persie can't.

lutongooner said...

When Bendtner is fit we've got out physical presence up front. Remember the home game vs United last season when he played as a loan striker and ran Ferdinand ragged.

I like Cole he's been excellent for the last 18 months, but yeh he is injury prone. Maybe part of the reason for that is he has to do so much running at West Ham because he is their main man. Perhaps if he's playing with two others next to him he can concentrate his game around the box more.

I know a lot of you will disagree but I think we should go for Babel. He was always an Arsenal player but we had too many players in his position for us to sign him at the time.

Now you're gonna he's been crap and he has, but that's down to him playing under Benitez who is the complete opposite to Wenger when it comes to man-management. The guy hasn't started more than 3 or 4 games in a row and when he does play it's on the left of midfield.

We all know his position is either the left of a front 3 or just behind the main striker which means he would suit our system perfectly. I think with confidence he could play as the main front man as well because of his pace and although his shooting can be erratic, he has one hell of a right foot on him.

Money wise he will be in our budget and because of his age there's still time for Wenger to mould him into the player that hhe was always meant to be.

Unknown said...

nothing wrong with Rodallega, i think myles has got is spot on with this one. us signing cole would be like the spuds signing bent. they have both found their level and should stay there.

Anonymous said...

Thought that Bendntner waa back on the 17th

Anonymous said...

cole would be a good addition to the club for no more then 10m, hes decent not great, and would provide a different option, but it would seem english players come with highly inflated prices so i doubt hed be in that price range

hulk or falcao from porto wouldnt be bad options, given that theres no chance of dzeko joining

Anonymous said...

not sayin anything..enough said..

Anonymous said...

No no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no

No Carlton Cole.

Come on.

Go with what you got Wenger. It's been good enough thus far, and there are no bargains in the January window unless you wait until the last minute, and by then you'll have Bendtner back. Forget buying anyone, unless it's cover at the back i.e. Miguel Veloso, Mahamadou Sahko, Micah Richards.

Next summer - then use your kitty. Lloris for goal, Ozil and Hazard for the midfield.

Anonymous said...

did u see what chelsea done to us. we had zero strengh up top with little men. id love cole at the gunners. some real english grit and ability for a warrior. bentnder and cole up front. everybody gets injured so all strikers will be needed and he could be the man eduardo needs, abit like hesky and owen. if not than sell eduardo.
please sign him

Anonymous said...

As much as Cole could do a good job at the Arsenal, he's prone to injury and we definitely do not need any more fragile players at our club.

Unknown said...

I have been suggesting Cole for a while now. He is a changed player under Zola and has the touch and movement to suit our style of play.

His height, power and pace would also be a much needed lift to our team.

Anonymous said...

For first time Wrighty you got it wrong. Carlton Cole is just going to be another Reyes. Dont see him cutting it for Arsenal. The demand on him is going to be to bang in regularly in 3 competitions. He struggles with one or probably 2. No please. I would rather a 20 million pound bid for Dzeko.

Anonymous said...

you people calling for Dzeko are really misguided by tabloid headlines How is he top tier World Class, good yes but not what people are building him up to be.
being top scorer in the bundesliga is no barometer for moving to the prem
e.g. a young Kezman scores close to 40 goals in holland, comes to the prem struggles a bit then gets shipped on
a more realistic player is a Stefan Kiessling or Gignac....
just you wait
by Ademywhore

Anonymous said...

everybody gets injured from dzenko to essien to cesc fabrigas so thats abit dumb. come with another reason not to sign him, all i see is good reasons

Anonymous said...

The Eredivisie does not even compare to the Bundesliga. I wouldn't say the German league is amazing but there are some very good defenders in that division and it is in fact very similar to the Premier League in terms of tempo and aggression.

Yes German clubs might have struggled in Europe in recent years, but I think now we are seeing a revival, whereas the Dutch league is now purely a shop window for young up and coming Dutch players.

Anonymous said...

i watched dzenko play in the champions league and to me he is no better than bendtner (to me bendtner has improved as much as diarby or denilson, quite impressive b4 he got injured). i watched the german league and yes it is better than the dutch league but not much. very boring leagues not like england or spain. arsene would buy him but very cheap like chamach. teams in manchester pay those dumb price ie berbatov, jo adebawhore.

Marko said...

Cole's a good enough player but because he's english he's slightly overrated and would cost an arm and a leg. Much prefer Dzeko, Chamakh, Gervinho or Progreniak.

Anonymous said...

Who's the mug on here who keeps calling Dzeko - Dzenko? Twat!

Anonymous said...

Chamakh was perfect for us, but wenger 'effed that one up perfectly, whoops there goes another season. Could've had him for six and we offered only five, genius.