Jon Sammels

Now I know I've likened Bendtner to the raw John Radford (perhaps Bendtner's never managed to get less than raw) in the past but how about Tomas Rosicky as Jon Sammels? I don't mean physically as such but some of his passes, his movement and shooting - especially against WBA this weekend - I've been struck by how similar the styles are.

Jon Sammels used to have a cracking shot from distance that always seemed to dip late. I thought he was a good player.
I'm no fan of Rosicky, though I am grateful for his two goals yesterday. For me he is a luxury player, we've had too many, very good when you're on top but not really up for the fight when you're not.
This was very apparent when the tide turned in the second half against WBA, then he was about as much use as a cardboard leg in the rain, should have been subbed earlier.

That's another similarity, perhaps - a lot of Gooners didn't like/appreciate Jon Sammels back then. I suspect quite a lot don't have much time for Rosicky these days. Me, I think Rosicky is a forward-going player, he likes to pass ahead, always looking to move the ball/himself forward - even when we don't have the ball he's the one chasing the furthest upfield to win it back. Tackling? He can't. So he's a player at his best in a good team. In a struggling team you're not gonna see much - hence Saturday, when we were good he was great, when we (almost) fell apart he was absent.

Plus he's been on 70K a week and absent for most of his time with us and it is true to say that there is no place for him in our team when Wilshire and Cazorla are both fit.
He is a luxury but that's not to say there's no place for him in our squad...... but at 70k a week?????

What footballers "earn" is ridiculous anyway - if they're more often injured than not it just exacerbates the situation in our eyes (think Diaby, RvP) - so I try not to think (you may have noticed). However I'd rather have (a fit) Rosicky in our squad than playing against us.