Morning all.

There’s a lot of stories about us being in talks with Nice over the signing of David Ospina. In fact The Metro believe these talks are at an advanced stage and a deal could be very close. Hmm, that’s funny as The Mirror suggest it’s John Ruddy.

I don’t think it will be long before not only a goalkeeper is confirmed but one or two others too. Sami Khedira is one possibility, Arsene Wenger has been raving about him during this World Cup as have many Arsenal fans and once tonight’s final is done and dusted, if we are serious about him, things should progress quickly and I suspect he’ll want his future sorted out before he goes on holiday. Just hope Jose doesn’t win this one.

Tonight is a huge night for Mesut Ozil, Lukas Podolski, Per Mertesacker and their team-mates of course and I for one hope they can beat Argentina, lift the World Cup and then our boys get a good rest before they return for pre-season.

One player heading out again and that’s Wellington Silva, the player who has been on loan for what seems like years, is again heading away from Arsenal. This time he’s going to Almeria for a season. Will he ever play for the Arsenal, I doubt it as suggestion is his contract expires this time next year. Another waste of time, money and effort in my opinion.

Here’s today’s post:

All in all I really enjoyed this World Cup. The standard of attacking football was of a high quality, the defending, less so…

The players who impressed me were many and varied, but I shall pick my best five, excluding Sanchez who I rated the best, and who is thankfully an Arsenal player..

See how they compare with your favourites…

Thomas Muller is a great team man who never stops working for the cause. He is also a regular goalscorer and not least a scorer of important goals, due to his cool head and intelligent play. For defenders he is a right nuisance, a real pain in the derrière, an irritating sod who is liable to turn up on your blind side, steal the ball, score a goal and make you look a chump. Top quality player.

Antoine Griezmann, who despite the name, isn’t German, but French. He has a sure, deft, almost gentle touch as he caresses the ball and will dart into the box a la Freddie, to flick the ball home. He’s not afraid to get stuck in despite his slight frame and isn’t afraid to head the ball either. Comparisons with Robert Pires are obvious to me. He’s technical, stylish and a proper footballer.

Mathieu Valbuena is like Griezmann, in that he is small of build but he also is a huge talent. A midfield artiste who drifted around the midfield linking play but also industrious in a manner similar to Cazorla. A wonderful technician with the ball. Intelligent without it, always available, supporting his team mates and there for a pass.Another stylish, proper footballer.

Sami Khedira just oozes class, he’s another player who makes the game seem so easy. Pass and move, pass and move. All sounds so simple doesn’t it, well to Khedira it is. Outstanding accuracy in his passing, keeping the team moving whilst constantly probing the opposition for weaknesses. A supreme technician who made the German team tick and would turn any team of outsiders into a team of title contenders. A brilliant footballer…

Morgan Schneiderlin . The biggest surprise to me about him, is why he wasn’t a regular starter in the French team. But as Wath reminded me, nor was Koscielny, so work that out? Schneiderlin controlled the midfield with a minimum of fuss, not for his thundering tackles, so it’s easy not to notice him as he goes about his work. Accurate and varied range of passing, he always seemed to have time on the ball, which is a sign of quality. His tackling was beyond question, which makes me wonder why he hasn’t been snapped up by one if Europe’s big clubs already? Another proper footballer…

Those were my top five, but I was also hugely impressed with James Rodriguez, Juan Cuadrado, Lucas Biglia, Tony Kroos (top top class) and the best in his position in the entire World Cup, Arturo Vidal…

Oh, and just to keep Wath happy, Angel Di Maria, he was quite good. 😉

Go Germany!!

Written by Allezkev.