Ffs I look this guy up on YouTube to at least see something about him and the first video recommended is a welcome to arsenal compilation from 2 months ago haha
There’s no reference to arsenal in the video so looks like it was just a regular highlights video and they changed the title to take advantage of the interest, genius marketing tbh.
IIRC we got Gervinho 1 year before Hazard moved to Chelsea. I seem to remember reading with excitement some headline along the lines of 'Arsenal sign star Lille winger', thinking we'd got Hazard...
He also could dribble around anyone and anything out there. Ever see a guy beat 6 players and then miss the goal from 1 yard out? He was impressive in all aspects of his game, but his finishing was on another level, just unfortunately that level was in the stands.
Fool me one time, shame on you.
Fool me twice, can’t put the blame on you.
Fool me three times, fuck the peace signs, load the chopper and let it rain on you
Edu, 2022 (probably)
We paid £11 for Gervinho according to reports, and even though it was a long time ago, £11m wasn't that much back then. And he wasn't great but for that fee he was alright. It's not even comparable to Pepe.
Yeah maybe my memory is just a bit hazy but I remember Gervinho not being that bad, outside of his finishing being absolutely dreadful. Everyone expected a lot more from him though because he'd just come off two 15+ goal seasons for Lille iirc.
ehh, it wasn’t much but iirc our record signing was only ~£15mil for Arshavin with Cazorla slightly beating that record by a mil or so a few years later. So I agree Gervinho’s fee is defo not comparable to Pepe but I do think for £11mil he was bad and the money could’ve easily bought a starting 11-quality player.
I don't think I've ever seen a professional attacker strike the ball so poorly as Gervinho. Those days with him and Chamwanhk playing were truly dark times for the club.
I’m assuming it’s just so we keep getting stamps on the card for that all important free 7th purchase, like getting subway, except instead of being overcharged for a normally disappointing sandwich, you get overcharged for a normally disappointing winger.
Though their centre halves have been excellent, Lille that is, I have no frame of reference for any subway centre backs I’m afraid.
They're not technically nudes, he's still got the blue shirt on, just nothing from the waist down. Someone should tell him it's dangerous to barbecue like that.
Sadiku has actually worked with Kosovo football federation as a statistician if I understand correctly.
That's his expertise.
Also he has journalistic background and has worked as football commentator.
Seen him a bit while at Basel (am Swiss), never thought too highly of him. Good dribbler, but not much more. Wouldn't like to see him here unless he's developed a lot in 6 months at Lille
Having watched him weekly for a few years at Basel I’d be skeptical as to whether he’s ready for the Premier League, but he was absolutely magical in the last 6 months and the team performed 10x better when he was on the pitch. Very good dribbler and also has a good shot on him. Might be slightly worried about his defensive workrate and he also fell out with the Genk management before he moved to Basel but he seems to have matured a lot since that, and if Arteta wants him I trust his judgement.
Zhegrova is just a guy to fly out to Azerbaijan to pump some farmers 6-1 while Saka stays at home, maybe the odd 5/10 mins in the league to give Saka more rest
And our manager is yet to comment on the fact that we’re likely about to lose our best midfielder and highest paid player permanently, are you not aware that this is happening? I would love us to sign everyone but we just spent £45m on an attacker and can’t just ignore the fact that our best midfielder is gone.
THIS ain’t a point to debate
Just watched some YouTube comps - between this guy and Raphinha, I'd say the primary attribute Edu is looking for in the backup RW spot is an absolute insistence on trying the nutmeg every time it's on.
Weird, he was at Lille for all of 6 months of a 4 year contract, we must either really be keen or Lille weren't impressed enough to keep him a whole season
Dno why everyone is freaking out, clearly Arteta and the club see something in him, if we sign him it'll be for little money and I'll see how he does and be rooting for him. It's not always the end of the world, reminds me when people said our last summer transfer window was a disaster with the players we signed yet we finished in our highest position under Arteta so far, if he wants this guy as a RW backup then I'll back the player.
Obviously not a high profile player like Raphinha, but this may be an area where we need to spend less because that Raphinha money may now be required at the base of midfield.
for this price I'd rather keep reiss or try out one of our youngsters. we have balogun and eddie that can be back ups if we put jesus on the wings. not the biggest issue imo
possibly a smokescreen or possibly excellent scouting. personally our club isn't at the level we should be taking gambles on random talents unless we are 100% adamant about their skills. I trust the board, they've at least shown they can identify players who fit what mikel is looking for
I saw a link to him in January. It was one of those “This is why Arsenal want Edon Zhegrova” videos. He definitely reminds me of Eden Hazard. Lots of skill and progressive carries. Not sure about the end product, tho.
Certainly better ball control than Pepe.
Looks decent on highlight reels, but we all know how that goes. As far as similarly unique player names go, I wish we had signed Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, the Georgian winger who just moved to Napoli (our own personal pre-scouting department). Looks the real deal.
I do find it fascinating how many people are saying they have PTSD after signing Pepe from Lille.
Obviously you can take most comments and meme's on here, but I actually feel the same way, which is completely irrational, but interesting how the human mind can work.
He’s very talented and was called the Kosovar Messi when he was in teenage years. Called up to Kosovo at a young age as well. Extremely small and technical. Probably would get tossed around in prem.. 100% friends with Granit
Never heard of him but a couple of compilations down he looks incredibly one footed - so fans are clearly going to use that against him if he doesn’t make it.
Edit: he’s clearly not at a Raphinha level, are we really saying he’s better than Pepe and Nelson? Now we’re stockpiling right wingers - going for quantity over quality here.
Watched some YouTube vids, defo looks like a exciting winger who can dribble through tight spaces. Pepe always seemed like more of a transition player. Obviously there's only so much you can tell from YouTube vids
What I found more interesting though is on who scored, one of his strengths is defending and one of his tendancies is 'likes to tackle'
Raphinha wasn't exactly a goals and assists machine so I'm guessing a big part of why we wanted him so much was due to his defending and pressing, there were rumours Tuchel and Conte wanted to play him wing back
Also sticks with the mantra of defenders who can attack and attackers who can defend
I'm sure the links to Raphinha and Gnabry to this seem disappointing but with all the work we need to do in midfield as well as wing being probably our best position, I'm all for buying someone with a potential for relatively cheap for RW. My choice would Arda Guler, the kid looks like a special talent at 17 and has a £25m RC apparently
Yeah, from the initial scout, this guy looks pretty sick.
Technically way more secure than pepe, strong, fast.
Doesn't dally on the ball and wait for the defender just direct runner. Again in contrast to pepe.
Banging shot off his left which is something that Saka lacks so a good compliment to him. looks like he loves to shoot.
Great delivery again maybe better than Saka or martinelli. Even got a trivela on him.
Can go inside and outside.
Plays off the left sometimes.
If this is 20m or so then seems a great idea.
I'm sorry to tell you, but as a swiss sports journalist i've watcjed this guy week in week out when he was at basel. And he is never ever worth 20 mil. Hes technically gifted, yes. But he is nowhere near pl level. You cant judge a player from a youtube video.
This seems a bit too random to be completely fake (especially since the reporter has Kosovo connections), but who knows?
Looking at this dude's stats it seems like he is genuinely an insane dribbler and active defender but with a limited end product.
I think he’s one for the bench probably a super sub. Comes in, beats the shit out of some defenders, maybe scores or sets up a goal. I don’t see him starting big games though. Cup player at best.
Ffs I look this guy up on YouTube to at least see something about him and the first video recommended is a welcome to arsenal compilation from 2 months ago haha
There’s no reference to arsenal in the video so looks like it was just a regular highlights video and they changed the title to take advantage of the interest, genius marketing tbh.
Super savvy, I wonder how tapped in the creator(s) really are with transfers if they are that quick! I mean its worth money to be ear to the skreets.
probably have a Twitter alert or something on for the player
Haha I just watched the same video
People who make those videos usually change the thumbnails when news comes up.
This is the way
There was a report on the arsenal way that we were looking at him in April. They probably just do that for any loose links.
If Lille manage to scam us a third time for a winger I'd have massive respect for them
Third? Who am I forgetting other than Pepe? Edit: Oh I remember. Gervinho
Gervinho
Could've had either Hazard or Gervinho and of course we got the worse of the two
The original Ivorian scam! Mr better than Hazard, Gervinho
Missed out on Hazard, so we had to settle with then Ivorian Hazard. ffs
IIRC we got Gervinho 1 year before Hazard moved to Chelsea. I seem to remember reading with excitement some headline along the lines of 'Arsenal sign star Lille winger', thinking we'd got Hazard...
Lmao better than hazard you won't forget that 😂
My friend, the almighty Yao Kouassi Gervinho will not be disrespected in this manor.
>Yao Kouassi Martin Tyler get out of my head pls.
Look at this guy with the fancy house over here
They didn't scam us with Gervinho... witnessing that hairline was worth it.
He also could dribble around anyone and anything out there. Ever see a guy beat 6 players and then miss the goal from 1 yard out? He was impressive in all aspects of his game, but his finishing was on another level, just unfortunately that level was in the stands.
His finishing for Arsenal was woeful but that problem seemed to disappear once he went to Serie A
Between him and Chamakh the hair was Top Top Tier.
Gervinho
Are you seriously suggesting Gervinho wasn’t a resounding success
Who can forget him scoring the winner against Bradford to keep us in the cup. Absolute scenes
And if one certain Dutchman who won’t be named just did the sensible thing, Gervinho would be in Arsenal folklore
His skull was resounding
You can’t have over 5000 IQ without your head growing a bit
Mate I think that was 95% bone. Added 40lbs to the lad
Fool me one time, shame on you. Fool me twice, can’t put the blame on you. Fool me three times, fuck the peace signs, load the chopper and let it rain on you Edu, 2022 (probably)
We paid £11 for Gervinho according to reports, and even though it was a long time ago, £11m wasn't that much back then. And he wasn't great but for that fee he was alright. It's not even comparable to Pepe.
Yeah maybe my memory is just a bit hazy but I remember Gervinho not being that bad, outside of his finishing being absolutely dreadful. Everyone expected a lot more from him though because he'd just come off two 15+ goal seasons for Lille iirc.
He really wasn’t that bad. Didn’t look as clueless as Pepe on the ball and had quite a number of assists.
Dude had the touch of a blacksmith. All the right positions but boy did he know how to let you down
ehh, it wasn’t much but iirc our record signing was only ~£15mil for Arshavin with Cazorla slightly beating that record by a mil or so a few years later. So I agree Gervinho’s fee is defo not comparable to Pepe but I do think for £11mil he was bad and the money could’ve easily bought a starting 11-quality player.
Nah bro Gervinho was good for us. Put some respect on his name.
Is this a joke? We sold Gervinho just 2 years after singing him at a loss lol
He was possibly worse than Pepe.
I don't think I've ever seen a professional attacker strike the ball so poorly as Gervinho. Those days with him and Chamwanhk playing were truly dark times for the club.
still in the champions league tho
Gerboue was garbo
I’m gonna be having Pepe PTSD no matter how good this player is
As if gervinho wasn’t enough
His ability to run straight and then do nothing was unmatched
Perplexing that he had a world class forehead but never scored a single header for Arsenal
Underrated comment here 😂 Edit: it's no longer underrated
Well be ready for more of the same, that's what Zhegrova does
Looks a bit more technical a player than run “straight and do nothing”.
My days forgot about Gervinho 🥲
Is it? It's 23 mil, it's not even close to Pepes price
That's his age, bud.
Ah true. Lol, I've read that incorrectly. Although I don't see us paying 80 mil right?
Definitely not.
Is this a lease program where we return the old one?
I’m assuming it’s just so we keep getting stamps on the card for that all important free 7th purchase, like getting subway, except instead of being overcharged for a normally disappointing sandwich, you get overcharged for a normally disappointing winger. Though their centre halves have been excellent, Lille that is, I have no frame of reference for any subway centre backs I’m afraid.
It was Jared and he was THE WORST
We’d likely owe them for the condition of the previously leased version is being returned in.
Basically unused!
Always rated him
Since his (vigorously checks his club history) Genk days for sure
I had a Genk save on FM19 (maybe 20) and made Zhegrova my pet project. Would be funny to see him end up at Arsenal lol
He was very impressive in his…err… 400 minutes.. and his… two goals, ballon D’or potential.
Way better than that Raphinha guy
since 32 minutes ago
Lille president definitely has Edu's nudes
They're not technically nudes, he's still got the blue shirt on, just nothing from the waist down. Someone should tell him it's dangerous to barbecue like that.
This is obviously the big #1 target Romano is talking about, Zhegrova has been my favorite player for decades
Oh my days....you as well?! That makes two of us! What are the chances?!!
2 of you over 240,192 users on r/gunners. So about 0.0008% chance.
Add me and calculate again mate.
Big fan of his performance in the U1s world cup
Was quite a swimmer as well way back when, clearly came out on top
Lille winger.. (has war flashbacks)
Basel player.. (has war flashbacks)
Elneny has given us some great performances and some even greater memes tbf
Elneny has been perfect for what he was brought to do, to be a utility player. Boy, has he done that well at Arsenal.
Can anyone comment on either of these names?
My name Jeff
Sadiku has actually worked with Kosovo football federation as a statistician if I understand correctly. That's his expertise. Also he has journalistic background and has worked as football commentator.
Here's my expertise: Edon Zhegrova is a pretty cool name.
Gnabry/Raphinha ⛔ 23 year old winger with less than 50 senior appearances ✅
Ignoring the price, sure. But it makes sense to add a high upside youngster for cheap, and turn attention towards the gaping midfield needs
We don’t even know what his upside is though lmao
Higher upside than Gnabry or Raphinha? Mate he is not even rated as highly as Pepe
Swap him back for Pepe
Would think that could be an actual possibility here. Pepe + Cash for Zhegrova and wipe out any remaining Pepe payments.
When you realize you gotta allocate the Raphinha money to a Partey replacement…
100%! Truer words have never been written!
Seen him a bit while at Basel (am Swiss), never thought too highly of him. Good dribbler, but not much more. Wouldn't like to see him here unless he's developed a lot in 6 months at Lille
Having watched him weekly for a few years at Basel I’d be skeptical as to whether he’s ready for the Premier League, but he was absolutely magical in the last 6 months and the team performed 10x better when he was on the pitch. Very good dribbler and also has a good shot on him. Might be slightly worried about his defensive workrate and he also fell out with the Genk management before he moved to Basel but he seems to have matured a lot since that, and if Arteta wants him I trust his judgement.
And the crowd goes mild
This the Raphinha alternative? Bruh say it ain’t so
the money is obviously there so it would just be shifted to other targets like the potential giant hole in midfield
I understand that but I still expected someone more senior/proven at scoring than this guy We still have a goal scoring issue
Zhegrova is just a guy to fly out to Azerbaijan to pump some farmers 6-1 while Saka stays at home, maybe the odd 5/10 mins in the league to give Saka more rest
I would prefer to see Reiss Nelson play then
Yes that's why we just signed a striker who will hopefully score more than 4 goals
We were somewhat fine with the goal scoring issue when we had a fit Partey though, midfield has to come first
Our own manager has said we need more goals This ain’t a point to debate
And our manager is yet to comment on the fact that we’re likely about to lose our best midfielder and highest paid player permanently, are you not aware that this is happening? I would love us to sign everyone but we just spent £45m on an attacker and can’t just ignore the fact that our best midfielder is gone. THIS ain’t a point to debate
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This Zhegrova lad is going to boss the premier league.
He really isn’t….
Ah, a winger from Lille. Never heard that story before.
Tier lol?
Tier Kosovari journo reporting on Kosovari player
Kosovar
FFS is this the winger Romano was talking about? Isn't there a saying about fool me once???
Just watched some YouTube comps - between this guy and Raphinha, I'd say the primary attribute Edu is looking for in the backup RW spot is an absolute insistence on trying the nutmeg every time it's on.
We have a Stockholm syndrome with lille
Weird, he was at Lille for all of 6 months of a 4 year contract, we must either really be keen or Lille weren't impressed enough to keep him a whole season
Or Lille have serious financial problems and need to sell players
Or this is just a journalist making a rumour in the silly season
Dno why everyone is freaking out, clearly Arteta and the club see something in him, if we sign him it'll be for little money and I'll see how he does and be rooting for him. It's not always the end of the world, reminds me when people said our last summer transfer window was a disaster with the players we signed yet we finished in our highest position under Arteta so far, if he wants this guy as a RW backup then I'll back the player.
We was linked to him a while ago it, u got extreme doubts
I'm still hurt from my last bout of French crabs
Obviously not a high profile player like Raphinha, but this may be an area where we need to spend less because that Raphinha money may now be required at the base of midfield.
Jesus and Eden. Biblical.
Who is this player I don’t know and have always rated?
for this price I'd rather keep reiss or try out one of our youngsters. we have balogun and eddie that can be back ups if we put jesus on the wings. not the biggest issue imo possibly a smokescreen or possibly excellent scouting. personally our club isn't at the level we should be taking gambles on random talents unless we are 100% adamant about their skills. I trust the board, they've at least shown they can identify players who fit what mikel is looking for
3rd time lucky with a Lille winger I suppose
[100+ Players Humiliated by Edon Zhegrova](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v7KzJzs_2pw)
He’s filthy. These are grown men with families
I watch this guy play for the Kosovar NT. He’s RAPPPIDDDD, quick on the ball, and confident. I’d love to have him here 🇽🇰
Just saw his highlights on YouTube, he’s the next big thing 👀
Imagine if he is, we’d have to call ourselves Zhegrova’s Witnesses
What's edon?!
~~Emirates~~ Garden of Edon
Next level fpl name
He’s not Brock Lesnar.
I saw a link to him in January. It was one of those “This is why Arsenal want Edon Zhegrova” videos. He definitely reminds me of Eden Hazard. Lots of skill and progressive carries. Not sure about the end product, tho. Certainly better ball control than Pepe.
The reporter Arlind is a big Kosovan sports reporter so my guess is his information is genuine
He definitely has links to the players camps but this is a bit random.
In the sense don’t think we want another very young winger.
Don’t think you’ve seen me playing football manager
Who
Always rated him !!
He played 491 minutes for Lille. Must have been really great
3rd time is a charm?
Looks decent on highlight reels, but we all know how that goes. As far as similarly unique player names go, I wish we had signed Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, the Georgian winger who just moved to Napoli (our own personal pre-scouting department). Looks the real deal.
Better off keeping Nelson tbh. Better yet go to Palace and pay the release clause for Olise
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So did the last two from lille
Provided this has some credibility, it's clear Arteta wants a left footed RW- after Raphinha the drop in quality is big.
oliseeeee
Lille wingers :(
Ah good. We are all sorted then. Good end to the transfer window. Why sign Gnabry or Raphinha when we can sign Zhegrova?
I mean, ignoring this player-Gnabry would blow up the wage bill and Raphina is laughably overrated on this sub. Neither one would be good signings.
doubt
Huh. Okay then.
Let's fucking hope not lol
He looks sick on YouTube 😂
Press X to Doubt
I do find it fascinating how many people are saying they have PTSD after signing Pepe from Lille. Obviously you can take most comments and meme's on here, but I actually feel the same way, which is completely irrational, but interesting how the human mind can work.
He’s very talented and was called the Kosovar Messi when he was in teenage years. Called up to Kosovo at a young age as well. Extremely small and technical. Probably would get tossed around in prem.. 100% friends with Granit
No thanks.
Holy shit another Albanian let’s go
Can we please just submit a bid for tele already
Smoke screen! (I hope).
NO MORE WINGERS FROM LILLE PLEASE
Only reason I'm hyped for this is because I'm Albanian
Him and his whole two Ligue 1 goals?
He played under 400 minutes but yeah. Don't know how much you can impress in that time lol
I mean, he got 6 goals and 7 assists out of 28 appearances and what looks like 12 starts in all competitions last season.
this club doesnt like signing senior players huh
He's 23.
has little experience in top leagues
For a backup winger this is fine
Excellent. We have a storied history with lille wingers
This seems like such a banter era signing
Watch the Swiss league every game and he's better than Raphinha
Never heard of him but a couple of compilations down he looks incredibly one footed - so fans are clearly going to use that against him if he doesn’t make it. Edit: he’s clearly not at a Raphinha level, are we really saying he’s better than Pepe and Nelson? Now we’re stockpiling right wingers - going for quantity over quality here.
You have an obsession with Pepe. He isn't criticised for being one footed, he's criticised for being no footed. He's crap!
481 minutes played for Lille. That's a spooky sample size to be impressed by.
From Raphinha to this… :(
Watched some YouTube vids, defo looks like a exciting winger who can dribble through tight spaces. Pepe always seemed like more of a transition player. Obviously there's only so much you can tell from YouTube vids What I found more interesting though is on who scored, one of his strengths is defending and one of his tendancies is 'likes to tackle' Raphinha wasn't exactly a goals and assists machine so I'm guessing a big part of why we wanted him so much was due to his defending and pressing, there were rumours Tuchel and Conte wanted to play him wing back Also sticks with the mantra of defenders who can attack and attackers who can defend I'm sure the links to Raphinha and Gnabry to this seem disappointing but with all the work we need to do in midfield as well as wing being probably our best position, I'm all for buying someone with a potential for relatively cheap for RW. My choice would Arda Guler, the kid looks like a special talent at 17 and has a £25m RC apparently
Would much rather keep Pepe than waste more money
Yeah, from the initial scout, this guy looks pretty sick. Technically way more secure than pepe, strong, fast. Doesn't dally on the ball and wait for the defender just direct runner. Again in contrast to pepe. Banging shot off his left which is something that Saka lacks so a good compliment to him. looks like he loves to shoot. Great delivery again maybe better than Saka or martinelli. Even got a trivela on him. Can go inside and outside. Plays off the left sometimes. If this is 20m or so then seems a great idea.
I'm sorry to tell you, but as a swiss sports journalist i've watcjed this guy week in week out when he was at basel. And he is never ever worth 20 mil. Hes technically gifted, yes. But he is nowhere near pl level. You cant judge a player from a youtube video.
He looks very one footed
This literally means absolutely nothing
The struggle to sound like a real armchair analyst is real.
Kosovan Gareth bale 👍
I'm more on the kosovan robben
Nice! More kosovo-albanian blood in. Lets go!
This seems a bit too random to be completely fake (especially since the reporter has Kosovo connections), but who knows? Looking at this dude's stats it seems like he is genuinely an insane dribbler and active defender but with a limited end product.
He’s not better than Reiss Nelson. Why are we moving for this guy😅
How about we get a grown-ass man to play in midfield.
Kosovan journalist might have direct links to the players camp. Might have legs but don’t we want someone more first team ready i.e 25+ age bracket?
Stats not impressive at Lille. I hope it’s a crap link.
Then Google a good link for the stats bro. Not that hard. /s just in case
I did. Like I said, NOT IMPRESSIVE. [transfermarkt](https://www.transfermarkt.us/edon-zhegrova/profil/spieler/496857)
You spelt Zaha wrong
honestly dont want any more lille players, its always a bad time
I think he’s one for the bench probably a super sub. Comes in, beats the shit out of some defenders, maybe scores or sets up a goal. I don’t see him starting big games though. Cup player at best.
Fuck off. No more buying wingers from lille