Does ‘Judas’ Benayoun deserve a longer stay at Arsenal?
Arsenal loanee Yossi Benayoun has angered Chelsea fans after celebrating the Gunners’ emphatic victory over his parent club via Twitter. Seemingly insensible towards the Blues and their fans, he tweeted “What a great win today!!! Well done guys!”
This would be seen as fairly unwise act if aimed at a former club, but the fact that Benayoun still belongs to Arsenal’s London neighbours really does emphasise his desire to leave Stamford Bridge for good after a discouraging time there.
He may be 30 years-old, but his four appearances for the Gunners so far suggest that he has plenty left to offer. In his games against Bolton and Shrewsbury – although admittedly not the most difficult of opponents and in the Carling Cup – he was quietly impressive, offering smart passing and ability to control the midfield’s possession. He came extremely close to netting in the Trotters match, steering a brilliant effort just wide of the far post, before assisting Arshavin for the equaliser. Add to this his position as captain for Israel, and he makes for an unassuming but mightily skilled and experienced player.
If he does indeed want to leave Chelsea and join the Gunners on a permanent deal, it seems feasible that Wenger could agree. Leadership qualities like those of Benayoun were high on Arsenal’s list of points for improvement, and his displays might well have been good enough to warrant a permanent deal for the Israeli.
However, with Oxlade-Chamberlain, Ryo and Arshavin all craving the same spot in the starting eleven, it seems unlikely that he will play many more important roles than Carling Cup cameos and the occasional European appearance.
Was Benayoun just a rushed Wenger transfer or can he really provide significant depth to the midfield options?
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The guy has shown to us gunners that he wants to be here but im not sure about him yet once jack is back i think he will find it even harder to get in the team but for now welcome to arsenal yossi hope you enjoyed the game as much as us lol
Top Gooner!. Agree or not?:
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ya ya,,,,,,,,, he is a true gunner , he wants to be a part of us , he loves our team , so pls wenger sign him he wont cost tat much
Top Gooner!. Agree or not?:
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I believe we should give him a few chances in the league, if he does well and performs consistently then we should sign him. I still believe we need to invest in a world class midfielder or 2 come january and/or next summer. Yossi is a good player, but I think arsenal need more GREAT players.
Gooner 4 life
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he is fabilous player and i wouldn’t mind to see him for long but wenger will not sign him m very sure.
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Sign him up permanently. If the guy shows such loyalty to us, he’s the kind of player we need right now. I am all for enthusiastic players, and he has the requisite skills and leadership experience that would serve well to help groom the budding talents at Arsenal. He shows that he is enjoying his time as a Gooner.
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I WAS BUZZING FOR HOURS AFTER THE GAME SO YESTERDAY SO ADAM KEMP YOU ARE MY IDIOT OF THE WEEK LOL COME ON YOU GUNNERS!
Top Gooner!. Agree or not?:
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well if he doesn’t mind playing backup and playing when needed, it’s ok with me if he stays… in fact i really like him, and would like for him to be backup, and besides, we don’t want to overuse anybody, so he should also get some games…
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5 
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He made it clear in an interview that he supports the club he plays for, loanee or whatever.
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6 
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now debating about signing yossi should not be a big deal..wenger give him two years ,he is very needed as back up players..
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he useful for carling cup,fa cup..n some as sub backup n impact type of player..he wudnt gt that much game time on chelsea..n there with ol of the problem now..matta wil b thinking twice that he shud b for us too..bet hes crying down the tunnel n begging to wenger to signed em..haha..justkiddink..he wont cost that much..let em finished hes time here at arsenal..hes determination..hes experience cn helps..n chelsea i think wont needed em that much anymre..even their young josh mcehran r wat..dnt knw hw to spell hes name..he wud wna join us too..he is delight with our club dveloping young talent..wilshere n co. ..he wna b part of us too bt sorry evrythng ol up to wenger n the board..
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How can you call him “Judas” when chelsea kicked him out. He’s not a youngster on loan to develop his game, he was surplus to requirements. Arsenal are paying his wages now not Chelsea so for me his loyalties are exactly where they should be and that’s with the Arse.
Top Gooner!. Agree or not?:
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We need depth. Not every player can be a superstar. And let’s not forget that having a few older, more mature players on the traing ground and in the locker room is often beneficial.
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He’s good for depth but he cannot be a starter. He has experience and can come up with important goals but only as a sub and nothing more. If he wants to stay then he has to acknowledge that he’s simply a squad player and second fiddle to the younger Gunners.
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i see nothing sentimental about his tweet,,,,,, What a great win today!!! Well done guys!” so why call him a Judas…. Please grow up
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9 
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Seriously could not care less about benyoun’s relationship with the club he belongs to.
He was a panic buy and has nothing to offer our club anyway so he can go wherever he wants with my blessing.
No more Liverpool and chelsea rejects please.
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@nicw – The article isn’t calling him ‘Judas’ – it’s the Chelski fans who labelled him that (hence the quotation marks).
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definately a good squad addition, gives younger players encouragement as well as advice, he loves it at arsenal.
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i cant see him staying on next season i think it was good deal with little time left in the window his experience and leadership is what we needed but with more time i think wenger will already have his targets but hope he has a great season and make an impact when needed and what will be will be come on you arsenal
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who gets dropped from midfield when jack comes back? arteta, song or ramsey?? Well song just can’t because he has to be there in front of the back 4. Arteta has brought experience to this team, and if not spectacular is definitly bringing something to the team we’v been lacking. Then aaron is coming back to his creative and attacking best. So tough choices ahead for Wenger. I can’t imagine dropping any of them but also can’t see a fit wilshere on the bench. wat to do???
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Come the busy December and we expect to see the likes of Yossi, Ryo, and Ox bring in an octane rush they´re gonna be sooo useful
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At the end of the day, he’s playing for us now. And he’s being proffessional about it. He’s part of a team that’s been going through a bad patch, and he is happy for us. So he should be as we have given him an escape route with playing time!
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3 
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feel sorry for this guy who will be benched soon wid wilshire arrival and restricted to carling FA cup he should simply leave chelsea and EPL der r so many of of clubs which will take him in turkey middle east spain france ( do something like Ballack ) he as i feel that would be much better for him to get regular matches
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Finally someone realises n told wenger to apoint bould as the first team dfensive coach..keep moaning bout it..hpe he wud do that..thanks kenny sansom..why dnt tell wenger bring either keown/adam back too..bergkamp..veira..cme oon..help us..gazidis..go to manshity..we tkes veira..usmanov increase his share n dein back..then solve the training coaches department..
but there is also ngative cment from ex arsenal legend frank mclintock sugest that this is the worst arsenal team ever..wonder hw hes feel after the match against the blue..dfence stil a major problem..
glad vertonghen news is stil hot on the paper..wenger is keen on bringing him in january..get rid of squid n djourou..bought vertonghen and samba(beast,leader,rely wished to join us) /cahill(english,also dfence leader) /sakho (young,big,beast,strong) he n samba reminds me with sol campbell.bt there were no news bout samba n cahill rumours to arsenal..seem like wenger nt interested with them..bt he keen on vertonghen,in january i think he wud bought ine dfence..squid wil go..n djourou i think wil stay for wenger..n i think in next sumer he wil target sakho..cahil n samba wudnt even join us..even f we wnt any one of them to b with us to rather than squid n djourou..
glad too news bout goetze..arsenal stil keen on em..we got the chance f dortmund went out from champions league..i think f wenger gt em..he wudnt go for hazard anymre..that is wenger..i wish we cud bring them both..lille had a hard tym in their group also..we cn offer hazard champion league footbal..
most likely this january;hazard,goetze,vertonghen
rumours;sakho,samba,cahill,mvilla,jovetic
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chelsea fans will treat em bad when he cmes back there..poor em..tkes em for 1milion??
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I like him as a player, and he adds depth to the squad, but doesn’t really offer anything that rosicky can’t give us, and when jack comes back, there might not be any need for him. I think he’s a brilliant loan signing, and I certainly wouldn’t complain if we signed him permanently, but the signs are that we are trying to get a younger, potentially world class attacking midfielder (one of hazard, goetze, shaqiri, martin, boudabouz or torje, according to the papers), so I expect benayoun has been brought in as a last resort to ensure we have enough attacking talent until one of the aforementioned players can be secured.
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@robert – Wilshere can play out wide if necessary. He’s a really good when cutting in from the right, and his creativity has been restricted in his centre-mid role. He’s well capable of scoring, as well as creating, goals when starting from a wide position. In that case, one of the wingers would have to make way, though.
Of our three starting midfielders, ramsey would almost certainly make way. Aaron’s recent form has been spectacular, but his challenge is now to maintain it, something he hasn’t done in the past. Same goes for walcott, really, if wilshere were to be moved further forward.
Can’t wait for jack to come back – I can’t remember the last time we had a selection dilemma like this; interested to see what wenger does with it
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LOL at neil..Benayoun over rosicky any day..i think rosickys time at the club is up..he never made the 1st 11 and never will..his not good enough and i think his run out of steam now and i always see him dispossesed and on the floor which is not good for arsenal great game flow..replace him with gourcuff or martin..and keep benayoun if he cost something minor like 5/6 mill at the end of the season. he can adds strength in depth.
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With every players seem wants to leave us, a quality player with a desire to be at this club should be welcomed. He is definetely not coming for money. Sign him please, and rotate every player base on form to avoid our trouble with injury. It’s better to have one benayoun than ten reluctant ronaldo. Go gooners.
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he aint a judas ! evn me i cld have done the same !!
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I would play ramsy at the wing and bench walcot
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He is obviously disgruntled at the fact that he has not been their first choice, and is having a dig. I wouldn’t mind him at Arsenal, he is a good player and adds depth to our squad. Although I would pick Arteta and Wilshere over him anyday ofcourse.
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@davi
I’m sure jack could play anywere, but his creativity could be waisted out wide. look at Arshavin, has never been great out wide but looked good in the centre for us against Bolton and is outstanding in the centre for Russia. I’m not saying Jack would be as poor out wide but even capello has stated that him and wenger have talked in depth how he wants to build the english squad around him in the centre and Wenger has agreed. Now i couldn’t give two s**ts how one of our assets is utilised in a national squad but i’m not a big advocate of playing a player out of their strongest position. It fails more than it works.
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he can stay and warm the bench, not disrespect though.
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