Need that 7 point gap before City face Newcastle over the weekend. Tonight needs to be an assured win if weâre serious about winning the title this season.
Although Rooney says we have a great manager and team, how does he not consider Saka, Rice, Raya, Gabriel and Saliba world class, when theyâd start for any club in Europe?
I think Rice and Saliba are in the bracket. I think Saka is but due to numbers, I get why others would argue it. Gabriel is only recently starting for Brazil regularly so fair enough.
There is a legit claim for Rice and Saliba for being the best in their position.
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Why does it matter?
For anyone watching PL, there should be no doubt about Gabriel being world class for 2 seasons now.
Saka, Gabriel, Saliba, Rice are undisputed worldclass players for me.
I understand where Rooney is coming from. The bar for what is considered âworld classâ in 2026, was basically âvery goodâ in the late 90s/early 2000s for me. The bellcurve has shifted.
Saliba and Gabriel are WC for me. Rice is getting there. Saka, I believed he was as soon as he scored that goal vs. Liverpool last season I think, but the consistency isnât there.
Taking my Arsenal bias off for a sec, I donât think a team can be considered to have world class players if those supposedly WC players donât come in clutch and influence the result of key games when you need them to.
They need to be difference makers. Iâm not sure if we have that. There is no âtalismanâ in this squad.
But there must be a reason why weâre still top of the league and have won every game in all cup competitions. Maybe weâre just pretty good at football, but can be equally as frustrating to watch.
It is still only February though, and in true Arsenal all-or-nothing fashion Iâd put money on us either winning the treble or getting dumped from all comps.
I honestly wouldnât be surprised if either happened lol.
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who cares what that ugly granny shagger thinks
A world class player struggling to break into their national team should ring alarm bells. There will be exceptions to every rule (look at Englandâs Attacking options who are benched regularly), but Brazil are hardly blessed with quality defenders.
Thatâs a fair point. Rooney was an undoubted World Class player. He isnât going to look at any of our current players on the same level as him or some of his team mates over the years. He played with the likes of Rio, Stam, Scholes, Ronaldo and Tevez.
in what ways?
Are you saying we are being fooled by Gabrielâs output on field and there is something wrong with him that Brazil NT are able to decipher?
Yea me too.
Heâs coming from a place of resentment at what Arsenal are doing.
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Rooneyâs head is shaped like a bauble, no wonder heâs come out with this nonsense.
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Who are we though? Iâm guessing you mean Arsenal fans. Yes, we rate him and know we are watching arguably our best defender of the Emirates Era. He has no trophies here and does not start for his country, why would a rival fan definitely see him as World Class? I get why many may not -I think he is one of the worlds best.
Itâs different for Rice and Saka. England fans will know how good that they are. Even then, Rooney will be thinking Iâve played with and against loads of better players.
I donât get that from Rooney in the same way I do from Neville or Scholes. He wonât be an Arsenal fan but he seem more genuine in his compliments.
Why shouldnât football world not consider what he does on the pitch?
Was Haaland not worldclass despite not winning much with club and country during his Dortmund days?
Haaland is a good example. Personally, I didnât see him as World Class at Dortmund. Mainly because I didnât see enough of him, just the numbers. He probably was on the same sort of level as Lewandowski, Mbappe, Kane and Benzema at the time.
He had to come to the Premier League for me to understand how good he is. Two titles (I think) a Champions League and a ridiculous scoring record which has helped Norway qualify for a major tournament cements it.
Before that, he was in theory what Gyokeres was at Sporting. A Dortmund fan would have called me nuts because they would know what they were watching. Were Sancho and Bellingham world class at Dortmund?
What are we arguing about here?
You are talking about perception now.
My problem with your argument was about Gabrielâs involvement with Brazil
If a player is producing worldclass output on the pitch for the club, stuff like this doesnât matter
I answered your question and have answered your other question. Rival fans (and even pundits) arenât going to watch as many Arsenal games as we do.
They are going to watch the big, big games. Gabriel has had none for Brazil and we have been found wanting at key moments in title run ins and in the cups.
For me, it is logical that others may not rate our players as much as we do based on the fact that they have won so little, or nothing.
Wayne Rooney has no reason to rate Gabriel really and truly.
Do you not think that as a general rule, World Class players should be playing for their country regularly? Itâs not a blanket rule but Iâd say, yes. I donât rate Militao or Marquinhos that highly but both start for Brazil more than Gabby. I think Gabby is world class by the way. Raya could be put under the same scrutiny.
Same with Palmer and Foden. I rate both, but are they World Class? I would say yes, if Thierry or Paddy V said they arenât, you could see why.
Rooneyâs comments are not wild even though I disagree with him.
I think Saliba and Gabriel are world class.
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Gabriel has scored against multiple big teams so I donât understand this point