Zlatan Ibrahimovic |United Player | See the thread in the United Forum

[Dobbs]

Like playing in the biggest country he hasn't played in, and for the biggest club in that country, the second biggest team he has played for, expanding his image more than he could anywhere else and for a proven winner who he loves.... erm.... ok!

Of course coming here is attractive, linking up with Mourinho is a plus. Maybe his image will expand. Surely though actual footballing matters are more important at his age. Like joining a team that's finished 2nd not 5th. One team plays good football the other doesn't. ECL football, playing with recognised top talent like Ozil and Sanchez.

In any case my original question was why haven't Arsenal come in for him? Everyone knows they need a striker. Was it chasing Vardy, his wage demands. Does Wenger just not want him? Just seems strange to hear no link whatsoever.

 

[Regulus Arcturus Black]

Of course coming here is attractive, linking up with Mourinho is a plus. Maybe his image will expand. Surely though actual footballing matters are more important at his age.

Aside from the CL he's won everything there is to win at club level. He has no option of a guaranteed CL contender bar PSG but decided he wanted something new.

So who would he then choose?

United finished level on points with City last year, Chelsea were shite, Arsenal win nothing, and United now have Mourinho in charge, a man he himself says "if you want to win, you bring Mourinho", biggest team in England, massive for image. Of course it makes total sense.

Nothing will massage Zlatan's ego more than shutting up the English doubters, screwing over Guardiola and putting Manchester United back on top before retiring in China or LA.

 

[Zlaatan]

While I do agree that slow strikers could potentially make it in this league the three you mentioned dont play the striker position and almost every team has a quick/pacy #9.

I did acknowledge that they weren't strikers but is a league only pacey for the strikers? I realise that it's far more vital for a winger or striker to have pace than a CM, but the argument is always that the PL is more physical and more pacey than the others. Is that only relevant to players playing in a certain position? How many PL strikers are noticably faster than the guys playing in the rest of Europe? If Crouch and Heskey can be starters in the pacey PL then I'm quite certian everyone else can as well, it's just a wierd statement imo.

I would love if someone could give me an explanation as to why pace is a more important quality in the PL than anywhere else.

Not true at all. Ozil spends matches gliding around the pitch, and on the counter he is usually the man seeking to play the killer ball rather than run onto it, so people assume he is slow. But when Ozil actually sprints, he is quite fast.

Fair enough, but it's not like he needs it to do well or that him gliding around for most of the game makes him not being able to keep up with the pace around him.

 

[Zlaatan]

Of course coming here is attractive, linking up with Mourinho is a plus. Maybe his image will expand. Surely though actual footballing matters are more important at his age. Like joining a team that's finished 2nd not 5th. One team plays good football the other doesn't. ECL football, playing with recognised top talent like Ozil and Sanchez.

In any case my original question was why haven't Arsenal come in for him? Everyone knows they need a striker. Was it chasing Vardy, his wage demands. Does Wenger just not want him? Just seems strange to hear no link whatsoever.

I can't understand it either.. He would be perfect for them imo with the way they play. And they really need someone who can find the back of net regularly, they have never had any problems creating chances that's for sure.. The salary is one aspect but with no signing fee you'd think there would be a way around that.

If he signs for us (which is looking more and more likely), I think it would be because of Mourinho and, as corny as it might sound, because it's Manchester United.

 

[Ish]

He'd break Arsenals wage structure I think.

 

[7even]

My take on Ibra.

For those of you who don't know his personality read his biography, listen to interviews and study his commercials. See the signs. There is no coincidence that his son wear a blue United replica. His PR team knows exactly what they can or can't do. Why wearing Adidas on the training ground when he's a Nike poster boy. Once again no coincidence.

Zlatan is a fighter, a warrior out on a mission. What motivates him is to challange the conventional, to go against the easy route. To stand up against the ones who don't believe in him.

Absolutely no disrespect but Arsenal isn't a challange for him. Wenger isn't a general in his eyes. Emirates isn't his arena. His last challange will be to succeed in England and the Premier League. Give me a better place then the Theatre of Dreams. Together with Jose Mourinho, Wayne Rooney and taking the most legendary English team and probabaly the biggest club in the world back to where they belongs. He loves to be the man, to take his team on his shoulders.

This is his challange! This is what motivates him. If he succeeds is another question.
(Latest Volvo commercial)

And if I'm wrong he probabaly goes to Napoli btw. ;-)

 

[Fer]

Of course coming here is attractive, linking up with Mourinho is a plus. Maybe his image will expand. Surely though actual footballing matters are more important at his age. Like joining a team that's finished 2nd not 5th. One team plays good football the other doesn't. ECL football, playing with recognised top talent like Ozil and Sanchez.

In any case my original question was why haven't Arsenal come in for him? Everyone knows they need a striker. Was it chasing Vardy, his wage demands. Does Wenger just not want him? Just seems strange to hear no link whatsoever.

Yes, it's strange. However, we were not link with Bailly and suddenly we sign him. Also Laporte was practically a done deal with City and now it seems that he will stay in Bilbao. I think Wenger should go for Morata or Higuain, but I cannot see him paying a lot for a new striker.

 

[C'est Moi Cantona]

There is no realistic better option for the upcoming season.

Sorry but that is nonsense, Ibra offers no guarantees, he is almost 35 for crying out loud, I'm not saying he can't be good for us but there is no way he'll offer the sort of numbers for us as he did for PSG, could go either way really imo.

Plenty of strikers out there if the money's right, but what's wrong with giving Martial and Rashford the gig, I thought Martial was just on the right temporally, now it seems perminant, would far rather see these two scrapping it out with Rooney stepping in from time to time, and us buying a couple of proper wingers assuming Depay was really as bad as he looked last season.

 

[Eddy_JukeZ]

Sorry but that is nonsense, Ibra offers no guarantees, he is almost 35 for crying out loud, I'm not saying he can't be good for us but there is no way he'll offer the sort of numbers for us as he did for PSG, could go either way really imo.

Plenty of strikers out there if the money's right, but what's wrong with giving Martial and Rashford the gig, I thought Martial was just on the right temporally, now it seems perminant, would far rather see these two scrapping it out with Rooney stepping in from time to time, and us buying a couple of proper wingers assuming Depay was really as bad as he looked last season.

I don't understand this mentality lately of "youth players must play"

This isn't Rashford or Martial FC. Rashford will still get plenty of chances. Martial is our left sided attacker.

And this obsession with a player's age needs to end as well. Not everyone ages the same.

And who are these strikers out there? Neither are realistic to come here.

 

[Oldmaz]

Do you actually support Zlatan over any football team?

Im strange in that way. I support teams but im not a supporter that know every player in each team and im not following them as a supporter should do. I have followed Ibra sins hes debut in Ajax back in 2001 and have seen all the matches he has ever played. And I mean all, training matches, friendly cups you name it. For me he is the most facinating player that ever been on the pitch. The scores that he has done, the winning mentality, the way he lift teams he joins and so on. There have never been a player like him, he is unique in my opinion.

Its a different culture in most Europeen countrys were you are more or less born in to a team. You are more "fanatics" in a good way. Football is in your blood. Ive noticed that there are more and more fans that now days are following their favorite player and support the current team they play in. Ive started back in 1974 to support West Ham just because all my friends supported either Liverpool or Man Utd so just not to be as everyone else I picked another team. But everytime I watched games from PL I always watched Man Utd, never West Ham but once you pick a team you cant change it in some strange way, so in a way im a Man Utd closet fan

Here in Sweden they started showing matches from PL on TV back in 1969 so Swedes has followed the league for 47 years now. Read somewhere that the first match from PL was broadcasted on English TV in december 1983. They waited that long because they were to afraid that people would stay at home and watch it and not at the stadiums. Dont know why I mention this but there you go, another big rant

Sorry for delayed answer, only got three post a day, need more people to "like" my posts.

 

[jymufc20]

Im strange in that way. I support teams but im not a supporter that know every player in each team and im not following them as a supporter should do. I have followed Ibra sins hes debut in Ajax back in 2001 and have seen all the matches he has ever played. And I mean all, training matches, friendly cups you name it. For me he is the most facinating player that ever been on the pitch. The scores that he has done, the winning mentality, the way he lift teams he joins and so on. There have never been a player like him, he is unique in my opinion.

Its a different culture in most Europeen countrys were you are more or less born in to a team. You are more "fanatics" in a good way. Football is in your blood. Ive noticed that there are more and more fans that now days are following their favorite player and support the current team they play in. Ive started back in 1974 to support West Ham just because all my friends supported either Liverpool or Man Utd so just not to be as everyone else I picked another team. But everytime I watched games from PL I always watched Man Utd, never West Ham but once you pick a team you cant change it in some strange way, so in a way im a Man Utd closet fan

Here in Sweden they started showing matches from PL on TV back in 1969 so Swedes has followed the league for 47 years now. Read somewhere that the first match from PL was broadcasted on English TV in december 1983. They waited that long because they were to afraid that people would stay at home and watch it and not at the stadiums. Dont know why I mention this but there you go, another big rant

Sorry for delayed answer, only got three post a day, need more people to "like" my posts.

Cant see anyone liking that post considering you are claiming to be a time traveller.

 

[Siorac]

Cant see anyone liking that post considering you are claiming to be a time traveller.

What's there to dislike about time travellers? Don't be close-minded.

 

[SomeRandomPerson]

In any case my original question was why haven't Arsenal come in for him? Everyone knows they need a striker. Was it chasing Vardy, his wage demands. Does Wenger just not want him? Just seems strange to hear no link whatsoever.

I'll try to field this one as best as I can.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic was linked with a move to Arsenal, before the United links really picked up. Admittedly, the sources aren't the greatest, but here it is:

The mirror:
http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/footb...-ibrahimovic-targets-arsenal-transfer-6873388

The express:
http://www.express.co.uk/sport/foot...fer-news-Zlatan-Ibrahimovic-Manchester-United

Plus, if those links aren't good enough I'm sure you've been on this thread before and seen the links to Bayern.

On Arsenal, the Zlatan rumour was put forward to Arsene Wenger and he had this to say (in March):

Look, at the moment, no, we are not on that case. We have other worries at the moment. It’s short-term. We are not on Zlatan’s case. Even at 34, he’s had a great season at PSG.

At the moment you can understand my priority ahead of Everton is not the transfer market on signings next season. I’m just surprised by the name you’ve thrown at me. We’re not thinking of signing anybody at the moment.

Source: https://www.theguardian.com/football/2016/mar/18/arsene-wenger-arsenal-zlatan-ibrahimovic

So it would seem, Arsene Wenger had (perhaps justifiably, certainly not surprisingly) concerns over his age and the short-termism of his signing. The story could simply be- Wenger squashes Zlatan rumours, Mourinho to United rumours pick up, Zlatan likes Mourinho, Zlatan to United rumours pick up, United actually interested in Zlatan, Arsenal story dead.

God, I really hope Jose knows what he is doing and the signing works out.

 

[C'est Moi Cantona]

I don't understand this mentality lately of "youth players must play"

This isn't Rashford or Martial FC. Rashford will still get plenty of chances. Martial is our left sided attacker.

And this obsession with a player's age needs to end as well. Not everyone ages the same.

And who are these strikers out there? Neither are realistic to come here.

Hang on, why is Martial our left sided attacker ? He was only put there because Depay was so bad, as far as I remember things he was going to be our striker, just because he did well on the left doesn't mean we should leave him there, the guy could be an elite striker for us, Rashford also is not just any old youth player, he is potentially the best we've had for ages, and if Rooney is staying then please let it be as 2-3 choice striker, and not first choice midfielder, with that imho we have enough.

Don't gets wrong I'm not dead set against Ibra, he could be good for us, but I'm very open to the idea that he goes elsewhere also.

Other strikers if we must, Morata, Lukaku, Higuain, Lacazette, etc, not saying any are right for us just that they are there.

 

[roonster09]

Hang on, why is Martial our left sided attacker ? He was only put there because Depay was so bad, as far as I remember things he was going to be our striker, just because he did well on the left doesn't mean we should leave him there, the guy could be an elite striker for us, Rashford also is not just any old youth player, he is potentially the best we've had for ages, and if Rooney is staying then please let it be as 2-3 choice striker, and not first choice midfielder, with that imho we have enough.

Don't gets wrong I'm not dead set against Ibra, he could be good for us, but I'm very open to the idea that he goes elsewhere also.

Other strikers if we must, Morata, Lukaku, Higuain, Lacazette, etc, not saying any are right for us just that they are there.

Martial looked lot better playing as left wing forward. He gets lot of space and get more chances to run at defenders than playing with his back to goal.

 

[podurban2]

Do you actually support Zlatan over any football team?

I have a couple of frends that are the same way. Probably due to a lack of football interest within the family, so they just don't have any relationship to any team. Two of my friends have changed teams 2-3 times just because of Zlatan. I fail to understand this phenomena.

 

[Artimities]

I for one, cant wait for this addition. Dude is a boss and his strength in the box is exactly what we need. He is in good shape with a sharp mental attitude.

 

[Hernandez - BFA]

Where is he currently? This needs to be done asap. The gap between Bailly's signing and our next is far too long

 

[Bruno8]

This signing has shades of Falcao and Radamel was younger than Ibra. PL is a monster beast

 

[Speedicut75]

This signing has shades of Falcao and Radamel was younger than Ibra. PL is a monster beast

Could be more akin to the signing of Henrik Larsson ............. I fecking hope so anyway.

 

[LInkash]

So uh, would he still want to come here and be paid in worthless pounds?

 

[Hans Moleman]

This signing has shades of Falcao and Radamel was younger than Ibra. PL is a monster beast

It's absolutely NOTHING like Falcao, other than them both being strikers. Falcao was crocked from 2 serious injuries and was always a big punt, hence being a loan move to see how things worked out. He'd also been rushed back from one serious injury due to the world cup, which clearly had repercussions. Zlatan is still in incredible physical condition, has no serious injury record, and just smashed in like 50 goals last season.

 

[prarek]

This signing has shades of Falcao and Radamel was younger than Ibra. PL is a monster beast

Falcao hasn't been the same since he blew his ACL that caused him to miss the world cup finals. Anyway im not sold on Ibrahimovic either and he'll be 35 this year.

 

[Lay]

This signing has shades of Falcao and Radamel was younger than Ibra. PL is a monster beast

Totally different things. Falcao's failure wasn't down to the PL being a 'monster beast'.

 

[C'est Moi Cantona]

Martial looked lot better playing as left wing forward. He gets lot of space and get more chances to run at defenders than playing with his back to goal.

Still going to be a striker though, and still only played on the left because of Depay's struggles, could be first choice striker next season for us no problem.

 

[DarkXaero]

Still going to be a striker though, and still only played on the left because of Depay's struggles, could be first choice striker next season for us no problem.

Nope, he seems more comfortable on the left, creating and scoring. He played on the left for Monaco as well, and we absolutely should not be relying on him to be our first choice striker next season.

 

[C'est Moi Cantona]

Nope, he seems more comfortable on the left, creating and scoring. He played on the left for Monaco as well, and we absolutely should not be relying on him to be our first choice striker next season.

Fair enough but I don't agree, Martial and Rashford with the right support could get us the goal ratio we need from our strikers imo, with Rooney as a fall back (not in midfield please).

 

[Florida Man]

This signing has shades of Falcao and Radamel was younger than Ibra. PL is a monster beast

This has been mentioned hundreds of times, each time with a load of rebuttals that squash that type of comparison.

 

[ti vu]

This has been mentioned hundreds of times, each time with a load of rebuttals that squash that type of comparison.

Yeah. It's like that stupid comparison of Bertbatov to King Eric.

 

[Rivelino]

Is he in Manchester yet?

 

[Eddy_JukeZ]

Signing Ibra will ease the pressure on Rashford.

Yes he had a good debut season, but what if his second season is like Januzaj's and his progression stagnates?

Imagine we don't sign any striker and put all our hopes on him and he doesn't improve? That's not a risk we need to take.

 

[Raoul]

Signing Ibra will ease the pressure on Rashford.

Yes he had a good debut season, but what if his second season is like Januzaj's and his progression stagnates?

Imagine we don't sign any striker and put all our hopes on him and he doesn't improve? That's not a risk we need to take.

Exactly. And you can bet the house that his euphoric fanboys will become rats jumping off the ship if he has a sophomore jinx. Having Ibra around will lessen the pressure on him and Martial in their 2nd years.

 

[worldinmotion66]

Fair enough but I don't agree, Martial and Rashford with the right support could get us the goal ratio we need from our strikers imo, with Rooney as a fall back (not in midfield please).

I think Martial, Rashford and say, for example, Mkhitaryan/James Rodriguez could be excellent in a counter attacking front three. Very fluid and interchangeable too. Whether Ibra signs or not, I am sure that Rashford and Martial will still play an important role for us.

 

[don't sign old players]

Exactly. And you can bet the house that his euphoric fanboys will become rats jumping off the ship if he has a sophomore jinx. Having Ibra around will lessen the pressure on him and Martial in their 2nd years.

When you say 'euphoric fanboys' are you implying that you don't think he's the real deal? As for me, I'm willing to go out on a limb and say that he is.
I still want Zlatan (or some other established striker though), I agree with you on that point.

 

[Raoul]

When you say 'euphoric fanboys' are you implying that you don't think he's the real deal? As for me, I'm willing to go out on a limb and say that he is.
I still want Zlatan (or some other established striker though), I agree with you on that point.

We don't know if he's the real deal or not. People always get excited and let down. See Januzaj, who had a run of good games under Moyes and has disappeared into two years of obscurity since.

 

[don't sign old players]

We don't know if he's the real deal or not. People always get excited and let down. See Januzaj, who had a run of good games under Moyes and has disappeared into two years of obscurity since.

That's a fair answer. I just hope I don't end up being a disappointed euphoric fanboy!

 

[Shark]

We don't know if he's the real deal or not. People always get excited and let down. See Januzaj, who had a run of good games under Moyes and has disappeared into two years of obscurity since.

Januzaj is hardly anywhere close to a good compsrison, come on. One is/was an 18 year old kid, the other is an established world class striker. Rather he's the real deal or not at his age, in this league is still debatable, but the the odds are in Zlatan' favor.

 

[Raoul]

Januzaj is hardly anywhere close to a good compsrison, come on. One is/was an 18 year old kid, the other is an established world class striker. Rather he's the real deal or not at his age, in this league is still debatable, but the the odds are in Zlatan' favor.

The comparison was between Januzaj and Rashford, not Ibra.

 

[Varun]

Januzaj is hardly anywhere close to a good compsrison, come on. One is/was an 18 year old kid, the other is an established world class striker. Rather he's the real deal or not at his age, in this league is still debatable, but the the odds are in Zlatan' favor.

How could you think he was talking about Ibra

 

[prath92]

We don't know if he's the real deal or not. People always get excited and let down. See Januzaj, who had a run of good games under Moyes and has disappeared into two years of obscurity since.

To be fair, unlike Januzaj in 12/13, Rashford made impacts in important games like Manchester derby (away that too), Arsenal home, west ham away in FA cup, even played well in the FA cup final. Januzaj though showed a lot of promise then, was hardly influential in any of the big games that season.