Mowgli

So he didn't say he might leave at all. Another non story thread. All he said was that he would love to keep Virgil. He's one of the best centre backs in the world. He will have options. It would be a great to keep him.

Except there wasn't any 'timing' involved

You can only compare them really after two seasons. Koeman has got an underperforming Everton playing to their true level but that is not great achievement given the quality of players they have. I think he will be found out next season. Puel can only get better with a full pre season under his belt - how much better remains to be seen.

And ditch the negative supporters

JWP was bullied out of the game today. No one has done that for a while. PEH did OK but he's no Romeu yet.

I counted 7 attempted clearances in the first half yesterday. 5 successful clearances and 3 of those in an aerial duel. The 2 unsuccessful clearances weren't pretty but not catastrophic and on one he recovered the ball quickly.

Spot on. It's a classic example of a young player taking his chance when asked to cover for an injured player and accelerating his progress.

I'm reasonably confident that Caceres will leave at the end of the season and VVD will stay for one more year. We'll have four pretty decent centre backs in VVD, Stephens, Samuri Yoshi and Gardos. Adding Michael Keane into the mix would be an awesome move. Just don't really see Sakho being our type of player. Too inconsistent (but admit we've taken those before and they've turned out OK)

Seriously? I was thinking today that he's not getting the credit he deserves. He came in sooner than any expected or planned yet he has done pretty well and even held his place against a very talented Caceres. Not unhappy with current centre back pairing at all. The two goals today were down to a stroke of genius and a con on the ref. Cant see either involved defensive mistakes. Having said that, the scoreline could have been far more convincing for Spurs but for 3 fantastic saves from Forster. Really enjoyed watching the game today. Disappointed with the loss obviously but the standard of football is getting back to the level we want.

It's a moot point that he denies asking for a transfer and then confirming that when he got back from the Euros he told the club there were a number of opportunity that he wanted the club to consider. Also, for maximum effect, get a guy to interview him who has a big chip on his shoulder about Saints. Two words Graeme - Ali Dai.

I was thinking the same but sadly some people just cant move on! I'm hoping this one goes through but in the same breath I hope we don't need him. Stephens and Yosh are doing really well.

I know. What is up with people wishing their lives away? We have a cup final and almost half a season to enjoy before we start dreaming about who to sign and who we may lose. Ever wondered why a dog always wags it's tail? Two reasons. It does not worry about yesterday because you can't do anything about it. It does not worry about tomorrow because it's not here yet....

This is another deal Harry Redcrapp will claim credit for f'sure.

We are officially in black. Club confirmed.

He'd only want to appear in all the cup final pictures...

I love that some of them picked out Romeu as a player that Liverpool are missing and suggesting that they should throw money at us to get him.... ....they haven't cottoned on even now!

Because he's a defender?

I know. I cringe every time I go to Anfield

Worth mentioning that he had a good solid performance on Wednesday so the two games combined will have done him (and the team) no harm at all

Can't see any hint of that in the statement but I'm sure people will choose to think it for whatever reason. The boring alternative is that he just fancied a new challenge sensing (as Chaplow, Hammond, Harding and others before him) that the opportunity to play every match here was receding.

He was midfielder wasn't he? Retired now anyway.

Trying reading. That's not what I said

Agreed apart from bit in bold. For whatever reason, he is not automatic first choice and that has hurt him. Can't blame him for submitting a transfer request and moving to a club where he will probably be the first name on the team sheet. He wants to play every week and a top six club nearly always rotates these days. It will be interesting to see how his fitness handles playing every match.

I'm confident you'll remain disappointed

#wengerprotegee