The much talked about goalkeeper problem at Arsenal isn’t as bad as it seems, and I’d argue that re-shaping the defence would solve at least 80% of their defensive woes. I think Arsenal have a really good goalkeeper in Wojciech Szczesny. The problem is he’s young, and young goalkeepers make mistakes, it’s all part of his development. Wenger needs to decide whether he’s willing to give him time or needs someone he feels he can rely on straight away. Should he want a ‘quick fix’ – I’d look no further than Fiorentina’s Sebastian Frey.
Finally as with last summer, Arsenal will be searching for another striker. Marouane Chamakh hasn’t worked out as planned and it’s largely speculated that he’ll be moving on in the coming months. Nicklas Bendtner is also far from the finished article despite his claims to the contrary. It’s difficult finding a decent striker without shelling out massive amounts of cash these days, but I would be keeping close tabs on Edinson Cavani & Ezequiel Lavezzi from Napoli, two players who despite their price tag, could be just what they are looking for.
At this point you must be thinking to yourself, that’s probably in excess of £50m in transfers, there’s no way they’ll spend that sort of money! Well, if they sell their captain they might. This is a very debatable subject, but I feel the time is right for the Gunners to cash in. Everyone knows it’s Fabregas’ dream to play for Barcelona, so why delay it? The longer Arsenal hold on to him, the lower the transfer fee is likely to get, and at a time where Jack Wilshere and Aaron Ramsay are really starting to fill their potential, it just seems to make sense.
In closing, as I said at the beginning, Arsene Wenger has assembled a terrific team full of exciting young players; they have the potential to achieve great things domestically and in Europe. Minor tweaks however are needed to find the balance and get the most out of the talent he has at his disposal. For the sake of the English Premier League I hope this happens, Arsenal are the English equivalent to Barcelona, and their exciting brand of football deserves to see some light at the end of the tunnel.
Comments? Opinions? Follow me on Twitter
ThisisFutbol.com are seeking new writers to join the team! If you’re passionate about football, drop us a line at “thisisfutbol.com@snack-media.com” to learn more.
To have a peak at the top SEVEN available FREE TRANSFERS this summer, click here.
If Fabregas do leave, then this is what I think Wenger should do. Offload him to Madrid instead (I am sure he will be keen still) and exchange him for Benzema + 20mil (assuming Benzema does cost 25mil and Fabregas seems to have a value of 45mil). Then use the 20mil to get Hazard.
Then sell off Denilson, Squillaci and Bendtner and with whatever we can get from these clowns + the fund that the BOD says is available for use, buy Cahill or Samba to replace Squillaci and Parker or another good DM (Inler, Matuidi, etc) to replace Denilson and challenge Song and a decent keeper to challenge Szczesny.
If Cesc were to go, we should even revert back to a 4-4-2 playing Benzema and RVP together, moving Nasri to the middle and have Hazard and Walcott on the wing.
A strong CB pair of Cahill / Vermaelen + Sagna and Clichy (or if he does go, perhaps Baines) will ensure that we have a solid team with great backups to come in when anyone gets injured.
You make some good points. I had heard Arsenal were interested in Hazard, he’s a great young player. With that midfield you are leaving Wilshere & Ramsay on the bench though?