Usually Arsene Wenger says very little about transfer plans. But this hasn’t been a usual summer and now he has said exactly what he wants: a striker, a midfielder and a defender.
The defender that he’s been pressing for over the last 48 hours is obviously Gary Cahill. Equally obvious, despite the hostile comments of Coyle and Gartside, is Bolton’s need to sell.
Like Nasri, Cahill is a valuable asset a in the last year of his contract. Whilst Arsenal could have taken the risk of Nasri leaving on a free, it made more sense to take the money. The same applies to Bolton only more so.
Although Phil Gartside showed a complete lack of class in retweeting that abusive comment, he’s probably hoping to drum up some rival bids. The problem he has is that other wealthy clubs have already bought central defenders. So Arsenal have probably done no harm by starting with a relatively low bid.
Rumour has it that the alternate to Cahill is Raul Albiol who is apparently surplus to requirements at Real Madrid. I don’t know how solid that rumour is and you always wonder about a player that is being offloaded. But he’s experienced and we certainly need someone.
Some French media sources claim that for all the public denials, the move for Lille’s Eden Hazard is definitely on if a price can be agreed. But that price could be £35million. Well if he’s the right player, we’ve got the money.
I’ve no idea who the striker will be. It’s clear though from Wenger’s comments that he is expecting Bendtner to leave. We he a striker, he said, to cover us when Gervinho and Chamakh are both away at the African Cup of Nations.
After all the waiting, the last few days of the transfer window could be exciting. Let’s hope there is actually enough time to get the deals done.
Meanwhile there’s the small matter of taking on Manchester United tomorrow! Choosing the squad will be easy, step forward anyone who isn’t suspended and is actually fit enough to step forward.
The obvious hole is holding midfielder, with both Song and Frimpong unavailable. The two options are probably Djourou or Vermaelen. Johann Djourou used to play as a defensive midfielder and Thomas Vermaelen clearly has the mobility to cover there too. That’s assuming Vermaelen has got over the knock he took on Wednesday.
The key to this decision is most likely to be which one of them is needed alongside Koscielny at the back. My guess is that having the strongest back four will take priority and so Djourou will cover for Song. Does completing that strongest back four mean Jenkinson or Traore? I think it was significant that Wenger started with Jenkinson for the must win game against Udinese, with Traore coming on later. Plus there is talk of Traore spending the season on loan at QPR.
With no Gervinho I guess Arshavin will start.
So I’m guessing:
________ Szczesny _______
Jenkinson _ Kos _ Verm _ Sagna
_________ Djourou _______
_____Rosicky _ Ramsey ____
Walcott _ Van Persie _ Arshavin
What do you think?
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