5 Players I would buy if I was Arsene Wenger, and lay out of the team

It is evident that Arsenal need some reinforcements to come in this January if they want to qualify for the champions league and challenge the Manchester clubs.
I believe that these four players could well be the reinforcements needed if Arsenal are to stop their 8 year trophy drought and bring an end to the the frustration that has surrounded the club and its supporters for years.

There are rumours Villa favours a move from the Catalan giants to Arsenal for more game-time, as since his leg break he has played little, and very rarely as a striker, the position which he wants to play in, and deserves to play in.
Arsenal fans are getting sick of Arsene Wenger’s “little promising player” transfer attitude, and have been calling for the signing of a world-class player for a while now. David Villa is definitely not injury prone, as one bad injury does not make you injury prone, and being 31, although not the sort of player Wenger normally goes for, Villa still has a terrific turn of pace and a deadly finish, a Thierry Henry quality, something which Arsenal have been without since, well, Thierry Henry.
I have been a great admirer of Villa for ages now, and would probably explode with happiness if he did sign for Arsenal, for me, if he wants to come, and Barca understand that, and are willing to accept in the region of 15 million for the Spanish forward, there’s no reason why it shouldn’t happen.
Villa will certainly be a great asset to Arsenal’s strikeforce, and will give them the one type of striker they don’t have; the skillful, quick, finisher. Although Walcott is quick and is a goo finisher, even if he does stay, it cannot be said that he is particularly skillful.

Down the other end of the pitch, with the departures of Johan Djourou and Sebastien Squillaci for at least the rest of the season, Arsenal are left with only three experienced centre-backs, and trouble begins when one of these three get injured, especially seeing as Ignasi Miquel may be leaving on loan.
Yanga Mbiwa is a strong, quick, and technically good centre back, similar to his French compatriot Koscielny, but Mbiwa can also be deployed in defensive midfield.
Mbiwa could also be around on the cheap, potentially as little as 4 million now that Montpellier are out of the Champions League. Overall, Mbiwa would be a good versatile signing, although apparently he is said to prefer a move to Manchester United.

In the summer I wrote a similar piece on who I would buy if I was Wenger, and I included this man then as well. I have included him this January incase Walcott leaves, which looks ever more likely.
Navas is almost as quick as Walcott, but uses his pace to more of an advantage than Walcott, in my opinion. Navas is also technically better than Walcott, and is one of the finest dribblers in La Liga. Not forgetting, his fantastic crossing ability, which is up there with the best in the world, I’m sure Giroud would love to see Jesus Navas bombing down the right wing for Arsenal this year.
Also, if Arsenal really are to buy David Villa, Jesus Navas could hop on the same plane, as both have experience with one another at international level.

The rumours surrounding Turan signing for Arsenal seemed to have vanished, and many believe it was a publicity stunt as Turan has been saying for a while that he believes he deserves more wages at Atletico.
Nonetheless, in a previous article I wrote, I stated how Turan is a different type of winger to the wingers Arsenal already have. All the Arsenal wingers, especially Chamberlain and Walcott are fairly reliant on their pace, and all four wingers are not as technically gifted as the likes of Cazorla, Wilshere, and Arteta. However, Arda Turan is a very different type of winger, he is technically as good as the likes of Wilshere and Cazorla, but plays on the wing. Turan is more of a dribbler, and creator than Podolski and Walcott, and especially Gervinho, and a different dimension of winger could be just what Arsenal need to balance their strikeforce.
Turan can also play more centrally, and would most probably be used by Wenger as a winger, as the Arsenal midfield is great at the moment.
He would balance Arsenal’s strikeforce, and give them a different dimension, maybe Turan could hop on the same plane Jesus Navas and David Villa are taking?

Lastly, I know the type of player that I would buy, but I don’t know specifically who.
I read somewhere recently that every top European team has a box-to-box midfielder that protects the deep lying playmaker, in this case Arteta. For example, Pirlo has Vidal. Alonso has Khedira. Schweinsteiger has Gustavo, etc. Although Wilshere has been deployed as the ‘Vidal’ since his injury, he is simply too offensive minded to play that position.
Arteta is forever being exposed due to this, and we don’t necessarily need an M’Vila type defensive midfielder, we just need an Arturo Vidal type of player, who never stops running, and is slightly more focused on the defensive aspect of the game.
Sadly, I am not Arsene Wenger, so if he’s reading this looking for ideas I can’t recommend anyone, but if Wenger believes this is what Arsenal need, then I’m sure he’ll have someone in mind.Ideally, Arturo Vidal, but he would never leave Juventus for Arsenal.
If all these signings were to take place, then Arsenal would need a switch around in positions, or formation to accommodate them.
I have briefly come up with two solutions, both starting line-ups are without Walcott, and have access to all 5 players I have listed.

A 4-4-2 formation would accommodate the arrival of David Villa, Giroud, and Walcott if he stayed and Wenger decided to play him as a striker, this formation may also mean Arteta has more protection, but only 2 of 3 of Arsenal’s current midfielders could play.
GK: Szczesny
Right-back: Sagna / Jenkinson
Centre backs: M’Biwa, Vermaelen
Left-back: Gibbs
Right midfield: Jesus Navas
Centre midfielders: A combination of any 2 of Wilshere, Arteta, Cazorla, and the Mystery Box to Box midfielder I mentioned.
Left midfield: Podolski / Chamberlain
Strikers: David Villa and Giroud.
Overall, I believe this formation could change Arsenal for the better, bearing in mind this would be a free-flow 4-4-2 rather than a strict Roy Hodgson 4-4-2.

The 4-3-3 Formation that Arsenal currently play, with Cazorla in the hole could still exist with these signings, all that would happen would be some player position changes.
GK: Szczesny
Right-back: Sagna / Jenkinson
Centre backs: Mbiwa and Vermaelen
Left-back: Gibbs
Holding midfielder: Arteta
Box to box midfielder: Mystery Box to Box Midfielder
In the hole player: Wilshere
Right Wing: Jesus Navas/Santi Cazorla
Left Wing: Podolski / Chamberlain
Striker: David Villa / Giroud
I believe that the emergence of the box to box midfielder could allow Wilshere to play in the hole, and Santi Cazorla to go back to the position he is most experienced in, at Right Wing, where he played for Villarreal.
I think both these teams could challenge for the FA cup, Champions League, and next year challenge for the title in the Premier League. But ultimately, we’ll see what happens.
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