Arsenal Angle – Gunning for Gold

Now that Arsenal would appear to be in a position to spend big money this summer, what exactly does Arsene Wenger need in order to strengthen his squad and get them challenging for the top honours again?

Ever since Chief Executive Ivan Gazidis spoke publicly about how the club was now able to take a far more competitive stance in the transfer market, rumours began to spread about big-name players who could potentially be plying their trade at The Emirates Stadium next season. Strikers in particular have been mentioned the most with the likes of Gonzalo Higuain and Wayne Rooney amongst the names being found most often on websites and in newspapers. But as it stands, the club have yet to begin any activity in the transfer market.

Predicting transfers is not an easy game to play, particularly as every player moves for a different reason. Surely whoever decides to move to Arsenal would be doing it purely because they want the challenge of trying to get the club challenging for The Premier League title again and becoming one of the strongest teams in European and World football. Using Higuain and Rooney as examples, if either of them were to sign for The Gunners this summer, while they certainly wouldn’t be cheap, they would show that Arsenal definitely mean business and could inspire the current players to give that little bit extra this season and maybe even convince other players looking for a move to a new club that Arsenal should be considered a viable option.

Should a new big-name striker arrive at The Emirates, it could have the potential to cause a headache or two for some of the players already at the club. If Arsene Wenger continues to play games with only one striker next season like he did for the previous one, it might not be great news for the likes of Olivier Giroud and Theo Walcott. Giroud certainly didn’t have a bad first season at Arsenal, but he came nowhere near replicating the kind of form Robin Van Persie had at the club the season before he joined, while Walcott who has made it very clear that he would like to play more games as a striker will certainly have less of an opportunity to do so if a new signing joins and Giroud then becomes Wenger’s second choice striker. So unless the manager decides to do a complete tactical overhaul and find a new way to accommodate all three into his new system, there may well be problems later on in the season if a player doesn’t feel he is being used to the best of his abilities.

As well as up front, there are certainly other areas in the squad that The Gunners should look to try and strengthen. If I were Arsene Wenger I’d make signing new defenders a priority if the likes of Laurent Koscielny and Bacary Sagna end up leaving. I’d also be on the hunt for a new left winger as while it is a position that can be filled by the likes of Lukas Podolski and Gervinho, there are much stronger players out there that could do a better job and pose a much greater threat to opposition players. While there are a whole host of names out there that I’m sure Arsenal fans would love to see wearing the famous red and white shirt next season, it all comes down to whether or not a player is really interested in moving to the club and all transfer and contract talks run smoothly.

Perhaps all it will take is for the first Arsenal signing this summer to already be a household name that will then inspire several other top players out there to consider Arsenal a good choice of team to play for. Until news of any transfer offer breaks, speculation will continue on who will potentially be playing as part of an Arsenal side next season that will be looking to try and bring back the glory days of the past and once again make themselves a powerful footballing force for all of the world to see.

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