may 22nd
09.21 – There’s even less happening today than there was yesterday. Arsene might have a few quid extra to spend now that the club have won their trademark case against merchandise seller Matthew Reed. Is it a case of Arsenal bullying the little guy or are they trying to set a precedent against somebody ripping off their merchandise on a bigger scale? People are always going to make knock off gear – I just have to go down to the market here on a Saturday to take my pick of fake Burberry, Armani, Calvin Klein etc. They’re still rich. Anyway, who cares? Not me.
Right, so I said I’d do something about the ins and out at Arsenal this summer. This is pure conjecture on my part (mostly) and this is who I think will come and go and why, and who we’ll see more of from the youths.
OUTS
Kanu
his wages would free up some extra cash to give to Bob and Paddy to make them stay. He’s been out of the picture for most of this season, but isn’t the monster some people seem to think he is. Who’ll take him though?
Gio
Hasn’t really had much luck since joining Arsenal – appears to be a bit lightweight and brittle. He could fetch £3m+. He’s never going to play regularly in central midfield, he’s no left back, let’s get a few bob for him now.
David Seaman
He wants to stay as Number 1, it doesn’t look as if that’s going to happen. He’ll go to Man City or somewhere equally lame so he can play on.
Oleg Luzhny
His fine FA Cup final performance would be a nice way to go out. I like Super Oleg, but I think giving him another year would be a backward step. What he can do, Toure and Volz can probably do, but with a bit more pace.
Francis Jeffers
He’s proved a handy enough player this season, but again he missed a large chunk of it from being injured. I think that if a reasonable offer came in, and Birmingham seem to want to buy him, AW could sell.
Igors Stepanovs
Just because. I think we’d all rather see a young player come through and get a chance than see the ginger fella play again. He should be flogged off, even though he doesn’t seem to want to go anywhere. He’s had a chance to move and get first team football before and he turned it down. Loyal to Arsenal? Happy to play in the reserves and pick up nice money more like. We don’t need him.
INS
A goalkeeper
Personally I think we should save the cash and spend it on good defenders, but it seems AW is determined to buy a keeper. All the talk is about Rustu or Friedel or Carini again, but I wouldn’t be surprised to Thomas Sorensen in nets next season.
Central defenders
We’ve got Senderos coming, I expect Keown to stay for another year to pass on his experience to him and whoever else comes. But we need at least one more in my opinion. Gallas, John Terry, Mexes, Hofland, Mellberg etc are the usual suspects.
Somebody like Gareth Southgate would be a nice signing in my opinion, and I hope this summer this is an area where AW spends some cash on an established player and doesn’t try to unearth another diamond in the rough who turns out to be a mere cubic zirconia.
Elsewhere
Although he’s said he’s just looking for a keeper and a defender, I think that we could perhaps spend on somebody up front. If Kanu and Jeffers leave, and Wiltord fails to agree a new contract, we’ll need somebody.
Patrick Kluivert might be worth a punt. He’s out of contract next summer and Barcelona are seriously in debt. £6m could buy him. He’d certainly give us some more physical presence up front, he’s good in the air and when he’s hot, he’s really hot. It’s just that sometimes he plays like a newborn calf trying to walk for the first time. Still, he’d get at least 20 a season alongside TH14, no problem.
Also in Spain Arsenal continue to closely monitor Seville striker Jose Antonio Reyes. Arsenal were very close to making a definite bid back in March, according to the Spanish press. With the transfer market so deflated, Wenger could choose to bring his favoured replacement for Dennis Bergkamp to THOF this season.
So that’s the ins and outs. Who’s going to make the breakthrough from the youths? The obvious candidates are Jermaine Pennant and Jeremie Aliaidiere, and I expect the latter to feature more. For Pennant to play more games, I think Wiltord will have to leave. After Freddie, Wiltord is AW’s preferred choice on the right – although the hat-trick against Southampton may make the boss think a bit about the pecking order if Wiltord stays.
Moritz Volz is highly-rated, and could provide cover at right back. Sebastian Svard, David Bentley, Ryan Garry and Jerome Thomas are others who could get a look in. Don’t expect too much though, if 2 of those 7 are established in the first team squad by this time next year, we’ll be doing well.
So there you have it. In a couple of months time I’ll be proved completely wrong, natch. Still, speculating is fun. Feel free to join in.
