I feel that Arsenal need to get rid of Gilberto, Van Injury (persie), Senderos, Eboue and bloody lehman
and to bring in Ben Arfa and another top quatily denfender and striker and another keeper just in case
what your views on this

I write this in fear of a backlash from uber-Gooners Specnur, 5murfy and Axeman, but what the hell.

I believe they need a right-winger badly. In their first team this is the only place unoccupied by a quality player really, unless Hleb plays there, but i think the Belarusian's better in a central attacking midfield position. Eboue has not got the end product, whilst Walcott is a striker and always has been (not that he's good enough either mind, not yet anyway). Who that winger should be eludes me, with their being little point in making suggestions as i doubt i'd of tipped Wenger to sign the likes of Rosicky, Hleb etc.

The only way i'd go for a striker with them is if that player has a mammoth potential - i don't know whether there's any point in buying for the sake of it, say to fill a temporary gap caused by the injuries of Eduardo and Van Persie, and indeed i know Wenger won't do such a thing. The other way is if you're either giving up on the Dutchman (although that'd be a bit premature, as he's an amazing player) or concluding that Bendtner isn't good enough. Other than that i'd persevere.

It's natural that people will go crazy saying Arsenal need four or five new players, but to lose the title with four games to go only shows how close they are. I don't actually think the gap is that big between Liverpool challenging, so i certainly don't think it's too big between Arsenal winning it.

The right-winger should be the only first-team signing, and with Wenger announcing that he'll make one experienced acquisition i'd hope (from an Arsenal perspective) that it's in such a position. Then i'd expect the squad to be bolstered more than anything, perhaps with a new full-back (given that i'm not overly impressed by your cover for Clichy and Sagna) as well as a new centre-back... I don't think Senderos is going to displace Gallas or Toure once either reaches the end of their respective Arsenal careers (not too far away, given their both in or nearing their 30's), and so i'd really expect someone to replace him who has a better future. Like Liverpool have signed Skrtel to gradually succeed Carragher.

The rest really depends on how you feel about the likes of Diaby, Denilson, Song, Djourou, Fabianski, Traore, Hoyte, Eboue, Walcott etc. to act as adequate squad players to make the option of rotation possible (which is needed to keep players fresh). And even though i feel i have a degree on Arsenal, given the amount of times we've played them over the past two season's, i'll leave that up to those who watch them regularly to decide.

So to summarise, i'd expect Wenger to sign a right-midfield type player, and then merely bolster his numbers, replacing any squad players that he feels aren't up to it.

Gallas is over his 30's and i thought Toure was closer to mid 20's.

First, I haven't read Ben91's post yet, but will post mine and then read his and reply to it.


These are my thoughts on what Arsenal and Wenger need/should do ...

Who should go

I feel that Hoyte needs to pack his bags and leave the Emirates. Nothing more needs to be said about that, I think we all know why he needs to go.

I think Gilberto needs to go as well. If (a big if) we resign Flamini, I believe Gilberto will again go through a season with little games under his belt. Unfortunately for us, Gilberto is one of those players that needs games and becomes better and better with the more games he plays. He just doesn't play well as a bench player in a limited roll. He just doesn't perform. And for this reason, I feel he must leave, for the better of Arsenal and for himself (since I give a lot of respect to him). I was devastated when Wenger sold Diarra to Portsmouth, because in my mind, I saw Diarra as a perfect replacement/interchangeable player with Flamini.

I would like to see Eboue leave Arsenal. He's just not good. If Wenger for some odd reason decides to keep him, Wenger needs to use him as a backup for Sagna at RB. Eboue should not play at RM and that has been proven by his numbers this year. 30 matches played, 0 goals, 2 assists. For a winger on a squad like Arsenal to produce those numbers is terrible. So either use him as backup at RB or ship him off somewhere.

Senderos, I really don't have too much of an issue with him. Yes he's a liability at times, but he can also put in a good string of matches which he did while Toure was gone to the Africa Cup of Nations. I would like to see Senderos stay around as backup/cover. But I would like Wenger to buy another CB, to be third in line (behind Toure and Gallas), and then have Senderos headline the Carling Cup squad and be 4th in line. This will give us depth incase of an injury or fatigue which Toure and Gallas are both suffering from right now. Senderos also doesn’t complain about playing time, so he’s good for 3rd or 4th in line. Also he’s been heartbroken since the Liverpool match. He’s placed all blame on himself and has been really hard on himself. Wenger has already sat him, and will not play him again this year because his head isn’t on straight right now. Which I take as a double edged sword. 1. It shows his passion for Arsenal, and he’s stood up like a man and taken responsibility for his errors. 2. Will he recover from this? If not, bad news; if so, good news and he might work even harder and become a better player.

Lehmann is most likely on his way out. Good? Bad? doesn't really matter. Almunia has been solid back there. And we have Fabianski who is also quality. Yes he had a bad game against Tottenham in the Carling Cup, but that wasn't solely due to his play or ability. Prior to that, he had 3 clean sheets I believe.

Who should come in

I think we need one quality/clinical striker to be 3rd in the pecking order (I'm writing Eduardo off for the season). This player should have similar quality to our two main strikers in Adebayor and Van Persie. He should be able to be placed in just incase of injury or fatigue and not miss a beat.

We need to pick up two midfielders. These two should be NATURAL wingers. It's very important that they are natural wide players. All the players we play on the wing currently are natural central midfielders. And it shows in their play, they always tend to turn inside towards the middle of the pitch instead of running around towards the byline and pulling the ball back for someone making a run. Walcott lately has done this with great success (against AC Milan, and Liverpool to name two).

Finally, we need to pick up two competent and quality defenders. A CB with enough quality to interchange with Toure/Gallas come an injury or fatigue. And someone that can play at RB or LB (preferably RB so we can get rid of Eboue). We have Traore over on the LB as cover for Clichy. I feel that Traore is still young but has a lot of growing to do and could become a player with quality for us.

Starting first XI
Almunia
Sagna - Toure/(new signing) - Gallas - Clichy
Hleb - Fabregas - Flamini - Rosicky
Van Persie - Adebayor / (new signing, someone established)

Bench:
Walcott, Fabianski, Vela, Eduardo, Denilson, Toure/(new signing), (new signing)


Starting second XI
Fabianski
Song/(new signing) - Toure/(new signing) - Senderos - Traore
Walcott - Merida/Song - Denilson - (new signing/Vela)
Bendtner - (new signing)

^ Hopefully that makes sense.


As for potential strikers that could come aboard ... (copied and pasted from what I posted in the other thread)

Adriano should be available. However he comes with some baggage; but could come for pretty cheap and if he leaves his baggage at the airport, could be a great acquisition.

Lukas Podolski is another player that could be on the move. He's not happy at Bayern Munich at the moment with the lack of first team opportunities. He was already rumored with Manchester City over the January transfer period. I feel that he would fit in well with the style that Arsenal play. The wild card here will be Jurgen Klinsmann taking over next year for Bayern Munich.

Also if Sevilla don't grab a top 4 finish in La Liga and a spot in the CL, the word is they'll be selling a few players. That would possibly mean that Luis Fabiano and/or Frederic Kanoute could be on the market (prefer Fabiano).

Further on Sevilla, if they do end up selling a few players. Daniel Alves would be a godsend.

I have also posted previously that I wouldn't mind seeing Samir Nasri and Ben Arfa come in.

As for defenders, I have no idea. But I'm sure Wenger can find someone that's a no name like he found Sagna who has been rock solid back there.

i'm shocked and personally offended that you think we should get rid of RVP! just because hes had a few injuries,hes still an amazing striker.

anyway...i think we need to get rid of bender (wont happen) hoyte, eboue and senderos. lehmann will be leaving anyway to go buy his zimmer frame!

1. I feel that we need a left winger more than a right winger. Walcott has quality and he has shown that in the past 2 months in various games against various opponents. Yes, Walcott is originally a striker, but Wenger will continue to play him on the wing for another year or two; training and developing him a la Henry. The only time you'll see him playing up front as a striker will probably be in the Carling Cup next to Bendtner or a possible new signing. We don't really have anyone on the left, Rosicky? Diaby? They are both center midfielders and always tend to turn in towards the middle of the pitch. But yes, we need a NATURAL winger (or two).

2. Due to me writing off Eduardo for next year. Yes he might be back in January, but who's to say what kind of player he will be, and how long it'll take him to become match fit, and secure and confident with himself on the pitch again. Without Eduardo, our strike force is Adebayor, Van Persie and Bendtner. We need to pick up someone that an interchange with Adebayor and/or Van Persie incase injury and fatigue and be the third striker in the pecking order.

3. I don't feel we need 4 or 5 players to replace anyone per se (other than Eboue), but we need 4-5 players for extra depth in key positions and to replace the 3-4 that are going out. (4-5 players coming in not including Vela and Merida) We need depth pretty badly, our squad is too thin to be competitive in all 4 competitions and go this far into the campaign. You can tell by the lapses in concentration and the lackluster player of a few players. Some players just seem like they are playing a notch or two below what they are capable of and showed in the beginning of the campaign.

4. From your list. Diaby (good), Denilson (good), Song (good), Djourou (ehhh), Fabianski (good), Traore (potential), Hoyte (bye bye), Eboue (bye bye), Walcott (future)


And Toure is 27, Gallas 30. Gallas has a good 3 years left in him, Toure has several. If we sign a quality CB that can interchange with either of them two, it'll be good. And we have 17 year old Havard Nordtveit who is a highly rated prospect. So he's got 3 or 4 years before he'll be needed, but that's thinking way into the future. But the age of Gallas and Toure shouldn't be much of a problem.

I feel they need a Goal Keeper, a Centre back, Right Winger and a Striker as i dont think Eduardo will be in contecntion to play regular football till the season after next.

Fran Merida, Havard Nordtveit and Carlos Vela are supposed to be real talents.

So that's a central midfielder, a winger/striker and a centre back.

That leaves Arsenal needing, well, nothing. You can all throw around names of established players but Arsene won't sign them because he almost never does. Also bear in mind that if they signs anyone there's a 9/10 chance they will be french speaking. So that leaves Benzema, Nasri or Briand as attacking prospects for established players. Like I said before though, if you looks at Wengers youth prospects and his track record of using a small squad then chances are he will sign a few kids from the French third division or raid Barcelona's youth team.

wenger keeps sayin he will only sign one player- so its probably going to be either a 3rd choice goal keeper to replace lehmann or a defensive midfielder to replace gilberto... take your pick

Depends in Flamini leaves. Remeber that Diaby is really a defensive midfielder so when Gilberto leaves he will play there more.

so then it will probably be a goal keeper.

I suppose it depends if wenger means he needs one first team player, or one squad player in general.

If he means first team, assuming fabianski gets promoted to 2nd GK, and soemone from the youth stup comes throught to 3rd GK, then logic suggests a centre back or a right back.

probably someone like Mica Richards who can do both

If Flamini leaves i will actually cry. he'd be SUCH a big loss

i cant see him leaving, its been a joy to watch cesc and flamini in the middle this season. he is an important player for you and i can understand that a few top teams will be interested but i think he will be happy to sign a new contract. why would he want to leave the prem? the CL has shown its the best league.

I can't see him spending the money on Micah though. Chances are he'll sign some French nobody who turns out to be rock solid like Sagna did.

i cant see him leaving either, he has worked so hard to overtake gilberto, and your right, most of the other big clubs in europe are in such a mess right now its difficult to see him wanting to go anywhere. I dont see him as one of the money grubber type players.

Only clubs i could see him going to are ac milan, inter or juventus. If he signs his new contract, they wouldnt be able to afford him anyway.

yeah i was convinced he'd leave last year and was really happy when he didnt. i think that the only issue was the fact he wasnt getting regular first team football, but he is now, so i reckon he'll stay. he always seems really passionate and i dont think he'd give up the chance to be at Arsenal easily.

He said, one "established" player. Doesn't mean he won't bring in a good 3-4 players.

Not sure why some of you are asking for RB. It doesn't make sense. Arsenal have Sagna back there who's rock solid and arguably one of the best RB's in the league. What is needed back there is a backup player that can take place of Sagna in the Carling Cup or if Sagna gets injured/tired. Beyond that, there isn't really a need.

I also feel a LW is more needed than a RW (if I was only to choose one). Walcott is plenty capable of playing on the right (which is where he will play for at least another season), while we have no one really beyond Rosicky that can play on the left. Diaby plays that roll, but he's better suited to play in the middle in the roll of Flamini/Gilberto, as Wenger brought in Diaby to be the direct replacement for Vierra.

Arsene Wenger has insisted he is ready to spend big money in the transfer window if he feels a player is worth it.

Wenger's policy in recent seasons has been to bring in promising youngsters from around Europe and mould them into better players.

He has unearthed a number of gems but critics have argued that he should move for more established professionals this summer after another season without silverware.

Speaking before the defeat at Old Trafford on Sunday, Wenger stated that he may only sign one experienced player prior to next term.

Francis Jeffers and Jose Antonio Reyes both failed to live up to hefty price tags but Wenger maintains that has not put him off spending large amounts.

The Gunners boss has also dismissed suggestions that he would be 'scared' of bringing in a superstar like Ronaldinho.

"Scared of what? I would not be scared. We couldn't afford him now so we have to forget it," Wenger told the club's official website.

"But the money (we have paid out) is not comparable to what other teams have spent on players.

"For example with Reyes we got a big part back and for Jeffers a little part back.

"If we have the money, and I am convinced it is worth it, we will do it."



According to sky sports he has said this but by the sounds of it he does want to spend big this summer on some quality players and is not scared of it dont really blame him Man Utd and Chelsea can do it so why cant we with the money now coming in from profits because of our stadium

The reason i suggested a right-winger really was because you have no player of first-team ability for that position, whereas Rosicky has covered that position recently - it's a question of who's the more adequate in the starting eleven, Rosicky or Eboue/Walcott, and for me it's a no-brainer (even if Rosicky isn't a natural winger).

Do you not feel you have too many central midfielders though? Flamini, Fabregas, Rosicky, Hleb, Song (i'm not sure whether this is his primary position), Merida and Denilson. That's 7 players for two positions (3 if you play with a lone striker). It's pretty damn excessive when considering your weakness is on the wing.



I didn't realise Eduardo would be out for such a long time. I seem to remember them saying he'd be able to return in 9 months, making for around late November. If he's going to struggle for next season then you'll need to sign someone else, otherwise you'll be left with one striker, another injury-prone one and a final youngster. However, were this to happen i could definitely see Bendtner being forced out in the long run.



By 4-5 new players i meant established ones, so yes i'd agree that something like that is accurate to give each position adequate cover and replace those departing ('keeper, full-back, perhaps centre-back, winger, perhaps striker).