By Billy Rodgers
After a long and hard season for Arsenal, the EPL finally ended this Sunday. It was nowhere near as exhilarating as the final day of the season last year, where first place, champions league spots, and other places were up for grabs. This year it was a battle between Arsenal and Tottenham to secure the final spot in the Champions League, with Chelsea already securing a champions spot. It came down to the wire with Arsenal beating Newcastle 1-0 on a brilliant, acrobatic attempt from Laurent Koscielny. Spurs won as well, a 1-0 victory over Sunderland but once again it wasn’t enough for the Spuds (so close but so far). Arsenal finished in 4th place with 73 points, and Spurs in 5th with 72 points. So dons another year of Europa League football for Spurs and another year of Champions League football for Arsenal under the one and only Arsene Wenger.
With the conclusion of the season begins the offseason where players are sold, bought, and called up. It could be one of the most important summers so far under Arsene Wenger, as Arsenal are just coming out of debt from building Emirates Stadium. Reports are that Wenger has available funds between £70 million and £100 million to spend on players. Improvement is a must this summer and Wenger must improve the squad to go on and challenge for major trophies in the coming seasons. Highlighted below are positions that must be strengthened and players who could possibly fit that bill.
Goalkeeper: It was far from a bad season for Arsenal keeper Wojciech Szczesny but he had his ups and downs. People are quick to criticize Szczesny without realizing he is only 23 years old. Szczesny was dropped from the lineup late in the season to Lukas Fabianski but when he came back in the lineup he was better than ever. A second keeper, preferably with lots of experience, would do wonders for Szczesny potential. Arsenal has scouted a few keepers so far but there is one target I think they should sign for sure.
Julio Cesar (QPR) – After transferring to QPR this summer from Inter Milan, Cesar had a decent season. He kept a very shaky QPR in a lot of games and made some spectacular saves. At the age of 33, Cesar has great club experience, as well as International experience under his belt. I don’t know if he would be the first choice keeper but he would definitely provide some great competition for Wojciech Szczesny.
Julio Cesar 2012-2013 highlights: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q3YcDQSikD0
Center Back: Ever since Thomas Vermaelen was dropped from the squad in the late stages of the season Laurent Koscielny and Per Mertesacker have formed a great partnership in the center of the field. There is a lot of speculation whether Vermaelen will stay of leave this summer but either way the injection of another center back would be valuable. Number one on my list of center backs is…
Ashley Williams (Swansea) – This could be a very difficult signing to pull off as Williams is the captain of Swansea and he seems happy there. He would provide valuable leadership and poise in the center of the park which Arsenal need. If Wenger is able to pry Williams away from Swansea I will be surprised but it would certainly be a great signing.
Ashley Williams vs. Manchester United: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6exUt5MNVcA
Defensive Midfielder: Abou Diaby was supposed to become the defensive and muscle of the midfield this year after Alex Song was sold to Barca. He played brilliantly the first couple games of the season but had more injury problems and is now sidelined long term. Mikel Arteta had to be converted into the defensive midfielder role this year which helped at times and wasn’t good at times. Arsenal has been linked with…
Maxime Gonalons (Lyon) and Etienne Capoue (Toulouse) – Both strong and commanding players who can hold in the middle of the park and support the midfield while staying back to defend. These will be tough transfers to make as well as both players have been linked with big teams and could go somewhere like PSG rather than Arsenal.
Gonalons vs. Marseille: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MX_-2Ir42ac
Capoue 2012-2013: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=21siHBLgBqk
TOP CLASS Forward: I say top class only because former Arsenal captain, Robin van Persie, has yet to be replaced still. Olivier Giroud had a great debut season but he was no were close to producing some of the magic RvP produced at times. I think Giroud is a good second string forward and also a good physical impact off the bench. Arsenal really needs a proven and a top class forward to help them compete for the title. They have been linked with…
Stevan Jovetic (Fiorentina) and Gonzalo Higuain (Real Madrid): One of these players could be the missing puzzle piece to Arsenal. Jovetic, who is a very skillful player, can play as a forward or in an advanced midfield role, scored 13 goals this season. Higuain, a world class player who most know about would be an excellent signing and could stick right up front for Arsenal. Jovetic’s agent was believed to be in London but Fiorentina denies that any contact from Arsenal has been made. Real Madrid has already confirmed that Higuain will leave at the end of the season but it depends who can pay his wages and pay Madrid the price they want. If either of these transfers are completed it will show great ambition from Arsenal.
Stevan Jovetic 2012-2013 (ALL GOALS): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l0Pg7y7S2hA
Gonzalo Higuain 2012-2013: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f8RYiS0zv1A
Youth Academy: This is the one wildcard in the whole equation but there could be a lot of the younger players on Arsenal on the move throughout the club. Players like Ryo Myiachi and Emmanuel Frimpong will return from loan spells with their respective clubs and compete for first team playing time. There will also be some youngsters from the U-21 side who may have a first team chance next season, or even be moved up and play with the first team full time. Watch out for the likes of Serge Gnabry, Chuba Akpom, Thomas Eisfeld, and a few more of the most skilled youngsters. Once again this is a wild card so you never know what could happen in the youth academy.
Now that you’ve hopefully read all of this, we as fans can only sit back and wait and see what the summers holds in store. Be sure to check the news everyday as there are new rumors and new developments every day. I hope you enjoyed and maybe one or two of these players will actually sign for Arsenal FC. Later!
Views From the Touch Line 