Hello everyone.
It's been a long and quiet week and not much is happening still. However, as Arsene's press conference took place today, there are a few things to go on.
We can start with Abou Diaby. Remember him? Well, the Frenchman has made a return for the U-21s side, where he played for 45 minutes. Despite this, he's unlikely to be involved in the first team action before the end of the season, let alone our game on Monday. Which is understandable, Diaby needs time to get back into the swing of things.
However, there is a question of whether Arsenal need him at all. A couple of years back his injury would leave the Gunners light in midfield, now it won't. We are well stocked in this area and have learnt to cope without the Frenchman.
Diaby has one more year to run on his current contract and he'll have to at least stay fit to convince the manager he's not useless. If Abou does that, then, well, we may find him a place on the team. Diaby is that physical guy, the lack of whom we all bemoan, so playing him as a DM from time to time can benefit the Gunners.
Should we rely on the Frenchman's services however? Absolutely not. Unfortunately, his injury record is as long as Dumbledore's beard, so if we need to buy a couple of midfielders in the summer, we should do just that. If Diaby stays fit, great, if not, then we'll bade him farewell in when his contract runs out.
Truth be told, I'm concerned about the state of our squad. And more than a little. We have a very good core of players, but the to-do summer transfer list just keeps getting longer.
We are very unlikely to keep either Sagna or Fabianski, let alone Viviano (who hasn't played once this season), but it's not just these three, who will be gone on July 1st. Vermaelen and Podolski can add up to whopping five players on the cusp of leaving the club. And our midfield doesn't look young in the slightest, mind you.
While I have a small hope that a glorious day at Wembley may change Sagna's and Fabianski's minds, it looks a bit far-fetched. It means a right-back and a goalie are on the books, because Jenkinson and Martinez are just not ready to play at this level yet.
With Podolski and Vermaelen it's not crystal clear, but I personally won't be surprised at their respective exits. Poldi has hinted he won't be against returning to FC Koln, while Vermaelen's agent has been doing his best to talk up the Belgian. This, in its turn means two centre-halves need to be bought (we're still one short, even with Vermaelen) and definitely a winger.
Oh yeah, we also need a striker. A shiny new striker, that'll be able able to provide us with something different to what Giroud has to offer. This all adds up to six players. If need midfielders to replace ageing Arteta and/or Rosicky, this number gets bigger.
Given our transfer policy, even three purchases inside two months seem unlikely, let alone six. The manager himself talked about how risky it can be to bring in more than three players at once (four, with a keeper), so we can find ourselves short of options again when the new camapign starts. That is why I hope that at least Poldi and Vermaelen will stay, to make our job that bit easier.
Until later
It's been a long and quiet week and not much is happening still. However, as Arsene's press conference took place today, there are a few things to go on.
We can start with Abou Diaby. Remember him? Well, the Frenchman has made a return for the U-21s side, where he played for 45 minutes. Despite this, he's unlikely to be involved in the first team action before the end of the season, let alone our game on Monday. Which is understandable, Diaby needs time to get back into the swing of things.
However, there is a question of whether Arsenal need him at all. A couple of years back his injury would leave the Gunners light in midfield, now it won't. We are well stocked in this area and have learnt to cope without the Frenchman.
Diaby has one more year to run on his current contract and he'll have to at least stay fit to convince the manager he's not useless. If Abou does that, then, well, we may find him a place on the team. Diaby is that physical guy, the lack of whom we all bemoan, so playing him as a DM from time to time can benefit the Gunners.
Should we rely on the Frenchman's services however? Absolutely not. Unfortunately, his injury record is as long as Dumbledore's beard, so if we need to buy a couple of midfielders in the summer, we should do just that. If Diaby stays fit, great, if not, then we'll bade him farewell in when his contract runs out.
Truth be told, I'm concerned about the state of our squad. And more than a little. We have a very good core of players, but the to-do summer transfer list just keeps getting longer.
We are very unlikely to keep either Sagna or Fabianski, let alone Viviano (who hasn't played once this season), but it's not just these three, who will be gone on July 1st. Vermaelen and Podolski can add up to whopping five players on the cusp of leaving the club. And our midfield doesn't look young in the slightest, mind you.
While I have a small hope that a glorious day at Wembley may change Sagna's and Fabianski's minds, it looks a bit far-fetched. It means a right-back and a goalie are on the books, because Jenkinson and Martinez are just not ready to play at this level yet.
With Podolski and Vermaelen it's not crystal clear, but I personally won't be surprised at their respective exits. Poldi has hinted he won't be against returning to FC Koln, while Vermaelen's agent has been doing his best to talk up the Belgian. This, in its turn means two centre-halves need to be bought (we're still one short, even with Vermaelen) and definitely a winger.
Oh yeah, we also need a striker. A shiny new striker, that'll be able able to provide us with something different to what Giroud has to offer. This all adds up to six players. If need midfielders to replace ageing Arteta and/or Rosicky, this number gets bigger.
Given our transfer policy, even three purchases inside two months seem unlikely, let alone six. The manager himself talked about how risky it can be to bring in more than three players at once (four, with a keeper), so we can find ourselves short of options again when the new camapign starts. That is why I hope that at least Poldi and Vermaelen will stay, to make our job that bit easier.
Until later