SUMMER TRANSFERS IN: Mikael Silvestre (Manchester United, undisclosed) Amaury Bischoff (Werder Bremen, undisclosed) Carlos Vela (Osasuna, loan expired) Aaron Ramsey (Cardiff City, £5M) Samir Nasri (Marsielle, undisclosed) OUT: Armand Traore (Portsmouth, loan) Nacer Barazite (Derby, loan) Kerrea Gilbert (Leicester, loan) Matheiu Flamini (AC Milan, free transfer) Jens Lehmann (VfB Stuttgard, free transfer) Gilberto Silva (Panathinaikos, £1M) Alexandre Hleb (FC Barcelona, £11.8M) Last updated: 27/08/2008
WINTER TRANSFERS IN: Andrey Arshavin (Zenit St Petersburg, undisclosed) OUT: Jay Simpson (West Bromwich Albion, loan) Last updated: Tuesday, January 13th, 2009
Looking at the summer activity I am quite pleased with the new transfers. Bischoff was an absolute waste of money - I don't even think I've seen him play yet. Wenger did admit that he was a gamble, and I'm not even sure what role he was supposed to fill. Nasri, of course, has been fantastic, and has taken over the left wing superbly. Wenger will also be installing him into the centre midfield until Fabregas returns to give us some flair and creativity. Ramsey is a huge prospect for the future. When I saw him come on against Bolton, I could tell that he's great at holding up the play, and waiting for space to be created. Also, he used to be great at rugby so he won't get pushed around like most of our squad does. Vela is another huge boost to the squad even though he wasn't exactly a signing. I can't wait to see him in a few years - He will be a top striker if everything goes to plan (knock on wood). Silvestre has surprised me. I was expecting a washed-out, old man in the centre-back role, but he has been doing fairly well. Of couse, he's not gonna be world-class, but he hasn't made any huge mistakes. I do believe that we're still missing Hleb, Flamini, and Gilberto a lot. Walcott has filled Hleb's boots superbly, so we should be fine on the long run, but while he is out injured, Eboue has be lack-luster (no offense, mate). I do believe Flamini was the correct person to fill Viera's shoes, but now that we lost him we're back to square one. I thought Denilson would of been the guy to take over, but he's absolutey shit. This is the first time I've been disappointed in Wenger's judgement. Perhaps the boy is over-whelmed being in the first-team squad without Fabregas, or something. Maybe he thinks we're expecting too much from him? Don't forget, he's only 20 (almost 21). Diaby is another guy who has really stepped up his game. I didn't realize how technical he is with his footwork because he looks like a lanky sort of player who relies on pace more than skill. Once we get our full squad back, I would like to see Rosicky playing on the left (if he's still the player he used to be), and Walcott on the right wing (of course). I think that Nasri should be molded into a centre-lying player because he has the same sort of mold as Fabregas, or maybe we will be seeing Fabregas pushed up in an attacking position with Ramsey/Denilson behind him in the holding roll, and flanked by Walcott and Nasri. Who knows what Wenger has up his sleeve? For this summer, or this current window, I'd like to see a new goalkeeper, another centre-back, and an experienced midfielder that can control the team, and hold up the play. I've been a bit skeptical about the Arshavin rumors. He's more of an attacking midfielder, and I feel that it will destroy Arsenal's style of play. We usually play the traditional 4-4-2 with a few tweaks. We like to have our wing backs push up (Clichy and Sanga are great at it) and exchange passes with out left and right wingers. If Arshavin came in, he would have to be in a AMC position which woud change us to a 4-3-1-2. This would ruin Walcott's position as well as Fabregas', and Nasri's. Fabregas would have to be some sort of play making defensive midfielder (which is possible, I guess - Xabi Alonso does it), and Walcott would no use for his pace. Maybe Wenger will mold Arshavin much like he did to Henry, but the only problem is that Arshavin is much older than everyone thinks (26, I believe). Anyway, we'll see what happens. I was gonna write a little analysis, but it turned into a full-on novel!
Personally I think Nasri was Arsenal's best transfer. I knew he was good, but I thought he was a little overrated. He's been playing great and hopefully he keeps it up.
