I can't remember a Gunners signing being this drawn out and tedious but in the end it seems like we fended off the trollops and ditch diggers and got our man to Emirates. Moroccan international striker Marouane Chamakh is set to join Arsenal this summer. Chamakh was being perused by a few second- and third-rate English clubs but from the start he really only expressed interest in Arsenal, showing the boy has some sense if a lack of tact. The tall striker is expected to compete for playing time with inconsistent Danish forward Nicolas Bendtner and hustle-and-fumble winger Theo Walcott. The work has only begun for Arsenal this upcoming offseason. Manager Arsene Wenger has a long list of priorities to work through in what will prove to be the busiest summer in recent memory for the Gunners. 1. Cesc Fabregas Throughout the media frenzy surrounding Fabregas for the past year Arsenal's skip has only expressed interest in remaining with the club. It seems a new contract will be signed making Cesc the highest paid player in Arsenal history--and the sooner the better. 2. William Gallas The aging French central defender is so far unwilling to sign a one-year contract extension with the club, per club policy for players over 30. Gallas has been getting overtures from teams outside of England and may look for a move if a long-term and rich contract can be found. There are more than a few French teams that would like him and recently Italian and Spanish clubs have expressed interest as well. Though it seems more likely than not that he will eventually acquiesce and stay, if he is to leave a huge gap in Arsenal's defence will have to be fixed with a first-rate signing. So far very few players have been on Arsenal's radar with Bolton giant Brede Hangeland supposedly at the top of the wish list. 3. Goalkeeping If Arsenal manage to win anything this season goalkeeping will likely fade into the background. If not, pundits, critics, and fans alike will be wondering aloud if the Gunners can accomplish anything with unpredictable and unreliable goalkeeping. The development of Italian teenager Vito Mannone has been encouraging (and rumours of Szczesny's training prowess continue) but Arsenal need a first team keeper in the meantime. Wenger has been a staunch supporter of his keepers but the professor is well aware of their limitations. If the back line is to lose William Gallas upgrading the keeper becomes that much more important. 4. Training Arsenal's Achilles Heel is injuries. Whether it is symptomatic of a delicate roster, a conspiracy by opposing teams to kick and hurt Gunners, or just bad luck, Arsenal's training, conditioning, and strength development needs an overhaul. Every Arsenal season in recent memory seems to get off the rails because of heaps of injuries. Arsenal should be exploring every avenue to improve the conditioning of their players to try and prevent injury, and I'm not talking about buying more horse placentas. 5. Sol Campbell & Phillipe Senderos Wenger's shock move to bring Campbell back to Arsenal this season was a move made out of necessity. Campbell will likely be happy to sign a one-year contract to stick around if Arsene will have him. If not, his departure could be made up for with the return of injured Swiss defender Johan Djourou. The forgotten man at Arsenal is Swiss international Phillipe Senderos who has barely gotten his boots dirty this season outside of training. Wenger has no faith at all in the man and he will be shipped out unceremoniously this summer wondering if he's wasted some of his prime footballing years. Expected lineup for next season... 4-3-3 Almunia (Fabianski, Mannone, Szczesny) Sanga (Eboue, Gilbert) Gallas (Campbell, Djourou) Vermaelen (Silvestre, Bartley) Clichy (Gibbs, Traore, Cruise) Song (Denilson, Eastmond) Fabregas (Ramsey, Wilshire, Randall) Nasri (Diaby, Rosicky, Merida) Arshavin (Walcott, Emmanuel-Thomas) Van Persie (Eduardo, Watt) Bendtner (Chamakh, Vela)
I really don't think we going to give Gallas a multi-year deal....So either he'll budge which i don't anticipate or we'll have to pull another gem this offseason, like we did with Vermaelen, It would have be ideal if we got Smalling. With that said, if we can't secure Gallas replacement, we are screwed. We need better depth there, relying on old bones is risky. I think Chamakh will be 2nd in line behind RVP, which i think will be good for both. RVP won't have to play every single game, and maybe he'll be healthy for the whole year. For Chamahk i think we'll have to ease him in there, and let him get used to the English game, I still think he'll play quite a bit coming off the bench and starting against lower tier teams but I don't really see him as a winger in Arsene's system. As for Bendtner, not sure what the hell is his problem but If he can't finish in front of the net than he shouldn't be playing center forward. He's not much of a winger either, personally I think Rosicky and AA are the best wingers we have, but relying of Rosicky health will only let you down.
I can see Walcott finding form before the World Cup. I'll read this all when I have time and post up a worthy reply.
Can't help but think Chamakh's impending presence will spur the kind of competition Bendtner needs to find consistency.
Can anyone else envision this frontline ? ========== ST-Chamahk ======== === AM (L) Van Pursie ==== AM (R) Nasri==== ========LM Diaby === RM Cesc====== ============DM Song==========
========== ST-Chamahk ========= === AML RVP ======== AMR Nasri==== ========LM Ramsey === RM Cesc==== ============DM Song============ For me...
That actually gives us some great cover. van Persie can obviously fill in up-front or we could play Bendtner/Vela/Eduardo. Then on the wings we can slot in Rosicky/Wilshere/Arshavin. In the back we can put in Diaby/Denilson and Eastmond for Song... We could probably get one more player for cover there, I'm thinking. At that back we should be set with Eboue and Gibbs while Djourou should be back, but I'm not sure how good he'll be. Silvestre should be released while Campbell will sign a new contact. Everything is up in the air with Gallas so we might see a new defender come in. Even if we do bring in Hangeland (Subotic is looking doubtful after that 20m price tag) I still think we'll be a little bit thin at the back. Finally, goal keeper needs to join the squad. Nothing else to say, to be honest.
