Coming into this summer there were some things all Gooners agreed on. One such topic was the need for a new central midfielder.

At the start of the summer, Arsenal were linked with Everton’s Belgian giant Marouane Fellaini; however, this initial delight has since turned to despair, as newspaper’s are reporting that Arsene Wenger has now turned his attention to Man City’s Gareth Barry.

Truth in the rumour?

While many Arsenal fans would have loved to see Fellaini in the red and white of the Gunners, I never believed that Wenger would splash that much money (£25 million upwards) on the Belgian. However, with the Gareth Barry rumour I believe this is more realistic.

If you can remember a few summers ago, Wenger tried to buy Gareth Barry before he eventually moved to Man City, so we know that Wenger is a fan of the defensive midfielder.

Another reason as to why  Wenger may be after the Englishman is that having fallen down the pecking order at City, he is now deemed surplus to requirements by the new manager, and as such Arsenal may be able to get the midfielder for around £4.5 million.

Would Barry be good for Arsenal?

The man once labelled ‘England’s saviour’ before the disastrous 2010 World Cup may no longer be a regular starter for club or country, however, he could still be a decent acquisition for the Arsenal.

For £4.5 million, a player with international and European experience, as well as a League and Cup winner’s medal, would be classed as a good deal, especially considering that most of this current Arsenal squad has won nothing in their careers.

In addition to this, the 32 year old would provide very good cover for Mikel Arteta should he get injured, as we do not want a repeat of last season when every fan held their breath whenever Arteta went down.  Also, despite not being a regular starter now, he did still manage to rack up 41 appearances for his club in all competitions last season.

Gareth Barry is no Marouane Fellaini he would be a decent player to have as back up on the bench.

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