Pre-season at Arsenal: the perennial deja-vu

Long, drawn-out transfer sagas seem to be part and parcel of supporting Arsenal these days and this transfer period has so far lived up to expectations.

Similar to recent sagas, notably the failure in pursuit of Juan Mata and the successful chase of Andrei Arshavin, the media over the past couple of months has reported on, or in some cases fabricated, Arsenal's interest in the likes of Marouane Fellaini, Julio Cesar, Wayne Rooney and, with more apparent credibility, Gonzalo Higuain and Luis Suarez.

That Arsenal need a striker is unquestionable. At present, we will be entering the new season with only Giroud and Sanogo as out-and-out centre-forwards. With Park, Bendtner and Chamakh unlikely, and unable, to provide adequate cover, and likely to move, and Podolski and Walcott largely ineffective in the position, signing a centre-forward is rightly seen by most involved with the club as a priority.

There are surely strikers out there in the £20 million region who would strengthen the squad, leaving vital funds to add a centre-back and a defensive midfielder. Liverpool for example bought Suarez for roughly £23 million. Though many have argued that a 'big name' is what the club needs, this is not necessarily the case.

Wenger's targets

In a recent interview, Arsene Wenger stated, as he often does, that what we need are "good players" rather than big names, a statement with which I agree thoroughly. A successful transfer window this summer would see us bring in Loic Remy, Luis Gustavo and Ashley Williams, for example. This would address the key areas that need strengthening with players in their prime. Blowing the whole budget on Suarez would leave the squad thin.

Which brings us to the second part of Wenger’s comments. From the statement that “in midfield you have plenty of candidates” and the appraisal of Sagna’s capabilities it is easy to infer that we are not in the running for players in either position, areas where we need reinforcements.

There may be "plenty of options" in midfield, but these include Diaby, who is unlikely to feature, Ramsey, who, despite significant improvements, is not good enough to lead a trophy-winning squad, Arteta, an invaluable part of our squad but at thirty-one not likely to feature for more than two or three more years, and, at a push, Gedion Zelalem. The sixteen year-old impressed in Asia and appears to be a long-term replacement for Arteta, but will not feature heavily for another three years at least. Frimpong does not appear to have the required ability. This leaves us with Wilshere and Arteta as quality midfielders.

The situation in central defence is comparable. Mertesacker and Koscielny created a strong partnership at the end of last season, conceding five in the last ten games. Those games however were mostly against weaker oppositions and the team struggled against better teams, often with individual errors, such as Vermaelen, whose form has greatly deteriorated, against United. Thus we are left with three 'quality' central defenders, as Sagna, despite his heroic performance against Sunderland, is unlikely to perform regularly in the centre, and Miquel does not have the required quality.

It is never easy to assess Wenger's comments as he often masks the truth. Whilst I do not doubt that Wenger knows what's best, and we may end up signing a centre-back and a defensive midfielder, if the press is to be believed, we will spend too heavily up front, with detrimental effects on other positions.

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