It was to my infinite regret that I missed the chance to bask in the post-Bayern glow, such as there was, but there are still a number of talking points to take from the game. What’s more, since the series of restings/droppings by Arsene Wenger on Wednesday night, there’s been a veritable avalanche of transfer speculation.

N’Koulou

Sky Sports reported yesterday that Marseille’s Nicholas N’Koulou could leave the French side in the summer, with Arsenal potentially interested in a £10-15 million move. I mentioned before that Arsenal should look for somebody to partner Laurent Koscielny, and as a right-sided defender N’Koulou could be considered as a foil for the Frenchman.

A former defensive midfielder moved backwards, the Cameroonian has excellent ball skills and reads the game well. He has issues with positioning (welcome to Arsenal, Nicky), but is regarded as one of the best defenders in Ligue 1, even in Europe. Gilles Grimandi is believed to have watched him tonight in Marseille’s game with AJ Ajaccio.

We’ll be linked with a lot of defenders over the next few months, but keep an eye out for N’Koulou.

Merte-back-to Germany?

Talksport have linked Per Mertesacker with a return to Germany with Wolfsburg, while Hamburg are also believed to be interested. There has always been talk of Mertesacker leaving Arsenal, even not long after he joined. His performances have been panned by the English media, mainly because he’s slower than most. The fact he’s one of the senior figures in the playing staff, as well as an excellent defender in his own right is often ignored.

If Arsenal are desperate to rejig their defence, then perhaps Mertesacker could be let go, but it’s unlikely he’d move to a side like Wolfsburg, who are fighting relegation. Thomas Vermaelen is a far likelier prospect to be offloaded, especially having been dropped for the Munich return leg.

Isc-noooooooooo

*warchest klaxon*

This summer’s alleged marquee signing is Isco, the Malaga starlet valued at £30m. We get a player like this every summer, whether it’s Mario  Goetze, Eden Hazard or David Villa. Isco is far more likely to move to a club richer and in a better position than us in the summer, indeed if he moves at all. What’s more, we’re well stocked in the creative midfield department, with Jack Wilshere and Santi Cazorla, who himself joined from Malaga last summer, with other parts of the pitch hopefully a priority.

Sczeszsny to leave?

According to the Daily Mirror, Arsenal could offload the Pole this season, after he was dropped for Lukasz Fabianski, who didn’t play badly at all against Bayern, and could remain on the bench a while longer. The usual likes of Pepe Reina and Asimir Begovic have been linked, which really takes away from the validity of the story.

Sczceszny may well find himself challenged by a new keeper next season, but he won’t be sold and he won’t be replaced as the top dog, like as not. Ultimately, he is the long term Number 1, and at the age of 22 has a lot of time to iron out the flaws in his game. Right now, it’s good enough Fabianski is challenging him.

Hopefully Arsenal can bring some momentum from Bayern into the visit to Swansea. Let’s try and catch them with post-League-Cup-itis.

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