ARSENAL 2013/2014: IS THERE STILL HOPE ??

Hey, first off, I’m really happy to join the soccerbants team to represent Arsenal, hope you guys enjoy reading my work.
Now, to the topic at hand, with the clock winding down on the current summer transfer window and with Yaya Sanogo being the only senior signing at the Emirates, it’s safe to say that it is panic season again at the Emirates as there have been no incoming quality players this far into the window. At this moment, every Gooner is tasked with the questions, is there still hope for trophies in the coming season? , Can We still improve our squad or is Wenger settling for what he has at his disposal keeping in mind that the team has lost a number of backup players which include Denilson, Arshavin, Squillaci, Santos, Djourou, Coquelin and most recently Yao Kouassi (Gervinho) none of which have been replaced so I think it’s safe to say what we have at our disposal right now is not good enough which means our only source of hope is the transfer market.
Talking about Arsenal in the transfer market, it all started a few months back when it became clear that Gunners boss Arsene Wenger had a warchest of a minimum of 70 million pounds to spend (some even believe that figure should be closer to the 100m pound region because of the new sponsorship deal with Puma). After that announcement came the rumours and links, Arsenal over the course of this summer have been linked with nothing less than 50 different professional football players (Yes, fifty times more than the number they have available in the nation of Tahiti :p) but the most prominent of these were:
Gonzalo Higuain: This deal appeared to be on the cards for a long period of time then there was a stumbling block upon the transfer fee and today he is a Napoli player
Marouane Fellaini: There were rumours that Arsenal activated the Afro-giant’s release clause but the two parties couldn’t agree on the salary and since then the release clause has expired and Fellaini is still an Everton player
Ashley Williams: This one has been a bit of a “zigzag”, at first talks went on well, Goal reported that a fee had been agreed but all that changed as Swansea seemed to raise their valuation but there are still reports that Wenger is considering going back in to make a swift deal for the Welsh captain due to the recent injury to Arsenal’s own captain Thomas Vermaelen who on his own looked out of sorts in so many ways last season but watch this space.
Now to Arsenal in the transfer market at the moment and you have to say there’s just one name on the lips of Gooners all over the world for a lot of reasons and that name is Luis Suarez.




The Uruguayan in more ways than one embodies the marquee signing Arsenal have been crying out for all summer with his strong character and immaculate breathtaking technical ability when he is at his best or anywhere near it. Recently though, he has looked quite lacklustre in pre season for Liverpool amidst the interest from Arsenal which has been furthered with two bids so far and his desire to move on and play in the UEFA Champions League and with reports last night indicating that Suarez is ready to take legal action against Liverpool for going against what was known as “a gentleman agreement” between Suarez and the club that he should be allowed to leave to any Champions league club that offers above 40 million pounds for his services (which Arsenal did, be it by the skin of a pound) and this morning on Talksport, it was mentioned that Suarez has approached the PFA for help and he is said to be “injured” at the moment along with Wayne Rooney and Gareth Bale (hmm…I wonder what they all have in common) so we have to watch this space but there is said to be interest from Real Madrid which is reportedly Suarez’ preferred option but they are currently focusing on hunting down a certain Welsh wizard for what reportedly should be a world record transfer fee.








So now say Arsenal do get Suarez for a figure of about 50 million pounds, is it enough? Well to be honest, it isn’t, there still is that lack of bite and muscle in the middle of the park. Now from what I’ve gathered, Wenger has identified three players to help with this problem, Borrussia Dortmund’s Ilkay Gundogan, Bayern Munchen’s Luis Gustavo and Bayer Laverkusen’s Lars Bender. Now, Arsenal have already had a bid in the region of 20 million pounds rejected for Lars Bender earlier in the summer and Football fancast reported last night that Wenger plans on signing Suarez before making an offer in the region of 27 million pounds for Gundogan using the arrival of Suarez to prove the ambition of the club to the current Dortmund midfielder as a means of convincing him to make the switch to North London. Personally, I believe Gundogan is in fact the best of the three players yet seriously doubt the possibility of him arriving at the Emirates. In my opinion, I would prefer Arsenal moving for the Brazilian Luis Gustavo who had an amazing outing at the Confederations Cup and is basically surplus to requirement at the Allianz Arena due to the additions of Mario Gotze and Thiago Alcantara to an already star-studded midfield. The 26 year old is valued at 15 million pounds and is said to be looking for a club where he can play regular football with the upcoming world cup in mind. Gustavo will be able to bring in the physical prowess lacking in the lightweight Arsenal midfield and provide the insurance policy the adventurous players such as Santi Cazorla, Jack Wilshere and Tomas Rosicky need to be able to focus fully on attacking while also bringing along with him an impressive pass completion rate. He should be able to compliment Arteta in central midfield and a give the team a good platform.



Now, another position that needs strengthening is the goalkeeping position with Vito Mannone leaving and with neither Sczezsny or Fabianski fully looking the part last season, there have been calls for a new pair of experienced gloves at the club and up steps Julio Cesar who represents the perfect deal at the moment with QPR looking to offload him after their relegation, the Brazilian looking to hold his place as the no. 1 for the Selecao for the upcoming world cup and with QPR reportedly asking for just 1.5million pounds, it seems the perfect deal. There was said to be competition from Napoli but they have signed Pepe Reina now (I’m sure all the other Serie-A teams will be happy about this) so that has ended their interest in Cesar. Cesar represents an experienced role model for Sczezsny to help the Pole raise his game and at the same time not deter his development as Cesar is already coming towards the end of his career to be honest.
All in all, I think for Arsenal to be successful in the coming season, they need to sign Luis Suarez as he will be the key to attracting the other players we need such as Gustavo, Cesar and possibly Williams in view of the current injury to Vermaelen and lack of squad depth in that area but as always it’s all in Wenger’s hands and the best we can do is support him. I believe there’s still hope and that’s my view but remember that your views are welcome in the comments section below. C’mon Wenger, Come On You Gunners!! #COYG.