Last season was a real rollercoaster ride for the gunners. Starting from the somewhat characteristic frugal transfer spending in the early summer months then the catastrophic loss to Aston Villa on the opening day before Mesut Ozil looked to be a messiah after his deadline day arrival. However, the league campaign tailed off due to injuries and inappropriate tactical set ups in the big away matches. All in all, I feel last season was a step forward from the last as Champions League football was secured and the dreaded 9 year drought was quelled with the F.A. Cup victory secured by Aaron Ramsey's extra time winner which was befitting considering the glittering season the Welshman had and there are some who feel had he been fit throughout the season, The gunners would have had a double to their name. I somewhat disagree with that anyway but that's enough of last season.
Moving forward, the transfer window is in full swing and at the beginning of the window, We lost Bacary Sagna and Lukasz Fabianski along with some other less nominal players (Shoutout to Lord Bendtner btw). In spite of that, I felt the club had to sign a right back along with a goalkeeper, defensive midfielder, a pacy winger, a striker and a centre back.
Now, definitely a right back of first team quality was needed to replace the ever dependable Bacary Sagna and its good to see that Wenger has moved to bring in Mathieu Debuchy who is first choice right back for the french national team ahead of Sagna. I believe he is an upgrade going forward but defensively i think there might be a bit of a problem as the dynamic of the defence has to change a bit because Sagna didn't venture forward too much and provided cover along with Koscielny for Mertesacker's lack of pace while Gibbs marauded forward on the left to support attacks. Whether Wenger will try to integrate Debuchy into this dynamic or change it a bit.
Talking about changing the defensive dynamic, I feel the alteration which will yield the best results will be the introduction of a solid and well rounded defensive midfielder. With all respect to Mikel Arteta who currently fills that position, the need needs an upgrade. Arteta although a brilliant orchestrator has been found out to often especially like i mentioned in those big away games and with the introduction of a more attack minded full back to a back four that wasn't well protected last season, The mere thought of that is more terrifying than a 12:45 kick-off against the world XI.
Wenger's obvious first choice was Sami Khedira. Although not the most natural DM, I feel he would have ticked all the major boxes for the gunners need as his drive, physical prowess and technique but there may be some question marks over his tactical discipline to protect the back four as he tends to be a box-to-box player but the deal stalled as Khedira's wage demands seem to be pretty high. Wenger's other targets are reportedly Morgan Schneirderlin, William Carvalho, Arturo Vidal and Lars Bender. It would be nice to see what Le Prof does at the end. Its good to see he is making headway at least.
Finally, in defensive terms of the team, I feel a centre back should also be signed as an understudy whether or not Thomas Vermaelen leaves because the ideal number of centre backs is 4 and the thought of Arsenal's injury history, you would think going into the new season with just 3 centre backs would spell disaster around the corner. If it were down to me, I would sign either Manolas as the young Greek defender gave a great account of himself at the World Cup or Matija Nastasic as the daily mail reports city are ready to offload the 21 year old defender who comes with premier league experience and good ability at a young age where he can be an understudy to the first choice centre backs until he is eventually ready to step into the first team which I imagine won't be too long into the future. The reported asking price of 15m represents very good business in my opinion. Let's see how it unfolds.
Looking at the club in a more attacking sense, in the 2nd part of the season...the attack was more often that not one-paced with a lot of creative talent and not enough forwards able to make clever runs to take advantage of such talent especially due to the long term absence of stellar english forward Theo Walcott. Step forward Arsenal's marquee signing so far Alexis Sanchez who will offer much needed pace, power, dynamism and finishing ability to take advantage of the creativity of the likes of Ozil, Carzola, Ramsey and so on in the team. Whether he plays on the flanks or through the middle up front remains to be seen but so far all evidence points towards him being a remarkable signing and a revelation in the coming season. Besides Alexis, I feel a more complete centre forward like Balotelli or Cavani should be signed to allow Sanchez the chance to play on the wings where his remarkable work rate can be effectively utilized. Arsene Wenger has recently rubbished the idea Of signing a striker in this transfer window even in spite of Giroud's somewhat lethargic attitude and wastefulness at times and Sanogo's total struggles (I would love to see him loaned out if a quality centre forward is signed) but I continue to keep my fingers crossed. Also in terms of attack, the return of Joel Campbell from a loan spell also sparks excitement especially after how good he was at the World Cup for a non-fancied Costa Rica outfit. He is yet another player to add drive, pace and power to the attack. I also expect Oxlade-Chamberlain to have a breakout stellar season this year like Ramsey did last year.
The goalkeeper situation isn't something that requires too much talk. Wenger has moved quickly to seal a bargain £4m deal for 25 year old Colombian International goalkeeper David Ospina. A remarkable signing in my opinion and I can easily see him becoming our number one soon and if not inspiring Sczezsny to continue to improve so its a great deal. The transfer should be confirmed very soon. (I reckon another Thursday announcement like Alexis and Debuchy) but that should be done and dusted.
Also, like I mentioned briefly there has always been the problem of injury management within the club. Hopefully the signing of fitness coach Shad Forsythe from the German national team will help to afford the chance of being able to play out a strong XI game in, game out. I'm filled with enthusiasm over his arrival especially after the brilliant job he did getting Khedira to full match fitness for Germany in the World Cup and who knows whether the duo could be reunited again at the Emirates. I will tell you that his (Forsythe) signing is the most important one for Arsenal so far this summer.
I foresee a great season for the Arsenal and fully expect them to challenge for the Premier League crown as it seems Wenger's passion is burning hotter than ever. If the rest of the summer goes as planned and with the new signings bedding in along with players such as Ramsey, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Campbell, Wilshere and even Giroud and so on determined to prove themselves, Its hard not to be at least a little optimistic as a gooner but don't get me wrong, there's still a lot of work to be done but In Wenger We Trust!
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