Ah; how good it feels to be an Arsenal fan right now.
Our resident Gooners are still in celebratory mood following the weekend’s emphatic FA Cup triumph over Aston Villa and they have a message for Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho who should be amending his ‘specialist in failure’ tag about Arsene Wenger to ‘specialist in FA Cup victories’ which now stand at six for the Frenchman!
There is no doubting that Arsenal are a huge brand worldwide and if the Gunners were to follow up their second successive FA Cup victory with a couple of marquee signings this summer, the general feeling is that they can push the Blues far harder in next season’s title race.
One man who has been heavily linked with an Arsenal switch so far this summer has been Juventus’ Chilean international midfielder Arturo Vidal.
With some reports even going as far to claim that a deal is already in place for the Gunners to sign Vidal after the conclusion of the Copa America this summer, the news is getting our resident Gooners a little bit excited.
The general consensus is that Vidal would be an excellent signing for the Gunners and would give international team-mate Alexis Sanchez yet another reason to be sticking around at Emirates Stadium for the long-term.
But if Vidal is reportedly in the bag, who else could be following him to North London this summer?
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Click on the specialist in FA Cup victories below to reveal the 5 Arsenal transfers waiting to happen after Arturo Vidal’s arrival.
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Jackson Martinez
Seemingly during every transfer window, Jackson Martinez gets linked with a whole host of clubs in the Premier League, only to remain at Porto where he has flourished since joining back in 2012.
The Colombian international’s scoring record in the Portuguese Primeira Liga currently stands at an incredible 67 strikes in 89 games, serving to suggest that he’d find goalscoring no problem at all in the Premier League.
While sceptics claim that the likes of Tottenham took a gamble too many in bringing the once prolific Helder Postiga to North London where he couldn’t recreate his form, the feeling is that Martinez is a different animal altogether and even boasts 10 strikes in 35 appearances for the national team.
The striker reportedly has permission to make a transfer away from Estadio Dragao this summer and Arsenal will want to be at the front of the queue to cash in on his last few years of his prime with Martinez currently aged 28.
Petr Cech
You could claim that Arsenal haven’t boasted a world class goalkeeper since the days of Jens Lehmann.
Aside from the German and of course David Seaman, Wenger has never really spent big on goalkeepers, opting to inject funds into the team further forward while persevering with the likes of Manuel Almunia, Vito Mannone, Lukasz Fabianski and Wojciech Szczesny.
While our resident Gooners claim that David Ospina hasn’t done anything wrong while serving between the sticks this term, Arsenal are crying out for a truly world class stopper with presence.
Petr Cech is the standout candidate to resume this position at Arsenal next term and former Gunners like Alan Smith are in no doubt that the Czech star is the man Wenger should target.
There has been rumours that Cech will leave to whichever new pasture he chooses after a glittering spell spent at Chelsea but you’d imagine that if Mourinho can prevent a switch across town in any way, shape or form, he will for the good of next season’s title challenge.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang
Say Arsenal lose out on the services of Jackson Martinez to the likes of Liverpool this summer, the Gunners will be need to revisit the drawing board with the services of the likes of Karim Benzema and Edinson Cavani not so readily available at present.
One alternative could be in the shape of Borussia Dortmund’s Gabonese forward Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang who Metro have recently linked with a £29.9 million summer transfer to Arsenal.
Our resident Gooners caught a first hand glimpse of how devastating Aubemeyang can be in front of goal during the German side’s comfortable 2-0 victory over Arsenal in this past season’s Champions League group stages and having registered his 25th goal of the season in the German Cup Final at the weekend, his goalscoring prowess isn’t in any doubt.
At present, you’d feel this move would be a long shot with Dortmund surely wanting to retain the services of their star striker but with Jurgen Klopp’s departure, not to mention a lack of Champions League football for next season and a previous history of selling their top stars, perhaps Arsenal could be in with a shout of landing him.
Morgan Schneiderlin
Another standout candidate to arrive at Emirates Stadium this summer is Southampton’s French international enforcer Morgan Schneiderlin.
The Saints man has been linked with Arsenal for quite a while now and on paper, a transfer to Arsenal seems like a match made in heaven.
The latest reports serve to suggest that the Gunners could be set to lose out on Schneiderlin to Manchester United however who are pressing hard to get a deal done for the Frenchman.
With Schneiderlin high on the list of priority signings for both United and Arsenal this summer, perhaps this is a deal that could go the distance right the way through to the beginning of next season.
While he remained on the south coast last summer after a stand off with the club, our resident Saints fans are convinced that they won’t be able to keep him this time round, even with Europa League football secured for next term.
Gonzalo Higuain
It looked for the world like Gonzalo Higuain was going to be joining Arsenal back in 2013, only for Gooners everywhere to be looking on enviously as he arrived amidst a plethora of fanatical supporters waiting for him in Naples when he completed his switch to Napoli.
With Rafael Benitez having already announced his decision that he will be leaving Napoli to join up with Real Madrid, Higuain could also be leaving Stadio San Paolo this summer.
The former Real Madrid man will be a player in demand this summer and if Arsenal fail to get deals done for the likes of Jackson Martinez, perhaps it will be second time lucky in their pursuit of Higuain.
The latest reports from The Mirror even go as far to claim that the Gunners have already made contact with Napoli regarding a move.
Watch this space.
