Arsenal fans are in a strange dilemma here in the Football Transfer Tavern today and it concern’s the club’s transfer business this summer.
With Petr Cech signed earlier on in the window, many were heralding it as the moment that Arsene Wenger finally woke up and smelt the coffee in transfer windows with the hope that many other reinforcements would be swiftly following the now former Chelsea goalkeeper to Emirates Stadium.
In reality, it hasn’t turned out that way with concrete news regarding fellow new arrivals having gone quiet but make no mistake, with one more top class striker coming in, Arsenal will look something like the finished article so there is time for Wenger to make it the perfect window.
More than most other fans, Arsenal supporters often have to put up with the club dragging their heels in the market while making a few derisory bids that every football fan knows full well will be rejected by the host club.
This is perhaps why Arsenal fans celebrate new arrivals like no other club, given Arsene Wenger has been tight with his purse strings in years gone by.
But with Arsenal fans having got understandably hysterical with the capture of Cech, who else could be following the stopper to North London before the window slams shut on September 1st?
We take a look at five dream captures Arsenal might still be able to pull off before that date.
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Click on the image below to reveal the 5 dream transfers Arsenal could actually pull off this summer.
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Sergi Samper
Arsenal seem to have experienced more success in prising players away from Barcelona than most with Alexis Sanchez arriving last summer, not to mention high profile captures from their La Masia academy that famously includes Cesc Fabregas as well as Hector Bellerin and Jon Toral.
The latest Barcelona youngster on Arsenal’s radar is Barcelona B star Sergi Samper, a defensive midfielder and pass master described as the ‘new Xavi’ in several quarters.
So for Arsenal to potentially pick up the young Spaniard for just £8.5 million this summer, you can understand why this is music to the ears of Gunners fans by the bar.
Arsenal fans have been keen on recruiting a new defensive midfielder for some time and with Mathieu Flamini reportedly closing in on a switch to Galatasaray, perhaps this will free up the space for Samper to arrive as the third defensive midfielder alongside Francis Coquelin and Mikel Arteta.
Karim Benzema
For many Arsenal fans, this is the man they’re pinning all of their hopes on in the remainder of the transfer window.
The latest on the future of Karim Benzema is that Real Madrid are looking to make Borussia Dortmund’s Marco Reus their big money marquee purchase of the summer and with Cristiano Ronaldo fancied to take up the central striker’s position in Rafael Benitez’s starting eleven, perhaps this will mean the Frenchman then becomes surplus to requirements.
With Madrid also looking at Juventus’ Fernando Llorente as back up to boot, you can imagine Benzema may then be shifted on and if these transfers come to pass, Arsenal quite simply have to be at the front of the queue for his signature.
Just imagine if Manchester United swooped in ahead of the Gunners; there would be mutiny!
Adrien Rabiot
Arsenal have been far more frequently linked with Adrien Rabiot’s signature in the past but he is back on the scene with Metro claiming that his mother says he’ll be leaving Paris Saint-Germain this summer.
With the path now reportedly being clear for Arsenal to make a swoop for the young Frenchman, Gunners fans are watching this one carefully.
Right now, it looks as if a deal for Sergi Samper is the far more likely one but that said, Rabiot is again a defensive midfielder and with Mathieu Flamini set to depart, Rabiot’s signature can’t be ruled out entirely with Arsene Wenger previously a fan.
Alexandre Lacazette
Now perhaps we’re being presumptuous given the player has already admitted he is happy and will be staying at Lyon this summer but we can’t help thinking about the recent Fabian Delph U-turn.
Following Lyon’s friendly against AC Milan last weekend, Lacazette went against all the transfer speculation linking him with a switch to Arsenal among other clubs and claimed he’s happy at the Stade Gerland ahead of Euro 2016 will be happening in France next summer.
However, Lacazette’s next action will actually be at Emirates Stadium in the Emirates Cup this weekend and we just wonder whether some negotiating will be done within the confines of the Gunners’ North London home in a couple of days’ time.
Arsene Wenger is of course more shy of making big money bids but perhaps there is some legs left in the Lacazette story yet this summer, who knows?
Gonzalo Higuain
If the Karim Benzema deal goes stale – Gunners fans are praying it doesn’t of course – perhaps Arsenal will reignite their interest in Napoli’s Gonzalo Higuain.
Talk of his future has gone quiet of late after Napoli reportedly slapped a ridiculous £60 million + figure on his head and at this sort of price, you can forget Arsenal even entertaining a swoop.
Despite Napoli being hard taskmasters in transfer windows, with the player clearly wanting out of the Stadio San Paolo, perhaps the Italian club’s hand will be forced later in the window.
That said, given the last 18 months in which Higuain has suffered with the World Cup Final and Copa America Final proving the low points, most Arsenal fans think he’s on the slide compared to the likes of Benzema anyway.
