For many Arsenal fans inside the Football Transfer Tavern, the current international break has come at the wrong time for these Gooners who are eager to see if their team is indeed capable of hauling themselves further up the Premier League table after a disappointing deadline day in which Arsene Wenger didn’t bring any further faces in.
Having only signed Petr Cech and been the only manager in all of Europe’s top five divisions not to sign a single outfield player, widespread criticism has been levelled at the Gunners boss again for a perceived lack of ambition.
This issue really comes down to where you stand on the debate and according to others, it is actually rather admirable that Wenger took a step back and didn’t become embroiled in paying over the odds for an Anthony Martial-type signing like Manchester United did.
That said, it is sometimes hard to agree with the stance of Wenger given the fact Arsenal look so close to being able to realistically fight for the title with only a few careful finishing touch kind of signings.
This is not to mention the appalling injury record that the Gunners have endured in recent seasons and this shows no signs of abating after Jack Wilshere and Danny Welbeck were subjected to prolonged spells on the sidelines yet again this term.
So all in all, the Gunners are skating on thin ice when it comes to keeping the likes of Olivier Giroud and Francis Coquelin fit with either no straightforward replacements or inferior ones waiting in reserve.
With this in mind, we’ve devised a list of five free agents who are still eligible to move as we continue on through September post-deadline day.
Perhaps Wenger should be keeping these guys in mind if another member of his first team squad unfortunately succumbs to yet another long-term injury.
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Click on the image below to reveal the 5 free agents that Arsenal could still sign this September.
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Chinedu Obasi
With Arsenal’s need for a new striker reaching new levels of desperation after the post-deadline day injury news regarding Danny Welbeck, perhaps the arrival of a free agent striker could become the most realistic proposition for Arsene Wenger if the unthinkable happens with Olivier Giroud also.
Lets make no bones about it though; the current free agent list of strikers is incredibly uninspiring for a club of Arsenal’s stature with the likes of Shola Ameobi and Carlton Cole making up the list.
Look a little further however and somebody else who does at least boast Champions League experience in recent seasons is Nigerian international Chinedu Obasi who was released by Bundesliga outfit Schalke at the end of last season.
Boasting 18 international caps for the Super Eagles, Obasi was hardly prolific in his spell with Schalke registering just three goals in 25 appearances for Schalke but back in his five years with Hoffenheim between 2007 and 2012, his goalscoring record was far more handsome with the Nigerian bagging 25 strikes in 91 appearances.
Obasi is perhaps the best of the rest right now although Arsenal fans will hope Giroud remains fit.
Yoann Gourcuff
Having been linked with an Arsenal switch more times than most of us have eaten hot dinners in our lifetimes, it’s actually rather depressing for the player himself that Yoann Gourcuff currently finds himself unemployed.
Once tipped to become the new Zinedine Zidane, you feel he joined a European superpower in AC Milan far too early in his career and the former French international didn’t really go on to convince everybody thereafter.
Enjoying arguably his best career spell at Bordeaux, Gourcuff is still only 29-years-old despite it feeling like he’s been around forever and given the amount of times he’s been linked with Arsenal, you’d imagine that reports of Arsene Wenger having been a keen admirer haven’t been totally fabricated.
So with this in mind, although Gourcuff is more of an attack-minded midfielder, if Arsenal suffered a long-term injury to the likes of Francis Coquelin or Mikel Arteta then perhaps Gourcuff could be considered a viable option in central midfield.
Ilsinho
One of the countless Brazilians that have passed through Shakhtar Donetsk in their footballing journey, right back / right midfielder Ilsinho was released from the Donbass Arena club at the end of last season.
Having earned a senior international cap with Brazil back in 2007 to boot, Ilsinho’s stock was far higher as a younger player but given the fact he represented the Ukrainian giants in two separate spells, he at least boasts some experience in European knockout football.
Our resident Arsenal fans by the bar are cringing at the thought of Arsenal completing another panic Brazilian purchase however with Andre Santos having represented something along these lines a few transfer windows back now.
Infamously swapping shirts with Arsenal public enemy number one Robin van Persie in a bad loss for the Gunners at Manchester United, that particular Brazilian burned his bridges with Arsenal fans that day and lets face it, he wasn’t any good anyway!
Ron Vlaar
Given how well he surprisingly performed at last summer’s World Cup for the Netherlands under Louis van Gaal not so long ago, it is rather shocking that Ron Vlaar currently finds himself on a free agent list, unemployed.
But dig deeper into the issue and he probably wouldn’t be making up such a list if it weren’t down to his injury troubles suffered towards the end of last season for Aston Villa.
Affectionately referred to as ‘Roncrete’ the Villains faithful, it had been mooted that Vlaar could yet sign an extension at Villa Park but with the weeks passing by as he recovers, it looks increasingly likely that he will continue his football journey elsewhere with Tim Sherwood having signed Joleon Lescott on deadline day.
While many may have previously thought that a club of Villa’s standing was around Vlaar’s level, his performances at the world’s biggest showpiece last summer serve to suggest that he could probably do a job for the likes of Arsenal or Manchester United as an emergency option.
Ezequiel Schelotto
Having been sent out on three separate loan spells by Inter Milan to Sassuolo, Parma and Chievo Verona since signing with the Nerazzurri in 2013, the writing was pretty much on the wall for Ezequiel Schelotto not ever being a mainstay in Inter’s plans.
Nicknamed ‘the Greyhound’ in Spanish, Schelotto has never been a source of regular goals from the wing but is known for his running ability and sparking attacks.
If the truth be told, Arsenal are well stocked for players who can operate in wide positions such as Alexis Sanchez, Theo Walcott, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and even the likes of Santi Cazorla and Mesut Ozil.
However, with the Gunners sometimes criticised for playing too narrow, especially when Aaron Ramsey is accommodated on the right wing, Schelotto is someone currently on the free agent list that would yield width in abundance while getting chalk on his boots as the cliché goes.
