With the final game of the Premier League season having now passed by for Arsenal, all focus will switch to next Saturday afternoon’s FA Cup Final with Aston Villa.
Having uncharacteristically failed to register a home goal in disappointing fixtures against Swansea City and Sunderland, the Gunners were back on the goal trail in a 4-1 victory over West Bromwich Albion yesterday to send Gooners into next weekend’s show-piece with some much needed momentum.
With Villa losing at home to Burnley 1-0 on the final day, our resident Gooners are hoping that this will have some kind of bearing on next week’s outcome.
The man of the moment yesterday however was Theo Walcott who registered a first half hat-trick reminding everyone that perhaps Raheem Sterling isn’t the man to indeed take over from him at Emirates Stadium next season.
With Arsene Wenger now having something of a selection headache for next week, if the Gunners strengthen and finally manage to keep everyone fit next term, his job could get that much harder.
In the last couple of days, numerous news outlets including The Express have claimed that Arsenal have agreed a deal in principle for Porto’s Jackson Martinez but if this move does indeed come to fruition, who is most likely to join him in North London?
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Click on Theo Walcott below to reveal the 5 players who could follow Jackson Martinez to Arsenal next season.
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Petr Cech
The speculation surrounding Petr Cech moving to Arsenal this summer has reached fever pitch in the last week or so.
Despite Jose Mourinho yesterday claiming that he still hopes the Czech Republic international is still with him at Stamford Bridge next season, is the world class stopper really going to be content remaining on the bench for a second successive season behind Thibaut Courtois?
Still just 33-years-old, Cech probably has another five years at the very top and all our resident Gooners are unanimous on the subject of him usurping David Ospina as the Gunners’ favoured number one next season.
As Chelsea did last season, Arsenal have to get their business completed quickly and efficiently this summer and starting with the signature of a tried and tested Premier League competitor wouldn’t be a bad start.
He’d probably prove the difference in saving about 6-10 points a season.
Alexandre Lacazette
If Arsenal did indeed manage to pull off a deal for Jackson Martinez as mentioned at the outset, perhaps that would cast doubt over a potential move for Alexandre Lacazette, the Golden Boot winner in Ligue 1 this season with an incredible 27 strikes.
While this is a fantastic feat, a few of our resident Gooners are wondering whether such a record in France would put him in good stead to succeed in the Premier League making the comparison that Olivier Giroud was pretty prolific across the English Channel.
With the jury still very much out on Giroud and whether his goals could lead the Gunners towards a Premier League title, the answer is that nobody really knows at this stage whether Lacazette could transfer this form to Arsenal.
In a toss up between Martinez and Lacazette, most of our Gooners would rather move for the former striker who has proved he can be a constant menace in front of goal over a longer period.
Arturo Vidal
Another prospective transfer worth keeping an eye on is the potential move of Juventus’ Arturo Vidal to Arsenal.
Several reports including those published by Metro claim that the Gunners will seal a deal for Alexis Sanchez’s Chilean international team-mate after the conclusion of the Copa America which will be taking place this summer.
DirecTV journalist Hernan Feler has fuelled the rumour by categorically claiming that ‘After the Copa America of Chile, the arrival of Arturo Vidal in the Arsenal will be made official. It is fully closed. He will be companion of Alexis.’
Vidal would be a fantastic addition for Arsenal and somebody that is equally adept in both defensive midfield or further forward.
With Francis Coquelin having proved a revelation in the second half of the season and Mikel Arteta and Mathieu Flamini waning in their powers, adding a genuine world class midfielder here would turn the Gunners into a different animal, not only adding cover but also genuine quality.
Nevertheless, if Juventus manage to beat Barcelona in the Champions League Final to complete an incredible treble, would he really want to leave the Bianconeri?
Benedikt Howedes
Arsenal haven’t always gone for household names when signing defenders under the tenure of Arsene Wenger – just look at the likes of Laurent Koscielny and Gabriel Paulista – and with it being hard to predict who the Frenchman is targeting in these positions, perhaps one option could be Benedikt Howedes.
The feeling around Emirates Stadium is that Gabriel is completely adept to step up and become Laurent Koscielny’s first choice partner next season but that said, the Gunners could probably do with another defender with Calum Chambers possibly exiting on loan.
Howedes boasts great pedigree and is a World Cup winner with Germany of course, and the interesting sub plot here is the fact that he has already been given the green light to make an exit from current club Schalke.
Metro reported earlier this month that a fee of £12.6 million could get this deal over the line and our resident Gooners are all agreed on the fact that someone like Howedes is still required.
Morgan Schneiderlin
With Arturo Vidal probably likely to adapt to English football as quickly as the likes of his compatriot Alexis Sanchez, if that ambitious deal wasn’t concluded this summer, a worthy alternative would be Morgan Schneiderlin.
The Southampton man boasts vast experience in the Premier League now and the reassuring thing for Gooners is that they’d know exactly what they would be getting.
It would be hard to take Coquelin out of Arsene Wenger’s starting eleven, such has been his form, but a rotation policy with the likes of Schneiderlin would make the Gunners so much more competitive over the course of a long and arduous campaign.
Schneiderlin has made no secret of his desire to further his career at a bigger club in the past and with the Saints doing anything but disgracing themselves this season, he’ll still probably have his eyes on making an exit.
