In what is the deal of the summer so far, Arsenal have all but wrapped up the £10.9 million signature of Petr Cech from Chelsea.
Our resident Gooners are unanimous in their belief that Cech can be a game changing signing for Arsenal’s prospects as they hope to secure Premier League glory in 2015/16.
Admitting they’d still like to bolster their ranks with another defensive midfielder and a top class forward, Arsene Wenger is starting to piece together a much more resilient looking Arsenal side that has the potential to finish much closer to the likes of Chelsea and Manchester City next season.
With David Ospina set to depart to Fenerbahce, the Arsenal fans in the tavern admit that this fate is a little unfortunate given the Colombian enjoyed a good first season at Emirates Stadium but at the same time, when a player like Cech becomes available, you simply have to snap him up.
In recent transfer windows, Arsenal have been known to drag their heels while frustrating their fans in being slow to sign up reinforcements but with Cech already in the bag, it seems Wenger and the club’s officials are starting to learn from previous mistakes.
With Puma-branded head-guards all set to sell out from the Arsenal club shop, our resident Gooners are now concentrating on just who could be following Cech to North London this summer.
They’ve whittled down a list to just five players who could be joining him as a Gunner this summer.
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Click on the image below to reveal the 5 players to follow Petr Cech to Arsenal this summer.
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Morgan Schneiderlin
The next piece in the jigsaw that simply needs to be secured this summer?
Prior to the summer transfer window, it seemed a formality that Arsenal were going to make Southampton’s Morgan Schneiderlin their number one transfer priority but no news of a concrete bid has been received as yet.
In fact, Manchester United have been mentioned far more frequently in regards to his potential signature but with that news now having subsided amidst talk that Louis van Gaal is trailing after Bayern Munich’s Bastian Schweinsteiger, Arsenal are now back in the mix.
With the Cech deal now done, you feel the Gunners will make their move for the additional defensive midfielder that all of their fans crave.
Francis Coquelin has done an excellent job in the position since returning from Charlton Athletic but what Arsenal fans want is healthy competition for places all across the pitch, knowing full well that their squad often incurs injuries.
With Cech set to prove an inspirational mentor to Wojciech Szczesny, in the same way, Schneiderlin can fulfil a similar role for his younger French potential team-mate in Coquelin.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang
While top class strikers are sought-after by many of England’s clubs this summer, finding suitable noteworthy additions is proving a problem with this commodity in short supply.
So far this summer, the names Jackson Martinez, Alexandre Lacazette and Gonzalo Higuain have been mentioned the most in regards to Arsenal but with the first name set to join Atletico Madrid and the second now potentially remaining at Lyon, many clubs are revisiting the drawing board.
Martinez had seemed a good fit for Arsenal but considering his age of 28, there would be no re-sell value in the Colombian and it appears this was the deal-breaking factor for the Gunners.
One man who has been mentioned as an alternative in recent days is Borussia Dortmund’s Gabon international forward Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang who has been linked with a £28.7 million Gunners switch.
Arsenal got a close-up look at the Dortmund striker as he struck against the Gunners in the Champions League last season and our resident Gooners claim Arsene Wenger could do a lot worse than the man who is famed for his pace and Spiderman mask celebration upon scoring.
Aubameyang is a speed merchant and would compliment the squad in regards to being a completely different striker to Olivier Giroud.
Arsenal fans are watching this space carefully.
Sven Bender
Another Dortmund player who Arsenal are also reportedly looking at right now is German international defensive midfielder Sven Bender.
Frequently linked with his brother Lars Bender of Bayer Leverkusen in the past, Metro recently referenced reports from German publication Bild that mentioned Arsenal had already been in contact with the Bundesliga outfit regarding a switch.
The reports also claim Bender is interested in securing a move to up his £41,000-a-week currently salary at Signal Iduna Park and there is no doubting that he looks a good fit for the Gunners.
Tough, uncompromising and simply interested in breaking up the play, Arsenal fans have craved this kind of player for a long while now and would love somebody to battle with Francis Coquelin for the role.
If a move for Southampton’s Morgan Schneiderlin does indeed fall through, Bender would represent Wenger’s plan B option you feel.
Carlos Bacca
Sevilla’s Colombian international striker Carlos Bacca has been linked with a whole host of clubs already this summer following his Europa League winning exploits with the Andalusian side last season.
With Manchester United and Liverpool also interested in the striker, Arsenal remain outsiders for his signature but they shouldn’t be ruled out entirely.
If the Gunners did indeed pull out of a deal for Bacca’s international team-mate Jackson Martinez due to his age, you’d imagine that this striker – 28 also – would also see a move come to no avail due to this tact.
However, the Bacca transfer rumours are still being trailed very closely by Gooners in the tavern who admit that he is a great striker regardless.
Capable of scoring all types of goals, if it wasn’t for the superhuman exploits of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo in La Liga in recent seasons, this guy would’ve really stood out even more than he does at present.
Wellington Silva
One man already on the books at Arsenal but yet to feature for the Gunners is Brazilian winger Wellington Silva who this summer could be following Petr Cech into Emirates Stadium for real.
Signed all the way back in 2011, Wellington Silva has endured all sorts of work permit issues and loan spells abroad that have included run outs at Levante, Murcia and most recently Almeria in La Liga.
Now however, he has finally secured a work permit with the player having recently been in talks with the club regarding a new contract.
Like Joel Campbell before him, Arsenal fans are curious to see what Wellington Silva can offer the team and he may well receive some game time in the early rounds of the Capital One Cup and FA Cup next season.
That said, with Serge Gnabry looking on 2015/16 as his comeback season, you feel game time for Wellington Silva in the overstocked wide areas for Arsenal will still prove very hard to come by.
Time will tell on this one and don’t rule yet another loan spell out.
