In the Football Transfer Tavern this evening, we’re wondering whether it’s even possible to feel reassured, yet peeved at the same time but that’s something our Arsenal fans seem to be suffering right now.
These feelings have been brought on by Arsenal director Lord Harris who today claimed Arsene Wenger can pretty much buy any player in the world bar Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo right now with £200 million sitting in the bank.
With the Gunners that much more better off nowadays after coming through their period of austerity in paying the Emirates Stadium debt off, it appears Arsenal are in the money but this has done nothing to truly please Gooners with their club still being incredibly patient in the transfer window.
Having only signed Petr Cech so far this transfer window, that was of course a very good start but many Gunners fans were expecting this deal to be followed up by the arrivals of a new defensive midfielder and striker.
Judging from the article however, it appears Arsenal are in the market for a world class striker and that player is likely to be Real Madrid’s Karim Benzema although a deal will still prove incredibly difficult to pull off.
Nevertheless, as we saw with Mesut Ozil a few summer’s back, high profile moves such as Benzema can come to avail late in the window when nobody saw it happening before.
As Wenger assesses his options, we’ve taken this time to devise what we believe to be the best starting eleven Arsenal can field with everybody fit this season.
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Click on the image below to reveal what we believe to be the best starting XI Arsenal can field under Arsene Wenger next season.
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Petr Cech
Arsenal fans will get to see Petr Cech in action again this weekend at the Emirates Cup and having already showcased a fantastic save against Everton in the Barclays Asia Trophy, Gooners are incredibly excited by this capture.
With the Czech Republic international now the undisputed number one at Emirates Stadium, the expectation was that David Ospina would be departing North London with Fenerbahce and Everton keen among other sides but the situation looks all change now.
This week, we’ve seen Roma reportedly close in on a loan deal for Wojciech Szczesny with the option of making the deal permanent at the end of the 2015/16 season.
With this deal edging towards completion, it appears Arsene Wenger has indeed grew tired of the one too many mistakes and breaches of club discipline the Pole made last term and the proposed loan deal will make him man up in an alternative division.
Hector Bellerin
Hector Bellerin enjoyed a fantastic breakthrough campaign last term and right now, many Gooners would select him over their £12 million arrival from Newcastle United in Mathieu Debuchy.
Although Debuchy is still rated highly at Emirates Stadium, the contribution Bellerin made in the team following an injury to the Frenchman cannot be ignored.
A pacey customer who provides attacking flair and defensive discipline in equal measure, Bellerin even managed to score two goals last term and given his rapid rise to prominence, he is likely to pick up from where he left ouff this term.
Per Mertesacker
While many Arsenal fans were expecting January transfer window capture Gabriel Paulista to step into Arsene Wenger’s starting eleven this term, we still think the Gunners boss will start with Per Mertesacker.
Having been at the club longer than most now, Mertesacker is still a leader at the back and reads the game incredibly well to make up for a lack of pace.
A fantastic performer for Arsenal in the 2013/14 season, Arsenal fans still worry about their big German when Laurent Koscielny isn’t around (like at Stoke City away last term!) but when the Frenchman is playing alongside him, the pair seem a decent partnership.
Laurent Koscielny
As mentioned on our previous slide, Per Mertesacker’s best performances are yielded when he has Laurent Koscielny alongside him and that is the mark of the Frenchman’s game.
Having impressed season upon season to rightly being considered one of the best centre backs in the Premier League, Koscielny is rugged in the tackle while boasting fantastic recovery pace to track back against opponents.
Earlier this transfer window, there were reports that new Real Madrid boss Rafael Benitez was lining up a swoop for Koscielny and our resident Arsenal fans were wincing because they know how important the Frenchman is in their quest to land the Premier League title.
Nacho Monreal
In recent weeks, there were reports that Athletic Bilbao were closing in on a switch for Arsenal’s Nacho Monreal but with that news having subsided and the player admitting he’s happy in North London, this news has delighted Arsenal fans.
Think back to the start of last season and the Spaniard was scapegoat number one after being deployed as an emergency centre back in the midst of yet another Arsenal injury crisis.
In fairness to Monreal, he had never played in the position before and was called upon due to Wenger’s incompetence in failing to replace Thomas Vermaelen but after he was reinstalled at left back, he enjoyed something of a new awakening.
Seeming to relish the chance of playing in his normal position again, Monreal got better and better and even scored that crucial opener against Manchester United in the FA Cup at Old Trafford last term.
The Spaniard is now definitely Arsenal’s renaissance man and considered a better option over Kieran Gibbs by many.
Francis Coquelin
As the image above shows, these are the kind of body on the line-type performances we’ve come to expect from Francis Coquelin ever since he returned from his mid-season loan spell in the Championship with Charlton Athletic last term.
His temporary spell with the Addicks really seemed to toughen the young Frenchman up while making him realise that he was fighting for his Arsenal career.
In a very lucky way for Arsene Wenger, the Gunners boss stumbled upon his talents really due to the injury suffered by Mikel Arteta but in fairness to the player, he really buckled down and sustained fantastic form right up until the end of the season and in the FA Cup Final.
While many Arsenal fans were crying out for the likes of Morgan Schneiderlin this summer, it would’ve been hard to drop Coquelin from the team, such were the calibre of his performances in the second half of last season.
Santi Cazorla
Now relishing in a new found deeper central midfield role alongside the touch tackling Francis Coquelin, Santi Cazorla is proving to be the Spanish maestro all Arsenal fans knew they were signing.
A decent player ever since signing from Malaga back in 2012, the Spanish international took his form to new heights last term and dictated the pace of many fixtures in the middle of the park.
Extremely clever and able to change direction ever so quickly with his two-footedness, Cazorla is able to negotiate his way out of tight spots incredibly well and let’s not forget, he takes an excellent penalty too.
A crowd favourite at Emirateds Stadium, Cazorla is definitely one of Arsenal’s key players.
Aaron Ramsey
He’s already claimed himself that he doesn’t like playing on the right wing but we think Aaron Ramsey better get used to playing in the role for the time being.
Given Santi Cazorla’s new found role in central midfield and Mesut Ozil’s improvement in his favoured number 10 role, the Welshman has found himself shafted out to the right and while he’s of course better in the middle, both Cazorla and Ozil’s form cannot be ignored.
Ramsey wasn’t a total disaster in every performance he played on the right but Arsenal fans are correct in claiming they lack pace with the former Cardiff City man on the wing.
That said, Hector Bellerin can bomb on outside him to make the pitch wide and having Ramsey on the field, no matter what the position will always be of benefit to Arsenal, such is the engine on the player.
Mesut Ozil
It may have taken him a little while to get going but now, Arsenal fans are starting to see the best of Mesut Ozil.
The German international is something of an enigma and that kind of cigar footballer like Dimitar Berbatov who does things at his own pace but when it comes off, what a footballer he is to behold.
A great frustrater at the same time as well, Ozil has failed to deliver in many top four battles but one game in which he was fantastic last season was Liverpool at home where his perfectly curled free kick contributed to a romping 4-1 victory for Arsene Wenger’s men.
Alexis Sanchez
Arsenal fans haven’t seen their Chilean superstar in pre-season as yet following his triumphant spell winning the Copa America in his home country this summer but Gunners fans can’t wait to see Alexis Sanchez in an Arsenal shirt again.
Scoring over 20 goals in his first season in English football, Sanchez took to the Premier League like a duck to water and must be a dream to manage for Arsene Wenger with the player boasting all of the talent and skill in the world, yet combining this with a fantastic hard work ethic.
Scoring an absolute screamer in the FA Cup Final against Aston Villa, that one goal was Sanchez in a nutshell in respect of the Chilean being able to come up with that little bit of magic right when it’s required.
Olivier Giroud
Arsenal fans will be hoping they can replace this slide with one entitled Karim Benzema in the next month or so but for the time being, Olivier Giroud is still the number one striker at Emirates Stadium.
Considering he missed around four months of the Premier League season last term, Giroud still managed to score 14 Premier League goals and given his pretty boy image, he does seem to receive a lot of stick when sometimes it’s unjustified.
Because Arsenal fans have been used to the likes of Dennis Bergkamp and Thierry Henry in yesteryear, naturally the likes of Giroud won’t match up but the Frenchman must be acknowledged upon his own merits, most notably his fantastic hold-up play that brings other players in.
He’s an underrated player for Arsenal and while he misses some glaring opportunities, at least he’s man enough to take the next opportunity.
That said, it is clear that if Arsenal have designs on winning the Premier League title this term, somebody like Karim Benzema who’ll score closer to 25 goals is an absolute must.
