da wazamba： It’s hard to separate rumours from transfer news. There doesn’t even need to be a source to rumours these days they just spontaneously come in to existence, bereft of truth or realistic origin. However that doesn’t mean that all rumours are figments of some attention hungry journalist’s imagination. And, if you can find ways of separating fact from fiction then it’s possible to paint a picture of what’s to come in the January transfer window.
da jogodeouro： Arsenal signed nine players in the summer. If Arsene had done that any other year then you could say with reasonable conviction that Arsenal would have little dealings to be done in January. However this year isn’t like other years. However complete or incomplete Wenger thinks his squad is he has other factors to take in to account. Firstly: Gervinho, who has seven assists in his first thirteen games (two more than Nasri had in his first 44 for the club) will be leaving Arsenal for the African Nations Cup and will be sorely missed, secondly players need to be signed to help convince Robin van Persie. Plus with the apparent fragility of the Arsenal players’ knees and ankles then the squad could always do with more depth.
Wenger
As usual the Arsenal manager remains tight-lipped about the possible transfer of any player in or out of the club. However one thing is known for certain is that Wenger is in the market for a goal scorer should the opportunity arise. The burden on van Persie has been easily dealt with by the captain but should he get injured Arsenal would be in real trouble. With Thierry Henry back training with the Gunners due to the MLS season having finished some have been asking whether the clubs all time top goal scorer could make a return appearance on loan?
“I have not thought about that at all…at the moment we have a big squad, and anyway that problem cannot be examined before the end of December…we have 26 outfield players so we have a massive squad.”
Nobody is denying that Arsene but any Arsenal fan that says they are happy to see Chamakh step in should their captain be injured is kidding themselves. I try to look for the positives in the Moroccan but it is hard when he seems to bring little to the build up play and lack any knowledge of how to finish. Personally I thought Bendtner was more effective.
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Rumours
As I said not all rumours can be forged out of imagination, and not all are. Our scouts have watched players like Lukas Podolski, Yann M’Vila and Jan Vertonghen over the course of the season and the latter two have been watched by Arsenal for over a year now. M’Vila would appear the perfect substitute for Alex Song who apparently is showing signs of reluctance over a new contract and should the summer come around without him having signed one then Arsenal may be forced to sell. On the surface it would seem frivolous of Arsene to go for the Frenchman when he already has Frimpong and Coquelin in reserve but it is well know that Wenger is an admirer of M’Vila’s and the danger may be that if he waits until the summer he may be priced out of any transfer.
Jan Vertonghen would only really be signed for his versatility. The 6’4 Belgian can play either at centre-back, left-back or as a defensive midfielder. With Gibbs’ persistent injuries and Andre Santos’ less than impressive defending you could understand why Wenger would be interested in signing Vermaelen’s old team-mate.
The attraction of Podolski is also obvious. The Cologne striker has scored nine goals in twelve games and Arsenal desperately needs another striker to supplement van Persie.
History
I always think when predicting possible outcomes of transfer windows you should look at the history of that manager. And if you’re an Arsenal fan then it looks bleak. Wenger a) isn’t a fan of the January transfer window and is often asking for it to be abolished and b) rarely spends money in January (although he has been known to). However if you were to apply this logic then you could never have predicted what happened at Arsenal at the end of the summer transfer window. Arsene may in theory have all the players he needs but even someone as stubborn as he is will recognise that more is needed if they are to maintain their Champions League status. To play it any other way would be a foolish risk on Wenger’s part. He cannot guarantee that his captain or any other key player will remain fit throughout the campaign and when they do endure a spell on the sidelines will anyone be able to step in to their place?
The most likely target for Arsene will be a striker this January and we know he still has around £20m left over from the summer transfer dealings. Any other signings such as Goetze or M’Vila would be a bonus for the Gunners but with the imminent return of Wilshere it seems unlikely that Wenger will splash out in that department. Should further injuries dent Arsenal’s hopes for the season then perhaps more payer will be brought but any Arsenal fan who has convinced themselves that Arsene will go a spending spree come January I would remind them to remember that we feel the same way every Christmas and that come February we are disappointed more often than not.
For more Arsenal news and stories follow me on Twitter @H_Mackay
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