As we enter the money end of the season in Europe, teams are already positioning themselves for this summer’s transfer window. Armed with the money from the Premier League’s massive TV deal, plus the increased revenue from the Emirates Stadium, Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger is reported to have a £5-60 million transfer kitty at his disposal.
So who should Wenger target with those funds? What positions do Arsenal need to strengthen if they want to close the gap on Premier League leaders Chelsea?
One area that does NOT need to be strengthen is up-front, which is why I discount to rumors of Arsenal spending £50 million on Juventus Striker Alvaro Morata. Not going to happen.
Instead, Arsene Wenger needs to focus on the other end of the pitch. Goalkeeper David Ospina has shown that he is a good number two, while the Wojciech Szczesny experiment is over. Arsenal have consistently had the weakest goalkeeper of any side in the top four, and Wenger has a chance to fix that this summer by signing Chelsea’s No. 2 Petr Cech. Cech is still one of the top five goalkeepers in England and reportedly is available for £10 million this summer. Cech is worth five or six points a season, which might be the difference between finishing first or third next season.
Arsenal fans have been asking for a new center half for several years now, and while the arrival of Gabriel in January helps, the Gunners are still missing another top defender to join Laurent Koscielny and Per Mertesacker. Dortmund centre half Neven Subotic and Aleksandar Dragovic of Dynamo Kiev are reportedly on the Gunners’ radar.
Mertesacker has struggled with a lack of form this season, but this is not uncommon from a player coming off a World Cup year. A lot of the Dutch players struggled the season after the 2010 World Cup while Angel Di Maria has had an off year too. I think it is too quick to give up on the BFG after one disappointing season.
The third area that Arsenal need to strengthen is defensive midfield. Francis Coquelin has done a nice job for Arsenal in 2015, but even the most avid Arsenal fans knows that they need to improve here.
Wenger is said to be a long-term admirer of Southampton’s Morgan Schneiderlin. Arsenal have a good working relationship with the Saints, having signed Theo Walcott and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain in the past.
Who do you think that the Gunners should sign this summer?
