The recent stories about Wayne Rooney moving to Arsenal are very surprising but also welcome at Arsenal. As I have been saying for ages now the club needs to make an impact and show the top clubs in Europe that Arsenal will spend money on top players to compete for titles and trophies.
Arsenal should learn a lesson from Liverpool by SS
Arsenal are in a strange phase at the moment and they have been for the last few years. The fans and neutrals are scratching their heads as to why the club can not challenge for trophies anymore, despite the stacks of cash the club apparently has in reserve.
Many people recently have criticized Arsene Wenger and his transfer policies, they say he is too stubborn and won't sign the players that Arsenal need. I used to agree with this opinion however after watching us finish fourth last weekend, I still think Arsene Wenger is the man for us.
History is the best predictor of the future... by Redneck
So then, what will be in store for the Gunner faithful this summer? Arsene has this massive 70 million warchest. There is absolutely no way that with that much money to spend, the pressure that has been building on the club, the high ticket prices, etc.
After Benteke's comments yesterday about Arsenal, I've seen fans calling for Wenger to sign him as if he was the world's best player stating that he always dreamed of playing for Arsenal, however he's not. Back in reality he's a 22 year old striker for Belgium who had an exceptionally good season, but is he really what Arsenal need right now?
It's a pretty well-known fact that in order for Arsenal to improve then we need to ship out some of the ‘deadwood' and replace it with talent that can seriously build on our team and make it a strong competitor. If I'm honest I really don't think we are that far off a great team, we have the buildings of it already at the club, we just need to go out this summer and buy, in my opinion 3, maybe 4 top quality players.
Just as it seemed that Arsenal were losing their grasp on one of the top transfer targets, a couple of stories in the Spanish media have offered renewed hope that Gonzalo Higuain could be a Gunner next season. The striker's father Jorge and brother Nicholas work as his representatives and Nicholas has declared that the reports of an agreement with the Italian champions are premature.
There is a good chance that the goalkeeping situation at Arsenal will stay the same; and to be honest the topic is becoming more and more redundant as time goes on because Szczesny is a great keeper, and will be one of the best in the world (only an idiot would say otherwise).
Fabianski might be content with staying as Arsenals #2 keeper considering he is getting chances to start matches here and there, looking eager to overtake his young Polish compatriot, but who knows what decisions will be made by him or management during the summer.
Arsenal cannot win the title without major changes by SS
Every summer I hear Arsenal fans saying that next season the club will be back for a title challenge, I repeatedly laugh at that because I and anybody who is realistic knows that Arsenal simply cannot make a title challenge unless there is drastic changes to the whole club.
The jury has been in deliberation all season about Olivier Giroud at Arsenal. Of course, the French international has been given some leeway by us Gooners, although not much by some, as it is his first season with the Gunners and we have seen players take time to get used to the English Premier League before.
On another day of Arsenal transfer madness, the latest player to be linked with a move to the club is Valenica's French centre back Adil Rami. Rami is thought to want a move away from the club to guarantee him Champions League football and Valencia will be happy to sell him so they can raise funds for new players if they get a decent fee for him.
I have written articles about what the former Arsenal midfielder Stewart Robson has said before and it has pretty much been non-stop negativity, especially towards Arsene Wenger. Robson never played under the Frenchman, but he clearly considers himself an authority on him.
The Talksport regular has been telling us all season that Wenger should go and was clearly going to fail to finish in the top four this season.
If Arsenal are to be a successful football club then they need to have more than a good group of players. You need an entire squad full of talent that can be rotated for fitness, quality and replacements if an injury or suspension occurs.
Too many times over the last few seasons, we have seen our squad decline in quality, a prime example is the Carling Cup final that we lost two years ago against Birmingham City.
I've mentioned in a couple of previous articles that our form at the tail end of last season was incredibly impressive. However, it goes back a little further than that. On the 1st December last year, we welcomed high flyers Swansea to the Emirates.
I sit here on a warm African winter afternoon, my tele switched to ESPN classic. They have a vintage Arsenal game going and im glued as if it were live. Its Highbury....Its Sol Campbell, its Vieira, its Bergkamp, its Thierry... its an Arsenal routing of Manchester United.
Arsenal must buy early – now is not the time to wait by DG
I have a question I would dearly like to ask the Arsenal board. When does saving money end up costing you money?
In recent years, we Arsenal fans have grown increasingly fearful of summer windows. Long periods of big stars courting opposition clubs, ending with a dramatic late sale and no replacement forthcoming until the next window.
Somebody is having a right bubble. That is surely the only explanation for the story that Arsenal are prepared, or even eager, to sell our captain to anybody who is willing to cough up £5 million. There about a hundred reasons why this story is ludicrous, but I will just deal with a few of them.
Firstly, if Arsene Wenger had decided that Thomas Vermaelen was no longer a part of his plans for Arsenal in the future, he knows that he could sell him for much more than £5 million.
Arsenal must stick to their Guns over Jovetic transfer by FD
Yes, I know it's the nature of transfers, but it's still highly frustrating for Arsenal fans. I'm talking about the on/off/on/off, will he?/won't he? saga that's developing over the possible move of Arsenal target Stevan Jovetic from Fiorentina to the Emirates.
In the last few weeks of the season when the transfer rumours start flying, all I have heard about Arsenal is sign this keeper, sign that keeper, Jovetic is close to agreeing a deal, Higuain is close to agreeing a deal, Yaya Sanogo has joined the club. All these different transfer stories that involve the club are leaving me very confused and no doubt the Arsenal squad will be too.
Arsenal need another striker, at least. I think we all agree on that. We don't necessarily agree on who it should be, other than the favt that we want someone who is a proven goal scorer. Of the transfer targets we have been linked with, all of them have some kind of drawback, whether that is fair or not.
The Higuains or the Bentekes: What Arsenal Needs Versus What Arsenal is Likely to Get by Uche
Hello fellow Arsenal fans. This is Uche Edochie, your co blogger and this is my first article on justarsenal.com. I hope you are all well inspite of this Higuain/Jovetic confusion.
I write to you today because it is the transfer season and as with most transfer seasons in recent memory, this is a typically rough time to be an Arsenal fan.
The media is full of Arsenal transfer speculation at the moment, and the talk of which players might be coming to the Emirates in the summer is exciting for Arsenal fans. For the first time in several seasons we can anticipate the arrival of a footballing star or two, rather than bemoan the likely departure of a favourite player.
However, looking at the figures of nett spends...it's difficult to argue. The only argument against is that he's refusing to spend money or the board have been restrictive.
Personally, I feel he's stretching everything he can from what we have.
Hello Gooners! In this article, I will assess all our transfer dealings in the coming transfer window after our glorious victory for the top 4. Feel free to post you thoughts, and please don't be too harsh as this is only my second article.
The biggest Arsenal transfer rumour going around today is the report in the Sun that Arsene Wenger is willing to unload our latest captain Thomas Vermaelen for a cut-price £5million Pounds. The Belgian international will not be happy that the Gunners went on a ten-game unbeaten run as soon as he was demoted to the bench, and the only time he got a game was when Laurent Koscielny was suspended.
There is a chance that Arsenal could make significant progress in the Premier League next season while the other top three clubs, United, City and Chelsea, get themselves together after a period of upheaval. The fact that the rewards on offer in the English game makes it even more important to have a tilt at the title next season.
We don't know for sure that Arsenal are definitely looking to sign another keeper this summer, but it seems fairly likely, with the problems there have been with Wojciech Szczesny and Lukasz Fabianski over the last few years. I really hope that Arsene Wenger has got a clear idea of who he wants to bring in, even if it is between a few keepers, because according to the media he has about 39 different possibilities.
Ever since the end of the Premier League season last Sunday, Arsenal fans have been looking forward to an optimistic summer transfer window and a much more competitive Arsenal in the future. Some Gooners, like myself, still harbour doubts about the board and Arsenal's wage policy actually allowing Wenger to bring in the `top, top` talent he has been talking about all season.
Juventus player Mauricio Isla has alerted a number of clubs in Europe including Arsenal after he stated that he may be leaving Turin this summer. Isla has had a horrible season at Juventus but the Chilean was a star player at Udinese where he was played in his favoured right wing back position instead of central midfield regularly.
There have been a number of reports over the last few days suggesting that Arsenal have agreed terms with Gonzalo Higuain over his potential transfer to the Emirates from Real Madrid. It was also thought that the transfer fee had been settled at around £20 million. Whether this is is true or not, we don't know, but even if it is true, that does not mean the transfer will definitely happen.
Arsene Wenger has already suggested that Arsenal will have a tough time acquiring the transfer targets that the manager wants this summer. The Gunners may have a lot more money to spend in this transfer window, but that in no way guarantees that we will get the players we want.
One of the major problems this year is the competition.
According to just about every single Arsenal transfer rumour on the web at the moment, the Gunners two top targets are Fiorentina's Stevan Jovetic and Real Madrid's Gonzalo Higuain and either one is certain to improve the Arsenal strike force next season.
But today it has been revealed by the Juventus general director Giuseppe Marotta that the Spanish Serie A winners are also keen on signing these two players.
The Arsenal transfer target, Portuguese goalkeeper Rui Patricio, has admitted that he may be leaving his beloved Sporting Lisbon this summer. In an interview with the Portuguese press he said "I feel good here, but we must consider many things. I still do not know what the future holds for me".
The keeper was the subject of an £8 Million bid just last week from Arsenal which was immediately rejected by Sporting.
The exciting young French striker Yaya Sanogo (great name!) has beeen close to sealing a deal with the Arsenal since last week, with his club Auxerre in negotiations with Arsenal over the compensation fee.
But today the youngster himself has made it clear that he only has one destination in mind for nmext season.
Every year we report the Arsenal players that really have to be taken off the wage bill to make room for some players that actually are capable of competing for First XI places. This time around we have a chance to make big inroads into disposing of these deadwoods and freeing up a good amount of wages to invest in star players.
It has been reported that Arsenal are close to sealing the deal for The Montenegro international and Fiorentina striker Stevan Jovetic. While the Gunners sealed the final Champions League place in the Premier League with victory at Newcastle, Fiorentina missed out despite beating Pescara 5-1.
Jovetic scored in the game, but it could be his last in Viola colours, as Metro reports that his agent, Fali Ramadani, is in the Capital to put the final touches to a deal that could cost the Gunners nearly £25 million.
I don't know how many times I have read that the Fiorentina striker Stefan Jovetic has signed a pre-contract agreement with Arsenal and will join the Gunners when the transfer window opens. I've even seen Photoshop pictures of Jovetic edited in an Arsenal kit, yet now all of a sudden the story has gone cold.
Paul Lambert is probably well aware that he faces an uphill struggle to stop his star striker from joining Arsenal. Although we have not heard anything about Arsene Wenger getting in touch with Aston Villa about a transfer, the Frenchman must be aware that Christian Benteke has hinted about moving and has even specifically mentioned the Gunners.
Rub your eyes, Arsenal fans, pinch yourself and splash your face with cold water, then read the headline again. Is it still the same? Yes, and it is not April 1st, so what on Earth is going on? Maybe whoever wrote this story originally had shaky hands from the night before, or his dog barked as he was typing and he hit an extra zero, because 100 million euros is silly money for anybody, never mind Remy Cabella.
Arsenal are apparently closing in on the signing of young Manchester City midfielder Abdi Ibrahim who has been on loan for the last few seasons away from his parent club. This would seem like a strange move for Arsenal to make but the Norwegian has been on a host of Premier League club's radars for many years and it appears that City have resigned themselves to selling him because of a lack of room in his favoured defensive midfield role.
