Your Vision

Perhaps I should be thinking more positively. What I’m writing is pretty negative but that’s only because I tried looking on the bright side only to find that it was about as bright as an energy saving light bulb that had just this second been switched on. You never know though. We may sign Ozil, Benzema and di Maria in the 71 hours that, at the time of writing, remain of this window. I personally think all three moves are dead in the water; we missed good chances earlier in the summer and even those three moves would not suffice. But hey.

Flamini is back to give the relationship another try.  Back to rekindle the old footballing Barca-lite romance with his mentor. Fans thought it was a going to be a one year fling but it appears not. Flaming-hot-but-slightly-past-it Flamini is here for three more years and he’s come at a fairly hefty price. How much you say”? Why that will be 75 bags a week Monsieur Wenger. Because like Cheryl and her rosy-arsed tattoo I’m worth it”! “You can tell Mr Dickie that too…..ooh and don’t forget Darren’s match-making bonus”.

At the start of the summer transfer window, a lot had been promised. Funds were finally available, big names were being linked to the club and there was a sense of optimism. Two whole months later, no progress. The only addition being, 20 year old free transfer, Yaya Sanogo. Not to disgrace him, a lot is being expected of him in the long term, but there has been no significant addition which could boost us in the imminent future. Suarez, Williams, Cesar, Guztavo and the likes have been linked to us all summer. Guztavo was one player I really respect, and was hoping he could be the one to lead us to glory. But for some odd reason he joined Wolfsburg. Maybe they were paying him more, most probably Wenger was being himself, but whatever the reason was, we've lost a gem of a player and he plays a position in which we really need reinforcements. 21 million seemed worth it. Anyway, what's gone is gone. Now, the topic at hand. Luis Suarez. Surely, controversy aside, one of the best strikers in world football today.

As someone who might be called a Wenger loyalist, I have to agree that many of my fellow Gooners are on edge, and if the window closes without significant additions, there is likely to be an Arsenal fans summer revolution with boos sounding out around the ground at the first sign of a poor performance and goodness knows what will happen when we lose, heralding protest groups who will

Sagna and Gibbs, though Monreal is a very close second left back in my estimation. He has a stronger defensive quality than Gibbs, but lacks what Gibbs has moving into attacking positions. I'd alternate these two depending on the opposition. Jenkinson is a good young right back, but he's wildly inexperienced at the moment and is not as consistent as he needs to be if he wants to be a starter. Keeping Sagna around for another season or two will teach the youngster a lot about how to defend and work

Right this is. The stadium was supposed to put us on a more level playing field with the likes of Real Madrid and Barcelona, whereas it has actually just distanced us more from them. Yes it will benefit us in the future financially, but is it worth it? Is it worth leaving your spiritual home and soul to move to a bigger, more expensive stadium where ticket prices are higher and the club and the fans are more distant? What’s more, where a lot of fans who were able to afford to go and watch their team regularly at Highbury are now priced out of going to do the same at the Emirates Stadium, like Craig?

I’ve written before about our defence and I think all we need is a suitable 4th CB cover, as the competition between Gibbs/Monreal; Koscielny/Mertesacker/Vermaelen, and Sagna/Jenkinson is good, but only 3 CB’s is not safe enough. I think that Vermaelen is still a very good defender and he suffered from what many of our players suffered from over the last two seasons, and that is a lack of competition and over confidence in their own place in the team. I think being dropped but kept as skipper is a crucial indication of Wenger’s plans. Mertesacker

Suarez is a different style of player to both of these two but has a skill set that I believe would excel in the role. He is quick, an excellent dribbler, strong on the ball and excellent movement off it; his ability to drop off would be torture for centre backs who would not know whether to play a high line or drop deep and let him come on to them. His unpredictability also ensures that both centre backs need to play close together incase he beats one; this could be hugely beneficial for someone like Walcott who could exploit the space in between full back and centre back if they can strike up an understanding, something that I feel could happen given how quickly Sturridge and Suarez linked up at Liverpool.

Sagna is a refreshing change from the current generation of footballers whose wild partying ways make Page 3 news on almost a daily basis. His  down to earth and humble manner have earned him much praise from fans and he remains a firm favourite with the Arsenal faithful.  When his brother Omar passed away in 2008 Sagna was scheduled to feature in Arsenal’s crucial knockout game in the Champions League versus the mighty AC Milan at home in the San Siro. The task was daunting enough for Arsenal as no English team have ever beaten Milan on the hallowed grounds of the San Siro. Despite his grief Sagna played the game and Arsenal went on to record a famous win. Such is the devotion of the player to the game that even in the face of adversity he looks it head on and conquers it.

Big deals take time. I know they always do. Actually no, not always but with Arsenal they most certainly do. Even when we're the selling club. Remember how long we dragged the sales of Cesc, Nasri & Robin?
So I try to comfort myself and look at the last time we concluded a big deal for a big player from a big club........ok fair enough not a lot of those to look at then. What about Arshavin that was a big one, yeah maybe, Wenger actually admitted he liked him during the Euros, and when asked in Al Jazeera if he would sign him he said that his style would suit us. So it's safe to say that there was interest in the summer. We signed him deadline day......winter window!
Henry's return, everyone new we would re-sign him 16 months ago. All through December the rumors were there.  We signed him one week into the transfer window! Surely it could have been done earlier. He could have played a game or two more. A memory or