Where Wenger will spend his millions

It is well publicized that Arsenal had a record year last season in terms of business and that Wenger is not sitting on a mountain of cash for the January transfer window. So this got me and Sam thinking while munching on $7.00 sandwiches at Fenway park. First, here are the areas that Arsenal need some depth if not a more viable starting option:

• Keeper - Lamehands and Aluminumhands do not instill the greatest faith in me for either a deep Champions League run or a run in England. Yes Lehmann was an integral part of the team when it made its run to the Paris Champions League finals, but his form has drastically fallen since the 2006 season. Now the long term maybe in the hands of the Polish international, but that is down the road. For this season Arsenal has a glaring hole between the sticks.
• Central defender - they need depth. If/when Gallas is healthy the defense is solid. With Gallas and Toure in the middle, flanked by Clichy and Sagna the Arsenal defense is strong, fast, and a bit nasty. The big hole is apparent when the Swiss version of Pascal Cygan is playing - Senderos. I keep hearing that Senderos will become a solid center back one day....not sure what day that will be, but it is certainly not on Sunday or any other day for that matter. I feel badly for Senderos, every time he plays he looks like a 5 year old that just had their lunch money stolen. I think he realizes he is completely over matched, he does not even position himself well.
• Striker - I think they still need a true #1 striker. I realize that Adebayor is having a terrific start of the season....someone on Fox Soccer went so far as saying he was the best striker in the Premiership at this moment. But I am not convinced that the lanky Togolese striker is the answer to Arsenal looking to win silverware. He is a nice #2 striker but sooner rather than later teams will slow him down.

So where can Wenger go "shopping" this transfer season? Here are some players to keep in mind....some are a real stretches...okay probably most of them are -

• Keeper - Make an offer to PSG for Landreau. Granted the French keeper is the only reason why PSG is not in Ligue 2 this season, but make them an offer. Wenger is adept at poaching players from PSG, remember him snatching an 18 year old named Anelka.
  
• Central Defender - not sure who is out there, but here is a stretch - Japp Stam. He is not needed to play everyday, again this depends on Gallas returning to the pitch. Having the bald Dutchman would be a good part time player. And maybe Stam would jump at the chance to play for one of Manchester United's biggest rivals and stick it to SAF.
  
• Striker - I am still a fan of Arsenal getting Anelka back. With Bolton on the verge of relegation it might be a good time to poach their former protege to come back to Northern London. But here is a stretch - Drogba. With Mourinho leaving Chelsea, it was clear that one player that was deeply affected was the Ivory Coast striker. There are few teams that could absorb his salary...Arsenal is one of those clubs. Maybe Drogba is angry enough to switch to the cross town rival. Maybe Chelsea would allow him to leave to give the owner's binky, Sheva, a chance to start more consistently, plus if Chelski gets Ronaldino, they will need to free up spots on the pitch for all the prima donas to play on.

So you could have a team consisting of the following -

Landreau - Sagna, Gallas, Toure, Clichy - Diaby, Cesc, Flamini, Van Persie - Adebayor, Drogba

Bench - Rosicky, Hleb, Gilberto, Stam, Bendtner, Eduardo, Eboue

Looks good to me! Maybe this is more for FIFA 2008....but one can always hope