Gattuso available for transfer...could provide the steel for Arsenal

So Gattuso was offered a contract extension but has not made any comments to Milan. He is rumored to be on the wish list of Manchester City...no surprise there. However maybe Wenger should perk up his ears and open his check book. The Italian bulldog would bring much needed steel to the Arsenal midfield, offer protection for Cesc and add a little nastiness that is currently lacking. It was also be ironic since former Arsenal midfielder, Flamini, has taken playing time away from the Italian. Maybe if Wenger had not let the Frenchman go we would not need such a discussion!

I am sure that Wenger will not give it much though, primarily because he is on the wrong side of 30. Plus I am sure Arsenal will not want to get into a spending battle with Manchester City. Too bad, Arsenal could use some of the Italian's intensity and talent.

Arsenal a shell of the old Gunners

So Arsenal faced cross London rival Chelsea this weekend, in a tie that used to be dominated by the North London side, the match this weekend was a far cry from those days. Chelsea easily left the Emirates with a 4-1 victory. Once again Drogba was a thorn in the side of Wenger's men, and there wasn't even Senderos to blame for this!

Oh well. This game, brutally, demonstrated the work that Arsenal needs to do to in the the transfer season if they every really want to contend for the Premiership title, let alone European glory. As I have mentioned in many prior rants, er I mean postings, Arsenal need to find some steel to their team. Ever since the sale of Pat Vieira there has been no toughness, no edge to the squad. Rather than signing players of that ilk as well as Keown and Parlour style players, Wenger has placed too much emphasis on youth, but youth that resembles itself, players like Cesc, Wolcott, Clichy, etc. All world class players, but all cut from similar cloth - talented but slight of stature players. I realize I have said this in the past, but you cannot allow players such as Pires, Edu, Silva, and Flamini just leave without a replacement. While these players were all on the "wrong" side of 30 (not including Flamini) they all could have and did bring veteran experience as well as steeliness to the team. However since Wenger does not belief in siging over 30 players to any muliyear deals they all walked. Wouldn't a Flamini or even a Silva have looked good doing some of the dirty work in the Arsenal midfield this season??? Also, I realize Henry appeared to be winding down, and I would never argue that he is the Henry that terrorized the Prem, however he would look good in a rotation with Adebayour, Van Persie and Bendtner...he certainly does not seem to be playing too poorly for Barca!

Bottom line, Arsenal will get into the Champions League once again. They will play some beautiful football in England and Europe. They will tease their fans at some point in the season...but short of an FA Cup (we all know that the Carling Cup will be sacrificed in the name of playing the youth) I do not see how Arsenal will grab any silverware in 2010...unless you count the Emirates Cup.....

Aresnal - buy low sell high, and win no silverware

Arsenal once again, look like a net seller in this market. As of today they have acquired the French international Samir Nasri, I think a perfect signing for Wenger and Arsenal. But they are rumored to lose Adebayour and have lost Hleb, Gilberto and Flamini. The last two the real steel of the Arsenal midfield the past few seasons. Hleb is not a huge loss since Nasri will take his "slot" and is probably a net gain in terms of ability and versatility.

The problem I have, is Arsenal were a little soft for me last season, and the players that were the least soft - Flamini and Gilberto are gone with no replacement yet at the Emirates. I have heard some talk that, well Wenger will just slot Diaby in the middle. While I like Diaby and think he could flourish playing his more natural role as a central midfielder rather than on the wings, the main problem I have is with his health. He has not had a full season, injury free, yet. If he is to be the next holding/defensive midfielder for Arsenal he has to play the bulk of the games, something he has yet to prove he can do. So who else can Arsene turn to? There is talk that they are in the running to get Yaya Toure from Barca, a move I would absolutely love to see. But I am sure they will need to spend some money to get Kolo's brother. Might they get Barry? I doubt it if Liverpool is also in the running, they will overspend for the Villa player. How about the revelation of the Euros - Arshavin? He would be a great addition, but does not address the need for a holding midfielder. He would make a great complement with Nasri and Cesc, that would be a formidable offensive midfield, granted a little lacking in size for the Prem.

Bottom line, I think that until the Emirates finances are better in control Wenger will continue to sell and be frugal and selective on his purchases. He is also going to continue to look to build on the backs of his youth and not hold on to 30+ players. Some might argue this is the way to go, but when is the last time Arsenal has really challenged for the league title? And when is the last time they have won any silverware? Until Wenger loosens the purse strings and realizes that there is value in keeping older players to combine with youth, Arsenal I fear will be looking up at Manchester United and Chelsea....maybe even Liverpool, for the near future. We will not be seeing images such as the one above for a while....