Congrats to Manchester United...and now on to the business of transfers

Ok, I need to grudgingly congratulate SAF and Manchester United for winning the clubs 18th league title and matching Liverpool's record. Manchester United was the best club this season in England...sigh. Ok enough with that, now on to what Arsenal need to do if they hope to contend for any silverware next season.

Arsenal needs, as I have stated for so long, to add some steel and some veteran leadership to the squad. They have an abundance of young talent but need some veterans to add to this roster. A great blog entry from Martin encapsulates this - http://arsenal.theoffside.com/team-news/lightweight-soft-and-fundamentally-flawed.html - While I do not entirely agree with his assessment of Diaby, I agree with his points concerning Gilberto. So let us look forward to this summer's transfer window and for a moment suspend reality and make some suggestions for Wenger.

• De Rossi - The AS Roma midfielder is right in the prime of his career. He is a tough tackler, has great vision, is a fierce competitor, and has matured as a leader on the pitch. He is a vital cog to the Italian national team. He has a bit of a temper, any fan of the US national team will remember his little flare up during the Italy - US game in the last World Cup. However this would not be unwelcome on the pitch for Arsenal. Wenger's men could use a little nastiness on the pitch. De Rossi would fill the role vacated by Vieira - a tough tackling midfielder with an ability to push up the pitch. He would be a good partner to Cesc being able to take on more of the dirty work in the midfield. While this might be a long shot, since he is a native of Roma and has worked his way up the ranks at Roma, he maybe interested in taking on new challenges, and what better venue than northern London.
• Mexes - Speaking of Roma, the best defender in Serie A would look quite good anchoring the back four at the Emirates. While Mexes struggles to find first team football with his national side.....which I think is more due to the person running the team than the player, he is clearly a star for club. Wenger had been rumored to be interested while Mexes was playing for Auxerre so he is a known entity for the professor. With the rife rumors that Gallas is on his way out, why not replace him with another French central defender.
• Trezeguet - Ok I am sticking with Italy and French national players. But Trez has fallen out of favor at the Old Lady. Granted he is coming off injury so his season has not been a normal one. With the rumors of Adebayour leaving Arsenal, adding another talented striker might be just what Arsenal need. Trezeguet would fit in well with the Gunners. He is a great target man up front, can score in the air, does not need a lot of space, and is a true "fox in the box." With the likes of Walcott and Archavin on the wings, the field would open up for Trezegol to find his way to the net. I think that based on where he stands at Juventus he and the club might be very open to selling the player and the change of scenery as well as being reunited with his former AS Monaco manager may do David a world of good.
• Villa - Villa is a world class talent. While his compatriot, Torres, gets a lot of the press, it is the emergence of Villa that has made the Spanish national team such a machine and a huge favorite for next year's World Cup (sorry Jose I do not mean to jinx them). Villa would look great for the Gunners. You could rotate him with Walcott and Archavin on the wings, play him up top with Trezeguet (again I said suspend reality) or have he and Van Persie play the tandem striker roles, or you could even play him alone up top with an offensive midfield of Archavin, Walcott, and Cesc. De Rossi and Denilson as the deep lying midfielders. Valencia are in huge financial difficulty, so he may be had for far less than in a normal season. Villa has been rumored to want to head to England, maybe North London would be a good place for him to stop. Hey maybe we can also get Joaquin and Silva from Valencia, to add some depth to the roster!
• Benzema - Ok like I mentioned earlier, please suspend reality. The young Lyon striker had a bit of a drop off in his game this season. Lyon appears to have lost its grip on the French league title and the young #10 has struggled to dominate the scoring sheet and has become a bench player for Les Bleus. While he is said to not want to leave the gastronomic capital of France the year of the world cup, playing for Wenger might make him change his mind. As Manchester United demonstrated, you can never have enough talented strikers if you hope to earn silverware in England. I think that Wenger would be able to find room on his team if he had Trezeguet, Villa, Benzema, Van Persie and Eduardo to choose from. Similar to Rooney, Ronaldo, Tevez, and Berbatov....ok granted more strikers but again let us suspend reality. And maybe with this much talent Wenger will take the Carling Cup more seriously so Arsenal can at least try to win that trophy!
• Toure - Not the one Arsenal already have, but his talented brother who does the dirty work in the midfield for Barcelona. This rumor has been around for ages, and Wenger has been rumored to always have had an eye for the player, but imagine a midfield with him and De Rossi in it....talk about adding some steel to your team.

Ok I realize I put out there some big names, some of which are firmly entrenched in their existing squad, all of which would cost Arsenal some cash with Wenger claims he has none of again. However, this no silverware, not really contending for a title is getting a little old. I agree that Wenger has, as usual, amassed some amazing young talent, however titles are won with a combination of youth, talent and veteran leadership. Arsenal have an abundance of the first 2 but are severely lacking in the 3rd category. Adding any combination of the mentioned players would bolster that.

Arsenal down and out?

Bad news from North London with Cesc suffering a ligament injury causing him to potentially miss up to 4 months. Ugh. Does this spell the end for Arsenal's quest for silverware this season? The Gunners were already desperately thin in the midfield and losing their best midfielder will not rectify that situation. Will Wenger go out and buy a replacement? I am sure he will look for one but who is out there that is an equal replacement? Here are some ideas...some are off the wall I will admit:

• Sessegnon from PSG. The Benin midfielder is very versatile he can play the #10 role or lie deeper to sit just in front of the defenders. PSG just bought him over the summer transfer window so not sure they will want to see him go especially since he is a key to PSG's turn around this season However PSG is under a tight financial situation so if the price is right, they might decide to allow him to leave. It was rumored that Wenger was looking at the player this summer before he left for PSG so it is clear the interest is there. Could the Cesc injury be the motivating force behind going out and purchasing the player?
• Toure...Yaya that is. Arsenal has always been linked to the international midfielder. Would Wenger go out and pay the money necessary to secure his services? Barca is leading the league in Spain and has a chance to capture another Champions League title so they might be hard pressed to allow their midfielder to leave, plus he would be unable to play the Champions League for Arsenal.
• Here is a crazy idea - Vieira ... Pat has never been the same since he left the Gunners. Rumor is he is breaking down under the difficult training tactics by the Italians. He is also being forced to play out of position - wide and not in the central role he excels at. Could he be had for short money? Allowed to come back to the club that made him a star? Crazier things have happened, but he could be a good stop gap for the rest of the season.

Wenger seems to believe he has the necessary resources within his own club already, but I doubt that since he was thin with Cesc...without him it is almost disastrous. Come on Wenger show your genius talent assessment again this transfer window!

Yaya to Arsenal? 5 reasons why this has to happen!

So the rumors that the Toure brothers will reunite in North London are cropping up again...and here are 5 reasons why this is good for Arsenal -

1. More muscle - Yaya will bring much needed muscle to Arsenal's midfield. With the lose of Flamini and Gilberto, Arsenal are in desperate need of a holding/defensive midfield and one with the power of Yaya would be a tremendous asset. The Arsenal midfield is already slight of stature, adding Yaya would give it some size and muscle. As well as protecting Cesc.
   
2. Partnering with his brother - that would be cool to see...Yaya and Kolo on the pitch at the same time, plus it would give Arsenal a solid spine. Wonder which is Mommy Toure's favorite?
   
3. Arsenal needs to show it has some money - So far this transfer season Arsenal is in a net loss when it comes to players. The biggest name they added was Nasri while losing such names as Hleb, Flamini and Gilberto. This would be a sign that Wenger still has some money in the kitty.
4. Give cover for the backs - Clichy and Sagna have tendancies to push up and to be aggressive on their offensive runs. Arsenal will need someone in the midfield that can cover when the backs make their runs.
5. Target Ronaldo - Yaya would be a good option to nullify opponents' midfield maestros and offensive players - Ronaldo, Bentley, Gerrard, Lampard, Ballack, etc. The back 4 are solid in covering the strikers, but Arsenal can use a player to break up the offense from the midfield.

Again these are rumors that have been out there for a long time. But I think Wenger needs to move on this one, Yaya has been talking about playing for Arsenal for a long time. Now let us get him in the Arse Kit.