John Evans
As we head into the heart of the summer months and the days and weeks go past the number of names being linked with the club we all support seems to grow and grow. Who are the names we are being linked with and how would they fare if they did pull on the famous red and white jersey come August. Below I have run the rule over a few of the possibilities and accessed the likelihood of the signing fitting into our current structure as a club.
Gervinho – Current club Lille (France)
The current figures being banded about for the Ivorian forward seem to be in the £10-12m bracket. So what could we expect from him if he did make the switch as many expect him to do over the next fortnight? He is 24 years old so there could be a decent selling on fee to come at that age making the signing more of a possibility. Last season He made a total of 42 appearances for his current club Lille and scored a total of 15 goals and nine assists for the French outfit in those appearances. He has made only three international appearances for the Ivory Coast but has scored two goals in those three games, so he does have one of the best goals to games ratios in international football, alongside Peter Crouch! He is only 5ft 8in so is no real force aerially, so even though he plays in France and has a similar goals to games record as Chamakh had in his last season playing in that country that is where those comparisons must end. He is not an out and out striker, he prefers to do his damage from the flank (mainly right sided) and is more of an Arshavin style player than a Chamakh. He is available and we would not need to break the wage structure at the club to bring him in so in reality he is a likely Wenger type signing and could show an improvement on the current back up options we have in place within the squad. As we seem to play Bendtner out of position on the wing I would see this signing as a like for like replacement within our current squad for when Barry exits this summer even though in reality these are two very different players.
Chances of signing happening 9/10
Eden Hazard – Current Club Lille (France)
This small framed central attacking midfielder is the creative force in the current Lille side. He is a current Belgium international who has amassed 20 international caps already (one cap for every year of his age) he has however yet to find the net on the international stage but does have five assists for his country. He played in a similar number of games for Lille as Gervinho last term scoring eight fewer goals than the Ivorian but setting up two more in comparison with a total of 11 assists. He is only 5ft 5in so certainly not going to shore us up from set pieces but if you are looking for pace and flair this is your man. The other number of teams interested in this one will be the stumbling block though as the prices being banded about have risen to around £25-30m in recent weeks. To be honest at that price you would look more strongly at Gervinho in comparison, which is what we seem to have done.
Chances of signing happening 3/10
Christopher Samba – Current Club Blackburn Rovers (England)
At a towering height of 6ft 4in and weighing in at a cool fighting weight of 200lbs, the man from the Congo is exactly what we were missing at the heart of our defence last season (and the season before that). He would add muscle, height and importantly Premier League experience to the current squad at Arsenal. He played 33 times for Blackburn scoring on four occasions and was a tower of strength at the heart of the Rovers defence that managed to avoid relegation mainly because of Samba gaining many man of the match awards in the season run-in. He would cost us around £10m and would also not break the wage structure we have in place. You could say a slightly cheaper alternative to Gary Cahill but at 27 years of age his sell on value would drop sharply in another season or two. Be prepared for this signing to be announced in the coming weeks as it should have been in January.
Chances of singing happening 10/10
Gary Cahill – Current Club Bolton Wanderers (England)
Gary is 3 inches shorter and around 40lbs lighter than Samba but would cost up to £5m more than the man from the Congo. Coming back from a long term injury the 25 year old made 33 appearances for Bolton last term and scored on three occasions. He did command the Bolton back line in his typically committed manner, even getting himself sent off at Arsenal in September. Gary has been handed three International caps so far in his career and more would follow if he did make a move to a top Premier League club. He would add something to the heart of our defence and does come with English grit and commitment traits. But at the reported £15m+ I am not too sure whether we would take this one ahead of Samba and at around £30m for the pair I personally can’t see both men heading to North London in the same summer.
Chances of signing happening 7/10
Karim Benzema – Current Club Real Madrid (Spain)
This French international striker managed to make a total of 41 appearances for his club last season scoring a total of 21 goals in the campaign. Karim does have the touch to go with his striking abilities as well making a total of six assists for his teammates. He has played 28 times for his country scoring nine goals at an international goals to games ratio of virtually one in three. His opportunities at Real may become fewer and fewer next time out as number one marksman Higuain did make a return to full fitness before the season ended. So don’t be fooled into thinking that because Karim made 41 appearances last term he is the number one striker at the club as he isn’t. This fact in my eyes makes the potential transfer more likely to happen. At the reported fee of around £30m Arsenal would almost certainly need to sell one of the star names within our current squad of players to go knocking on Real’s door for this one. Although do not be surprised if the club decide to make something of a marquee signing if and when one of our top names does go during the summer months. This one would then fit that marquee signing bill perfectly to keep the fans at bay.
Chances of signing happening 6/10
Scott Parker – Current club West Ham United (England)
Parker had a remarkably positive campaign last time out even though the Hammers ended the season with relegation to the Championship. He managed to enhance his own reputation and it must be said that if he had left the club before the season ended West Ham could easily have found themselves well adrift at the bottom of the table. With Parker captaining the side when fit, the Irons managed to keep their faint hopes of Premier League safety going until the second from last game of the season. Made a total of 32 appearances last season scoring five goals from his defensive midfield position. The main problem with this one coming off is his age, at 30 he would offer next to no sell on value whatsoever. With added interest from other teams including his close pal’s (Jamie Redknapp) dad’s (Harry Redknapp) team (Spurs) do not be overly surprised to see this possible target lining up in the white of Tottenham rather than the red of Arsenal come August.
Chances of singing happening 3/10
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain – Current club Southampton (England)
At just 17 years of age the Saints’ attacking midfielder fits the bill perfectly in terms of re-sale price. He would not cost a fortune in wages and a fair whack of the reported £10m transfer fee would be dependant on future performances for the club. So in terms of possible value for money long term this one could be spot on. In terms of the here and the now this one would not be top of my list as the Saints were all the way down in League One last term. Alex made a total of 34 appearances scoring nine and setting up a further eight goals for his club. 34 appearances in League One does not add up to someone that will come straight into the Arsenal side and improve on things but this one could certainly be yet another signing for the future. Not too dissimilar to the signing of our current speed merchant Theo Walcott. Will Alex make us more likely to win the League next season? No. Does he fit the bill of a likely Wenger type signing? Yes.
Chances of signing happening 7/10
Willian – Current club Shakhtar Donetsk (Ukraine)
This 22 year old Brazilian left winger currently plays for Ukranian outfit Shakhtar Donetsk (the team we sold Eduardo to and then lost to in the Champions League last season). He is quick and slight in stature at just 5ft 7in. He would be more of a possibility if Nasri decides to sign elsewhere this summer but would not come cheap as the Ukranians have seemingly slapped a £22m valuation on his head. A more realistic fee in the region of £15m could be deemed as affordable to Arsenal though and we would see a decent amount of money spent on new blood to appease the fans if Nasri does leave the club. A reality check on this one though, he is yet to play a single game for his country and only scored four times in 36 appearances for Shakhtar last term, managing six assists in those 36 games. Does that represent value for money at £15m+? It might do if media reports are to be believed that Shakhtar want Denilson in exchange for him and value our Brazilian crab at a whopping £8m.
Chances of signing happening 5/10
Blaise Matuidi – Current club AS Saint Etienne (France)
At 24 years of age and with a French passport in his pocket it doesn’t take the brains of Britain to work out that this guy could be the answer to Arsenal’s current lack of competition in the defensive midfield department of the squad. Who knows, this guy could even give Song a run for his money which could see the Cameroonian improve on his consistency levels throughout the next campaign. Blaise managed a total of 34 appearances for his club last season without scoring a single goal although this attack shy midfielder did manage one assist (one of the few times he wandered into the opposition’s half). He has been likened to Claude Makelele and his scoring stats back this comparison up to the hilt. Blaise also has three international caps to his name and many experts expect this number to grow and grow over the next few seasons. The reported fee for this one could range from £12m+ but could this potential signing lead to the ‘killing’ of Emmanuel Frimpong in our current manager’s eyes and will this mean Arsene leaves this one where he is for now?
Chances of signing happening 5/10
How much will Arsene be parting with on any of the above named players? I feel the answer to this question will depend on who he parts company with over the next month or so. As I feel confident that when Mr Fabragas or Mr Nasri depart for pastures new we may well see one or two of the bigger transfer targets coming to North London this summer.
