So, after months of us fans clamouring for new signings, we have three 'big' signings to look forward to. The flip side is the relative exodus of players leaving the club. The obvious question remains: are we a stronger side for our summer activity in the markets?

Robert Pires and Dennis Bergkamp will never be easy to replace; even with their dwindling appearances, they still made priceless contributions to the team. Pires would always score goals; always popping up to slot in a rebound or curl home from distance. And what they both contributed, what we will miss the most, is the eye for the killer pass. Out of nowhere, both players could open up any defence in the world with their vision and timing. This is something we seem to be lacking. For all the elaborate buildup, so far, most of our goals have come from the flanks. And whilst a refreshing change, this is not the Arsenal way. It could be the players are no longer making the runs; it could be that defensive teams are overcrowding their penalty areas. But it seems to me that our main problem seems to be the loss of our killer, counterattacking instincts. With players like Vieira, Pires and Bergkamp in the side, we could turn defence to attack in an instant, exploiting the space, punishing players out of position, and putting the ball in the back of the net within seconds. The addition of technically gifted players like Hleb and Rosicky may improve our passing game and rediscover the final ball that we've lacked, yet overall the team seems to take too long with the ball. These days we face opponents who know how to cope with us, well-organised teams holding their lines, and our players no longer able to break at speed and move the ball quickly enough to cause any damage. Instead, we find ourselves passing the ball back and forth in a crowded final third, reluctant to shoot due to the lack of space, desperately trying to find a non-existent opening, and ultimately losing the ball.

Having the likes of Rosicky, Baptista and Van Persie, players who aren’t afraid of taking a shot in spite of bodies in the way, may see us profit in as much as ‘if you don’t shoot, you won’t score’ (just look how well Frank Lampard does with his deflected shots). Yet more importantly will be the attempt to rediscover how to attack at pace. Considering the speed of the Premiership, this is of the utmost importance. Our patient, passing approach may work wonders in Europe, but with the Premiership becoming increasingly high-tempo, aggressive and pressurized, we will need to move the ball that bit quicker. Fabregas will be crucial to this. We already know how excellent his vision and distribution are, but he will need to adapt his game from the European mindset to the Premiership one. Gilberto’s passing has always been average at best, and so the responsibility to run the midfield and turn defence into attack as fast as possible will fall on the shoulders of young Cesc. Perhaps this is too much to expect.

Our problems coping physically with bullying teams have been well documented; the additions of Baptista, Diaby, Gallas and Adebayor may go some way to remedying this. It is clear how Gilberto and Cesc alone struggle to control the midfield. Augmenting their efforts, hopefully, will be Julio Baptista. At the time of writing I am unsure where Wenger intends to play the Beast, but I hope we see him in something of a similar role as that he performed so well for Sevilla; in the middle of the park, perhaps playing off the shoulder of the forwards. In most successful teams these days there seems to be a midfield trio: a holding player, a passing player and a driving player. At Liverpool, there is Sissoko, Alonso and Gerrard; at Barcelona, Marquez, Deco and Xavi; at Milan, Gattuso, Pirlo and Kaka; at Chelsea, Makelele, Essien and Lampard. Perhaps we need to adopt a similar approach. We have Gilberto to break up the opposition attacks; we have Cesc to move the ball and create openings, but since Vieira left we have perhaps lacked an aggressive driving force in the midfield. This could be where Baptista could shine; picking up the ball from deep and running at the defence, intimidating them and opening up space for Henry, Rosicky and Hleb to exploit. With an impressive scoring record of some 50 goals in 3 seasons, Baptista could also be the poacher that we have hoped for, a finisher rather than a creator, as well as adding an aerial dimension to our game. Even without Baptista, the auxiliary midfielder role could be a job for the likes of the energetic Flamini and Diaby, or even Freddie Ljungberg – simply an extra body to take the pressure off of Cesc.

The departure of Reyes is not one which particularly bothers me; admittedly he made an impressive number of assists last season, yet his overwhelming contributions seemed to be running down blind alleys and losing the ball, coupled with an infuriating penchant for falling over. In conclusion – no final product. For the wings, we have Walcott, Rosicky, Hleb and Ljungberg – ample depth for the upcoming season. Building on the earlier point of wing play, this could be another area we may improve on. From making only a handful of appearances, Theo Walcott has already managed to set up two goals for us from the flanks. Whilst some may consider using width and crosses as crude and un-Arsenal, perhaps we need to adapt in order to cope with the changing nature of the Premiership. After all, why play through teams when you can play around them? Walcott’s lightning pace has already undone Aston Villa and Zagreb, and as long as we have bodies in the box to get on the end of the crosses, perhaps another job for Baptista, then we have an effective Plan B when negative teams pack the midfield.

The departure of Campbell and Cole will be welcomed by most fans. There is no denying that Cole is one of the finest left-backs in the world, yet having such a negative influence within the club will ultimately cause more harm than good. Enough has been said on the matter, so looking from a strictly on-the-pitch angle, he will definitely be missed. However, in Gael Clichy, we have a more than adequate replacement. At his young age, Clichy already shows more promise than Cole did at a similar age. We must therefore hope that Clichy proves to be less injury prone than he seems. Mathieu Flamini is more than capable of covering this position, and although the jury is still out on Justin Hoyte, it is worth remembering that he is still a young player; even Cole was being undone by long balls when he was the same age. From his appearances in the Reserves, young Armand Traore already looks to be a very talented player, and so I doubt that Cole’s departure will be too problematic. Sol Campbell’s absence will also do little harm – I think most Arsenal fans will agree that a certain night against West Ham was the beginning of the end for Mr. Campbell. We seem to have an instant replacement in the powerful and talented Johan Djourou, who may not be the finished article but has bags of promise. We were also lucky enough to sell the well-meaning but ultimately hopeless Pascal Cygan in a transfer that overshadowed even West Ham’s dodgy dealings in terms of blind luck. What were Villarreal thinking? Cygan’s replacement? I suppose that would be William Gallas. We may not have got all the money we wanted from the Cole deal, but Gallas in the hand is definitely worth £20m in the bush. We will get 5 years from him at least, and he is the world class centre back that we’ve craved for years. So, with Toure, Gallas, Senderos and Djourou, I daresay we might well have shored up our defence.

Thus, all in all I’d call it a good day’s work from the manager. We have rid ourselves of two upstarts who I doubt we’ll miss, and replaced them with quality players who I hope will make a valuable difference to our team. Roll on Middlesbrough.