Summer Preview: Ten Questions, Part II: Who’s Coming in?

By: Martin | June 1st, 2009

Part 2 of the Summer Preview, this time looking at who may be coming in this summer. For all the disappointment this season, the two highest profile signings for the club, Nasri and Arshavin, both look like they’re going to be very good players for years to come. Yesterday I talked about who I thought might be leaving the club, but will we find suitable replacements and improve the squad? Scoll down, dear readers, for the answers to that question and more.

6. Will Wenger have money to spend?

YES. Kind of. From what’s being reported, it sounds like Arsenal will have roughly £10-£15 million to spend in surplus this summer. Which doesn’t sound like a lot, but if we do sell Gallas and Adebayor, those two will probably bring in another £30 million, which puts us in the £40-£45 million range. And for that, we can actually get a couple of top-class, established players, hopefully to shore up our backline and midfield. We still won’t be able to compete with the mega-clubs of the world, but unlike in past years when we’ve basically had to spend what we raised through sales, this extra money could really help us out a lot.

7. Will Wenger buy a center back?

YES. Absolutely. The only question is how good and established the center back will be. But I firmly believe that all the shuffling with Djourou, Silvestre, and Song, and seeing how exposed we were at the back, has made Wenger realize we’ve simply got to improve. So I think he’s going to go out and get someone, and get someone who can play now. For one thing, Senderos’ loan spell at Milan is up at the end of the year—we’ll either have money coming in for him, or him coming back. Say what you will about him, but he’s played well paired with Toure in the past, he gives us a much-needed physical presence, and is a hell of a lot better than Silvestre.

But I think Wenger will go out and buy someone else capable of playing right away. Knowing full well that this probably won’t happen, my choice would be Valencia’s Raul Albiol. He’s young (just 23), and already has international experience (played regularly in Euro 2008 for Spain) and Champions League experience. And while he’s not a bruiser, he’s 6 foot, 2 inches, much taller than Toure, which will give us a bit more physicality and aerial presence in the back. And, as you’ve probably heard, Valencia is on the verge of bankruptcy, and will probably be selling most of their top players this summer—while most of the media attention has been on David Villa and David Silva, Albiol may be the real jewel. And he’s said he likes the Premier League and would be willing to move to one of the big clubs. Maybe best of all, Manchester United and Chelsea are both set at the back, so we wouldn’t be bidding against them, although I’m sure Liverpool, some of the other big Spanish clubs, and possibly a club or two from Italy, Germany, and/or France will be sniffing around.

Other possibilities include Roma’s Phillipe Mexes, West Ham United’s Matthew Upson, Fulham’s Brede Hangeland, and Manchester City’s Micah Richards. Of course, knowing Wenger, the likely answer is someone we’ve never heard of, but here’s hoping it’s at least someone with a little bit of grit and experience.

8. Will Wenger go buy a bunch of kids you’ve never heard of?

Is the sky blue? YES. Of course he will. He spends more time looking for 16 year-olds than R. Kelly. He can’t help it. But his track record on that front is second to none—look at all the young talent we have in the organization. There are so many young players playing regularly, and playing well, for the first-team, the reserves team is stacked with talent, and the youngsters won their Premier Academy League Group and the FA Youth Cup. This isn’t going to change any time soon, and he’ll be out there looking for the next Cesc Fabregas, Theo Walcott, or Aaron Ramsey. (NOTE: I wrote this, and then a day later this happened—so it’s already begun).

9. Will Arsenal sign Xabi Alonso?

NO. Nope. Not going to happen. This deal was rumored last summer, when Gareth Barry was supposed to be going to Liverpool and they were going to turn around and sell Alonso to us. And Cesc recently came out and said he thought Xabi would be a perfect signing for us. I’m not saying I wouldn’t love to have him, because I think he’d bring some skill and experience into our midfield. But for one thing, he is in many ways similar to Cesc, and if last season taught us anything, it’s that Cesc needs a midfield partner who can win the ball and cover the backline to play at his best. I don’t think Xabi is that player. More importantly, though, is that there is no reason at all for Liverpool to sell him–he fits in well with that team, plays great with Gerrard and Torres, and seems to get on pretty well with his manager. We could definitely use someone of his caliber, but I just don’t see it happening.

10. Will We Make it to the Champions League Group Stages?

YES. But it may be tougher than it has in past years. Making at least the group stages is instrumental to the club, both because of the massive Champions League media revenue, and for the prestige it brings to the club. As you probably know, this year the qualifying stage will be completely unseeded, which means that we could draw any of the other teams in the qualifying stage. Clubs in the qualifying stage?: Atletico Madrid, Fiorentina, Stuttgart, Lyon, Celtic, FC Twente, and Benfica. Yikes. Do I think we’re better than any of those teams? Yes. Do I think we can beat any of them over two legs? Yes. Would I just as soon not have to find out? Hell yes. Having to worry about shutting down Sergio Aguero or Karim Benzema over two legs right as the season gets underway just to get into the group stages would be a nerve-wracking way to begin the season. The draw will take place towards the end of the summer. Here’s hoping we draw a minnow that came up through the qualifiers instead of any of those direct qualifiers.

I couldn’t resist coming up with a bonus eleventh question for tomorrow, which is in most ways the only question that really matters. Stay tuned.