The need for a second Arsenal keeper quickly by Tey
We all know the importance of competition within the team. Competition breeds motivation. Motivation to fight for spots in the team and higher wages will only lead to Arsenal benefitting eventually. Healthy competition is key in the success of every great footballing team. Thus, we arrive at a rather sensitive topic – Competition for the no 1 spot.
Maybe Arsene Wenger had lost his keys to the Arsenal transfer war chest until this week, but it seems like the Frenchman has now found them and is ready to start splashing the cash. Today has already seen the stunning capture of the brilliant Barcelona forward Alexis Sanchez, which has got Gooners grinning from ear to ear, but that could just be the opening slave in a barrage from the Gunners in the transfer market.
The media seem to be convinced that Mathieu Debuckt, the France international right back who has edged Bacary Sagna out of the starting line-up, is on the verge of swapping Newcastle United for Arsenal and his French team mate Loic Remy is heavily linked with us as well.
Although Arsene Wenger has worked hard on the Arsenal academy, making it one of his major focus points since he took over as manager of the Gunners nearly 20 years ago, the Frenchman is not averse to keeping an eye on the young players making a name for themselves at other clubs.
Southampton have rightly built themselves a reputation for having one of the best academy systems around, with Arsenal taking Theo Walcott and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain off them in recent years, and other Premier League clubs circling like vultures this summer for the likes of Lallana, Shaw and others, not forgetting that Gareth Bale was a product of the south coast club.
The captain and keeper of the Spain national team, IKer Casillas, could be ready to make a shock summer transfer to Arsenal and the Premier League, bringing down the curtain on a 23-year career with his boyhood club Real Madrid.
The 33-year old had looked a certain bet to go on and register the record number of appearances for his La Liga club, a record currently held by the striker Raul Gonzalez with 741. Casillas is currently on 678, but hardly added to that last season as Diego Lopez was the first team keeper, in the league games anyway. Casillas did play the cup games and so came away with another Champions League winners medal and one from the Copa Del Rey.
Assessing the Arsenal Official Squad for the 2014-2015 season by Alexthegooner
What can we as Arsenal fans take from the Official Squad List published yesterday?
Well lets be logical and start with the (singular) Goalkeeper. Wojciech Szczesny looks to be Arsenal’s first team ‘keeper for next season, probably because he is the only one there. This makes it look inevitable that another keeper will be coming into the club before the infamous Jim White Day as it is affectionately known as (Transfer Deadline Day for the pedants).
After Arsenal won the FA cup with a stirring comeback against Hull City at Wembley over a month ago, that horrible trophy drought stigma has been lifted from the club. And if the media reports, and the financial statements are to be believed, the annual horror of the transfer window could soon be a distant memory as well.
But that still does not mean that the Gunners can do a Man City and offer crazy wages and transfer fees in order to sign any player we like. And one of the summer transfer targets is likely to be slipping away from the Arsenal, after a report in the Daily Star revealed that the Spanish La Liga champions are set to challenge us for the Mexico international keeper.
The fact that the Arsenal vice-captain Mikel Arteta has never won a full international cap for Spain, despite making many appearances for the under 15s, under 17s, under 18s and under 21s, is a clear sign, if you needed one, that Spanish football has been producing a large number of outstanding players in recent years. Two Euro championships and a World Cup trophy is a little pointer as well.
And it is not just talented midfielders coming from Spain, as for the the last decade or so, the national side has had an embarrassment of riches, with Iker Casillas keeping out Victor Valdes and Pepe Reina. And now, just when Arsenal need a keeper due to the departure of Lukasz Fabianski, both of Casillas’ rivals appear to be available.
It is a risk versus reward situation for Arsenal, but if it worked out for us it would be a real transfer coup for the Gunners. As we know from the Arsenal transfer rumours, one of the main jobs for Arsene Wenger and his scouts is to find a replacement for the Polish international keeper Lukasz Fabianski, who has joined Premier League club Swansea City.
Now we hear that one of the most highly rated keepers in the world, Victor Valdes, is available again after French Ligue 1 club AS Monaco backed out of their agreement to sign the Spaniard. A Metro report claims that this is due to the former Barcelona star’s injury problems, but the Monaco owner has also had to curb his crazy spending for a number of reasons.
Once again, Arsenal are being linked with the Spanish goalkeeper Pepe Reina. The 31-year old, who is currently in Brazil with the Spain national side preparing for the World Cup finals, is apparently available, but will not come cheap.
According to The Express, Serie A club Napoli have decided not to make his move permanent, even though he has been in good form during the season long loan. It seems that Reina’s parent club Liverpool, are asking more than the Italians want to pay. So the paper claims that the Gunners are considering a move, with the exit of Lukasz Fabianski leaving a keeper shaped hole in our squad.
Arsenal need a keeper. Even more than last summer, when a lot of the transfer rumours about the Gunners were about who Arsene Wenger would sign to take over from Wojciech Szczesny. The answer was nobody, and our Polish international has proven that Wenger was right by really stepping up his game and cutting out the errors that had dogged him in recent years.
Now it all seems to be about who Arsenal will sign to compete with and provide cover for the 23-year old, because our number two, Lukasz Fabianski, has left us for Swansea after his contract ran out. There have been various names linked, but the latest one, as reported by The Mirror, seems to me to be the most sensible suggestion.
Arsenal are resigned to losing THE Polish keeper Lukasz Fabianski as his contract expires this summer, and finding the proper replacement could be one of the most important bits of business that Arsene Wenger does in this transfer window. The latest player linked is John Ruddy and I think he could be the perfect choice.
27-year old Ruddy has had a difficult season. Not personally, although his club Norwich City getting relegated has not helped his international career as he has been left out of the England World Cup squad by Roy Hodgson. He is too good for the Championship and will know that he needs to be back in the Premier League if he is to have any chance of getting his England place back.
It is usually Arsenal that are caught scratching their heads and considering whether they should complete a transfer, when another club swoops in and signs the player from under their noses, a la Gonzalo Higuain, Juan Mata and Eden Hazard.
But it seems that the swooping might be done by the Gunners this time, with our north London rivals Tottenhan the club left with nothing but regrets, according to a report in The Independent. The player in question is the £15 million rated Scotland international keeper David Marshall and the reason the spuds could lose out is that they are trying to hold on to Hugo lloris, who is not that keen on another season without Champions League football.