We are into the final quarter of the Premier League season, and having lost our place in both the FA Cup and Champions League, it is almost time to concentrate on next season’s hopes.
Our campaign looks likely to drizzle into another season of a top-four finish without a trophy, which many of the usual top clubs will not even be able to boast.
Our season looks unsuccessful, but given what the year has done to the current champions Chelsea, as well as the fact that Manchester City and Manchester United are currently battling with West Ham for fourth place, we should be thankful we are not in their shoes.
One player who is apparently in line to help us try and challenge on all fronts next year is Granit Xhaka. The Borussia Munchengladbach midfielder is said to have held talks with our club over a £33 Million switch in the summer, but this seems highly unlikely at this point in the season, although I hope there is some truth in there.
Chelsea are known to have a number of future stars in their ranks, having won a number of trophies at youth level in recent terms, but a place for a number of them in the club’s senior side looks unlikely. Domingos Quina is the latest to be linked with the exit door, and we are expected to be ready to battle a number of league rivals for his signature.
The most far-fetched transfer story doing the rounds however is the chase of Alvaro Morata, with the latest spin claiming that Real Madrid will uptake their option to re-sign the forward, before selling him onto us for a profit…
Hector Bellerin recently ruled out an exit from the Emirates, and a return to Barcelona, but Oxlade-Chamberlain is now being linked with a return to his former club Southampton. His squad position has hardly looked cemented in recent seasons, but Wenger has ruled out selling him previously, although that was amidst links with rivals Chelsea and Man City.
Could Wenger be willing to sell to a team he doesn’t view as a direct title rival? Which incoming transfer do you think has the most (if any) possibility?