Every Arsenal fan and his dog will tell you that the team desperately need a World-Class striker and an a new DM to compete with Francis Coquelin, as we have needed for more than a couple of years, but even before that Arsene Wenger has to find replacements for five of our players that will be surplus to requirements.
We all well know that Mikel Arteta, Matthieu Flamini and Tomas Rosicky are all well past their sell-by-date, and are also out of contract this summer. There will be some big protests if Wenger offers any of them another contract, unless it is as part of the coaching staff.
Then there is the small matter of Matthieu Debuchy, who has done nothing but moan since he arrived at the club, and who even forced Wenger to send him out on loan in January (and left the Gunners without a proper backup for Hector Belleirn) because he was whining that he needed to play to get into the France team at the European Championships this summer. The 30 year-old moved to Bordeaux at the end of the transfer window, but had only made 4 appearances before suffering from a muscular injury. Is there anyone that wants Matthieu back at the Emirates?
Another waste of a squad place is obviously Yaya Sanogo, who has never take any of the chances he has been given to shine at Arsenal or any other loan club. To think that if Wenger had given up on him a couple of years ago, then maybe he would have realised that we definitely needed another striker a little bit earlier?
Another ridiculous fact is that Wenger actually awarded Arteta and Rosicky an extra years contract last summer, and how many games have they played between them this season? Again if Wenger had released them both he may have realised the urgency of a new younger DM just a tad earlier? Or is that just wishful thinking?