It has now been 11 years since Arsenal last won the league. Since then, the likes of Chelsea, Manchester United and Manchester City have benefitted from a powerful injection of funds and gone on to win titles. Arsene Wenger has made sure that his side stay near the top and has consistently achieved Champions League qualification, but Arsenal fans want more. They want titles, or at least a sustained title challenge. Not the typical title ‘challenge’ that fades around the December to February time.
The summer transfer window is nearly upon us and from a Liverpool fan’s point of view (me); I think Wenger has assembled a great side, a side filled with flair players. Nevertheless, additions are needed if Wenger is to quench the thirst for titles. In this piece, I mention three players they could realistically target: Benedikt Howedes, Arturo Vidal and Alexandre Lacazette.
Howedes, who was part of Germany’s World Cup winning squad, is the skipper of Schalke 04. He is a versatile defender who is perfectly competent across the back four but his preferred position is centre back. Howedes is an experienced player with almost 200 appearances in the Bundesliga and at the age of 27, he’s approaching the supposed ‘peak phase’ for a defender. Arsenal’s defence is prone to errors and gaining the services of a ball-playing centre back like Howedes alongside Per Mertesaker or Laurent Koscielny could prove valuable. If certain reports are to be believed, he has a release clause of £10 to £15 million and can prove to be a shrewd piece of business by Wenger. While he may have offers from elsewhere, the presence of his German pals, Mesut and Per, may prove enough to convince him to move to North London.
Vidal is fresh from winning the Seria A and the Coppa Italia and ending up as runner up in the Champions League with Juventus. He’s a combative midfielder who can do a job in both defence and attack. Young Frenchman Francis Coquelin has established himself in the starting eleven and Vidal bombing back and forth next to him may prove to be a welcome sight at the Emirates. I think it’s fair to say that the Chilean has got a bit of everything in him. He also has a tenacious side that Arsenal sometimes craves. I think Vidal is a player who will not have too many problems adapting to the English game and will quickly make a name for himself here.
Lacazette is attracting interest from all over Europe after scoring 27 goals for Lyon in Ligue 1. Piers Morgan often tweets that you cannot win the title with Olivier Giroud as your lead striker and I tend to agree. Arsenal have Danny Welbeck, Theo Walcott and Giroud to make up their strike force but with Welbeck being played out on the wing, Walcott being injury-prone and Giroud misfiring occasionally, the need for a proven goal scorer is high. Lacazette is hard working and a natural finisher who is only going to get better, given his age. In my opinion, Lacazette would be the ideal choice for Arsenal but it will take a large bid for Lyon to part with him.
Arsenal have spent big on a marquee player in the last two summer windows with Ozil and Alexis Sanchez coming in 2013 and 2014 respectively so Arsenal fans will be eagerly awaiting this summer’s marquee player.
