Summer wouldn't summer without the various sporting networks churning out wall to wall garbage about who Arsenal are pursuing in the transfer market. In previous seasons, it didn't take a crystal ball to know that Wenger would keep a tight lid on transfer expenditure, so rumours stayed just that. However, this summer, our esteemed manager has seen fit to unleash his wealth upon Europe; welcome, Lukas Podolski, welcome, Oliver Giroud, welcome, Santi Cazorla. Pull up a chair, and let us regale you with tales about what a dreadful turd Samir Nasri is, or explain just why we hate Tottenham Hotspur quite as much as we do. The first two signings join us from the Bundesliga and Ligue 1 respectively, and will bolster a strike force that may be missing Van Persie next season (more on that in a bit), and which will probably be jettisoning some tall and expensive dead weight in the form of Bendtner and Chamakh.
At something like 23 million for the pair, this has the potential to be an excellent piece of business from Wenger, assuming at least one of them can replicate their form from last season. The two strikers scored a combined 43 goals, and whilst neither has any experience of English football, both show signs of having enough versatility to thrive over here. Giroud is something of an unknown, insofar as Europe has only paid attention to him since he clinched the Ligue 1 title for Montpellier last season. French journalists praise his strength, vision, link up play and heading, which, alarmingly, makes him sound like Chamakh mk. 2, but his 25 goals last season were practically double anything Marouane managed in France, so there's hope yet.
Question marks do remain over Podolski, who has so far only thrived in low pressure situations, specifically at Koln. A handful of excellent seasons at his boyhood club bookend a phenomenally disappointing 4 years in the goldfish bowl at Bayern, where he withered under the spotlight and only managed to net 15 times. Arsenal fans are an unforgiving bunch, so Poldi will have to be thick skinned if he is to survive what will undoubtedly be a turbulent few months at the start of the season as he acclimatises to the hurly burly of premiership football. Nonetheless, with pace, skill and a sweet shot, he can play down the left or though the middle, and could be a useful asset indeed.
I'm hesitant to discuss Santi Cazorla as if he's already signed, sealed and delivered to the steps of Wenger's home; personal terms have been agreed, and Arsenal are confident that an offer of somewhere in the region of 16 million will force cash-strapped Malaga's hand, but let's not jinx it by examining his worth with too much scrutiny. Suffice it to say, esteemed guardian and Sports Illustrated journalist Sid Lowe chose the tiny winger (5 ft 6 if you were wondering) as his signing of the season for 2011-12, despite him costing 19 million euro. Fingers crossed everyone.
And so to the ballad of wantaway striker Robin Van Persie, which continues to drag on and on and on and on. I've said it before but it bears repeating; loyalty in football is greatly exaggerated: players owe little to clubs and even less to fans, but if there's one player in this league who has a debt of gratitude to his team, it's Van Persie and Arsenal. Where would the Dutch striker be now if we had, not unfairly given the circumstances, decided to cut ties two or three years ago when injuries threatened to relegate him to a footnote in Arsenal history? France? Turkey? Greece? Nightmare scenarios, all three, but how many top level teams would have taken a chance on an unproven striker with a leg made out of Faberge eggs? None, I'd wager. He would have become one of the better journeyman strikers of Europe's leagues, constantly threatening to fulfill his potential before being derailed by injuries. This is speculation, of course, but the fact remains that Arsenal stuck by their man - is one full season all we get in return?
The flip side of the coin is that this is the last chance from Van Persie to broker a move to a top European side with a chance of actually winning something. Next season might see him once again broken into a million tiny pieces, and no champions league teams with any sense would be bidding on a forward with phenomenally bad luck with injuries after he's hit the wrong side of 30. His last season at Arsenal might be his best ever, so it's now or never in terms of getting that dream move.
Will he go? I'm loathe to put a prediction in writing, because whichever side I choose will inevitably be the wrong one, and it hurts my heart to think about it. The important point to make is that whether he does or not, we've still got talent at the club, new and old; The Arsenal abides.
