Arsenal Transfer News: Huge Stars, Rumours Linked to Arsene Wenger's Gunners

Former Premier League goalkeeper David James has revealed he advised Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger to move for Real Madrid stopper Keylor Navas, who he feels is better than Manchester United star David De Gea.

The man between the sticks was a problem position for the Gunners prior to their summer acquisition of Petr Cech, with the likes of David Ospina, Wojciech Szczesny and Lukasz Fabianski previously failing to convince in goal. Ex-Liverpool man James proposed his own solution directly to the Arsenal boss, he claims, per Uche Amako of the Daily Express:

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I enquired a couple of years ago to Arsene Wenger, 'Why don't you go for Navas, £8million or £10million buy-out?' He had (David) Ospina on his card, he went for Ospina, didn't he?

Navas has had an exceptional start to the season in Spain and justified my theory that he is up there, if I say the top three - as a loose number - in the world because he is that good.

I think he is (better than De Gea), yeah. I think his all-round game, he's got a lot more about him.(But) don't get me wrong, David de Gea's performed at an amazing level over the last three years.

"

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At one stage during the summer it seemed likely that we were going to see Navas in the Premier League, as he was set to join Manchester United as part of De Gea’s transfer to Real Madrid, a deal which fell through at the last minute. However, as noted by James, the Costa Rica international has been magnificent for Los Blancos since.

As we can see here courtesy of WhoScored.com, Navas has arguably the been the standout goalkeeper in the world so far this season:

There are plenty who will argue the toss over whether or not Navas is better than De Gea. The latter is superbly rounded with very few weaknesses in his game, hence Real’s desperation to land him this summer. However, perhaps galvanised by the transfer saga, Navas has definitely upped his levels in the early weeks of the season.

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In Cech, Arsenal possess a goalkeeper who is of an elite level, though. Already the former Chelsea man has proved to be decisive in big matches and while James was certainly right to recommend Navas, there are few at the Emirates Stadium who’d swap their current stopper—a man experienced in English football and a thoroughbred winner—for anyone.

Arsenal Scout Discusses January Plans

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Former Reading boss Brian McDermott, now part of Arsenal’s scouting team, has revealed that the Gunners are not likely to make any major acquisitions in January, although the club is keeping tabs on some of the finest players in the world.

Wenger received criticism during the summer after only bringing in Cech to bolster his squad, choosing to go with the same set of outfield players as the previous campaign. Speaking with Sky Sports (h/t Alex Harris of the Daily Star), McDermott offered an insight into how Wenger’s mind works when it comes to the transfer market.

“The manager won't spend unless he thinks it’s absolutely necessary,” he said. “The scouting structure at Arsenal is phenomenal. We all know who the top strikers in the world are. Can you get them to come? They won't be available in January that's an absolute certainty.”

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A lot of supporters were unhappy that Wenger decided not to strengthen the centre-forward position, and with Theo Walcott picking up an injury recently, the Gunners’ lack of depth in that area is likely to show itself in earnest in the coming weeks.

As we can see here courtesy of Sky Sports Football, both Walcott and Olivier Giroud have impressed this campaign, as they look to prove Arsenal don't necessarily need to spend big on a centre-forward:

Wenger’s recruitment will ultimately be judged on how far the Gunners go in the Premier League. Should they triumph, keeping the same set of players together will be hailed as a masterstroke by some, especially given the amount of money splashed out by the likes of Manchester United, Manchester City and Liverpool during the window.

Anything less and the Frenchman will look a little silly. After all, despite doing well to draft in Cech, there are still some obvious flaws within this squad and, as has been the case in previous campaigns, they’re likely to cost the Gunners in pursuit of the major prizes.