Bleacher Report - Articles by Brian Son

Eduardo Alves da Silva's Dive: Perhaps Now Is the Time for Video Replay

Brian Son — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 22:58:54 -0400

With the spectacular dive from Eduardo being a major controversial topic today after the Celtic game, I began to think about the old arguments about using video replays in football.

First off, I know the quality of the picture kinda sucks. I couldn't find a picture of the dive, so I had to crop a youtube video by butchering it in paint.

Anyways, on to the dive: While I immensely enjoyed it because of the fact that I am an Arsenal fan, I do think that football needs to have video replays to a certain extent. I really don't think Eduardo can be be put to fault too much about this either.

Its a risk to dive because of the off-chance that you'll get a yellow card if its blatant enough. Personally, I think its the fault of the system that allows people, like CR9 Drogba and now Eduardo, to exploit it through some theatrics.

I don't think every minor decision needs to have a video replay consult, but realistically, big decisions, such as the penalty, need something more than just the whim of the referee to be given out.

Pro-Video Arguments

One argument for videos is that while refereeing is a very respectable and sovereign job, they are still humans and are prone to errors, especially at such high pace levels that football produces.

While I don't follow American football much at all, I'm pretty sure they do use video replays on big plays that possibly lead to a team scoring or not. It seems to work out for them, so why must we just blindly follow the judgement of referees who aren't anywhere close to perfect?

We already use small forms of video replays. Post-match reviews of controversial decisions can hand out bans, like in the case of Juventus versus Napoli back in 2007.

Why then should we endanger fair results by not using it during the game?

Some people argue the need to keep keep trust in the referees and controversial calls are nice topics of discussion afterwards, but really, that's ridiculous. Do we want correct calls and results or pampered refs and 10 minute conversations about bad calls during the weekend?

Con-Video Arguments

Michel Platini, the president of the UEFA, said that video replays would kill the game. We would be stopping play every 10 seconds to check things and referees would become nonexistent.

He also said, "Football is a human game and the mistakes are human. We need to help solve the mistakes, but we must not lose the human feeling of our sport." Obviously, no one wants to lose touch with their human roots, and perhaps that "human feeling of our sport" is what makes football the most popular and greatest game in the world.

He also gave a counter solution to the problem of wrong calls. He said "We need to help referees to stop making mistakes and these two extra referees will focus on the two 18-yard boxes, so this will help solve this."

His idea of adding two extra referees around the 18 yard boxes was stated in late 2007, but I haven't heard much of it since, so I don't think it worked out in the end.

Conclusion

Some people favor human error over correct calls. Others want less wrong game-changing calls. I guess it's a difference in opinions, but I don't really think there is enough evidence against the video replays.

I assume Platini's attempt at putting more refs to watch the 18-yard-box failed since it would just clutter the field and sidelines even more and throw off players.

Anyways, I'm tired, so I'll stop typing and you all can give me your opinions on video replays.

Arsenal's Latest Target: A Glance at Van der Vaart

Brian Son — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 16:00:27 -0400

So the latest media speculation buzz for Arsenal seems to be their supposed swoop for Real Madrid's surplus player, Rafael Van der Vaart.

Earlier, Wenger conceded that he may look to bring in one attacking and one defending player to help his squad further their goals of bringing home silverware. Perhaps this is the attacking option he had in mind.

With an already impressive attacking midfield consisting of Fabregas, Nasri, Rosicky, Walcott, Denilson, Arshavin, Bendtner, and a plethora of forwards who can move into the midfield with relative ease as well as young upcoming starlets, one might wonder why we need another attacking option.

However, as we have seen in Nasri, Rosicky, and Walcott already this season, we are cursed with injuries. While no one can argue against the first team squad of Arsenal, the depth is something that seems the most problematic for us.

Through Van der Vaart, we would see a world-class CM join Arsenal. He brings with him a preformed partnership with van Persie through the Dutch national team, as well as experience that people still seem to think eludes Arsenal's youthful team. At 26, he is about to hit his peak. He would give us more depth in the face of losing people to injury.

He also said he wants to leave Real Madrid for the EPL and he seems to have a certain team in mind already. Whether that is Arsenal or not, I can't say.

On top of that, he seems to be valued at £6-6.5m, which is a steal for a player like him.

Rafael Van der Vaart

Age: 26
Position: CM/CAM
Current Club: Real Madrid
National Team: Dutch National Team (69 caps, 15 goals)
Personal Honours: Ajax Talent of the Year (1999, 2000, 2001), Amsterdam Talent of the Year (2000), Amsterdam Sportsman of the Year (2001), Amsterdam Tournament Most Valuable Player (2001), European Talent of the Year (2002)

His slight dip in form in the past years, can be attributed to his knee injuries as well as being played out of position. However, he has proven himself to be very prolific, being the top scorer at Hamburg during the 2005-2006 season when they ended the campaign at third place.

He wasn't given the chance to play much during his year at Real Madrid, being used mainly as an impact sub. Despite that he still managed to bag 5 goals. With the likes of Kaka to contend with over starting spots, he has been deemed as surplus and is looking to join a Premiership team.

If brought to Arsenal, he would probably get a decent amount of games while Rosicky and Nasri are out. Wenger would most likely opt for a rotational system in the midfield.

Overall, I think this would be a good move for Arsenal, especially since, if we get to the Champion's League Group stages, we'll have a hefty game load as usual.

As usual, I would like to hear others thoughts on him and the transfer.

I Know Arsenal Won't Buy Him But Still I Will Suggest...Ruud Van Nistelrooy

Brian Son — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 03:36:05 -0400

Continuing the series created by Deepak Israni, I've decided to offer up Ruud Van Nistelrooy as a solution to Arsenal's post-Adebayor woes.

Since the exit of Adebayor, we've seen strikers far and wide being linked to Arsenal; Chamakh, Pandev, and Huntelaar to name but a few. Some even dreaming up people like; Aguero, Forlan, and Trezuget as possible replacements in this summer of speculation.

With an already impressive attacking line-up, including the likes of; Robin van Persie, Andrey Arshavin, Eduardo Da Silva, Nicklas Bendtner, and Carlos Vela, one might say that we don't need to further our attacking line, but clearly Arsenal supporters are divided on this issue.

While I'm a big supporter of Nicklas Bendtner and the idea he will step up his game greatly next season, I'm also certain it would be way too much to ask him to fill Adebayor's spot seamlessly. He's still young and hasn't fully bloomed yet, after all.

Now, Ruud van Nistelrooy is a genius. No one who has seen him in his glory days will argue against that, no matter how much they hate Man United/Madrid. One of the best out-and-out strikers to grace the game in recent decades, he is certainly a star, albeit an aging one.

Ruud van Nistelrooy: Fact-File

Age: 33
Position: Striker
Current Club: Real Madrid
National Team: Dutch international (Retired—67caps, 45goals)
Honours: PSV Eindhoven—Eredivisie (1999-2000, 2000-2001), Johan Cruijff-schaal (1999, 2000); Manchester United—Premier League (2002-2003), FA Cup (2003-2004), Football League Cup (2005-2006), FA Community Shield (2003); Real Madrid—La Liga (2006-2007, 2007-2008), Supercopa de España (2008)
Personal Honours: Eredivisie Top Scorer (1998–1999, 1999–2000), Dutch Player of the Year (1999, 2000), Champions League Most Valuable Striker (2001-2002), Barclaycard Player of the Year (2002), Sir Matt Busby Player of the Year (2001-2002, 2002-2003), PFA Player of the Year (2002), Champions League Top Scorer (2001-2002, 2002-2003, 2004-2005), UEFA Club Forward of the Year (2002-2003), Premier League Top Scorer (2002-2003), Pele's FIFA 100, Pichichi Trophy (2006-2007)

Ruud van Nistelrooy is one of the greatest strikers to torment the defensive line. His instinctive ability to stay onside, his brilliant finishing ability, and his great heading ability (with ample height) makes him an all-round perfect striker, when fit.

Throughout his striking career, dominating the Eredivisie and Premier League, he has proven himself over and over again as a person who can't help but score.

While he has been injury prone of late, missing out on a large chunk of Real Madrid's last season because of a knee problem, he would bring; leadership, aerial ability with his 6'2" build, great finishing ability—and possibly most importantly—experience, especially in winning.

With Real Madrid becoming overloaded with fresh young striking options, Ruud may be easily coaxed out, seeing as his shirt number, 17, had already been re-assigned to Dani Parejo last season.

Ruud van Nistelrooy to Arsenal: Pro's and Con's

Pros

Experienced
Premier League tested
Under the pecking order of Benzema and Raul at Real Madrid
Great mentor for Bendtner and the other forwards
Previous experience playing with Robin van Persie for the Dutch national team
He has won a lot in his career. He could bring his winning mentality to the team.
He's pretty good in the air at 6'2"
Is the master of breaking the offsides trap.
Bad ass
Has his own song (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HYy2k5VdpqY)

Cons

Slightly old for Wenger's tastes
A gamble with his injury problems
May be deterred by the fact that he used to play for Man United
Hasn't played due to injury since November 2008

Conclusion

It's a gamble. Like Michael Owen for Man United, Ruud could very well be a hit or miss and could get injured early on and be ruled out like last season.

However, I think that like Owen, who has started well with two goals in two games so far, he would be a success at the Emirates. He'd be a mixture of Silvestre's father-figureness to the strikers, and Gallas's usefulness—even at an advanced age. Plus having an old partnership with our top player last year wouldn't be bad either.

All in all, I would love to see this aging legend join Arsenal, and while it is very unlikely, I will still suggest Ruud van Nistelrooy.

Oh and did I mention? He has his own song.

That in and of itself should convince people.

Playing to Arsenal's Strengths: Possible Formations for Next Season

Brian Son — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 16:47:37 -0400

So with my Internet blowing out for the three days when Emmanuel Adebayor news was buzzing around, I pretty much missed the whole hype of everything having to do with Adebayor. Since I had already previously addressed Adebayor's value to the team in an article before all that happened, I doubt I would have chipped in much anyways.

While catching up, however, I soon got tired of the same old crap about the same old guy, who (let's be honest) we all knew had a strong possibility of moving away anyway. So it got me thinking about stuff besides Adebayor, and my brain churned this out.

Pretty much I'm going to throw out some formations that would play toward Arsenal's strengths, give a lineup of how I think players should be played, and type up whatever my brain feels like spitting out at the time. Feel free to critique every formation I think of and by all means, supplement my list with your own. Enjoy.

Oh, and since these formation ideas were formed when I had Ade in the picture, I will refer to his position as AdeReplace for this replacement, and for a DM role, I'll just put DM.

So here I go...

4-4-2

The typical English 4-4-2. For me, this formation always seemed a bit boring and constricting for Arsenal's attacking tendencies, but I'll see what I can think up for this.

So the lineup in my brain would be this:

Sagna - Gallas/Vermaelen - Toure/Song - Clichy

Walcott/Arshavin - Song/DM - Fabregas - Nasri/Rosicky

RvP/Arshavin/Eduardo - Bendtner/AdeReplace

This seems to be favored among a lot of people who say that we started playing worse when we changed to a 4-5-1 due to injuries and such. However, I think the 4-4-2 is a bit old fashioned, dull, and as I've said before, ill-fit for Arsenal's attacking-heavy lineup. While it does give some form of stability to both the back line and the forward line, the midfield often time seems a bit congested with all these midfielders running around. If I were Wenger, I would most likely try to move away from this setup.

4-1-2-1-2

This is a personal favorite of mine. I enjoy the possibilities of this formation, and I use it when playing football games like Fifa 09 and PES 09 (Yea I know those aren't even close to being realistic, but hey, my article, my thoughts)

My lineup would be:

The regular back four

Fabregas - Nasri/Arshavin

Arshavin/RvP

Eduardo - AdeReplace/Bendtner

Anyways, assuming we either land an experienced DM like Matuidi or Cana or the plethora of other high profile DM names being thrown around the Arsenal camp right now or Song/Diaby step their game up immensely, we can't really use this formation to it's full effect.

With a good DM, we can set Fabregas in a role slightly above the DM, but behind the other CM, which gives him a free roaming role where he can lay deep and pick out long passes or push up to get deeper in the attack.

The problem with this formation would be that it would make Arsenal play more centrally since we would be playing without any LM or RM's, unless of course the wide backs pushed up a great deal.

I doubt this formation would actually occur because we love our Walcott and Rosicky too much, but I think it would be an interesting formation to try out, perhaps in preseason matches.

4-2-2-2 (or could be 4-2-4)

I actually only got this thought stuck in my brain 'cause I heard somewhere on the news that Roma plays a 4-2-4, and I had to see how it would fit if Arsenal used the formation.

The lineup:

Back four

Fabregas - DM

Arshavin/Nasri/Walcott/Rosicky (they can all either play on the wings or in the middle)

Arshavin/Eduardo/RvP - Bendtner/AdeReplace

This formation again would give Fabregas the deep lying position just above the DM, in a Xabi Alonso-esque place. He would have to play a bit more defense, but would give him the deeper role that he says he enjoys more. It would be interesting having two CAM/CF as well as two strikers.

4-3-3

The good old 4-3-3 that is favored by a lot of people because of its attacking style and the success it has won over at Barca. I see this as a very useful formation as well since we have very capable wingers in Walcott who will only get better with his roadrunner pace and Rosicky and Nasri on the other side with their skills.

The lineup:

Back four

Fabregas - DM - Nasri/Denilson

Arshavin/Walcott - RvP/Eduardo/AdeReplace - Nasri/Rosicky

Problem with this would be that RvP would either have to go back to the wings or learn to play more like a frontman more than like a CF. Can't think of any other problems at the moment for this formation

Well there you are; a couple formations thrown out there. Feel free to point out mistakes I made, differing opinions of these formations, and other formations that you think would suit Arsenal's style of play. Thanks for the read and enjoy commenting.

Arsenal's Midfield Situation: As It Stands Now

Brian Son — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 19:42:04 -0400

As it stands now, we are all looking at Wenger and Co. to bring in a strong suitable defensive midfielder to partner up with our Spanish playmaker, Cesc Fabregas. So far, we've hit a brick wall.

With all this talk about bringing in new blood like Felipe Melo, who seems to be headed toward Juventus according to the latest news reports, or Lorik Cana, who has yet to decide whether he will stay at Marseille or move onto a different club, I haven't seen an article discussing our options in the club right now. So who are the current crop of players that have tried to play as Fabregas's defensive midfield partner over the past season?

Denilson

First, there is Denilson. He was the player with the most appearances for us all season. He has been there through some great performances as well as some performances we would love to forget.

He has stepped into the role of defensive midfielder with many stumbles along the way, but his improvement was greatly noticed over the course of last season. However, rather than being the foil to Fabregas, he seems to be more like Fabregas, with good positioning and decent passing.

He stepped into Fabregas's role when Fabregas was out, and while he didn't shine, he showed he had more of a Fabregas-like touch than a Viera touch.

I don't think he is the answer to our problems if we fail to sign a new defensive midfielder. I'd like to see Wenger play him in a more attacking role as a sub for Fabregas.

Diaby

Diaby's good performances were far and few last season. When signed, he was acclaimed to be the next Viera, but has fallen far short of expectations. While we have seen glimpses of brilliance from Diaby, they don't make up for his sub-par performances beyond those glimpses.

At age 23, he still has the potential to develop into a sort of Viera-type midfielder playing from box-to-box or holding above the defensive line. However, he may become yet another flop.

His height, strength, and leggy style of play make him a good scrapper, and perhaps with the knowledge that his job is on the line, he will pick up his performances next season.

Personally, I think Diaby can still make it as a world class DM. He has shown drive this off-season by forgoing a vacation and using the time to work out and become more physical. If we fail to secure any other defensive midfield signing, he could be the answer to our problems,

Song

Song had a late blooming season last season, becoming a strong contender for the defensive midfield position in the late stages. His first half was slip-shod and rough, but he could probably be given the most improved award on the Arsenal team.

He is very energetic, and while his positional sense doesn't match Denilson's, his stamina and effort make up for a lot of it.

Wenger is actually trying to pull a Toure with Song, testing to see whether he would be a good center back converted from defensive mid, but as it stands right now, I see him at defensive mid. Song has potential to be great, and I think if we don't sign anyone new, a Diaby/Song rotation would probably be the best bet.

So those are my views on the battle for the DM position that happened last season, as well as my view on what should be done with them in the future if Wenger doesn't sign anyone new. Feel free to comment below with your thoughts on the three.

Adebayorian Past, Present, and Future

Brian Son — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 03:22:42 -0400

With all the recent transfer talk about Adebayor flaring up again after Dzeko shut to door to Milan, the topic of Adebayor is a very hot topic for anyone who opposes the majority opinion of selling Adebayor.

The Past (2006-2008)

When Adebayor came to Arsenal back in 2006, I wasn't as big of a fan as I am now, so all I have to go on is reviews, articles, and other such things that I can scrounge up. Basically, Adebayor, dubbed Baby Kanu, won the hearts of Arsenal fans all over through his tireless efforts in game, his brilliantly bright smile, and his knack for scoring.

His contributions in major games made him instrumental in much of Arsenal's drive to silverware, even though that drive didn't seem to take us far enough. His ability in the air as well as his work rate as the big man to hit up top made him irreplaceable, especially after the departure of Henry.

His career can be said to have been at its pinnacle during the 2007-08 season, where he scored an amazing 30 goals in all competitions. His qualities that fans loved shone even more and made him all the better for them. His work rate and end product proved to be brilliant and that is when his meagre price-tag of £3.5m when we bought him jumped to £30m.

Then the summer of 2008 came.

The Present (2008-2009)

During the summer, being the new hot prospect for big teams, mainly Barcelona and Milan, Adebayor decided to stay at the Emirates, but used his fame as leverage to gain a massive pay raise. Signs of an over-inflated ego began to show and his performance during the 2008-09 season suffered greatly.

Apparently assuming that he didn't need to work as hard since he was the new hot-shot, he racked up an impressive 44 offsides in the Premier League alone. His inability to hustle like previous seasons made him a sub-par player that people began to turn on as the season progressed.

Barely breaking half of the goal count of his previous season, most Arsenal fans agree that it is time to let Adebayor go onto Italian fields, far away where he cannot affect us with his dismal performances.

With Adebayor being their new No. 1 target now that Dzeko has been proclaimed as "not for sale," Milan has reportedly set their sights on him for a bid ranging around £25m-£30m.

The Future (2009-?)

This is where my personal opinions kick in.

Up until recently, I was part of the mob of people calling for Adebayor to be sold off while we can still make a decent profit on him. However, the more I think about it, the less enthusiastic I am about him leaving.

I agree that he was absolutely dreadful during the last season, but that is actually acceptable. As a comparison, look at the most recent Ballon d'Or winners. Cristiano Ronaldo was much less effective and prolific this year after his breakout year last year with his 42 goals in all competitions.

After Ronaldinho won the Ballon d'Or, his next season was fraught with mishaps and he ended up in Milan with a sub par season as well.

Personally, I think Adebayor will realize that he doesn't just get a free ride at Arsenal, and if we give him a chance next year, he will return to his old form. He has spoken about his frustration with how the fans are treating him, and I'm sure he is bright enough to figure out how to change the way they treat him.

While a possible move for Benzema with transfer money coming from the Adebayor sale may be enticing, I would rather put my faith in a man who has spent three years in the Arsenal shirt and knows how we work.

However, either possibility is enticing, and I can't wait to see the end result of the transfer window this summer.

That's all I have, so feel free to give your opinions and thoughts on what should happen in regards to Adebayor. Also if you see any factual errors, tell me and I'll edit them in.

Will Perez Get It Right This Time?

Brian Son — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 22:45:09 -0400

So anyone who looks at Perez's previous track record with major signings will see the gaping problem that Perez seems to disregard. Defenders.

In the previous Los Galacticos, it was his policy to sign high profile attacking players such as Zidane, Ronaldo, Beckham, Robinho, and Owen that meant he had a plethora of attacking sides to field.

However, he assumed that defensive people such as the backs and the defensive mid, weren't worth the money that the attacking Galacticos were, which lead to his refusal of giving Claude Makelele, their great defensive midfielder, a pay raise, after which he sold off Makelele to Chelsea.

With the downfall of the last version of Los Galacticos partly linked to his failure to sign good defensive minded players and respect them as he did the attackers, has Perez realized his faults and looked into his defensive problems?

According to rumors, perhaps he will remedy his defensive misgivings by looking to sign Gael Clichy from Arsenal.

Clichy, coming off of a fairly sub-par season for Arsenal that ended early through injury, may see Real Madrid as an opportunity to start new and perhaps dominate with his speed in La Liga, linking up with the likes of Kaka and Christiano Ronaldo on his overlapping runs.

While Pellegrini and Perez can't stop at Clichy to shore up their defensive shambles, it would be a positive first step for Perez to learn from his previous mistakes.

As an Arsenal fan, I definitely wouldn't want Clichy to leave, but this connection of Real Madrid to Clichy may be the start of some star defensive signings for Real Madrid's defense.

Is Manuel Almunia Wanted or Not?

Brian Son — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 01:46:05 -0400

While satisfying my daily addiction for football news, mainly Arsenal and EPL football but open to all other leagues and such, I stumbled upon some highlights of Almunia's career, mostly from the '08/'09 season.

Then of course, the topic of whether Almunia should be the England shotstopper sauntered into my brain.

Seeing as I am just one person, and out of my friends here in the US, only a select few are interested in football (the real type, not the American stuff), I realized that I had no idea what others thought of him, so here I am posing another open-ended article for you all to read and respond to.

Personally, I think he would do fine as England's No. 1. His past season at Arsenal has shown why Arsenal have continued to rely on him as our own No. 1. While he is no Seaman or even a Lehmann in his prime, he is still relatively youthful in goalie years and has proved this season that he is improving and will continue to do so.

His confidence has grown since becoming the undisputed starting goalie for Arsenal, and with his confidence boosted, he can continue to bolster his performances.

Though some may scoff at his 26 allowed goals in the Premier League this season, it also doesn't take into account the slipshod nature of this year's Arsenal back-line.

He's had many commanding performances this season, the first CL Semi-final against Man Utd coming to mind. His domination between the posts kept Arsenal in the two game tie, although he had some errors in the second game that resulted in Arsenal being handily beaten.

He has also shown that he can decide well when coming out and challenging the ball, and despite some minor slip-ups such as that goal Bentley scored for Tottenham and Ronaldo's free kick during the second CL Semi leg, he has been pretty solid for a first year as first choice, rounding out the Premier League season with 147 total saves.

As for his personal ambitions, I think he could handle the change. Even though Robert Green has given Almunia a dire warning about the complications of playing for England, with his English Premier League experience, I don't think that'll be too much of a problem for him.

Seeing as his own current country has a whole crew of well qualified goalkeepers to choose from, with the likes of Iker Casillas, Diego Lopez, and Pepe Reina all being top notch, world class keepers, his move to England would almost definitely facilitate a whole new level of experience, and as an Arsenal fan, the more experience for my players, the better.

Seeing Almunia in the goal may also hearten some English fans as well since not everyone is a fan of "Calamity James." Plus, extra competition would mean all three keepers would have to stay on top form to get the call-up, and competition is always a good thing. See what the lack of it has done with the Chelsea keeper, Petr Cech?

All in all, I see Almunia's move for an English passport as doing nothing but good for himself and the England side as a whole.

Anyways, I've given you my sleep-deprived thoughts on why I think Almunia can be a good choice for England, and I definitely want him to get a English passport to get a chance at playing at the international stage, but as usual with these types of thoughts, I'll leave it up to you in poll and in comments to agree or disagree with my views. Enjoy.

Do Arsenal Really Need Yaya Toure?

Brian Son — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 21:04:31 -0400

Everyone realises that Arsenal need a strong and reliable holding midfielder, and Wenger may very well be setting his sights on acquiring Kolo Toure's younger, and more talented brother, Yaya, but do we really need him?

Here's a short list of the Pros and Cons that I've thrown together for your enjoyment to read, critique, and bash.

Pros

1. He certainly fits the bill in terms of what we need. As a holding midfielder/makeshift center back he would help strengthen the team, as well as add depth, whilst helping upcoming midfielders Song and Denilson.

2. He wouldn't have any problems easing into the team since he would have his brother, Kolo, to help him along, and is also a seasoned professional playing for the current European Champions. Yaya would add the vital blend of experience and steel into the Gunners midfield.

3. At 6'3", he would definitely add some needed height in our defense against set pieces as well as give us more presence on our own set pieces.

Cons

1. With his great form over the last season Yaya has cemented his starting position in the Barca midfield, creating a stable base from which Xavi and Iniesta move forward and dominate possession. Yaya plays a crucial role in helping to plug holes in the defense when necessary, especially in providing cover for the marauding Dani Alves.

2. His previously mooted price-tag, at £12m (€13.5m) seems to be at the limit of Wenger's budget and would most likely go up, especially since AC Milan are rumoured to be looking to sign him. If Milan sell Kaka then they may be more willing to splash the cash, thus inflating Yaya's price tag.

3. We already have a man, Kolo Toure, who can step up to the holding midfield position and might even excel there, meaning Arsenal might be better to focus on signing two new center backs, Hangeland and Vermaelen being two strong possibilities.

4. Also, according the the Gunner's official website, Wenger might look to groom Nasri into the holding, defensive midfielder partner to Fabregas.

In my opinion, Yaya Toure shouldn't be one of our top transfer targets, but I'm just a random Gunner fan rambling on a random thought that popped into my head. Tell me what you think.