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

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.