Arsenal: Transfers, Rumours and The Promise of Next Season

Arsenal Football Club is facing a huge shakedown at the moment, with some players looking to abandon ship after the disappointing end to last season. I think this period will define the real Arsenal; the exodus is a good thing, and we will see which of our players will go on to become legends in the next two to three seasons to come.

The last season saw the emergence of a few players, Flamini, Hleb, Adebayor and Fabregas in particular. How will the position of each of these players affect the future of Arsenal?

Flamini's exit. He left for Milan making a fortune on the way. Can't dispute his commitment through the season, but could'nt help but think he was working extra hard to get that much extra the following season in a supposedly bigger club. All that said he was an EXTREMELY important player for us last season.

The question we really need to ask is who is going to fill his anchor-man position? We may be able to bring in a couple of strikers and creative players but its all a little bit quiet on this particular position. We have Gilberto who is a really good back-up to have. We need someone who can guide us through the season taking command of this very important position.

Wenger must have something up his sleeve, as we speak. Who will it be? Will it be Toure? He is strong, has mobility, lets see if he graduates to holding midfielder the coming season.

Aleksander Hleb. He has created a lot for Arsenal, but to be honest in the crunch months his form dropped a bit. It would neither be a surprise or a disappointment if he left.

He is very good when it comes to holding the ball, but his refusal to shoot means the threat to the opposition is almost halved. That's one thing less the opposition defences need to worry about. He is no Pires or Ljungberg (in their peaks), however, Nasri would fit in quite beautifully with Arsenal.

The funny thing is, it has all gone quiet from Barcelona, Hleb does not seem to be their number one target anymore. Let's see how things unfold on his end.

Adebayor. Now all the hype has gone into this bloke's head. He scored 30 goals in one season which includes two hat-tricks against Derby. He now wants to be paid as much as Thierry Henry was being paid.

How can this get any more ridiculous?

He is unreliable when it comes to finishing. He scores one out of three good chances. His form fluctuates right through the season and he has had only one really good season. All of a sudden he thinks he is the talisman of the club.

What is even more ridiculous is Milan/Barca are willing to pay the 25 million quid or so. And besides, players who have left Arsenal for "greener" pastures have not exactly set the world on fire. Anelka is a fine example.

All in all the Gunners have only one hole to plug—the one left behind by the departure of Flamini. Hleb and Ade leaving will not change too much at the club.

Let us not forget that we still have future European/World player of the year, Fabregas. We also have van Persie, Rosicky, Eduardo, Walcott, Toure, Gallas, Clichy and Sagna.

We will be written off  this season just like we were last season. But the lessons from last season will see us much, much better equipped to deal with the final curve of the coming season.

In Wenger we trust!