Carpe Diem! A Summer Of Signings For Arsenal?

It’s June; the summer is here! It’s been nearly a month into silly season and surprisingly we actually signed a new player before for June. What is not surprising, is the fact that we all knew Chamakh was going to join us at the end of the season. Apart from the World Cup, there is really nothing else save for the fact that William Gallas has apparently missed a deadline to sign a contract extension with the Club and that Barcelona are insistent on signing Cesc Fabregas .

Where does this leave us? With Sol Campbell still yet to commit his future to the club, we could potentially end the month of June with only two recognisable centre backs: Thomas Vermaelen and Johann Djourou. Arsenal might be a bigger club but the lure of easy Scotland and possibly Europa League footie might prove a bit too much for the veteran Campbell to resist after a highly successful six-month return to the Gunners. With that in mind, I wont be surprised if the boss attempts to sign not one but two centre backs.

Notice I haven’t mentioned Silvestre who I believe will not be expecting an extension nor Bartley or Nordveit who I do not quite yet rate as ready for the Premiership. The names currently in the bag as of yet are  Lorient centre-back Laurent Koscielny and Dynamo Kiev’s Pape Diakhate , the latter of whom Bacary Sagna has claimed would be a welcome addition to the Arsenal squad . Unconfirmed reports claim we had an bid turned down for Kiscielny who would probably be a Vermaelen type signing.

With defence sorted out our next worry lies with whether Cesc stays or leaves. It’s clear the club want him to stay and I wont even go into talking about goalkeepers as I’m not convinced Wenger will sign a new keeper. Sad, but true! For me I think the longer the drama is drawn out, the better it is for us as Barca simply cannot be allowed to tap up our player and then get him on the cheap. If you look at all the tactics they have employed, it’s a wonder FIFA haven’t stepped into the situation. Using presidential candidates, staff, media, family (excluding @carlotafabregas  of course), international team mates, etc. It’s crazy! Do they expect us just to roll over and say hey you can have him for £30 million and we’ll throw in a free Silvestre and an Almunia.

Joe Cole has been touted as a potential signing as he could be available on a free transfer and he’s one player I’m sure would clearly improve our squad. The absence of a transfer fee will probably make more funds available for wages, too. At the back of my mind, after hearing of Cesc’s conversation with the boss is the thought that the midfield signings we make could either determine whether Cesc stays or leaves, or be dependent on his departure.

Over to you Arsene, work your magic!

Finally, I would like to thank all those that responded to my late rally to get the blog nominated in the Best Health, Fitness or Sports Blog category of the 2010 Nigerian Blog Awards. The final nominees were announced and www.thegreengooner.com made it through to the final stages.

Voting opened yesterday and is open for a week until 11:59pm EST on June 6, 2010. Winners will be announced as soon as possible on June 7, 2010. Please click here to vote for The Green Gooner . Do feel free to forward to your family and friends to help support the blog.

Till next time...Victoria Concordia Crescit