Bastian Schweinsteiger: Total Footballer, And My Dream Arsene Wenger Signing

I would love nothing more than for Arsenal to buy Bastian Schweinsteiger. What is the likelihood of this deal actually happening? I think it will definitely happen... right after Manuel Almunia displaces Iker Casillas as Spain's number one goalkeeper. That means the chances are somewhat slim, but he is still one of the players I wish Arsenal would buy. 

Most of my fondest Arsenal memories came when Patrick Vieira still patrolled the midfield. Henry might have been the King of Highbury, but Vieira was without doubt the general. He was just immense and I used to re-watch matches several times, awestruck at his ability to utterly dominate. Even with all that re-watching, I still struggled to find an obvious weakness in his play.

There wasn't an attribute that the Frenchman didn't seemingly possess, be it physical or technical; Vieira simply had it all. Which Arsenal fan (or neutral for that matter) doesn't miss the expert tackles, the driving runs, the laser guided passes and how he combined it all into the ability to break up an attack at one end of the field and then be a key component in it's completion at the other end in a matter of seconds?

Simply put, Vieira was a complete midfielder. Equal part style and steel, the good and just the right amount of ugly all squeezed into one player. The definition of a box-to-box midfielder. But what does all this have to do with the aforementioned German? Well, I like him for the same exact reason; he too is a complete midfield player.

There is certainly a huge difference in the style of the two players. Where Vieira was a more defensive and physical player, Schweinsteiger is more technical on the attacking end, showing superior passing, dribbling and shooting. But much like Vieira, he too seems to have few, if any, weaknesses in his game. 

Think back to the promising winger who emerged for a young German team at the 2006 world cup. Now compare him to the man who led Bayern Munich to the Champions League final and Germany to a 3rd place finish in South Africa four years later. It's an amazing transformation; while Schweinie was good as a winger, he is absolutely word class as a central midfield player.

Dribbling, passing, shooting, tackling, positioning... what can't he do? With all these attributes added to his strength, determination and all round leadership qualities, I got the same feeling watching him play for Bayern and especially for Germany as I did when I watched Vieira in his heyday. Here was a true midfield general, breaking and starting attacks with equal ease.

I get goosebumps just thinking about how strong our midfield would be if we bought him. With Alex Song playing the holding role and Cesc Fabregas roaming behind the main striker, Schweinsteiger would play the link between the two and boost both phases of the game. It would be absolute magic if it happened, but it probably won't.

With Bayern's poor form, his comments about not being married to the Bavarian club and the fact that he's basically just due for a move to a bigger league, I think the German may be on the move soon. I don't think it will be to Arsenal though, as we don't typically spend the kind of cash needed to buy such players.

And I'm fine with that. I think that in Henri Lansbury, Jack Wilshere and especially Aaron Ramsey, we have players who could develop to be as good as, and possibly better than, Schweinsteiger and Vieira. And I have little doubt that, with continued guidance from The Professor, these players could give me that same feeling again in a couple of years.

But with that being said, I still can't help but dream of us getting a player who would bring that feeling back now. Who is your dream Arsenal signing?