There's always next year...(part 5)

Wow, it's been a long while since my last post. Annoying obstacles kept popping up but hopefully I'll now be able to blog regularly again. Today is the 5th and final part of my views on this summer's transfer window and the only remaining position is striker.

Since my initial squad, things have changed quite a bit, so this will probably not reflect my thoughts of April/May. Because of this, I'll be setting this one out a little differently - a small section on each of our current frontmen and the ones it seems Mr. Wenger is interested in.


Robin Van Persie:
This is no exaggeration - Van Persie is one of, if not THE, top striker in world football*. No, I'm not drunk and no, this isn't through Arsenal-tinted glasses. As a complete forward, I can't think of anyone better right now. Torres (haha), Rooney, Eto'o, Villa, would you really take any of those over RVP?
He has power, pace, sensational skill on the ball, can shoot with both feet, good heading ability, penalty taker, leadership and most importantly, a real Arsenal man. Of course, there is still the one huge problem - injuries. Even this season, when he was extraordinary, he missed a large chunk of the campaign, which is why we need one more lethal striker at the club.

*Messi is excluded as he's obviously some sort of robot sent from another planet to show earthlings up at their own game and Ronaldo's excluded because, well, he's a [insert derogatory remark here]

Nicklas Bendtner:
Yes, he's been forced out on the wing too often. Yes, his goal tally is still pretty decent. Yes, he has the potential to be a world beater. But at the end of the day, the Dane just hasn't backed up the big talk with any big performances. If Bendtner was good enough, he'd be starting every week. Wenger doesn't believe he is, so he has to go. Nicklas' attitude is all wrong, the fans don't seem too bothered and he has already said he "100% wants to leave". In my opinion, has a mouth close to matching Ibrahimovic and has the wasted potential through sloppy work-ethic too. Wonder if they're related?

Marouane Chamakh:
I really hope Chamakh makes it at Arsenal. He gives us something different up front and when RVP was out injured, the Moroccan was in fine form. Unfortunately he's gone to pieces since the turn of the year. Indeed, the alleged reasons behind that have been leaked recently but I don't want to go into that. Hopefully next season he can win back the fans who have turned and get back on track.

Carlos Vela:
The greatest player on earth, when you're 4-0 up at home. Carlos is the master of delightfully chipping the keeper when it means absolutely nothing. Three seasons to show his worth and couldn't even make the West Brom team. As much as I was desperate for him to succeed at the Emirates, time to move on.

Samir Nasri:
There's been so much talk about Sammy recently and I really don't want to go over it. We know he's brilliant, we know he wants a shed-load of dosh. Let's just wait and see. I expect he'll stay but IF he goes, I'd rather sell him to a foreign team - would hate for this to be another Cashley/Adepaymore situation.

Andrei Arshavin:
I love the little Russian maestro. Everyone seems to want rid, "he's too lazy" they say. Shava is a luxury player and one we need. He has that unique ability to be out of the game for 89mins and then produce one moment of pure genius.

Gervinho:
At the tail-end of last week, it seemed as though the contract was all but signed and the Ivorian would be holding the shirt with delight on Arsenal.com. As of 21st June, it still hasn't happened. I still think the deal will go through though - and will be most pleased when it does. It seems like Lille's triumph last season has just been put down to Hazard but Gervinho was awesome as well. Hopefully he'll settle in quickly and we can see him at the Emirates Cup.

Radamel Falcao/Karim Benzema:
The boss said he's looking at Benzema, Falcao's agent confirmed Arsenal are willing to meet his buy-out clause. Both stories have gone quiet the last few weeks and although we'd have to smash our transfer record to get either of them, I have a sneaky feeling one of them (or someone of their ilk) will join. Personally, I'd go for the Colombian.

The Fantasy Signing:
Of course, you'll be expecting me to write Lionel Messi here. But no. It's Darren Bent. What do you mean 'Am I on medication?', Bent would be the perfect signing for us. The number of chances we create every game that are wasted is unbelievable. I'd love someone like Bent, just to stand in the 18-yard box and goal-hang. We need a poacher, someone who'll stick it in the net rather than try another pass. Plus he's a gooner.
It'll never happen, but I can dream about spending £30m on an over-rated English striker with zero technical ability, can't I?


And there we have it. I'm hoping it'll be a relatively busy summer in N5 and if it is, confidence will be high come August. If you have any feedback on the posts, let me know via twitter. Maybe if we get enough of your views on the squad and potential transfers, there could be a follow-up post solely with them. Thanks for reading,

Raj (@JattGooner)