Arsenal scraped through their FA Cup semi-final with Wigan on Saturday evening and are on the brink of ending their nine year thirst for a trophy. If their thirst is quenched coupled alongside a top four finish then many will see this as a successful season for the Gunners. Achieve these two targets and Wenger is likely to put pen to paper on a new deal, the longest serving manager in the club’s history gave his biggest hint towards a contract extension by stating he is planning for the next campaign.
The Frenchman destroyed his previous transfer record of £15m by signing Mesut Ozil from Real Madrid for a massive £42.5m this summer. Fans and players alike are hoping this has signalled a dawn of a new era under Wenger where money will be spent in addition to acquiring some world class names along the way. It didn’t go to plan in the January transfer window but with Puma’s multi-million pound deal to manufacture the kits taking place from August, many feel they will want a big name striker to shift some shirts.
The board’s money may have to be taking care of replacements rather than additions to the squad with a number of key players having been rumoured to be unhappy or are reaching the end of their contract. Last summer could hardly of gone better for The Emirates faithful after the summers where Cesc Fabregas, Emmanuel Adebayor, Robin van Persie and Samir Nasri have all departed. The uncertainty may be creeping back in for some and below are the most likely candidates to depart:
Bacary Sagna:
The long serving right-back has been a part of Arsenal’s make-up since joining from Auxerre back in 2007 and has been the first name on the team sheet for many a year. The Frenchman's contract is up this summer with the 31-year-old refusing any offer put in front of him. This would be a big blow for ‘Le Prof’ who assumingly had the defender as a key part of his plans for next term. Jenkinson can not be expected to play every week due to his lack of experience so a replacement will have to be brought in if Steve Bould can continue to improve the back four.
Manchester City have been linked with Sagna to provide competition to Pablo Zabaleta at The Etihad. Playing second fiddle to the Argentine may not bother him too much with a big wage packet expected to be offered due to the fact that there will be no transfer fee if the deal comes to fruition.
Lukasz Fabianski:
The Polish international goalkeeper has seemed to have saved his reputation in the past couple of years after some big performances, in Munich and then again at Wembley. Picking up the nickname “Flappyhandski” in his early days in north London after a string of comedic errors, the cup hero has seemingly shrugged this off and is now a fans favourite.
Despite FA Cup heroics, the 28-year-old is still second choice behind countrymen Wojciech Szczesny and that is not pleasing Fabianski. Knowing he could almost definitely play first team football elsewhere, he looks to be calling it a day where Arsenal are concerned and has let his contract peter out with Southampton and Celtic interested.
With the on loan Viviano still yet to make an appearance for his adopted side it is unlikely that the shot stopper is to be offered permanent deal. Dipping into the transfer market could be more difficult this time around as a goalkeeper will need to be found, something they haven’t had to do since Jens Lehmann was signed, that will want to sit on the bench for long periods throughout the season. Easier said than done.
Nicklas Bendtner:
What else is there to say about Nicklas Bendtner? The striker has had a torrid time in a red shirt and his 10 year tenure is finally expected to come to a close. The Dane has failed to show any sign of fulfilling the potential he showed as a youngster, whether that be at Arsenal or on loan elsewhere. Riddled with arrogance and sometimes stupidity, showcased by rubbing himself against a taxi in March, the forward is now seen as more of a clown than a footballer.
Maybe that’s a bit harsh as he does have all the attributes you’d want in a big centre-forward but the Scudetto winner does need to sort his head out if he wishes to lead the line for a big club in the future. Stating that he could play for either Barcelona or Real Madrid earlier this year, he is more likely to be reunited with Emmanuel Frimpong at Barnsley.
Olivier Giroud:
Wenger’s men started the season so well and were flying at the top of the league right until the end of March. This was mainly down to the goalscoring form of Olivier Giroud. The Frenchman is top scorer for the Gunners with 20 goals to his name but has fallen off the wagon in recent months. Many put that down to problems in his personal life, problems however that are all his own doing.
The former Montpellier man apologised on Twitter before an FA Cup quarter-final with Liverpool after being caught cheating on his wife in the club hotel. Some fans have turned on their star forward with reports suggesting he was up in the early hours of the morning on match days. If he does leave it will be down to his antics off the pitch rather than on it, were he has done a decent job at playing up top on his own.
Jennifer Giroud, wife of Olivier, stated that to salvage their marriage the couple will have to move back to their native France. This has sent the big clubs in Ligue 1 on red alert.
Lukas Podolski:
The German has been one of the club’s stellar signings in recent years and is one of the biggest earners at The Emirates. Despite earnings of a reported 100k a week, he has only played the full 90 minutes thrice this season in all competitions. This seems to have unsettled the Koln legend who looked unhappy to make way for Giroud on Saturday, as were a lot of the fans. The youngest European ever to reach 100 caps for his country, Podolski seems to struggle out on the left-wing and hasn’t proven he can lead the line better than the other three out and out strikers at the club.
The 28-year-old said, “Of course [It is frustrating]. I play and, in the last games, I always come out and of course you cannot be happy when you always go out after 60, 70 minutes. Of course I am not happy always to be substituted.”
Having already underperformed during his stint at Bayern Munich earlier in his career, chances at an established Champions League side may be limited. Podolski does seem to enjoy the London lifestyle but he may have his arm twisted by a return home to the Bundesliga or a lucrative deal in Italy with many Serie A sides interested.
Thomas Vermaelen:
Club captain Vermaelen seriously impressed after joining from Ajax, asserting himself as the best centre-half at the club. Things have tailed off since then and poor performances against Premier League title rivals have cast doubts on his ability. Like Podolski, the Belgium international is an excellent squad player but has been frozen out of the side since the forming of the formidable Koscielny and Mertesacker partnership in the centre of defence.
Rumours were circulating in January about an exit after the defender, who has scored 25 goals for Arsenal, feared for his World Cup place. Belgium coach Marc Wilmots assured him that a place would be guaranteed provided he stayed fit and that inclined the 28-year-old to tough out the remaining months of the season in London.
With captaincy expected to be stripped from Vermaelen this summer there are no real incentives to stick around for much longer, Napoli lead the way in a fight for his signature. A fight that involves Manchester United and Chelsea but since Arsenal’s emergence as title contenders this campaign the likelihood is that Rafa Benitez will get his man should he be allowed to leave.
Many more are also expected to go including; Park Chu-Young, Ignasi Miquel, Ryo Miyaichi (Who is now older than Oxlade-Chamberlain) and even Mikel Arteta, with the latter more likely to be eased into retirement when his contract runs out in 2015. Kim Kallstrom and Emiliano Viviano are not expected to be signed on permanent deals, the duo have partaken in just 110 minutes of play between them.
This may not be a disastrous transfer window for the Gunners and it may turn into a rosy one depending on who they bring in. It will however, be a turbulent one.