Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has narrowed down his search for a defender by admitting ideally the player would already have premiership experience under his belt. Following an injury to Sebastien Squillaci and yet another set back for Thomas Vermaelen, Wenger has admitted he is now forced into looking for defensive reinforcements, and now it seems that man may already be playing in the Premier League.
Interestingly, Arsenal have been heavily linked with moves for Bolton’s Gary Cahill and Blackburn’s Christopher Samba and Wengers recent comments will only fuel the flames. Wenger told Arsenal.com last night:
“Ideally it would be better if they were adapted to English football,” he said. “If you need players now in January then you cannot wait three months before they can play. If the opportunity turns up we will fetch it but, if not, I believe we can cope.
“We always have people in mind and we check them out. We look everywhere. It’s difficult to find [them] at this period of the season but overall I feel at the moment we have so many games that it’s very important just to focus on the next one.
My hope is that Arsene has the balls to make his move sooner rather than later. We all know the Frenchman likes to bide his time and play his very own game of transfer ‘poker’, waiting till the last day of the transfer window to make his move in an attempt at getting his man at a knockdown price. Unfortunately his last couple of attempts have failed, Alonso and Hangeland come to mind, so hopefully this time round he will get in there early and seal the deal.
A worry for Gooners is Wenger rounded off the interview with his customary ‘internal solutions’ rubbish, claiming that if he doesn’t find the right deal this January, we already have sufficient back up in the un-tested Miquel and Alex Song. Correct me if I’m wrong Arsene, but if these players can do the job of playing at centre back at the top level, why are you looking for a new centre back in the first place?
“We have solutions internally with Ignasi Miquel, with Alex Song who can play centre back and with Squillaci, who should come back very quickly.
“If we find somebody at the right level we will do it, if not we will continue like this.”
I’m not suggesting it’s panic stations and Wenger should go out and get raped for £20million for Cahill or anything. But it’s clear that with only two recognised centre backs in Djourou and Koscielny available and a jam-packed January schedule ahead, we need somebody in quickly who can slot straight into the team. Not an easy task i know, but isn’t that what scouts are for? They should have a list of targets noted down already, so go get a deal done now Arsene!
My gut feeling is Cahill is Wenger’s top target but we wont pay whats required to get him, so we’ll either buy nobody or settle for second best and sign someone like Emir Spahic.
Who do you think Arsene has in mind? Who do you hope he will go for? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section….
