5 Possible Replacements for Clichy

With Gael Clichy now confirmed to have moved to Manchester City for a reported £7 million, attention will now turn to whom Arsene Wenger will chose as a replacement for the French International.  There are a range of options to chose from, including promoting a left-back from within the squad, or even from the youth team.  The other option is of course to bring in a player from another club; this may be preferable as there is the expectation of losing a number of players and the squad will need bolstering in order to challenge on all four fronts.  Here are 5 of the players Wenger may look towards to take over the left-back role:

1. Leighton Baines: The 26 year old left-back has impressed managers up and down the league after his debut season in the top division with Wigan Athletic.   Since his move to Everton in 2007, Baines has continued to flourish and last season amassed a total of 5 goals and 10 assists in the league – an amount which could not be matched by any other full-back in the division.   Another advantage of Baines is his set-piece skills; this would greatly please those fans who are tired of watching constantly Van Persie blaze the ball into row Z.  He is in high demand with Liverpool also interested in him, along with Manchester City before they turned their attention to Clichy.

Probability 1/10 – Everton want to keep him

2. Armand Traore: Having Spent the previous season on loan at Juventus, it was hoped that the French full-back would return having played a full season of football and be ready to challenge for a first team place.   However, although he arrives with reasonable reports from Italy, he did not play consistently and only completed 90 minutes twice in the twelve competitive appearances he made – he also featured in Gary Neville’s testimonial, helping the Italian giants to a 2-1 win against the ceremonial Manchester United team.   His performance in early pre-season will be key to Wenger’s decision about his future.

Probability: 2/10 – more likely to be a squad member

3. Thomas Vermaelen: Whilst the Belgian has only spent 2 seasons with the club, missing nearly the entire 2010-11 campaign through injury, he is a firm fan favourite and one of the most popular players at the club with the supporters;  his power in defence and finesse going forward has endeared him to crowds at Emirates Stadium.  It’s this attacking prowess that have given some, possibly including Wenger, the idea that he would excel as a left back in both attack and defence.  However, clockendview is of the opinion that his fantastic defensive skill would be wasted at left back and he is needed to lead the defence from the centre.

Probability 1/10 – requires the signign of a centre-back

4. Jose Enrique: The Spanish left-back has performed well for Newcastle in the past two seasons and benefited greatly from a season out of the spotlight in the Championship.  He returned to the Premier League full of confidence, playing 36 of the 38 games for the Magpies.   Although he only made 3 assists, his main distinction was in defence, where he was a consistent performer.  As with Baines, he is also being targeted by Liverpool and it appears there is a good chance of the Reds securing his signature.

Probability: 2/10 – dependant on Liverpool and Baines

5. Kieran Gibbs: For the past few years Kieran Gibbs has been playing understudy to Gael Clichy and with his departure some might expect Gibbs to step straight into his shoes.  However, although Wenger has expressed confidence that Gibbs is ready to do this, there are other issues; Gibbs has a poor injury record, including a fractured metatarsal and repeated calf problems.  There is a risk that if he were to get injured we would have inadequate cover and be forced to play players out of position.  Nonetheless it seems likely that Wenger will continue to progress with youth rather than spend.

Probability: 4/10 – most likely option

Submitted by Clockendview – just an Arsenal Blog