Top 5 Must-NOT Buys For Arsenal This Summer

With the transfer rumour mill reaching full swing, Gunner333 gives us his top 5 players he thinks Arsenal must steer clear of this summer.

It’s that time of year when pretty much every player across Europe is being linked with Arsenal, with the boss thought to have a world class front-man, a defensive midfielder and a right-back to replace Bacary Sagna at the top of his transfer shopping list.

Many names have been linked with a move to the Emirates and while there are some names that we’ve all love to see signed by Arsene Wenger, I’m going to give you my top 5 players who I consider to be must-NOT buys this summer.

5) Nathaniel Clyne – Southampton

Yes, believe it or not, Clyne has been tipped to answer Arsenal’s right-back conundrum, after falling out of favour at the Saints. With other Gunner’s target Callum Chambers flourishing after replacing Clyne, the Englishman has barely kicked a football during the latter stages of last season.

His mix of inexperience at the top level and inconsistency to track back efficiently means he’s not Arsenal quality yet. He shows promise still, with his competent bursts forward, but is not of Champions League quality and most certainly can’t replace Sagna this summer.

4) Gareth Barry – Manchester City

Contrasting to our last candidate, Gareth has all the experience to play for any top club across the globe, but where he mainly falls down is he lacks the pace we need in midfield. If the Englishman were to sign, he would mirror all that went wrong with midfield maestro Mikel Arteta last campaign- slow, sluggish and caught in possession far too often.

Possessing clinical vision and having a level head on your shoulder is rather menial if you lack the pace to match it, given the speed in the modern game. We need to add a powerful, pacey, defensive midfielder to our ranks and Barry isn’t the man for the job.

3) Mario Balotelli – AC Milan

Perhaps the stand-out name in the list, Mario clearly shows all the credentials we want in a top striker. Why include him as a ‘must-not-buy’ then, you ask… Well the answer is simple. The Italian is just too poorly behaved and, well, mad. Not only can he disrupt the squad with his foolish off-the-field antics and temper tantrums, he also has a notable ability to drop his head when form dips.

Within a side like ourselves, we show great promise but often fall down on confidence and a player like Mario will only trample that further after a difficult result. The former City forward has looked to the Premier League as the alternative pathway for his career, after facing racism frequently in Italy’s top flight. Should he join, there will be a lot of excitement, but I think it would end in tears….

2) Rodrigo – Benfica

Although, young and hungry with quality to give, Benfica’s starlet is probably one of the most random, ambitious mentions in the papers we have seen so far this Summer. Coming with an apparent £24-million price tag, the youngster has done little to warrant such a fee.

Of course for a club of our size the price would normally be no issue, but to spend big on a player who has only been given the chance to prove himself within the restricted depths of Portugal’s elite division is just ludicrous.

1) Samuel Eto’o – Chelsea

No need to blink twice, Samuel Eto’o really has been linked to Arsenal of late. Keen to prove Jose Mourinho wrong, the Cameroonian has supposedly confirmed interest in a switch to North-London. Ageing, slow and rarely firing, Samuel possess pretty much all the negatives of the above candidates other than that of a hefty price-tag, although I’m more than certain that if we were to naively sign him, the wage is unlikely to be less than £100,000-per-week.

Given his many inabilities, he tops the list and to snap him up would mean Wenger would most likely resist to add another striker, which would be criminal this summer as we desperately need to bring in a long-term front-man who’s going to fire us to the title.

Hopefully none of these five will be added to the squad this Summer, but with Wenger’s unpredictability, you just never know and the rumours do not write themselves. Who would be your top five? Thanks for reading and feel free to comment below.