This summer we found ourselves in a dangerous position with three centre backs all reaching the end of their contracts and all three looking likely to move on. Last week at the Barnet friendly Arsene Wenger confirmed that Gallas and Silvestre were unlikely to be with us next season and have since been removed from the squad pages of Arsenal.com. However he said Sol Campbell’s future was still up in the air, he is still listed on those squad pages and is now looking likely to sign a new one year deal with us. He was in talks with Celtic and Sunderland but it looks as if both of those have fell through and we will stay with Arsenal.
He was a shock addition in January, joining on a six-month deal as back up but ended up playing an important role with Gallas out injured. It was clear that he wasn’t quite as fit as everyone else but his commitment was still 100% there and he could definitely do a job in the centre of defence. Not only that but his leadership qualities were vitally important, he was one of few experienced players in the season run in and I believe his presence really helped us keep going. He knows all about what it takes to play in this league, he might not have the legs so much but he still has the brain.
So what if the rumours are true and Sol is staying another year? I was hoping we would sign another defender in his prime but knowing Wenger if he takes Campbell on for another year I think that might be chequebook closed in that department. It would mean we have four central defenders in the first team; Vermaelen, Koscielny, Djourou and Campbell which I guess isn’t bad – Koscielny and Djourou will be fighting for that place alongside Vermaelen with Sol taking more of a dressing room role and filling in where necessary. We can’t expect him to play 90 minutes, week in, week out but we can expect him to give everything when the chance comes.
Sol plus one more defender would be ideal but I think we might be just about alright with those four you know. We’d have Nordtveit, Eastmond and Miquel behind them and the former has impressed in pre-season so far. I suspect that Wenger will see how it goes with the current lot and if it isn’t quite up to standard he may add one more before the window shuts but if Sol does sign in the next few days then I don’t think we can expect much more activity in that area, sadly.
Moving on and there’s a bit of injury news to report. Yeah I know – start as you mean to go on! Denilson and Bendtner are missing from the Austrian camp due to two groin problems but Wenger insists they are nothing serious and we can expect them back soon:
“Bendtner has a groin and Denilson has a groin as well. The injuries do not look big but at the moment they cannot fulfil full training sessions. They will be one week behind the rest.”
With Eduardo gone and Wenger not looking to sign another striker this season is another chance for Bendtner to impress. I thought he did alright last year and he still has age on his side to improve his game. I do like Bendtner and I can be patient with him, he knows what he’s doing, he brings players into play well and he has become a lot less selfish than when he first joined. He scored 12 goals last season which isn’t bad going, his target this year should to be to reach the 20-goal mark; if he makes that then I’ll be happy with him.
David Villa has joined in calling for Cesc to join Barcelona. Yawn. Everybody knows that Fabregas wants to go back to Barcelona, everybody knows about his ‘DNA’ and everybody knows that all the players there want him to join them. However everybody knows that Barcelona can’t afford him, so how about upping your bid or shutting the fuck up? That’s all I have to say.
Jack Wilshere’s been talking about his need to play. After tasting first team football at Bolton I think he might want some sort of promise from Mr. Wenger about what kind of game time he can expect next season. I hope he doesn’t opt to go out on loan again because as I said previously I think he could do a great job in our team if we picked up an injury in his position.
And finally Thierry Henry scored in his debut for New York against Spurs, which is just absolutely sweet. I was up late last night to watch the game on the net and there were thousands of Gooners in attendance outnumbering the travelling scum to see Titi put another one past the old enemy. It was great to see and I’m sure he enjoyed that one. If you haven’t
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