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By GEORGE PEACE Arsenal want a goalkeeper. It’s common knowledge amongst fans and management alike. Critics and supporters will shout, until blue in the face, that this is the area of our squad that most needs strengthening (I’m sick of hearing people call into talk-shows and beginning with the sentence: “I just want to talk about the goalkeeping situation”). So, I’m not going to contradict any of these people by saying that, I too, would like a new goalkeeper to arrive.
What seems to ruffle a few feathers though, is my opinion that although I think a new goalkeeper would be a positive move, there are other areas of the field that are far more imperative to bolster. Can someone please tell me why, when we have four goalkeeping options, we need a new ‘keeper more than a new central defender? Excluding Nordveit, who is yet to start a Premiership game for us, we don’t even have two different defensive partnership options.
We can field Koscielny and Vermaelen, or Djourou and potentially Song (or some combination of those four). The latter I feel is wasted when moved into defence, because he fills his holding-midfield role so excellently. So is it not absolutely vital that we sort out the acquisition of a centre-back before we focus on who’s between the sticks? Yes, Almunia has cost us many-a-point last season and Fabianski looks like a baby bird trying to fly when crosses are floated in, but still, there are another two options on our books. Szczesny is looking more concrete every time I see him and Mannone had a brilliant (if not brief) run in the team last season.
Don’t get me wrong here, I would like a new goalkeeper to save us some vital points this season, to convert that draw into a win. But we need a new centre-back to even stand a chance of competing for the league title. A new ‘keeper might be appealing, but if we don’t have the required mettle in front of him, isn’t it all for nought? I can’t judge Koscielny fully yet, I’ve only watched him a few times, but even if he proves to be Vermaelen Mk.2, can we trust that both of these men will stay fit for a full season? Given our recent injury record, I doubt it!
This leads me to the crux of this article. Who do we want to see recruited into the heart of our defence? Various names have been thrown about all summer long, but only two have caused my ears to prick up and my ambition to start flowing. The first was Per Mertesacker, a defender I’ve admired before he was linked to Arsenal, who positively towers at 6ft 6 and went on to display some true class for Germany in the World Cup. However, whatever amount of it was paper-chat and whatever was true, I’ve accepted that we won’t be seeing Per in an Arsenal shirt.
Since then, two of the major names touted have been Emir Spahic and Sébastien Squillaci. Both are thirty-year-old, experienced defenders, and while I’m sure they’ll add something to our squad, I’m not overly excited by the prospect of either of these two. They remind of me of Campbell and Silvestre at the latter half of last season, but, like Koscielny, I don’t know either of them as well as some other defenders so my judgment is limited. And, in fairness to Squillaci, he has experience playing with Sagna and Clichy (he didn’t cover himself in glory in the World Cup, but then again, which Frenchman did?).
But the new name that has got me hopeful again, much like Mertesacker did, is Bordeaux’s Michael Ciani. At 6ft 2, he’s not massive (though he’s known for his heading ability – scoring in the Champions League last season), but the guy is built like a brick shithouse. He’s a powerful defender, as opposed to quick, springy defenders like Vermaelen and Koscielny. I can’t help but think that our defence would flourish with an injection of pure strength. Ciani, apparently, can play at right-back too, which cannot fail but to give us more options. Unfortunately, the media are saying he’ll command a £15M transfer fee and is only being lined up as a backup, should the Squillaci deal fall through.
Is it worth me questioning why a £15M, 26-year-old defender is backup for a £5M, 30-year-old defender? Shouldn’t that be the other way around? Well, I’m not a football manager, nor a banker, so what do I know? Anyway, it looks highly plausible that at least one defender will join our ranks before September 1st, and who knows, maybe a goalkeeper too. But if we do have to settle for just that one defender, who do you people want to see?
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