Wenger targets two international stars with a view to filling the void left by some of his former midfielders.
Wenger may look to boost the average age of his squad with an experienced player. Potential targets include Aston Villa’s Gareth Barry and Werder Bremen’s Torsten Frings.
Wenger said: “We lost players with experience, of course, but we can still bring in players with experience and don’t forget that last year, since the first of January, Van Persie has missed nearly six months, Rosicky has missed four or five months and Eduardo has missed four or five months. They will all be back.” (Telegraph)
As Arsene looks to bring in some midfield strength to his squad, the two names that have come out are pretty decent additions. However, a few things to consider. Firstly, the fee Aston Villa are looking to get for Gareth Barry seems a little hopeful (last count was around £17m) and excessive, while Torsten Frings is the wrong side of 30 so not likely to appeal to Wenger’s gameplan. He may of course opt to cope with the loss of some of his key midfielders by giving more responsibility to his young charges. After all, Abou Diaby is a pretty damn good player who has shown that he can do wonders in an Arsenal shirt.
Then of course there is Denilson, the 20-year-old could come into his own this season. The Gunners boss is not afraid to give his younger players a chance to prove themselves, so perhaps that would be a smarter option. Do Arsenal fans think that the Brazilian and French youngsters can ably plug the gap left by the likes of Flamini and Gilberto?