A collection of talents who should be on the Emirates Stadium radar this summer.
10. Ashley Williams (Swansea City)
The Welsh centre-back would be a useful addition to the Gunners’ backline, with Laurent Koscielny a target for Bayern Munich and Thomas Vermaelen having a poor season. The Swans skipper has impressed for Michael Laudrup’s side this season and helped lead the club to glory in the Capital One Cup – more silverware than Arsenal have managed for eight years.
9. Asmir Begovic (Stoke City)
A new goalkeeper is a must for Arsene Wenger, with the Gunners boss recently losing patience with Wojciech Szczesny. Begovic is likely to leave Stoke this summer after emerging as a target for several top clubs, and with Tony Pulis already preparing for his exit with the signing of Jack Butland. The Bosnian is ready for a move to a bigger team, and would vastly improve Arsenal’s fortunes next season.
8. Aleksandar Dragovic (FC Basel)
The Austrian defender has caught the eye in the Europa League this season with his performances for Swiss side Basel, who reached the semi-finals of the competition. An impressive young talent, Dragovic would be a good long-term solution for Arsenal’s defensive problems.
7. Michel Vorm (Swansea City)
Another impressive performer from Swansea, Michel Vorm’s displays have earned him interest from the likes of Barcelona and Liverpool. Arsenal would get a real boost if they could fight off competition for the Dutch shot stopper, as they need a match-winner between the sticks, as opposed to continuing with the error-prone ‘keepers currently at the club.
6. Mohamed Diame (West Ham)
Arsenal were strongly linked with Diame in January, and could move again for the Hammers midfielder, who has a minimum release fee clause of £3.5million. Wenger may have decided against signing him before as he hoped Abou Diaby would fill the defensive midfield role at the club, but with another injury to Diaby a player is desperately needed in this position.
5. Julian Draxler (Schalke)
This impressive 19-year-old is on the radar of the likes of Chelsea and Borussia Dortmund, but Arsenal are also in with a chance of signing the attacking midfielder. Still missing Cesc Fabregas, a player like Draxler would be very useful in aiding the Gunners’ title challenge next season.
4. Marouane Fellaini (Everton)
With a summer of change ahead at Everton as David Moyes is expected to be named Manchester United manager, Arsenal could do well to make a raid on the club’s star player Marouane Fellaini. A physical beast in midfield with an eye for goal, the Belgian would add some steel to this often frail Arsenal team. He won’t come cheap, but Wenger needs to spend money on players like this to help bring silverware to the club at last.
3. Christian Benteke (Aston Villa)
The Aston Villa striker has been a revelation since joining the Premier League this season and Paul Lambert will face a battle to keep him at the club. Arsenal were linked before he moved to Villa Park, and are known to be admirers of the Belgian’s talents, so could look to add him to a strikeforce that is still missing the goals of Robin van Persie.
2. Cristian Tello (Barcelona)
It recently emerged that the talented Barca youngster has a minimum release fee clause of around £10million, which has rightly attracted interest from both Liverpool and Arsenal. Although the Catalans will hope to keep the forward at the club, he may feel the time is right to move on to gain more first-team football, something Wenger is particularly known for in terms of developing young players.
1. Gonzalo Higuain (Real Madrid)
Real Madrid are reportedly prepared to sell the Argentinian hot shot this summer, who would be a useful addition to a number of Premier League teams. Arsenal have been linked several times, and may have to fight Manchester City, Liverpool and Tottenham for his signature, but it would be worth it to have a genuine established goal scorer in their ranks. Despite his struggle for first-team football, Higuain is a real talent with an eye for goal, and still only 25, with many years of service left in him.