The future of the current Arsenal squad lies in the hands of Arsene Wenger. We’ve seen some significant transfer activity happen since the summer, and the futures of several players are under the spot light. So what might the squad look like by the start of next season?
The club have definitely been busy in the January transfer window; Arsene Wenger sanctioned the mid-season loan moves of Lukas Podolski, Yaya Sanogo and Joel Campbell to Inter Milan, Crystal Palace and Villarreal respectively, as Campbell’s move to Villarreal was made part of the deal to capture the uncapped Brazilian defender, Gabriel Paulista, in return. The club also signed 17 year-old Polish midfielder Krystian Bielik of Legia Warsaw, who is unlikely to be fast tracked into the first team setup. However, Wenger has signed him for a reason. There’s a potential in him that the manager has seen, so he’s definitely a player to look out for in the future.
The loan departures of three of our strikers could spell contrasting destinies for the trio; Podolski could be on his way out of the club on a permanent basis this summer, after being limited to just 7 substitute appearances in the league this season, whilst both Sanogo (whose only goal contribution in an Arsenal shirt came against Dortmund in November) and Campbell continue their development as strikers away from the club, in a bid to claim regular starting berths next season.
Campbell has only made 9 appearances in all competitions for the Gunners this season, without registering a single goal. It was anticipated that the Costa Rican international would finally break into the team, after 3 loan spells and an impressive World Cup, but the contract extension before his latest departure suggests his Arsenal career remains alive.
Elsewhere, 32 year-old team captain Mikel Arteta, who has struggled with injuries this season has also recently agreed a 1 year contract extension, whilst England U-21 striker Chuba Akpom has committed to the club as well. This comes after emerging reports that Dortmund, Liverpool and Manchester City were said to be monitoring his contract situation. However, when considering the number of strikers ahead of Akpom in the pecking order, does he believe he can still make a name for himself at the Emirates? Time will tell.
The future of Arsenal’s 22 year-old right-back Carl Jenkinson, currently on loan at West Ham United since July, is in serious doubt however. It was initially expected that he’d replace Bacary Sagna after the 31-year old’s move to Premier League champions, Manchester City before the World Cup. However, there were emerging reports at the time that 20 year-old Spanish right-back, Javier Manquillo, was to be brought in on loan from Atletico Madrid, despite the acquisition of Mathieu Debuchy and Calum Chambers. The pursuit of the young Spaniard in the first place suggests that Wenger doesn’t fancy having Jenkinson for the future. Now with the arrival of Paulista and the emergence of Hector Bellerin, there doesn’t seem to be room for Jenkinson when he returns. A permanent move away from his beloved boyhood club could be the best step for his career.
Another young man whose Arsenal career seems to be extinguished is Ryo Miyaichi. The young Japanese winger is becoming something of a forgotten player at the Emirates, struggling to break into the team in his 4 years at the club, after being loaned out on 5 occasions now. There was genuine excitement of Miyaichi’s lightning pace, but it’s now very likely he’ll be heading for the exit doors very soon. Questions could also asked of Serge Gnabry, after being sidelined by a knee injury for close to a year now. The young German’s last game for Arsenal came away to Bayern Munich back in March, and with so many players ahead of him in the squad, he soon may be looking to play his trade elsewhere, at least on loan anyway.
The midfield is also an area to be examined. Injury-plagued Abou Diaby’s time at Arsenal is surely over now, as his contract expires in the summer. His last league match came at the end of last season away to Norwich City, and Wenger has even admitted that there’s little chance of the 28 year-old making a full recovery, after years and years of maintaining faith in him. Mathieu Flamini is another man whose contract also expires soon and looks to be leaving Arsenal for good this time, after returning to the Emirates from AC Milan last season.
In contrast, the rejuvenated Francis Coquelin has been a surprise key figure in the team, since his emergency re-call from Charlton in December. His performance in the 2-0 away victory to Manchester City being the pick of the bunch, and has helped the team keep 3 successive clean sheets in the league ever since. As a reward, the 23 year-old Frenchman has been offered a new deal to keep him at the club beyond his expiring contract.
Meanwhile, the club continue to be linked with summer moves for the likes of, Southampton’s Morgan Schneiderlin and William Carvalho of Sporting Lisbon. Either of them would be a welcome addition to the Emirates, but with Coquelin, Bielik and Arteta already filling that defensive-midfield position, a potential new arrival would only add congestion to the midfield. You can only see one or two players missing out; let’s not forget about Jack Wilshere and Aaron Ramsey. So should Wenger have waited until the end of the season to acquire the well established targets that would’ve improved the team, rather than extending an ageing injury-prone player’s contract and signing an inexperienced midfielder in January?
There has been a number key decisions made that could all be decisive for Arsenal’s future; the loaning of Podolski and Jenkinson, the signing of Bielik and Paulista, the successful return of Coquelin and the contract extensions of Akpom, Campbell and Arteta. These decisions could see the manager be significantly inactive in terms of bringing in players this summer. Somehow I doubt we’ll see the arrivals of Schneiderlin or Carvalho any time soon, nor the arrival of a striker or a defender for that matter, but there will definitely be some high profile departures.