Who Will Arsenal’s One Big Summer Signing Be, or Will they Even Have One?

Arsenal now have a habit of making one big signing each summer. Last summer it was Alexis Sanchez, the one before that, it was Mesut Ozil. There’s no guarantee that this is the new “Arsenal way” as far as transfer windows go, but it’s still fun to debate who that one big newbie will be.

There are plenty of links that’s for sure, and Arsenal have plenty of semi-needs, although nothing so glaring that we can key in and say “yes, that is the one area we will make a signing.” Many people out there will tell you we need a new striker, some say we need another defender, others will tell you a striker, others another winger and still others still opt for a defensive midfielder. Essentially, Arsenal could feasibly use any position aside from an attacking midfielder

Arsenal’s big summer signing won’t be a goalie. I believe that with all essence (whatever that means). Petr Cech would never come to Arsenal, not only because he’s essentially a Chelsea legend, but because Arsene Wenger has no intention of signing another goal keeper. Every time it’s brought up he laughs it off and says that that’s what he bout David Ospina for. And who can doubt him? David Ospina has been absolutely superb. He has the best win percentage in Premier League history and the best saves-per-goal ratio in all of the world. What more can a man do?

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However, in typical Arsenal fashion, and it’s not really a bad thing, Ospina will have to go at least a full season displaying this consistency before he gets the respect he deserves.

I’d also like to go ahead and cross defensive midfielder off that list as well. William Carvalho and Mogan Schneiderlin had topped that list but their names have died out of Arsenal transfer rumors for the most part, despite all you’ll hear about a deal being agreed upon with Schneiderlin.

So that leaves three main areas that Arsenal could spend the majority of their summer cash on: defense, striker and winger.

Winger is still a little iffy for me as well, seeing as how Theo Walcott is still a Gunner. If he were to move on, then winger would move to darn near the top of the list. However, as is, we don’t really need a winger.

When considering a typical Arsenal signing, you have to consider a lot of factors. First of all, he has to be Arsenal material. But that doesn’t mean just skill-wise, it means personality-wise. Andre-Pierre Gignac will never be a Gunner because of his attitude problems that have been on display. Mario Balotelli was not brought to Arsenal because he is a selfish, egotistical player.

Arsenal play a team game that encourages link-up play and loyalty on and off the pitch. Arsene Wenger has made it really clear that he aims for the perfect player when going for a transfer. Safe to say that as of now, both Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez have proven to be “perfect.” It’s also amazing that so few transfers turn into busts. Gervinho was certainly one, but aside from that, nobody stands out as a poor choice by Arsene Wenger.

So now we’re down to striker and defense.

Defense was shored up when Gabriel Paulista was brought on and with Calum Chambers a year older, the defense is looking pretty strong as is. No one would question a Hector Moreno-type signing to reinforce a defense that we’ve seen exposed so many times in recent memory, but the fact is we only have that irking feeling because of the past – the defense is actually in pretty good shape now.

So that leaves striker. Olivier Giroud is world class, it’s nearly unanimous now. I’m not going to say I called it, but I did. But anyways, he is still but one man. And as we saw when he was injured, Arsenal have no backup. Yaya Sanogo, unless he made some unseen progress at Crystal Palace, he just isn’t ready. Chuba Akpom may still be a couple years away. Benik Afobe was sold, so that leaves no internal solutions.

Therefore the answer to the question is that our big summer signing will be a striker. While Paulo Dybala appears the go-to candidate, I can’t fully get behind that happening (as much as I want to). There are so many clubs competing and if you want to believe the Metro, the young Argentine striker wants to stay in Italy.

However, Arsenal have one piece of bait that has worked on two of the best players in the world – Arsene Wenger. Both Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil have been very clear that the allure of playing under Arsene Wenger is what brought them to the Emirates. If it worked on them, why wouldn’t it work on Paulo Dybala?

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But even if Paulo Dybala doesn’t pan out, there are other strikers available. Mattia Destro and Alvaro Morata both stand out as options, but they won’t exactly be cheap. Mario Mandzukic and Gonzalo Higuain continue to be linked with Arsenal but neither one appears realistic, as they’d be looking to unseat Giroud, something Arsenal don’t exactly need. Jackson Martinez is another name we’ve seen pop up in the 30-40 million pound range, but again one has to ask why exactly we’d want to replace Olivier Giroud when we should just be seeking a young striker to inherit the throne.

As such, to make a complete circle, if Arsenal are going to make a big cash splash this summer, as they have in past summers, it will be for Paulo Dybala. That being said, I see this as the summer that Arsenal break the two year trend and don’t splash big in the transfer market. A few small signings will be in line, but as far as 30 million plus on one guy, I can’t exactly see the need for that to come to fruition.

This may seem anticlimactic with all the names that have been dropped, but there comes a time to be realistic. A team can have too many players. While I’d love to see Isco or Memphis Depay suiting up in the Gunner’s red and white, we have to be practical. Isco would be launched into position where Arsenal already have Mesut Ozil, Santi Cazorla, Jack Wilshere, Aaron Ramsey, Alexis Sanchez and more. When would he play?

The same goes for Memphis Depay. Theo Walcott is already stuck on the bench and that’s with Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain currently injured.

While I don’t see any big summer signings, that’s not a bad thing. In fact, it’s a really good thing. They don’t have any needs, and who can say that nowadays?

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