Five players who won’t do much to excite the Emirates crowd.Arsenal have already been busy this summer with some impressive new signings in Alexis Sanchez, Mathieu Debuchy, David Ospina and Calum Chambers, but there is some suggestion that further new faces brought in won’t be much to write home about.
After years of what was seen as ‘bargain basement’ shopping in the transfer market by Arsene Wenger, the Gunners have finally shown some ambition in signing the likes of Mesut Ozil last summer and Sanchez this year, giving them a much-improved looking team capable of winning trophies.
Still, there could be more underwhelming arrivals at the Emirates Stadium before the end of the summer if Wenger brings in any of these five players:
Formerly of Queens Park Rangers, Stephane Mbia spent last season on loan at Sevilla and is now a free agent after leaving the London club. Although he is far from a bad player and could be good value for money on a free, this is hardly a transfer that will do much to inspire Arsenal fans, when they had been linked with big names such as Sami Khedira of Real Madrid and Sporting Lisbon starlet William Carvalho as well this summer.
4) Alvaro Arbeloa (Real Madrid)
Former Liverpool full-back Alvaro Arbeloa has been recently linked with a move to Arsenal after falling out of favour at Real Madrid. In truth, the Spaniard was never exactly the best player in the world in his position anyway, and is surely past his peak now at the age of 31, with his drop in the Bernabeu pecking order reflecting that. Also, with Mathieu Debuchy and Calum Chambers to choose from at right-back, and Kieran Gibbs and Nacho Monreal on the left, what need is there for Arbeloa?
3) Cheick Tiote (Newcastle United)
A tough tackling Premier League midfielder, Cheick Tiote could certainly do a job for Arsenal in terms of adding some steal to their side, but he overall he looks far from good enough to command a regular starting spot despite some initial promise when he first joined Newcastle. The Ivory Coast international is also a little bit too much of a hot-head and may not be too reliable in terms of his discipline and keeping his aggression in check. Again, when the likes of Khedira and Carvalho have emerged as targets, Tiote just seems a level below that and the Gunners could surely show a bit more ambition to plug that midfield gap.
2) Matija Nastasic (Manchester City)
Despite a strong first season at Manchester City, Matija Nastasic’s form has dipped dramatically and Arsenal won’t have been too impressed with what they saw of him as their attackers run rings around City’s back four in the Community Shield. Still, the Serbian youngster is supposedly being kept in mind as a possible replacement for Thomas Vermaelen, though it is hard to see what he would bring to the side, especially as he now looks to be fourth choice at the Etihad Stadium – behind even Martin Demichelis in Manuel Pellegrini’s pecking order.
A striker who doesn’t score goals, Eduardo Vargas has emerged as a surprise target for Arsenal this summer supposedly on the recommendation of his Chilean international team-mate and Gunners new-boy Alexis Sanchez. Vargas, currently of Napoli, has a very poor goalscoring record and is also being chased by Valencia, which suggests this really isn’t a player good enough to make the step up to playing for a Premier League club with top four ambitions. After being linked with the likes of Mario Balotelli and Loic Remy, this isn’t a striker signing that would sit too well with Arsenal fans.
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