Part 2: Players that Arsenal should have signed
Defenders
Arsenal have always been one of the best offensive teams out there. They have always possessed more than enough fire power up front and they tend to create numerous chances to scoring goals because of this. The teams attack is also one of the main reasons the team is as successful as it is today. However the down side of this overly ambitious attacking lineup is the fact, that the defense greatly suffers because of it. Arsenal have struggled to find a good pairing at the back in front of the goal, ever since the Invisibles season. They have one decent centre half in the shape of Thomas Vermaelen however the team failed to sign any one to partner with the player, which would have resulted in the team conceding far less and scoring much more.
Johnny Heitinga: was phenomenal during the FIFA World Cup 2010. The player was easily the back bone of the Dutch defense that made it all the way to the World Cup final in South Africa.
The player has however been a consistent performer, he was remarkably good with Athletico Madrid and even proved his worth when he made his debut for Everton. However since not many players were after him, the player would have come for a much more reasonable price as compared to the numerous defenders out there.
Heitinga is a versatile defensive player, he can play as either a centre back, a right back or even a defensive midfielder. Heitinga would have been a great addition to Arsenals starting lineup, he would have also made a great addition to the squad of the bench.
Per Mertesacker: The German defender Per Mertesacker was one of the best defenders at this year’s FIFA World Cup. The towering defender who stands well over six feet tall, was one of the main reasons that Germany conceded as many goals as they did. Germany let in one of the lowest number of goals every conceded in the World Cups history.
The player started his playing career with Hannover 96, where he was highly impressive and earned a call to the national side almost immediately. He was present in both the 2006 campaing of the World Cup and the one in 2010, for Germany. He was also more than impressive in Germanys run in at Euro 2008. He is currently employed by Werder Bremen, who earlier stated that if a bid was made for the player, they would consider it and most probably let the player leave. Arsenal were initially thought to be interested in the player who would have been a great addition to the back line, he would have also helped increase the average height of the defense and made Arsenal better at defending set pieces.
This is because Mertesacker possesses a great header to the ball. With the numerous defenders leaving the team this summer, Arsene Wenger was expected to bring in at least one defender to help strengthen the back line, however the manager failed at doing so and now the team will have to do with the four defenders that they have, all of whom are highly in experienced and raw on talent.
However the team now has no choice, but to bear with the players that they have and the fans would be hoping for the best out of the team for the coming weeks. This is because Wenger would get another shot at setting things right in the future when the January transfer window opens.
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