Shopping on a budget: Arsenal’s top summer targets

Arsenal are a bit like the student who has £50 to spend on food, drink & toilet paper for the month. Ultimately, you’re going to end up with paint stripper and cola for pre-drinks, with loo roll that melts away quicker than Spurs’ title challenge did in February.

Times that fee by 1,000,000, and that’s the Gunners’ reported transfer budget this summer. Of course, that amount is neglecting any additional funds from possible qualification to the Champions League, and player sales. Either way, it’s fair to say Silent Stan will not be reaching for his wallet when it comes to allocating money for player transfers. He’s definitely the type of guy to want to split the bill on a first date, isn’t he?

So instead of compiling not just a transfer wish list, but an M&S transfer wish list, we will be looking slightly lower down the player pecking order. A lot of these potential targets hinge on who Arsenal bring in as their new Technical Director, as the previous frontrunners – Ramon Monchi and Marc Overmars – effectively ruled themselves out of the race in the past week.

Whoever comes in will have a tough job on their hands with Arsenal’s limited budget, compared to their top six competitors in the Premier League. If one of the most highly lauded scouts in the game – Sven Mislintat – couldn’t work in the system provided, that tells you all you need to know about the difficulty of the task at hand.

Let’s start with the positions that need rebuffing in the summer.

CENTRE-BACK (Gary Cahill, Diego Godin, Kostas Manolas)

Every man and his dog knows that Arsenal’s defence is in dire need of reinforcement. 39 goals conceded after 30 matches, and still the only side in the league not to have kept a clean sheet away from home. Even Fulham, who have conceded 70 league goals and are genuinely one of the worst defensive sides the Premier League has ever seen managed that feat.

What Arsenal really need is a marquee centre-half, of the ilk of a Virgil van Dijk. A leader who can come in and as well as being a brick wall, rally and organise the defenders around him. Since the likes of Van Dijk would cost almost 1.5 times our budget, that’s out of the question.

Someone who could temporarily fill that void – mostly due to his age – is Diego Godin. The 33-year-old Uruguayan rejected a move to Manchester United previously, as he was holding out for a new contract at Atletico. But that contract is yet to arrive, meaning Godin could leave this summer on a free transfer. Granted, the Gunners would have to pay an astronomical wage for him, but part of that would be offset by the absence of a transfer fee, and also the possible departure of Mesut Ozil. The Milan clubs and Juventus are also possible destinations for the veteran defender.

In terms of his effect, how many times do you see an Arsenal defender duck responsibility when it comes to challenging for a ball in the air or play several attacking players onside by being out of position. No one would get away with that with Diego Godin in the side, mostly in fear of him eating them alive in the dressing room afterwards.

A more realistic free transfer is Gary Cahill of Chelsea. Also hurtling towards the tail end of his career – but far less experienced than Godin, Cahill is a temporary measure until we can accrue the money for the likes of a Kostas Manolas.

The Greek international has a buy-out clause of £30 million, which is in the upper echelons of the transfer market for Arsenal, but more of a Sainsbury’s than a Waitrose. Dubbed the ‘Greek God in Rome’ by commentator Peter Drury when scoring the winner to seal a dramatic comeback against Barcelona in the Champions League quarter-finals last year – Manolas would be a perfect centre-back partner for Sokratis.

The two Spartans at the back would form a fearsome duo, which would take us some way to becoming a bit more of a ‘nastier’ side – which has been missing for many years. With Roma seemingly in crisis – after sacking Eusebio Di Francesco and then losing Ramon Monchi a few days later – it’s likely Manolas would be looking elsewhere.

LEFT-BACK (Alejandro Grimaldo, Nicolas Tagliafico) 

One problem position this season has been at full-back. All was seemingly going swimmingly with Hector Bellerin and Sead Kolasinac as our marauding wing-backs, but with Hector suffering a long-term knee injury, and the jacked Bosnian spending intermittent time on the sidelines, it all went a bit sour. This isn’t a position that necessarily requires surgery, as when fit, our first choice wing-backs are more than adequate. Sead Kolasinac has been a revelation this season for his attacking output, with eight assists in all competitions so far this year. He’s really turned a corner after a shaky first term, but the 25-year-old has proved himself as a key cog in Unai Emery’s machine.

Where we’re lacking is backups. While Nacho Monreal has proved useful this season, he lacks the legs to get up and down the pitch, and it’s the same story on the other side with Stefan Lichtsteiner. Ainsley Maitland-Niles was fantastic in the 2-0 win over Manchester United, but struggled against Spurs in the League Cup, with Lichsteiner often taking precedence in that position. What we need is an injection of youthful energy and power in a position that has quickly become one of the most vital – especially in the three-at-the-back system Emery likes to deploy.

One of the headline targets could be Alejandro Grimaldo of Benfica. The Spaniard who was raised in La Masia has proven his worth after moving to Portugal from Barcelona for just under £2 million in 2016. The 23-year-old is athletic and technically gifted, scoring seven goals in all competitions this season – including a scorcher against Dinamo Zagreb in their Round of 16 Europa League win. He can certainly rival Sead Kolasinac for that left-back role, but would likely set us back more than £25 million.

Ever so slightly lower down the pecking order is Ajax defender Nicolas Tagliafico – whose performances in the Champions League have attracted interest from the likes of Barcelona. He would come in at around £17 million according to various reports. You can read all about the Argentinian in our in-depth profile.

RIGHT-BACK (Max Aarons, Aaron Wan-Bissaka)

The right-back issue is slightly more prevalent, with Hector Bellerin’s horrific ACL injury keeping the Spaniard out for an extended period of time. And with a player like Bellerin who is so reliant on speed, no one knows how he will bounce back when he does eventually return to first team action.

One potential recruit could be Norwich City’s Max Aarons. There’s sometimes an arrogance with views towards Championship players that they won’t cut it in the top tier. But the 19-year-old Englishman has proved vital in the Canaries’ title push with two goals and five assists. The versatile, quick defender is also a top target for north London rivals Spurs which would likely drive up his £20m price tag even further.

Slightly higher placed in the right-back category is young Premier League player of the year candidate Aaron Wan-Bissaka. The Crystal Palace wonderkid had received plenty of plaudits for his outstanding year in south London – and is the player with the most tackles in the league at just 21 years of age. The sticking point would be the price, as Palace reportedly want over £40m.

Instead of throwing cash at these youngsters, another option could be to look towards the youth. That may mean persisting with Ainsley Maitland-Niles, or looking at U-23 star Jordi Osei-Tutu. The 20-year-old is yet to make his senior debut, but has garnered lots of attention and could burst onto the scene next season.

WINGER (Julian Brandt, Yacine Brahimi)

Arsenal have been crying out for a young, exciting superstar winger for over a decade. Alexis Sanchez temporarily filled that void before turning the entire fanbase against him in his final, miserable season. Alex Iwobi continues to divide opinion, but at this stage feels like all he will ever be is potential. Henrikh Mkhitaryan is also another streaky player, who can set the world alight, then a few games later watch it crash and burn.

One name that doesn’t seem to go away is Julian Brandt of Bayer Leverkusen. The 22-year-old was a shock inclusion in Germany’s World Cup squad ahead of Leroy Sane and was the Bundesliga’s player of the month for February. He’s bagged four goals and nine assists in Germany’s top tier and his best quality is his versatility. Brandt can play on either wing or as a number ten – which Emery sees as an invaluable quality. He’d also come at a cut-price of around £21m.

Another one to throw into the mixer is Yacine Brahimi of FC Porto. The Algerian could be another savvy coup – as his contract is due to expire at the end of this season, meaning he can be snapped up on a free. He probably won’t set the world alight at 29-years-old, but would be a decent addition to the squad.

TOW THE LINE

Similarly to the case at right-back, there’s a future star waiting in the wings, quite literally, in Bukayo Saka. The 17-year-old wide man has earned rave reviews at Arsenal’s academy, rising through the ranks at International level for England too, and eventually making his Premier League debut against Fulham in January.

Given there’s so much exciting talent in the Arsenal academy, there’s no reason why with this new ‘self-sustaining model’, they won’t get more of a chance to shine. That would be a good thing for the club as a whole, saving money, and appeasing the fans who love nothing more than to see one of their own turn into a superstar.