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The players Arsenal and Liverpool need to become REAL contenders

With Manchester United and Chelsea scooping the major prizes this season, it's clear that Arsene Wenger and Rafa Benitez need some quality reinforcements to take them to the very pinnacle. But who should they buy and who should they get rid of? Orion Assante investigates...

by Orion Assante on 04 May 2008

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"'Benitez clearly has no faith in Peter Crouch and I would have suggested Arsene pick up the lanky striker - but hell would freeze over before he signs a possible fifth Englishman in the summer'"

It's that time of the season again to examine "what next?" for the clubs that came so close this time round. In the mix for assessment will be perennial runners-up in the Premier League's Big Four, namely Arsenal and Liverpool.

With the expectation that Manchester United and Chelsea will be the destination of choice for Europe’s finest - and with both clubs having the necessary endless ammunition in terms of money to get the prizes - it seems both Arsenal and Liverpool will be chasing for the best-of-the-rest.

Cynics will argue that Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger’s stubbornness will prevent him from strengthening his squad with the experience they desperately need. But the likelihood that both Aleksandr Hleb and Mathieu Flamini will leave for greener pastures, coupled with a change of managing director implying a change on mindset at the very top level, may suggest otherwise.

There will be space in the Arsenal starting 11 come next season and the board may demand Arsene fill them with players who can actually deliver instead of players who merely promise (but in vain) to deliver.
So whom will both Liverpool’s Rafa Benitez and Wenger hope to land?

Between the posts, both clubs need fresh blood. Neither Arsenal’s Manuel Almunia nor Liverpool’s Pepe Reina are sufficiently good enough to stand alongside their respective clubs’ goalkeeping legends. Liverpool may bide their time for the return of Scott Carson, but Arsenal (post Jens Lehmann) should do better than Lukasz Fabianski. Maybe it’s time Arsene reconsiders Robert Green.

It’s no secret that Rafa will need to dismantle his entire back four and replace them. Arsene, on the other hand, should look for a replacement for either William Gallas or Kolo Toure – both of whom are very able defenders but have proven incapable of playing together.

In a perfect world, Jamie Carragher would be swapped with William Gallas, with Wayne Bridge and Rafinha brought in to supplement Daniel Agger and Martin Skrtel. That would solve both clubs’ problems – except cynics would argue Arsene would never hire someone who is "middle-aged" and English.

In midfield, Arsenal desperately need cover for Flamini - and Gilberto surely is not it. In the one area that let his team down badly this term because of over-exposure and fatigue, Arsene should have learnt that he needs a lot more depth to sustain a title challenge over the course of a season.

Allowing Lassana Diarra to leave may have been a mistake but now not pursuing Diarra - Mahamadou Diarra, that is – would be an even bigger one. The difference between a good holding midfield player like Mahamadou
compared with a hardworking one like Flamini is that whereas the latter gives more ‘oomph’ and ‘buzz’ to a midfield, the former actually is more effective when it comes to establishing solidity and confidence to the team as a whole.

Watching Mahamadou Diarra play may be boring in the extreme because he plays with utmost efficiency and does only the very simple things. But he does them so well that is on the verge of winning his sixth consecutive league title (four with Lyon, one confirmed and one surely to come with Real Madrid). No Big Four player can boast a sequence like that.

Alternatives include Gareth Barry, whom Aston Villa will have much trouble holding on to. The England star would be perfect for the Arsenal midfield if only because he is left-footed, and Arsenal desperately need someone with his class. But alas, Barry is ‘middle-aged’ and English, which puts him out of periscope range of Wenger.

This will surely signal Rafa to recruit him to supplement an under-whelming Liverpool midfield. This is the same midfield that should (finally) see the departure of Harry Kewell and John Arne Riise. Besides which, it is in the interest of Fabio Capello to see Barry and Steven Gerrard play together as an alternative for Owen Hargreaves and Michael Carrick.

In addition, Liverpool will need to finally settle who plays on the right. Jermaine Pennant and Yossi Benayoun are not starters and may be disposed of in the summer. This means a place for Ryan Babel and perhaps David Bentley. Arsenal should also consider their options on the wing. With Abou Diaby not up to scratch and Tomas Rosicky scheduled to spend some part of next season on the treatment table, Arsene should look to back-up Emmanuel Eboue and Theo Walcott. In the same vein as Villa not being able to hold on to Barry, I would love to see Gabby Agbonlahor on one wing and Theo on the other for both club and country.

On the striking front, it was obvious to see that Arsenal’s lack of strikers cost them the season. With Eduardo a long-term injury victim and Robin van Persie likely to spend some time on the treatment table again next season, Arsene needs someone other than the unreliable Nicklas Bendtner and the over-relied-on Emmanuel Adebayor to supplement the team’s attacks.

With Manchester United targeting just about every able-bodied striker in the summer, there will be slim pickings for both Arsene and Rafa, the latter also needing to supplement Fernando Torres in attack. Benitez clearly has no faith in Peter Crouch and I would have suggested Arsene pick up the lanky striker - but hell would freeze over before he signs a possible fifth Englishman in the summer.

David Villa has expressed an interest in joining Arsenal but more likely he will be picked up by Benitez and score against the Gunners in crucial games just like every ex-Arsenal target who has joined the Reds has done. Klaas-Jan Huntelaar will be another likely target but he plays in too similar a vein to Torres, and Rafa wouldn’t compromise the confidence of his main goal-threat.

To add a side note, in the wake of Barcelona’s disintegration this season and the likely departure of Frank Rijkaard leading to an exodus of players, both Wenger and Benitez should cast a keen eye over whom they may be able to persuade to join their respective clubs.

Sure, half of Europe will be circling for the likes of Xavi, Andres Iniesta, Samuel Eto’o, Leo Messi, Bojan Krkic and, of course, Ronaldinho. But I’m sure some of them will want the challenge – and the media attention – of the English game.

Comments (26)

by deboy on May 04, 2008

Ideally Liverpool need to buy players to cover weaknesses especially out wide and the need for a quality 2nd and 3rd striker Lahm and Bentley would be handy along with Dos Santos and Agbonlahor get rid of riise kewell voronin Crouch Pennant and Benayoun and Guthrie to pay for some of this.