Defense: Wenger has just announced that both Gibbs and Sagna will be back in January and we thus don't need a fullback. I'm less sanguine on this point. Gibbs is prone to injury and given the recent record of our medical staff, every injury gets more serious as time goes on. In fact, I read a blog about this a couple of months back and do think it's something the management should look into. From Van Persie to Santos to Wilshire to Vermaelen and Gibbs, we are constantly getting bad news that turns worse after injuries occur. And we have suffered them in droves this year and I wonder if something is going wrong in training or overuse that's causing the problem. In any case, I would at minimum pick up Vermaelen's best friend and versatile centre back Jan Vertonghen. While Santos is out we could then have him on the right or left, or move him into the center and move Vermaelen or Koscielny out. I also think there are still questions to be asked of Mertesacker and that another quality centre back would be a good pickup.
Midfield: while Wilshire will be back soon, Ramsey is still developing and Benayoun and Arteta have both brought experience to the position, I'm still not sure we shouldn't be looking for a creative youngster like Hazard or Goetze to bring in. Look what Mata has done for Chelsea; and if we weren't so cheap, we could have had him. I also think we have to make a decision on Coquelin and Frimpong. Are either of them ready to serve as a legitimate backup to Song, maybe even providing some competition to him so he stops with the careless back heels and suspect passing at times? Or should we send one or both out on loan? I think Frimpong should be sent out. He has great potential but is still raw and too aggressive in his tackling. A spell at another side (Aston Villa are rumoured to want him on loan) could be good for him and the squad. Coquelin I would keep, even as his last performance was subpar out of position, and start to give him some starts here and there. He has looked very good at times and could be a good backup. Song has become a stalwart in the middle, but some of his lovely service and his goal lead me to believe he could be pushed to be better. If M'Villa is available, I think we should snatch him up. We might lose Song in the shuffle, but it would make us a better team and he is still young. Song's main problem as far as I'm concerned is his inconsistency getting the ball forward and that has slowed down our attack a little too often for me. In any case, no need for a middling purchase here -- I think we should save our money to pick up someone who can be a big part of this club for the foreseeable future. Others in the mix are obviously Gourcuff (who seems off until the summer), Granero and a few others.
Forward: this is maybe our biggest need, particularly with the African Cup of Nations coming up. I think Podolski would be a great pickup and we should make the purchase. Chamakh is going, or should do so. Park appears unworthy to Wenger and didn't look great in his last effort. And that leaves only one legitimate central striker on the club. I do think we should give Chamberlain some starts over the next month, but with rumors that Arshavin might go (please oh please be true), who can play on the other wing? Certainly Benayoun has made an argument for that spot, if he's comfortable farther forward, but it does seem to me that that is a spot we could use cover on, not only while Gervinho is gone, but to play in cup ties and the like. I'd like to see Ryo get a shot, but he is currently still injured. Maybe Henry will play on one of the wings (I suppose this is actually likely) but he is obviously a short term solution.
In a general sense, Wenger seems to dislike extra competition for places, but as first Nasri and then Fabergas intimated, that lack might affect the motivation of players. You would like to think that guys being paid that much to play a game for a living would be sufficiently motivated no matter what, but it is true that fear of losing your starting place certainly adds a veneer of edge to any player. Think being a striker for Man City right now or a midfielder for Real Madrid, and the pressure to perform week in and out or end up as one of the best in the world on the bench. In any case, if we look at our best 11, there might still be room for improvement in some place. To take a crack at it.
Sczezency (could use a decent backup here)
Sagna Mertesacker (Koscienly) Vermaelen Santos (Gibbs)
Ramsey Song Arteta (Wilshire)
Walcott (Chamberlin?) Van Persie Gervinho
You can see one thing when looking at this list. Some starters of late might find competition for their spot -- paritcularly with the return of Wilshire and Sagna in the cards. The midfield looks like the most competitive area with Ramsey, Arteta, Wilshire and Benayoun fighting it out for two spots, or we switch to a 4-4-2 and have to figure out who sits on the bench in the front (probably Gervinho I'm guessing). So there could be questions raised in the coming months, but I think that is good news and I still do believe we need a high quality, creative midfielder and/or forward on the club to take the next leap forward; particularly if Ramsey doesn't start to show continued growth in the position. Depth is imperative, particularly in the physical Premiership, and I think it's a good time to keep building it -- as we would probably be comfortably in the top four if not for our lack thereof earlier in the season. In particular, the fact that I groan every time I see Arshavin and/or Chamakh warming up tells us we really need a central striker and winger that are at least adequate backups. I'm not sure if Chamberlain can play on the other side, but it would be interesting to find out. In any case, let's hope Santa does give us a few January treats to mull over.
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