How Arsenal Can Boost Their Warchest With A Few Budget Squad Signings - The Big Ones

The Big Signings

Strengthening the depth of the squad will only get us so far, probably as far as closing the gap to a chink but Arsenal need a couple of top level signings in order to create a gap of their own. So what do we need?

Defensive Midfielder

Everyone knows we need a strong midfielder able to protect the back-four as well as help set up attacks. He needs to be strong on the ball, tough but clean (Mathieu "Yellow Card" Flamini anyone?) in the challenge, comfortable in possession and possess great stamina. The obvious choice is Lars Bender but he will not come cheaply. Popular alternatives include Schneiderlin of Southampton but would he be much cheaper considering their position in the table and the history of English clubs selling to other English clubs at a premium?

Striker

Everyone knows we need a top class striker and anyone who has one A) won't be actively looking to sell B) will already want to get the best price possible C) will know they can overcharge us because 1) we need him 2) they know we have the money. So who are the targets?

Diego Costa - Looks set to shrug off the worries of "can he do it consistently" but his price will depend entirely on how the season finishes for Atletico. If they win a trophy or the double they won't want to let go of their prized striker and if they win nothing they will want to inflate his fee to justify the sale to their supporters as a way of rebuilding the team to challenge again.

Arsenal will have competition from Chelsea this summer and even with a release clause of £38m (which may not be in effect come buying time) he is quite a costly fellow.

Mario Balotelli - Crazy, capricious, a liability, madder than a box of frogs. Mario is all of these things but he is also an incredibly gifted player who with the right manager and fans (Mario needs to be loved) could be the worldie Arsenal are looking for. Young, strong, competitive, arrogant, lethal and with resale value. Could be a match made in heaven. Or hell. It could go either way but that's the risk you take.

Luis Suarez - Dead. This deal died a long time ago and has about as much of a chance of being resurrected as the singing careers of most of Hear'Say. But... if Liverpool are willing to sell, which they won't be, and Arsenal are willing to put up £100m then depsite the protestations of Rodgers it is not inconceivable to see JWH headlines proclaiming "They smoke the good stuff at the Emirates".

Should Sanogo go out on loan next season Arsenal may want to add another striker to the roster as well as the marquee signing and Loic Remy is a popular choice for many Arsenal supporters but it might be nice to see Joel Campbell given a spot having proven himself on loan.

The "bargain" suggestions are hardly the types of player people will want to see Arsenal sign but if we realisitically need at least 5 players and our budget is £100m then that gives us an average of £20m per position and the £100m includes fees and wages so it's not going to stretch that far. Do we want 5 "average" signings or 2 world-class ones? Are we suggesting Arsenal seriously look at the players mentioned? Yes and no. What we are suggesting is that even with a healthy transfer budget we are still going to need to spend carefully lest we come up short again next season. What a travesty it would be to get to March next season and say "Yeah we bought two great players in the summer but we've been decimated by injuries...AGAIN".

What do you think? Should Arsenal look at some cheaper squad alternatives to have more money to spend on the positions we need most desperately or should they go big on all positions? Leave us a comment with your thoughts and target list. Don't forget to download the free Fanzo app to follow the latest Arsenal news . 

Don't forget to like us on Facebook, add us to your G+ circle and follow us on Twitter.