In, Out, In Out, Change it all about - Arsenal Hokey Cokey,

Morning Gooners,



2010/11 is finally over and soon may it be forgotten.

As soon as the game finished at Craven Cottage and Wenger could finally say goodbye to the end of an awful second half of the season and start to think of the future. Arsene Wenger knows that many of his squad are just not good enough and changes in his playing squad have now become inevitably necessary.

The following are my thoughts on what could happen during the summer and to some extent what I think must happen. I have no secret evidence or inside sources, I am simply putting together what I have seen, read or heard together and sharing my opinion on them.

I'll break it down into positions:

GOALKEEPERS:

OUT
Almunia surely has played his last game for the club. The hardest thing for Arsene will be finding a club to take him. I'd expect to see Vito Mannone go out on loan again too, hopefully to a Premiership side but more likely to the Championship again.

IN
This all depends on Jens Lemahnn. If Mental Lemon stays on for another year, which I think he may well do - albeit in a player/coach role - I don't think we will sign another keeper. If Jens either leaves or moves into a completely coaching role then I would expect Wenger to bring in a third keeper but he will be just that, a THIRD keeper. Szczesny and Fabianski will start the season as our number 1 and 2.

DEFENDERS:

OUT
The biggest name likely to find himself a casualty here is Gael Clichy. With his contract quickly running out, if the king of interception does not sign a new contract quickly he could find himself on the way out. A number of clubs have reported their interest including Real Madrid and Liverpool but reports are suggesting that a deal with Inter Milan is very close and could be agreed within the next couple of weeks.

Eboue could/should be following him. He has proven himself a liability for a title chasing team and his mistakes cannot be afforded next year.

The only other defender that could possibly feel the axe is Squillaci. His failure this year is not completely his fault. Squillaci is our fourth choice CB, TV, Djourou and Kos are all ahead of him in the pecking order and I don't think Wenger expected to have to play him as often as he has.

IN
This will be dependent on who (if anyone) leaves. I invite you to argue but in my opinion we do not need a big name centre back. I have always said you need three decent CB's and an 'OK if needed CB'. I will be happy going into next season with TV, Djourou and Koscielny as our main defenders with Squillaci's replacement as fourth choice.

A big shout for our fourth CB is Mamadou Sakho. Currently playing in France for PSG, Sakho has just been named France's young player of the year. Wenger has monitored his progress for a few years an he would be able to push Kos and Djourou to improve while fighting to partner Vermaelen. Some parties are saying a deal has been done already and will be announced after PSG play in the Emirates cup but I doubt that although PSG's inclusion could be an opportunity for bigwigs to thrash out a deal while everyone is in London.

If Clichy parts company with Arsenal then Wenger will have to look for a top left back. Kieran Gibbs is a very good back up but he is not yet ready to be our first choice. If you look at our rivals, their left backs are Evra and Cashly, we need someone of that calibre, nothing short. The fans choice seems to be Everton's Leighton Baines and I would be very happy with that but he will be very expensive, more than that though there has been no talk among channels that are worth listening to about there being any real interest.

We have already agreed a deal to bring full back Carl Jenkinson in from Charlton for around £1m.

MIDFIELD:

OUT
Denilson has made his position with the club very clear. He wants out. He has said that he has spoken with Arsene Wenger who has agreed to let him go this summer. I think this will be done quite early and I don't think it will be for a large fee, Wenger has a habit of feeling sorry for players and making it as easy as possible for players to move on.

Rosicky is another favourite to leave Ashburton Grove but I'm worried that if we let too many people go then we will be leaving our squad very light in the case of an inevitable injury.

I also suppose there is the little matter of Cesc Fabregas potentially popping off to Spain and playing the rest of his career in a Barcelona shirt. If I had to make an educated guess, I feel Cesc will still be with us next year. His actions towards the end of the season are not those of someone expecting to leave and his love for our club is real, however saying that, if Barca come in with a big bid and we accept, Cesc will take his chance to play for his boyhood club and if he does he should go with the supporters thanks for what he has done for our club during the time he's been here.

For those of you who are desperately wanting Diaby to be among those leaving, don't hold your breath. Diaby is a favourite with Wenger and although I will only whisper this very, very quietly, I actually think Diaby will be a player that grows into a consistent talent for us next year as players like Flamini and Song have done for us in the past.

IN
If Fabregas leaves a replacement will need to be found and although this is cheating, Nasri will come in to that central role and as we saw at the start of this season, he will make it his own.

Eden Hazard has been linked very heavily with a move this year however, after comments on Monday it seems very unlikely that he will move this year so we will have to wait for him. Hazard's Team mate Gervinho on the other hands looks more and more likely as a target. Wenger has expressed admiration for him in the past, he's young, has bags of skill and flair and as he's about to fall into the last year of his contract so he'll be available for around £9m which for his talent is very cheap. The downfall of any possible deal is that Man City seem to be interested too and if it becomes a bidding war, we will lose miserably.

A likely looking deal is a move for Ricardo Alvarez who currently plays for Velez Sarsfield in Argentina. Alvarez is 6'3", well built, pacey and has a great shot on him. I saw first reports on Friday evening that a deal has been done and he will be announced as our first summer signing in the coming weeks but as always, don't believe anything until it's formally announced by Arsenal.

One area we definitely need to fill is the defensive midfielder role. Alex Song has been excellent on the whole this season but lately he has started to play like a man who knows he will not be replaced. In our current squad if Song is fit, he plays despite form and he knows it. Scott Parker seems to be favourite for this role and with the Hammer's relegation his price will have dropped and he would add much needed experience to our squad as well as a winner's attitude which could easily spread into our current players.

FORWARDS

OUT
We have an obvious excess of strikers at our club and they cannot all play. Nik Bendtner's father has come out and said that his son is "100% open" to finding a new club. Personally I think he will go, I also think that wherever he goes he will clear 15 goals next year. Bendtner is a very good player but does not fit our style of play and despite Wenger's best efforts is not a winger.

Carlos Vela has had chance after chance so turn his promise into performances but has failed. If a striker cannot get into the starting line-up at West Brom, how can he expect to start for a team challenging for titles and trophies? If someone comes in with an offer, he will go.

IN
Two questions need to be asked. What formation will we be playing? If we stick with our current formation then we do not need to over invest. RVP and Chamakh can battle for that solo spot up front with possibly a youngster as backup. If we are playing 4-4-2 then we will need another 'proper' striker who can pick up 20 goals a season. RVP can play the role in the hole fantastically but will need an out and out striker to help him and there lies the second question, is Chamakh that man? If he can rediscover his early season form and maintain it then hell yeah, he's the man and we will need to bring someone in to come off the bench when needed. If not then we need a new striker to partner RVP while using Chamakh as our effective super sub. Theo could well make the move into the centre next year but we will have to wait and see.

The biggest named linked with a move in is Karim Benzema. I just don't see this happening, he will cost £25m and despite Wenger admitting that he needs to spend, but such a big chunk of change being spent on one player when he clearly needs 3 or 4 brought in is unlikely. If this happens at all, it will be a deadline day special.

So, there we go. I obviously haven't covered every player that has been linked with us but I have tried to cover those that seem to have some realism to them.

I expect a busy summer from Wenger but it will still be adjustment rather than major surgery. Wenger has spent so long building this Arsenal squad that to suddenly destroy it by changing half of it would be madness. We would spend another two years in transition as our new players melded with the old ones so we would be no better off.

In my opinion we do not need an influx of big name signings, we need maybe 3 players brought in who are 27 years old or over and have experience of winning things. Players who can come on if we concede a goal while winning a tight game and calm others down and help us see the game out. Players such as Giggs (Oops, forgot I'm not allowed to mention his name) for Man Utd or Vieira for City.

Who would you guys like to see come in (Be realistic now, it's not Football Manager)

Lets hope Wenger acts quickly, a summer of rumour and waiting for something to happen will not be fun and will frustrate the hell out of many Gooners.

Till Next Time,
Goonerfish.