Happy Monday
everybody, hope you all had an enjoyable weekend and were very satisfied with
our 3-1 over Manchester City in Helsinki. On top of watching that, I’ve spent
my weekend covering French football and intoxicated on a boat and in a
greenhouse (don’t ask).

But anyway, this is my final blog for a fortnight as I’m
jetting off to Malia with the lads for a week on Tuesday (how awful of me) so
let’s make it an uplifting one and it doesn’t get much better than a new
signing.

Not that we have made one yet, but if you are to believe
reports, then Arsenal are supposedly close to securing the signing of Bayern
Munich’s defensive midfielder Luiz Gustavo. Having only signed Yaya Sanogo on a
free (bar a compensation fee) from Auxerre, the addition of Gustavo would be
more than welcome for most Gooners and would be a very pleasing move
considering the position he actually plays.

The Metro, the Mirror and the Daily Mail among others are
all reporting that we have agreed a fee with the champions of Europe for the
Brazilian, with the amount ranging from £14m-£18m. Whichever price you believe,
he would be a very good signing in my eyes.

But haven’t we heard it all before with these bullshit
rumours that are just created by arrogant press narks to get our hopes up and
then, knowing how sensitive Arsenal fans are when it comes to transfers, shoot
us down? The answer is yes, yes we have and boy has it happened enough this
summer already.

Of course the amount of talking us fans do about the issue
doesn’t help, but it’s not going to go away in a hurry.

So with that in mind, here are five reasons why signing Luiz
Gustavo makes sense.

Gunners Town Top 5: Reasons why Arsenal would sign Luiz Gustavo

5. Position

It’s no secret that our squad is worryingly low in the numbers
department, hell, even Arsene Wenger admitted that we are “a little bit thin”.
The players we have got rid of this summer have largely consisted of the
squad’s deadwood, with the likes of Andre Santos, Gervinho, Marouane Chamakh,
Sebastien Squillaci and Denilson among others all shown the exit door. We’ve
also done very well not to lose our best players again this summer but it is
about time we added.

We’re very thin, especially at the back, and with Thomas Vermaelen and
Nacho Monreal out injured and Igansi Miquel flogged off on loan to Leicester
City, we simply have to bring in some players.

Gustavo is naturally a defensive midfielder, in the Patrick Vieira
mould, and is the sort of player we have lacked in our side for a long time.
He’s very energetic and a bit of a brute but can also play some nice passing
football as well. He’d fit perfectly in our side, and also has the impressive
trait of versatility. Whether at centre-back or at full-back, Gustavo could do
a job in any defensive role for Arsenal, and given that we only have five
recognised first-team defenders available at the moment, would be a massive
problem solver.

4. Price

Like I mentioned earlier, whether it’s a £14m fee or an £18m fee (I
personally believe it to be the former) that we have allegedly agreed with
Bayern, it’s a bargain in the modern market, especially when you consider that
Manchester City paid £30m for Fernandinho. For a guy who has won what he has
with Munich, is an international regular and is entering his prime, the
aforementioned price is not much to ask at all.

Regardless of the transfer warchest that we have available, even a few
summers ago I could see this being the sort of deal that would entice Wenger. Gustavo
is very much a Wenger kind of buy due to his age, versatility and role in the team,
and his polite price tag does even more to spread a wry smile across Le Prof’s
face.

It could of course be complete rubbish, but at that price, you would
have to question why Arsenal wouldn’t be sniffing around for him.

3. World Cup Year

This could possibly be the biggest pulling point for Gustavo in choosing
to join Arsenal. He isn’t getting regular football in Germany, seeing as that
Bayern have gone out and recruited roughly 234,243,675,757,757,363+1
midfielders this summer. They have a phenomenal squad and any player would be
worried if they were up against Bastian Schweinsteiger, Toni Kroos,  Javi Martinez, Mario Gotze, Thiago Alcantara
and Thomas Muller among others for a place in the starting lineup.

Gustavo will be absolutely desperate to play for his country in a World
Cup hosted by his own nation next year, and the lure of frequent first-team
football at Arsenal could be enough to prise him away from Bayern in order to
bolster his chances of getting into the Brazil team.

Gustavo’s place in the Samba Stars side isn’t exactly set in stone, and
he could be forced to move away from the German giants to try to get the nod
from national boss Luiz Felipe Scolari.

2. Winning Mentality

There are two things that I like about Gustavo’s mentality. The first,
if true, being that he would turn down a move to Chelsea in order to secure a
switch. With Wolfsburg also thought to be keen on acquiring his services,
Gustavo making it clear that he wants a move to North London would instantly
get the fans behind him and give them the perception that the Brazilian wants
to be there.

Secondly, he has won five trophies since the beginning of 2012. With
Bayern, he has picked up the Champions League, the Bundesliga, the DFB-Pokal as
well as the DFL-Supercup. Throw on top of that a Confederations Cup victory
with Brazil in June, and it would appear that Gustavo clearly knows how to win
and be a part of a successful formula. And that’s one thing we need more of at
Arsenal; winners. He wouldn’t just come to make up the numbers, Gustavo’s
appetite for silverware has been heavily whetted following his tenure with
Bayern, and Wenger will be keen to utilise that to a devastating effect.

1. Peak

At the age of 26, Gustavo isn’t a kid and he isn’t over the
hill. He is an experienced international player of the highest pedigree who
still has his best years ahead of him, and a fair few of them to boot. They
tend to say that players hit their peak at the age of 27,28,29, so Arsenal
could be yet to see Gustavo at his best.

This is another factor to prove that the agreed fee that is
being touted about would represent brilliant value for money. Gustavo has the
potential to be permanent part of the Arsenal setup for a number of years to
come. Could he be the heir to Gilberto Silva? Who knows, we’ll have to wait and
see!

Please leave a comment or give me some feedback on
Twitter and let me know your views, I love to hear them.

And remember, never forget you’re a Gooner!

Matt Cotton

Follow @FindingCotton

Matt Cotton

Matt has been the editor of the site since June 2012 and was born into a Gooner family 21 years ago. He recently graduated from Southampton Solent University with a degree in Sports Journalism and strives to work in the Sports Media industry. As well as currently working as a reporter for Sports Mole and TIBS News, Matt has been providing football commentary for the visually impaired since 2008 at Arsenal, Exeter City and Wembley.

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His earliest Gunners memory is watching the ‘Boring, boring Arsenal’ VHS as a six-year-old on repeat, to the extent where he could recite most of the commentary from that season. Matt was lucky enough to witness Arsenal lift the Premier League in 2002 as well as being present during the last match at Highbury in 2006, and at Dennis Bergkamp’s testimonial a few months later at the Emirates Stadium. Matt’s favourite players include Bergkamp, Thierry Henry and Tony Adams, with the 5-3 comeback victory against Middlesbrough in 2004 the best match he has ever spectated.

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Matt is an optimistic ’In Wenger we trust’, kind of guy and believes that the glory days are not too far away…

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Apart from his editorial duties, Matt will also be bringing his Arsenal knowledge to a column called “Where Are They Now?” – which focuses on former Gunners.

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Follow @findingcotton