Okay, I know Diaby is currently fit & Wenger seems to be reluctant to bring in another physically imposing player but let’s for a minute imagine we could get someone in to play in the middle of the park who will give us a serious presence in midfield. We know that Wenger has cooled his interest in M’Vila due to the players discipline problems and interest in Sissoko never went too far as the player ended up at Newcastle. Other names were mentioned but it seems that no concrete enquiries were ever made. As a result we need to turn our attention elsewhere in our search.

What do we want from this midfield Juggernaut?

Size – Considering the fact that the rest of our midfielders stand at about 5’9 or 5’5 in Santi’s case we will look for a bit of stature from our DM. I have my eye on a 6’4 lad built like a tank.

Experience – In the last couple of seasons we have seen a slight shift in the transfer policies of the club as the Boss has brought in more experience to augment the youngsters around the club. We ideally want a players in his mid twenties who has at least 6 years top flight experience.

Ability – Our passing and possession game necessitates the need for all our midfielders to be technically proficient, no Lee Cattermoles will wear the red and white of the Arse. We need a player who is comfortable on the ball and happy to pass it around, perhaps a player who was a striker in his youth.

Availability – It’s all well and good looking to sign a Vidal or Yaya Toure but the reality is that signing will not happen. We need someone who we can get and more importantly for me, really wants to play for the club.

Adaptability – there is no point in signing someone who will take a season or so to assimilate himself into the club. A player used to the pace of the Premier League and knows the language would be ideal.

The player I’m thinking of would be available to join the club for free in the summer and would instantly be at home at the Grove. For my money our next DM should be…. Johan Djourou. Before the Swiss man gets dismissed by everyone and I’m derided as an idiot who shouldn’t be blogging or writing about Arsenal let me bring you back a couple of seasons.

Everyones’ new favourite Verminator is out injured and things are not looking good. Our defence is going through our usual shaky patch were we are accident prone and conceding goals that infuriate fans. In steps Johan Djourou  after missing a large chunk of the previous season through injury. The defence is looking more solid and we manage to go through January without conceding a goal. He later gains another injury and misses the last few months of the season.

Last season he sees less minutes due to the arrival of the BFG and frankly brilliant displays of Kozza. He is played out of position and is ripped to shreds by Nani and Arsenal fans lose faith and we don’t really see him again for the season.

This year he didn’t really feature before moving to Hannover 96 on loan in January. The key part of that deal was the lack of the option to buy for the German club. This suggests that Wenger still feels Djourou has a role to play at the club.

So Johan will arrive back in the summer to a manager who has a history of converting wingers to strikers and wingers to full backs. Can he do it again to good effect moving a centre half to a midfielder, a role he was playing in when signed as a youngster by the club? We know Djourou is comfortable on the ball and anyone who has watched him bring the ball out of the defence know he possesses a decent turn of pace. Add his status as a homegrown player and he becomes a more attractive option. The player himself declared that he wanted a midfield role in the summer after Flamini moved to AC Milan. Perhaps next season he will get his chance.

I was possibly one of the few people who was disapointed to see Johan leave the club in the January. He really seems to want to play for the team and much like Szcz has essentially grown up at the Arsenal. I hope if we do retain his services then he goes on to play a big role at the club.

We have Blackburn away at the weekend, game preview to follow.

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