A glimpse into Arsenal's future?

Article by e-Arsenal Correspondent Kingsley Okiwelu

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There’s been very little for those of an Arsenal persuasion to enthuse about over the past few days. Of course the glow from the FA cup triumph, still subsists but the realisation that the season is over seems to have finally hit home. Pre season is still more than 2 months away, and even though there is the small matter of a World Cup over the summer to keep things ticking over until the serious business of the new season returns, life without the rough and tumble of the premiership is still difficult to cope with.

It was interesting to watch France’s friendly game against Norway on Tuesday evening though, mainly because of the number of players on show with an Arsenal, or potential Arsenal connection. Antoine Griezeman has been mentioned over the past few weeks as a possible transfer target, so the opportunity to catch a proper glimpse of the French attacker was not one to be passed up. He played well in fits and starts here, but there was nothing really to set the pulse racing during his 65-odd minutes on the pitch. Operating in the “hole”, behind Giroud he was neat and tidy in possession and made some intelligent off-the-ball runs, but the overriding impression was that he is not quite the sort of eye-catching acquisition that may significantly improve Arsenal’s squad next season. Considering I’ve only watched him a couple of times, I may be going out on a limb in so quickly dismissing his would-be impact, but taking into account our more pressing needs up front and in defensive midfield, we may be better served by concentrating our resources on signing players who would be more likely to step in and immediately plug some of the glaring gaps that we currently have in the squad.

One player, who seems capable of more than meeting those exacting requirements, is Loïc Remy. His appearance here as a second half substitute immediately enlivened proceedings and it was interesting to see how he looked a much more impressive player, playing with more quality around him than he usually does in a Newcastle shirt. I’ve previously suggested that I would love to see him play for Arsenal, and on this evidence, there was nothing to make me change my mind. His pace against the Norwegians was nothing short of electrifying and that combined with his calm finishing and ability to also operate from the flanks seems to suggest that he will tick quite a few boxes if he is recruited for Arsenal this summer.

It also means there is less chance of the possible clash of personalities that a Benzema signing may engender. Indeed, in this game, Remy and Giroud showed some good understanding and it was intriguing to picture them both replicating this partnership for Arsenal. Remy’s remit was mostly on the left side of Didier Deschamps 4-2-3-1 midfield, but he showed that he could dovetail brilliantly with Giroud, making some intelligent runs ahead of the Arsenal striker, one of which resulted in his sprint and calm finish for the third goal scored by Les Bleus.

For his own part Giroud, continued to show that he has the makings of a truly top class striker with his two brilliantly taken goals. One of his admirable attributes seems to be the ability to turn up with a big performance whenever the questions over his ability seem to be at their loudest, and given his considerable improvement this term, it may be too much of a risk to relegate him to a support-cast role next season.

The next few weeks will no doubt provide more illumination concerning possible striker targets. But on the basis of the glimpses we saw yesterday, signing Remy may very well turn out to be an excellent bit of business.

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