Portugal and Brazil are boring the arse off me so I have decided to focus closer to home.

The Arsenal squad has been worrying me for a while. If you go through the squad by position you can see areas of weakness. The real problem is the squad is deep in numbers but class is a different question. Arsenal have a number of players who are not good enough to be starting for a top four club but too good to rot on the bench (the likes of Denilson, Traore, Vela, et al). It is difficult to know what to do with them, loaning is the best idea but it means they are not trained into the Wenger system.

Goalkeepers
Obvious weaknesses, Almunia and Flapianski are weak and error prone keepers. Realistically They both need to go. Szczesny looks like one for the future but cannot be considered as next seasons starter. Vito looks like he cannot be trusted as the first choice of keeper. Therefore a keeper needs to be signed.


1, -VACANT-
2, Szczesny
3, Vito
4, Almunia*
5, Flapianski*


Leftback
With Gibbs hopefully returning from injury there will be a lot of pressure on Clichy for a first team start. Clichy is error prone but offers a real option between the boxes - provided he doesn't have to cross! Sadly Armand Traore is not close to Premiership standard.


1, Clichy (just)
2, Gibbs
3, Traore*


Rightback
Sagna for me was poor last season, he is not a rock defensively and his forward play is embarrassingly poor, he couldn't hit an army of Bendtners attacking a cross. I think Eboue has done enough to deserve a first team spot because of his high work rate and dedication, coming back from the booing showed real determination. We do need another player to give us adequate cover in this particular area.


1, Eboue
2, Sagna
3, -VACANT-


Centreback
TV5 is the obvious number one DC but that is partly because he is the only real option. We haven't seen Djourou for a year but I think he and TV5 could be a good match because they are both athletic and Djourou offers some real height and power. I hope Campbell signs a new contract because his positioning is perfect and he is an Arsenal legend.
Bartley is not experienced enough and he is 4th choice. We need to sign 2 DCs, Koscielny looks nailed on and then one more.

1, Vermaelen
2, -VACANT-
3, Djourou
4, -VACANT- (Campbell)
5, Bartley


Defensive Mid/Holding Role
Song seems to have made this position his own but he is the only real option for it. Diaby doesn't seem to really fit there and Denilson has been shocking all season. I give him one more season to prove himself as a player. He has captained Brazil in pretty much every age group and I see no reason why he shouldn't be a good player. and Eastmond is a long way down the pecking order.

1, Song
2, -VACANT-
3, Diaby
4, Denilson

The rest will come soon.