New Centre Back Pairing Next Season?

There is continued speculation over William Gallas' future as his contract expires on the 30th June. Arsene Wenger claims he is in talks over a new deal with the Frenchman, but as an outsider looking in, no progress seems to have been made. Arsene Wenger has a strict policy over players over 30 years of age, the same policy that has made us lose players such as Pires and Gilberto. William Gallas has played 142 games for Arsenal scoring 17 goals. This season William and Thomas Vermaelen have formed a decent pairing in defence, despite conceding 39 goals in the league this season. However I feel very comfortable with Gallas and Vermaelen sitting in the heart of our defence, and it should be a partnership that continues through to next season.

Since William Gallas came to the club as part of a swap deal with Chelsea for Ashley Cole in 2006, William has had a somewhat roller coaster ride at the club. However despite the tantrums and silly mistakes, William has been a very solid defender on the whole, and for the first half of this season proved to be in great form. Since losing the captaincy Gallas has stepped his game up this season, it looks like he has had a weight removed from his shoulders and he can just play football, which is what he loves to do. William is a player we need to keep around the club, he gives us great experience, a drive to win games and a winning mentality that at sometimes this season has been missing throughout the club.

If we were to lose William, we would be left very bare at centre back. Despite Johan Djourou coming back to fitness which is a great boost, we are still left with hardly any cover. Of course we have Sol Campbell, but even he is not 100% certain to be here next year. We have Silvestre and then Senderos, who is another one who's future at the club is far from clear, and then u start looking at the youngsters such as Kyle Bartley and Harvard Nordveit. Out of the names just mentioned, none of them hardly fill you with profound confidence to partner Thomas Vermaelen at the heart of a problem stricken defensive team. If Gallas were to go we would definitely have to go in to the market for a Centre Back. We have been linked with PSG captain Mamadou Sakho in the past, at just 20 years of age he is a great prospect, but do we really need another player who is set to blossom in a few years? What we would need is a starting centre back. Of course these players don't come cheap and aren't exactly easy to find. There has been continued speculation of bringing Brede Hangelaand to the club, which in my eyes would be an absolutely fantastic signing. Names such as Kamil Zayatte, Neven Subotic and Steven Jones have also been thrown in to the mix.

However before we put the cart before the horse, we mustn't get ahead of ourselves, I personally would love William to stay and I hope he does, he shows a lot of passion on the pitch, and clearly enjoys wearing the Arsenal shirt, but if he was to leave then we must sign someone to not only replace him but to form a partnership with Vermaelen in defence.

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