I am sticking with the publicized transfer kitty of £30million, although it’s likely to include wages, so maybe I’ll knock it down to £20million.

For your information, http://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/en/?from=top_navi is a wonderful site to use as a reference for player valuations.

Goalkeepers
Szczesny, Fabianski, Almunia, Mannone, O’shea

I would look to sell Almunia (value: £2.6m) and I would probably accept around £2m to see him depart. I don’t think I would look to buy a keeper this summer, maybe Stekelenburg from Ajax (value: £10m), but I just think my club has bigger needs right now, and want to see if Szczesny and Fabianski can build off Promising seasons.

Central Defenders
Vermaelen, Koscielny, Djourou, Squillaci, Miguel, Bartley

Squillaci is sold ASAP. His valuation is listed at £5m, but I would accept substantially less to offload his contract. For the purposes of this post, let’s say £3 million. Miguel would be loaned out, to either a Championship or Spanish side. Bartley would get a chance in preseason and possibly some early cup matches to prove himself, but would likely be sent on loan. In the transfer market, I would sign Samba (value: £6.6m but will likely cost £10m) and Sakho, who will likely cost around £18-20m.

Fullbacks
Sagna, Eboue, Clichy, Traore, Gibbs, Jenkinson

I have included Jenkinson because he has already been purchased. I would keep Sagna and likely Eboue, I just think Eboue can play in to many places on the field, he is a useful utility player. I would sell Clichy, who wants to leave hopefully for a fee of around £7.5m. I would make no signings here, because between Gibbs, Traore and Eboue, I believe someone will step up and fill the role. Preseason will determine which player that is, and will also determine whether Jenkinson goes on loan or not. Also, I believe Vermaelen and possibly Koscielny could fill the Left back role as well, as can Sakho. “Left-back by committee” is a real possibility.

Midfielders
Song, Fabregas, Denilson, Diaby, Wilshere, Ramsey, Rosicky, Frimpong, Coquelin, Lansbury

Frimpong and Coquelin will fight it out in preseason to provide cover for Song, the loser will be sent on loan. Fabregas (£40m), Denilson (£4m), Diaby (£6m) and Rosicky (£5m) will depart. I will sign Gökhan Inler from Udinese (£14m) and Marvin Martin from Sochaux (£10m). I will be expecting that Ramsey and Lansbury are ready to contribute to the first team this year.

Forwards
Van Persie, Bendtner, Chamakh, Arshavin, Nasri, Walcott, Vela, JET

Sell Bendtner (£10m he says), loan out JET, and give Vela a good run in the preseason to see if he is worth it, if he isn’t back on loan for him. Sign a proven striker to back as backup, Odemwingie (£6m) or maybe even Berbatov (valued at £24m but you know we could get him on the cheap) as a backup in case RVP or Walcott get hurt.

Budget

In~ £62m
Samba – £10m
Sakho – £20m
Inler – £15m
Martin – £10m
Odemwingie – £6m
Jenkinson – £1m

Out~ £70m
Fabregas – £35m
Bendtner – £8m
Denilson – £4m
Diaby – £6m
Rosicky – £5m
Squillaci – £3m
Almunia – £2m
Clichy – £7m

It’s remarkable now that I’m reading it, that Arsenal could theoretically fund my signings with my departures, without even dipping into the transfer pool. Use the transfer pool for the wage packages then.

Formation

I think Arsenal would flourish in a 4-3-1-2 formation. As I said above, Let Vermaelen, Sakho, Gibbs, Traore and Eboue fight it out to see wins the left back spot. For the sake of argument, let’s say that Vermaelen is on the left, and Sakho is in the middle. In this formation, the support of fullbacks on offense is not as important, as it’s not a formation based on putting a ton of crosses into the box.

Martin and Wilshere in the midfield act as a catalyst for the attack, add width to the formation when necessary. Martin tends toward attack, while Wilshere stays in more of a box-to-box role. Song acts as holding midfielder. RVP plays deeper than Walcott but ahead of Nasri, who acts as a lynchpin for the attack, he is one of the main playmakers in this formation, scoring goals and creating them as well. Walcott plays shoulder-to-shoulder with the center backs, and provides pace. Counter-attacking football is the name of the game, but this formation works well in possession also.

The Rest

Fabianski
Mannone
Djourou
Koscielny
Eboue
Gibbs
Traore
Inler
Ramsey
Lansbury
Frimpong
Chamakh
Arshavin
Odemwingie

Most players on that list can fill several different positions effectively.