The Confederations Cup officially gets underway tomorrow night with hosts Brazil entertaining Japan in the competition’s official curtain raiser. 8 nations will contest FIFA’s ninth official tournament with World Champions Spain, Mexico, Uruguay, Tahiti, Italy and Nigeria making up the full roster. All eyes will be on Brazil as hosts ahead of this precursor to the World Cup, amid concerns the country are unprepared to host next summer’s tournament. Much has been said and written over the last month about safety concerns surrounding Brazil’s Maracanã Stadium and yet that will be one of six venues to be used during the Confederations Cup. There will also be many a watchful eye on the players themselves, considering this competition is taking place during a transfer window, after all. This then is perhaps as good an opportunity as any for the stars to put themselves in the proverbial shop window as some of them attempt to engineer moves away from their current clubs. Manager Arsene Wenger has £70 million to spend this summer and he may well be doing a bit of window shopping over the next two weeks as he watches former club captain Cesc Fabregas compete for Spain. Has he got his eye on any other Confederations Cup stars? Pepe Reina is one of three goalkeepers named in Vicente del Bosque’s 23-man Confederations Cup squad and the Liverpool shot-stopper has been a long-term target for the Gunners. He almost swapped Anfield for Arsenal back in 2010 but the club’s former owners Hicks and Gillett blocked the move over concerns his sale would send out the wrong message to potential buyers. Since then he’s been continuously tipped for a move to the Emirates as the replacement for Wojciech Szczęsny, who has fallen out of favour under Arsene Wenger. Arsenal have been linked with a number of goalkeepers over the last few months with Stoke keeper Asmir Begovic and Simon Mignolet of Sunderland both reported transfer targets for the veteran French manager, along with Reina. And the Spaniard could be up for a new challenge having spent the last eight years on Merseyside. Keisuke Honda will be contesting this summer’s Confederations Cup with Japan and is another rumoured transfer target for Arsenal. The attacking midfielder is currently out of contract after leaving CSKA Moscow under a cloud and is free to sign for nothing this summer. The 27-year old has been tracked by both Liverpool and AC Milan while Arsenal have kept tabs in the past. The Gunners could use a new central midfielder considering they’ve never managed to replace Alex Song while Honda is the sort of “flair player” Arsenal fans love. He shares the same footballing principles as Wenger and can play as a second striker or a deep-lying playmaker as well as in an attacking midfield role, which would provide the Gunners with all sorts of offensive options. David Villa is another Spain star who is contesting the Confederations Cup this year as part of Vicente del Bosque’s squad and he more than anyone else on this list will be hoping to turn in a few good performances as he attempts to convince rival managers to rescue him from his Barcelona misery. The Spaniard attempted to engineer a move away from the Nou Camp back in January when Arsenal first came calling and despite telling the club he wanted to quit, he ended up staying put. But he looks almost certain to leave Catalonia within the next few months and remains on Wenger’s transfer wishlist. The World Cup and Champions League winner has won anything worth winning in football and his 14-year experience would be most welcomed at the Emirates. Though there are concerns over his age – he turns 32 in December – as well as his fitness – he missed virtually all of the 2011/12 season with a broken leg – there is no questioning his enduring eye for goal. Spain’s all-time record goalscorer, he netted 16 times last season and could help pick up at least some of the slack dropped by the departed Robin van Persie. Another Spain star contesting the Confederations Cup, ex-Arsenal skipper Cesc Fabregas has been linked with a return to North London this summer despite claims made by the midfielder himself that he’s going nowhere. That’s according to former Gunners vice-chairman David Dein at least, who remarked, when pressed on the possibility of Cesc’s return to the Premier League: “You can never say never in football.” Indeed, Fabregas himself recently described as “absurd” the very notion that he is about to quit Barcelona, his boyhood club, but then, stranger things have happened in football and there’s no doubting Wenger would love to be reunited with his former protégé. Fabregas was one of Arsenal’s most creative players throughout his eight-year stay in North London and created 100 assists for his teammates. After joining as a fresh-faced 16-year old in 2003, he was named as the successor to William Gallas as captain in 2008 and scored 57 times for the club. Edinson Cavani will be contesting the Confederations Cup for Óscar Tabárez’s Uruguay and the likes of Arsenal, Manchester City and Chelsea will all be keeping a watchful eye on the South American over the next two weeks as they line up bids for the in-demand star. Though City are favourites to land the Napoli ace, that hasn’t stopped Arsenal from entering the race and it’s not like Wenger is unable to afford his whopping £53 million release clause now that he has £70 million to lavish on transfers. The South American was in unstoppable form last season as he lashed home 29 Serie A goals and found the back of the net a further 38 times in 43 overall appearances for the Naples-based outfit. He is bound to be Uruguay’s star-of-the-tournament this year as well as a key player in next summer’s World Cup, but which club he will be plying his trade for by then remains to be seen. Will you be watching the Confederations Cup? Which players have you got your eye on?
Posted on: Fri, 14 Jun 2013 12:02:57 +0000
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