Balance part 2

Another Saturday, another frustrating 1-0 win. It was vital to get those points, otherwise Arsenal would have been 5 points behind Villa, and only 1 ahead of Everton. It's still a possibility that Arsenal might miss out on Europe altogether next season.
That's why I scratch my head slightly at the mooted signing of Arshavin. Granted he's an excellent player on his day, and we could do with an experienced, skilful winger (in the continuing absence of Rosicky), but is it the greatest need? The central midfield area is far more in need of attention, it seems to me. Denilson, Diaby and Song, three of the 'junior' pros in the taxonomy I suggested in my last blog, are not good enough to propel Arsenal into the Champions League places this year. I like Denilson as a neat and tidy player, but he reminds me a little of the Spurs player of the 90s, Vinnie Samways - who David Pleat (even) described as a player who liked to keep the ball on a string: I give it to you, you give it back to me. This kind of player gives you high possessions stats, but lacks penetration. And today, Arsenal had 75% possession, but just scraped a 1-0 win. I won't repeat what I said about Diaby and Song previously.
What Arsenal really need is to get Flamini back on loan, or to get Veloso on loan, to get a terrier-like midfield scrapper with high energy levels to inject some dynamism into the team. They need not be a world-beater; they need not be great technically; but they need to be the motor for the team. I would settle for a John Jensen at this stage, still less a Stefan Schwartz (not to mention Ray Parlour). Surely we can find a 25-year-old John Jensen-alike, or even a 32-year-old version? A big old unit like Everton's Fellaini would be perfect - where did they find him?
Failing that, perhaps Arsenal should think of getting someone like Paddy Vieira back on loan, to provide presence, leadership, a steady hand on the tiller. Even if his knees are knacked, could we get 15 games out of Vieira? It would allow Nasri to come into the middle of the park to add creativity, without making the midfield even more worryingly flimsy. My ideal for this role in the slightly less short-term would be Marc van Bommel for a season or two, but I don't think he wants to leave Bayern until the end of this season - too late.
The other thing about Arshavin is that he isn't really a winger, not like Cristiano Ronaldo or even Albert Rieira. Arshavin is a Number 10, what the Italians call a 'fantasista', a playmaker: and in the Arsenal squad, so are Rosicky, Nasri, Wilshere, Ramsey, possibly Diaby (he'd like to think so, as would Bendtner), Bischoff, Merida. Hleb was a Number 10. Arsene has collected them over the last few seasons, but hasn't even signed a proper wide midfielder (Pires), let alone an out-and out winger (Overmars). Walcott's really a forward who is learning his trade in wide areas. The current Arsenal squad is over-burdened with these attacking midfielders - we need some water-carriers to take up the load.