No. It would hurt us a lot to lose Cesc. His main job is to control the midfield and control our play up and down the field. He does that exceptionally well. Messi is utilized on the wing for Barca so he is really more comparable at the moment to Rosicky or Walcott. Though Messi is better than both of them, I think we will be fine with Walcott for the future. Plus, Messi would cost an absolute fortune. Eto'o though, is the one player I hope we get this summer. His pace is incredible, he can pass (his ball to Messi was "magical", as was his one-two with Ronaldinho) and he can score. He just seems to me like a player that would fit right in at Arsenal.
This is just me, but I think Denilson would be an adequite replacement for Cesc. He's not as good, but TBH i'd take a finisher over an anchor. Total pipedream, though.
In the few games without Cesc this season, our play has been remarkably sloppy. We shouldn't have to rely on him for finishing, we will hopefully have all our strikers plus Rosicky and the other wingers to score goals. Also, the most likely situation in the future is for Denilson to simply play alongside Cesc when Gilberto leaves.
It's definitely going to be an interesting summer. If both Barcelona and Real Madrid go trophyless this season, they will be desperate for big name signings. And they'll be coming after our players, with Cesc and Henry at the top of their lists. If a bidding war breaks out, i wouldn't be surprised to see any player sold off.
mmm? .....I have absolute faith in Adebayor..as a striker. If you're thinking of him as an out and out winger...who is he gonna cross the ball to when he makes a fast break with a stride that long..?? Wouldn't it be better if we had a winger that, once in a while, could cross to a forward that has outpaced the defences CM's ? Even though Adebayor finds himself offside more often than not, I'd rather see him hurtling toward the box ... he would be served well by a forward thinking winger, rather than the constant wasting of almost every cross that we seem to be making at the moment. (IMO)
Oh and P.S.....Yoss, I have just come up with a new title thread ! We could call it...... "The Trans-fer Thread"