I hate to say it, but Tottenham Hotspur’s have a solid squad this season. Bale’s exit seems inevitable, but they have made some really smart acquisitions. These are top quality internationals that would match Arsenal’s starters and no doubt would’ve been good signings for Wenger’s side instead.
They are also reportedly close to bringing in Willian, a talented playmaker from Anzi who has been on the Gunners radar before. Meanwhile, Arsenal have yet to acquire a single senior signing with just 10 days remaining.
Some can argue that much will rest on Arsenal’s entry into the Champions League which took a giant leap forward thanks to their impressive 3-0 victory over Fenerbahce on Wednesday night, but there are signs that Wenger may not in fact drastically invest this summer as many had hoped.
Speaking after Arsenal’s win, the Frenchman said:
[on if he needs to bolster the midfield] Quality-wise we don’t need anybody but number-wise we are short as I told you yesterday. We lost Oxlade-Chamberlain, Arteta and Diaby – three international midfielders. That is why we are short. We tried to bring one in but we are working on that. You have to understand there is still a long way to go. The transfer market starts for me now and a lot of activity will happen between now and September 2. From August 21 until September 2 you have 12 days, so a lot will happen. It starts now.
[on if the Luis Suarez transfer is dead] Yes. Absolutely no chance of that.
I have to disagree with you there Wenger, the Gunners need a defensive midfielder to bolster the midfield. Arteta is not getting any younger and Diaby is just simply injury ravaged.
Up front also it is clear there are deficiencies, with Suarez’s deal dead, Rooney and Dzeko unlikely to join Arsenal, there are limited options that are actually better than our boy Giroud.
Even just numbers wise the squad is thin in almost all areas of the team, here is Arsenal’s transfer list so far this summer:
In
Yaya Sanogo (Auxerre – Free)
Out
Andrey Arshavin (Zenit St Petersberg)
Francis Coquelin (Freiburg – Loan)
Denilson (Sao Paulo)
Johan Djourou (Hamburg – Loan)
Craig Eastmond (Colchester United)
Kyle Ebecilio (Twente)
Vito Mannone (Sunderland)
Sebastien Squillaci Released
Sanchez Watt (Colchester United)
Jordan Wynter (Bristol City)
Jernade Meade (Swansea City)
Andre Santos (Flamengo)
Gervinho (Roma)
Marouane Chamakh (Crystal Palace)
Now let’s compare this with our north London rivals who have dived nicely into the market and have even bought THREE players that I would have loved to have seen at Emirates; Soldado, Paulinho and Capoue. Any of the trio would have been tidy acquisitions for Arsenal and would have improved our squad no question.
In
Paulinho (Corinthians)
Nacer Chadli (FC Twente)
Roberto Soldado (Valencia)
Etienne Capoue (Toulouse)
Out
Nathan Byrne (Swindon Town)
David Bentley Released
John Bostock Released
William Gallas Released
Steven Caulker (Cardiff City)
Clint Dempsey (Seattle Sounders)
Tom Huddlestone (Hull City)
Jake Livermore (Hull City)
The Spurs lost a couple midfielders and will highly likely lose their star man Bale this summer, but you cannot help but be jealous with some of their signings. They moved quickly and not begun their search on the 22nd August as Wenger claims. Now Arsenal are left with limited options in the market.
So who can we expect to sign? Rooney still remains a slight possibility. Arsenal’s England contingent provides an exciting challenge for the striker who is clearly not happy at United. The Red Devils will not sell him to Chelsea, and with PSG already spending a fortune on Cavani, there are limited options for the United talisman. But it is still an unlikely scenario.
So to be honest I struggle to see us signing a striker that is better than Giroud as much as it pains me to say. Benzema is unlikely to leave Madrid despite the latest reports, and we have been flirted with Falcao after recent gossip about Monaco’s financial situation. Michu again seems unlikely with Swansea aiming high this season.
In midfield Lars Bender, should be considered as a versatile option to help sure up the defence too. As for a goalkeeper, Wenger won’t be buying anyone no matter what we all say. In defence I’d like to say someone like Williams is a solid option but once again it just seems too unlikely. Teams in a position such as Swansea who are financially stable and have high hopes just won’t want to sell their top players this close to the end of the window. Wenger’s shot himself in the foot.
So unfortunately Spurs have beat Arsenal in something this summer – the transfer market.