At 11pm on 2nd September, the transfer window will slam shut, and most teams will be left happy with the deals that they have done. After that, the focus will be on the rest of the premier League season... until January.
The good news is that Arsenal have signed a second player of the window, the bad news is that he is a 29-year-old who is re-signing for us having played from 2004-2008. Mathieu Flamini will join on a free transfer after AC Milan let the Frenchman go, and will earn £30k a week at the Emirates.
However now here is real concern that Arsenal will fail to tie up any ‘real’ deals this summer, having failed to dip into the reported £70million kitty available.
Long season ahead
As the injury list grows with the addition of Vermaelen, Wilshere, Ramsey, Podolski and Oxlade-Chamberlain, it looks as if Arsenal’s current paper thin squad might have to go the season alone.
They could be in for a long one after the Gunners were handed a NIGHTMARE Champions League draw, facing last year’s runners up Borussia Dortmund, Rafa Benitez’s free-spending Napoli – complete with Gonzalo Higuain – and huge French side Marseille.
Wenger is reportedly still keeping tabs on Mesut Ozil and Angel di Maria at Real Madrid, in the hope that they will be forced out by Gareth Bale despite both players confirming they are happy in Spain. Any pursuit for Newcastle’s Yohan Cabaye seems to be off as the French midfielder trained with them this week and is in line to start against Fulham.
The Mirror are reporting that other options include former Chelsea man Saloman Kalou now of Lille and Manchester United’s Luis Nani, however they say no deals are close.
Believe in Arsene
Yet I am still a firm believer in Wenger’s philosophy. The majority of fans have grown tired of his ways and some are calling for him to be sacked, but we have to remember that Wenger knows the game as well as anybody in modern football today.
“The Professor” can play the technical game as well as any of the great managers, and if there’s one thing for sure he’s not stupid. He knows very well that if he does not reinvest then problems will follow and I’m fairly sure he’ll bring a couple of players in.
They could be described as “panic buys” – similar to those of Per Mertesacker and Mikel Arteta in the years back, however these two have now become lynchpins in the Arsenal mechanism.
Strategic panic buys or not, Wenger will buy soon.
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