I keep hearing this phrase, it’s always said with a bit of desperation and always in conjunction with something about Arsenal getting more people in. It goes something like this, “Dudes, listen, everyone else has gotten better this year, Arsenal need to bring in some people or we aren’t going to win anything and I’m getting sick of it. COME ON WENGER BUY (Huntelaar, Alonso, Inler, Melo, etc).”
“Everyone else has gotten better?”
Ummm… No they have not. Name one team other than City, in the EPL, that has gotten better…
…
See, you can’t.
Man U: They were in the running for the sept-uple last year. Lost their two best players and replaced them with Michael “Balsa Legs” Owen. Strong core team, even if some of their players are old, still a threat but certainly have not “gotten better.”
Chelsea: The only thing they have signed is their 4th coach in as many years. Their money is no longer attractive even to their own players and so they have had a hard time keeping them much less signing a real impact player like Ribery. They are older, and judging from the pre-season, fatter, but certainly not “better.” If they lose John Terry to the £1m/month offer from Citeh they will be knocked out of the top 4.
Litterpool: They signed a £4m defender for £17m, but they look like they might lose both Mascherano and Alonso. Plus they have lost some of their experienced players and their best defenders looked old LAST YEAR. Not better.
Everton: Might lose Lescott to Citeh, which would make them much, much more vulnerable at the back, and this is a team built on defense. No… wait… they signed Jo. Well, if they keep Lescott then you could say they have gotten better.
Aston Villa: Lost their midfield general to a big money offer at Citeh, you know, “to further his career.” All their other players are also being linked to Citeh and elsewhere. I think they’ve gotten much worse, not better.
Arsenal: Shored up an important defensive position with the signing of Vermaelen, also are getting Eduardo and Rosicky back from long term injuries. Lost Adebayor, who was offside 40 times last year and clearly a distraction to supporters and players on the pitch and in the locker room. Plus, all of their “youngsters” have years of experience under their belt. Might still see Wenger buy a midfielder to partner with Cesc but even if he doesn’t, they have gotten much, much better.
So, that leaves just one other team who have actually “gotten better;” Manchester City. No argument from me, they will have an attractive attacking side with the strength and depth to challenge for a top four spot.
But that doesn’t mean that Arsenal are the ones who are threatened! You’re looking the wrong fucking way, mates. Don’t look down the table, that’s what shitheels like Ashley Cole do, look up the table. That’s where Arsenal are going to be this year, higher up the table.If the summer goes the way it has been so far, that is.
There’s still time for Roman Abramovich to get out his checkbook and pay £100m for Ribery. Or Liverpool to buy some more Spanish players.
But as it stands right now, Arsenal have done the best of the top four clubs this summer.
Enjoy it.
Goal.com, bad web site or worst web site ever?
A couple of weeks ago I got all incensed at Goal dot com for this series of turds they flushed down the inter-tubes which basically preyed on Arsenal supporters and our mania for summer transfer news and, hell, anything that questions our own team. It was a hatchet piece about how Wenger has “lost the plot,” followed by a “liveblog” where the author of the editorial took selected questions from “fans” and ripped Wenger and Arsenal even more. The gist of all of these articles was that Wenger needs to buy Toulalan but he won’t, so he’s got no ambition or some such. It was a bunch of jibberish that was designed solely to get Arsenal fans in a frenzy, and, evidently, we oblidged.
Then yesterday, as far as I can tell, they were the chief architects behind the whole “Eduardo is out for three months” bullshiat which has been squashed by the club both in writing and in video.
So, look, here’s the thing… I have long ago stopped clicking their links. I’m not going to tell you what to do, I mean, maybe you like having them play with your emotions for advertising dollars. But I will not link to that site, ever.
I’ve figured out the white kits!
Red… white… blue…
HA! It’s a tribute to America! AMIRIGHT?
(Gods they are ugly)
Tee shirts
As I said yesterday, the shirts are ready, the PayPal button is ready, the flat rate boxes are ready and I just need one last thing before I order shirts: I need to know how many and what sizes you all want? So far, 16 folks have said they want one, which is good but we can do better.
The cool thing about CustomInk.com is that the more you all order, the cheaper I can offer them. 30 shirts only run me $9 each and I can offer them to you all for a lot cheaper that way. Hell, shipping to Europe is more expensive than the shirts! Depending on the number of shirts you guys order, the final price (including shipping, which is $5-15) can be anywhere from $20-30 each.
So, what I need from you is just a message saying that you want a shirt and what size you’d like. Don’t worry about paying or any of that stuff right now, just email me (7amkickoff at gmail dot com) saying “I want one, male, XL” (or whatever size and gender you are) and I’ll add you to the order. The more we order, the cheaper they get!
I’m making the order on Friday, so hurry up and pre-order yours now.
Thank god someone else finally took a look around at what the other teams have done…. fuck all. We are in surprisingly good shape and with the exception of city are better off. I can’t wait for the season to start. And i actually like the white kit, but thats just me. i think that anyone who mistakes it for a spuds rag is blind. As always great post Tim.
Anyone see the article on soccernet about A-Hole cole wanting Citeh to knock the gunners out of the top four. I’d say Chelski has more to worry about than us. What a douch, man I used to lovve that guy too, it pisses me off.
why would an english club make a tribut to the US? imbecile
@ady, it’s a joke, cocksandwich.
@ady, What is the reason for your rudeness? If you don’t like what he writes, please bugger off. You are not obliged to read it. God! Some people can be really rude.
Just remember last season’s run of 0-0s. THAT WONT HAPPEN THIS YEAR. And those points against lesser teams will make all the difference when the push comes to shove.
Speaking of so called “great clubs” just imagine how WC Milan fans would be feeling like. Totally outplayed by America yesterday. And be thankful to be a gooner.:-)
Oh, and dont be so self centered Tim. The kits’ colors are a tribute to France, LOL
@Yan, or Russia, England, NORTH KOREA, oh wait… no, it’t the Faroe Islands!
@Tim, Let’s put Paraguay too.
Great blog.We are going up the table this year.I think we at least can take liverpool.Email me at arsenalsnumber1kevin@yahoo.com if you want to tell me your oppinion
I like your look aroun. Nice optiimism. I love Arsenal however looking at our team with same eyes would say we lost our powerful striker, bought another short CB(still can’t defend set pieces/longballs) and always have someone(s) crocked:RvP/Rosicky/Eduardo/Nasri/Diaby. therefore we’re not stronger either?
But Bendtner is a lot better than people think and we really only need world class DM and a tall CB would be a luxury item desired.
Yo Tim, Goonernews keeps tagging your headline as goonertalk.
@Yan, I emailed them, if they don’t quit doing that I’m going to ask them to pull my blog from their list.
I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but whenever you go to Goal.com, their website keeps trying to open a new window, redirect you to some nonsense .com, and exploit a loophole in internet explorer.
My siteAdvisor has warned me to stay off their site. I shall be taking this advise, even though my protection can withstand it. I suggest you all do the same, stay away from thier site.
Exactly right. My mate who usually says Arsenal are gonna get knocked out of the top 4 said we are looking great with RvP extending his contract and Arshavin now settled.
If Liverpool lose Xabi or Javier then we will be very strong contenders and don’t forget City may take time to gel with so many new faces and Chelsea losing so many to the cup on nations (we’ll only lose squad players now if you assume gallas and vermaelen are first choice). Bendtner is gonna have a great season.
Funny you don’t comment on City who could knock the gunners out of 4th spot.
@Geoff, No, I mention them, IF they get close to the top 4 THEN I think they are more likely to kick Pool, Man U, or Chelsea out than Arsenal.
I’m looking up, not down.
good article.
Don’t forget we only lost one game since the end of november in the PL. We should have won a few 0-0 games and the we would have been closer to the top. Now we have Arshavin and he will score the goals. Andrey Arshavin, Russia’s greatest goalmachine. He also has a winners mentality.
Ade scored 10 in the Pl but with his constantly walking offside cost us +40 counter attacks or promising attacks.
Finally someone who actually WANTS to see Arsenal succeed points out their merits relative to the other “top four.”
I’m sooooo tired of these so called fans with so little faith.
Thanks for pointing out what should be obvious. We ARE improving and we were already playing the most attactive football in the Prem’.
Hey Tim, first I saw of this t-shirt deal. I must have missed it. Which days post did you put this on? What is on the shirt?
Great post today. From what I’m seeing, I’m going to jump into the crowd of those who believe Wenger will not buy anyone else the rest of the summer.
huh… the flash is broken!
Hold on a second and then refresh the page.
I love these optimistic blogs, Tim!
Everton, in my opinion, is going be the team challenging for the last CL spot in the final days of the season, not Man City. I think the top part of the table will end up something like this:
1. Man United.
2. Arsenal.
3. Chelsea.
4. Liverpool.
5. Everton.
6. Man City.
Anyone know what is up with Stephen Ireland? I cannot imagine him getting many run outs at City with all the new mercenary blood, and I would hate to see him rot on the bench with Adebayor and Dunne. There is no room for him at Arsenal, but hopefully City sells him somewhere else. I have always liked him.
@Matt, Ireland will be very much in Sparky’s plans. He scored the only goal in the 1-1 game w/ kaiser Chiefs. Last season was his breakout season goal wise and he knocked Elano to the bench when he fell out of favor.
i love how the brits don’t get the american sense of humor when you call someone a cocksandwich. o well, gets a giggle out of me.
Good analysis, but ManCiteh are not a team! Plenty of talented players doesn’t mean they’re going to win anything, and as said previously, is Sparky a winning manager?
If you want to see where we are going, look at the youth team performance last season, more than awesome, playing against those that they will meet again and again as they develop in to first team players. If our first team could reproduce the form of the youngsters now, we would be looking down on the rest of world football with a telescope.
Whilst we look at the relative strengths, it is well to remember that both Liverpiddle and MancsUntied have a background of financial insecurity; which could bite their legs worse than Norman Hunter.
Viva!
I just read on L’Equipe that Real Madrid are pushing M. Diarra out the door.
I’ll take him, I mean, if you don’t want him!
There’s some talk that his career might be over owing to the knee injury AND his agent says he doesn’t want to leave Spain.
chances of this happening?
0/10
DAMNIT
The difference between Wenger and the supporter (besides being the manager) is this: I’m sure Wenger does not make purchase decisions based on what other clubs are buying. He can’t, shouldn’t and wouldn’t. If we have that approach, it will save a your hair and your stomach linings.
Man U and Chelsea are like Tiger Woods, they know how to grind out wins (eg. “win ugly”)and we have to show that we can do that this season. No truer words were written from Walcott. That is the key. The onus to win will always be on us to take the game and not be on the defensive against clubs outside the top 4.
Right now I think the team to beat will be Chelsea based on their preseason form. How they play against AC Milan will show that their preseason preparation has gone well. Lampard is still in his prime and Drogba should be back strong after an injury plagued season. Then there is the the top scorer Anelka who remains top class. I also rate Sturridge from his time at Man City.
Liverpool is the most vulnerable because they have no credible back up to Torres and Gerrard’s affray case could see him miss some time.
Man U has taken a page out of the Arsenal transfer manual in signing Mame Diouf, a Senegalese striker from Molde (?). Talk about the road less traveled. They will be looking for goals from Rooney (2.41), Berbatov (2.59) to replace the C. Ronaldo’s goals (2.33). The other question is at what point does experience become a liability with the inevitable decline in ability. Scholes and Giggs come to mind as in being in decline.
Man City are a definite threat w/ the addition of Gareth (I want CL football ) Barry. I don’t see Terry going there because he could never live that sort of betrayal down. Although A. Cole could give him lessons. The back line remains suspect, especially Dunne and Garrido It could come down to who will be the strongest mentally down the stretch Arsenal or Man City. We saw how Aston Villa did the el foldo in crunch time thank you very much.
@ctpa, This is the most positive comment I’ve ever seen from you. Thank you for it. Can you keep it up please? Cheers!
I somewhat disagree with some of your analysis there Tim. I wouldn’t say everyone else in the top four of the EPL got better on a Madrid-esque scale but they have re-inforced some important parts of their team. I admit the league is much more open now, especially with CRonaldo gone. I think that’s sad commentary that we got better because our rival lost someone, rather then us actually putting together a more balanced team.
Fergie is Fergie and he has persisted for over 20 years seeing the next best thing leave his club on a regular basis, but they continue to be one of the best clubs in the world. They still have that solid defense, balanced midfield and we make fun of Owen (even me) but on his day he can net goals with the best of them.
Chelsea is old but if there’s someone who can get the best out of old legs, it’s Ancelotti. He’s been in the business for some time now and has a glittering CV. Add to that they have Zhirkov who is one of the best left sided players today and even Daniel Sturridge is young but not so inexperienced.
Liverpool damn near won it last year so Rafa only really signed one of the positions they needed – right back, though I would argue they need a better left back too. Until I see Xabi and Masch in different jerseys then they’re Liverpool players. We both know speculation is just best guess rather than actual fact.
As for Arsenal? They still need a better CM. The defense is actually fairly decent as it is, though I could do without Silvestre and even if we brought in another versatile defender I would be content. Song and Denilson could be good players……….some day……..but they’re just not there yet and there’s no one to mentor them in that position. They’re sort of feeling around in the dark on their own which is by and large not the way to improve quickly. I think we can win something this season but would also be more confident about it if we signed a more experienced CM and possibly a goal poacher because our attacking options are plenty, but seemingly so are our injuries.
@WC, Also French paper Le Parisien are linking us with Cana………..again. For a man who only supposedly costs around 7M pounds and is a hugely talented CM, he’s sure taking a while to move.
@WC, don’t get my hopes up again, I can only handle so much disappointment…
@Tim, I have to believe that Wenger/Grimandi have looked at Matuidi and Cana and found nothing compelling about their skill sets. Besides it annoys me when the players’ teams (Damien Comodi) are waving their players around like a red cape in front of a bull
Unfortunately Tim, I stand behind WC and ctpa on their analysis, but I am bolstered by your unbridled optimism.
Right now, I would say we are behind Chelski and Littlepool, and should be fighting with Manure and Citeh for the runner up spots.
Vermaelen does not bolster our squad tremendously but does add another option at the back so we don’t have to use Geriatric. Losing Ade and his 40 offsides leaves us without a true central front man and removes yet another instrumental part of our set piece defending.
@CaribKid69, losing Ade for set piece defending, seriously, our set piece defending was atrocious some new blood wont be a bad thing but the overall commitment to the setplays scheme
Correct Travis, our set piece defending was atrocious because we don’t have effective headers of the ball. Ade was one of the few.
@ctpa
I don’t think it really has anything to do with their skill sets (or lack thereof). It’s more to do with the nature of Wenger. I believe that Wenger believes that bringing in another CM could potentially squeeze out the likes of Song, Denilson or Coquelin. He has to weight the pros and cons of spending the money to bring in a player while also considering his “project” players who play in the same position. We know his faith in the youth and he is no doubt deliberating whether it’s worth it to buy Cana or Matuidi with Song and Denilson on the books.
@WC,
Mirrors my thoughts, Le Boss has to tread a fine line between bolstering the team, with ready-made players with reputation, or rewarding those that he has nurtured. He certainly doesn’t want to send out negative messages to his crew.
Also the danger in buying-in is bringing in someone who is at their peak, or close to it, but who may never get any better. Whereas the work in progress may relatively quickly surpass your intended purchase.
Viva!
@viva los gooners, Everyone who reads 7am regularly knows my sentiments to Cana. Personally? I don’t think it would be detrimental to bring him in. I understand how the squad looks in terms of quality and quantity. However as I stated earlier, Denilson and Song are feeling around in the dark in the CM position. Some days they get it right, other days they look like amateurs. Cana would bring with him consistency, leadership and experience which Denilson and Song can use as a spring board to improve their technique. If we are to seriously contend for the league and CL we need consistency and polish, not players who are getting better but not there yet.
That’s all BS. The primary objective is to win games and win the League championship. Worrying about how it will affect your junior squad at the expense of losing makes no sense whatsoever.
This is not junior league guys. This is top level. You need to put a squad on the pitch which has a viable chance of winning hardware, period.
I’m willing to say that Denilson will be even better this season. Flamini played 102 games for Arsenal but didn’t cement his place in our memories as THE DM until his final season. Denilson in his 60 games has probably had more ‘quality’ starts at DM to develop relative to Flamini who was mostl a sub and FB leading up to that last season.
@ctpa, you’re right in your overview for Flamini’s development. it took some time for him to contribute as a starter. He was USUALLY a midfield sub, at the 80-85 minute mark thru the 05/06 seasons. There might have been a few games where he even started, based on an injury to someone else.
Sometime during the 06/07 season, someone was injured at fullback and Flamini was their replacement (for a series of matches); he exceeded the expectations for fans and media. These performances at fullback (IMO) fueled the idea for Wenger to move him to the DM role for the next, 07/08 season.
However comparing Flamini’s qualities and Denilson’s is a big stretch. Flamini was emotional and aggressive; two words never used to describe the play of Denilson. Flamini was always disciplined to track back and help out defensively – just something Denilson seldom does.
I do believe that Denilson at times can deliver the killer pass and score – both attributes not usually remembered with Flamini.
Personally feel Denilson needs a time out from Arsenal – On loan to some Spanish club to nurture his development.
Almunia, Szczesny, Mannone
Toure, Sagna, Senderos, Gallas, Song, Silvestre, Djourou, Clichy, Eboue, Traore, Vermaelen, Gibbs
Fabregas, Wilshere, Ramsey, Denilson, Rosicky, Diaby, (Nasri)
Arshavin, Bendtner, Walcott, Eduardo, Vela
The players who get a chance to dine weiner schnitzel and apfelstrudel nightly.
Clichy no longer injured. 26 players without Senderos.
Vela back early from the Gold Cup which is still in progress is a great sign that he won’t miss camp.
Fabregas back.
Wilshere the only reserve to get ‘promoted’ along w/ Ramsey.
Without Adebayor and excluding Arshavin, our striker corps is barren of the big ‘name’ threat now. The kind of players only a mother (Arsenal supporters) will love. 2 months into the season, I hope we are not bemoaning a lack of goals.
Rosicky and Eduardo’s presences are exciting.
i got to admit, this blog is growing on me, its porbably one of the few blogs that actually talks sense!!! keep it up tim!
We’ve seen that a team of mercenaries will win nothing without the right manager. The Galaticos won shit, and even Chelsea struggled under Grant and Scolari.
Now I’d be very worried if Gus Hiddink (or another manager of his ability) goes to manage Citeh. I believe with the right manager Citeh can become a good team. Right now it’s just sparky playing Football Manager with real money.
I’m surprised with all the top signing Citeh Shieks are still sticking with Sparky.
@gus, Well I wouldn’t go as far as saying the Galacticos didn’t win anything. They did get a CL title, a couple of La Liga titles and consistent player of the year awards for various Galacticos. However they had a good manager and Mark Hughes is Citeh’s weakest link, next to their almost non-existent defense, and he’s not the man to lead that team. I’m surpised they didn’t spring for Sven or Rikjaard because they are both very good managers and could do alot with their influence, track record and money.
Tim – good stuff.
With so many new players, I just can’t see Citeh finding the chemistry to make it to the top 4.
Chelsea looks great in pre-season.
IMO, ManU and Pool will struggle this year. ManU really depended on Ronaldo and Tevez for pulling out matches. Their midfield is athletic but older and vulnerable. Pool lives and dies by Torres and Gerrard. If either is injured, the team confidence and effectiveness drops. Last season, they also scored many late winners. Both teams will be unable to maintain their high level of performance.
I see Arsenal in a season long battle for the top with Chelsea. The team whose bench is most reliable will capture the title.
I’m also picking Everton to slip into the top 4.
On paper we can all get excited.
All this said. if Rosicky and Eduardo cannot stay healthy, and we fail to solve the partner for Cesc. 09/10 could be a repeat season from hell.
and who says Man city have done fuck all this transfer market? i feel they havent.. big names and big money wont bring you the title. its about the fucking squad balance.. wenger has proved that by crushing “star studded” united at OT in the 03/04 invincibles era with a squad made up of mere 41.6m pounds. think about it. Red and white.
Arsenal have certainly gotten better and so they will. They have a team of young maturing talent which will finally start to reap rewards. Admittedly every Arsenal fan will look at a Def Mid but if we don’t it’s no worse than last year… better even because of the improvement made by Deni, Song and Ramsey. Can Eduardo and Van Persie and Rosicky remain fit and healthy all season? That’s my only key question!
Oh and hate to say (because it’s a great article) but Chelsea have bought Zhirkov havn’t they. Decent signing as much as I hate them a Cashley “the nobhead” cole.
It’s always good to get a dose of optimism. After all, football is only one of life’s pleasent diversions. Alas history shows that ManU, Liverpool and Chelsea all played a meaningful part in last seasons title race – we didn’t. We spent the season trying to achieve 4th.
Whilst fans have every right to take an optimistic view on our club’s chances, that shouldn’t be misconstrued as sound analysis. There is little evidence from a fans viewpoint that we are in a better position than last year. Adebayor leaving may appease those who came to detest him, but it removes our most successful goalscorer from the roster. Rosicky and Eduardo may return, although only time will prove their durability. It is quite possible that they return and then break down again and again…..
I’ve given up on the CM and CB positions – Wenger just doesn’t see things through a traditional lense, so we can lament all we like about the need for a strong spine yet Arsene will stick to his ideas and most likely pursue his vision of a mobile defence and stick with Denilson (et al) in midfield.
Our greatest hope is that Eduardo and Rosicky defy the odds and prove themselves robust and ready to fire for a complete season. A front four of Arshavin…Eduardo…RvP…Rosicky has a lot to like about it. Sure, it still has to gel on the field, but on paper there is a nice blend of experience, footballing intelligence, directness, creativity and goal scoring venom. Every one of those players can score goals. And they all have smarts.
We need a settled side, without that, we’re poked, the young guys who replace the 1st tier simply can’t find answers week after week.
As I said in an earlier blog, Huntelaar is back in play as the Stuttgart deal is dead. I suspect if you’re coming from Ajax and Real Madrid, you would see Stuttgart as a step back prestige wise. Cue the tabloids: Arsenal to ‘outbid’ Sp**s for Huntelaar. That headline writes itself because no real journalist would write that crap.
Huntelaar needs to be smart and leave because Real Madrid will maroon his career like they did to Saviola. Saviola couldn’t get a game even when Robben or van Nistlerooy were injured. They simply brought in Huntelaar rather than play Saviola.
If Wenger is interested in Huntelaar, then I think we can pick him up for <15m if we make a bid 8/24/09. Real Madrid are desperate to sell before they bring in anymore players at this point.
'Arry's 3CBs are all carrying injuries I say we sell Senderos to Sp**s for 8-10m because right now they are desperate:)
Finally, Adebayor reiterates that he has never requested a transfer. Wenger simply sold him because Arsenal needed the money. Whether the last part is true or not, his sale has killed several birds in one fell swoop. Also you don't buy a 10m defender before you generate funds to do that deal, do you?
If Carlos Vela is in the 28 man squad that “jetted off to Austria on Monday” then why am I watching him play for Mexico (vs Costa Rica) in the semifinals of the CONCACAF Gold Cup?
@17highburyterrace, Lol, he didn’t go, but he got the invite
@Xabier, Vela kicks the final penalty and Mexico advance to face the US in the final. Carlos looked pretty good in about 40 minutes of play if maybe a half step slower than he might be if he wasn’t coming off the injury. He sort of whiffed on a nice cross from Dos Santos in extra time. An entertaining game with Costa Rica equalizing at the death.
@17highburyterrace, Good to hear that he played, especially after that injury scare he had
Cheers for the clear headed blog. No doom nonsense!
I agree with you on clubs like Scumpewl, with Xabi wanting out he may just have a shocker of a season (like Ade did last season after declaring he wanted out). The look very week, no flair and no brilliance. All boring mid-table grit.
We’ve got some damn exiting players. Barazite may make the step up to replace Nasri and his injury may force Wenger to bring in another new face. So all in all I’m actually quite excited, I can see us having a season like after Henry left!
Great blog Tim…..I’m in total agreement with you.
Actually….Man City coming is not necessarily a bad thing for teams like Arsenal…who have always thrived on low profile signings. In fact I say..bring on more rich billionaires to the league 😀 as long as they are not taking over Arsenal. Let’s say Man City were not a factor this season…and then imagine a Chelsea/Liverpool/Man Utd team adding the likes of Barry, Tevez, Santa Cruz and Adebayor to their squads…..that would have made it difficult for Arsenal. With the best players of the world now being spread around a number of clubs…expect things to be much much closer this season.
While last year..even if let’s say Arsenal went behind at the beginning ….we would then depend on Liverpool/Chelsea matches to expect Man Utd to drop some points….you can now add Man City to the list….bottomline…..the league is going to become much more competitive this season. While we may not have had the signings..we have had a team who have played together for a number of years now….that is a positive.
Arsenal have had a headstart over many of the other teams during the last 3 barren years……Man United has just started making noises about investing in youth and not spending over the top on players…..Liverpool is not being mentioned anywhere when it comes to transfers….and Chelsea with Zhirkov and Sturidge??…..let’ see how they cope now. The problem with these guys is that they have ageing squads on fat contracts….so nobody is going to pay big money to take them of these clubs hands..unless they sell them on a free…..so that leaves a meagre wage bill left to invest in youngsters.
Arsenal on the other hand have a youthful squad on good contracts…which can be made better by giving the good ones a raise…look at Gibbs/V.Persie/Walcott/Wilshere. ….i’m sure there would definetly have been interest from the top clubs in these players whom Arsenal has just resigned. Let’s see how the season unfolds now.
Citeh has gone stronger and buying players from the clubs above them has made their competition weaker. They bought Barry (Villa), Tevez (Manu), Bridge (Chelski), Ade (Aresenal), If the Terry thing does push thru then they could possibbly break into the top 4 soon. Their purchases sure was a double edge sword.