Goodness. The rumor mill is in full effect this morning. Arsenal are slated to sign so many players I can’t even keep track of them all. The one that I found most comical though is Mario Gomez. Yes, Arsenal are going to sign another forward, because as we all know, Arsene collects strikers. I could be wrong. Maybe Wenger will go back on his promise not to collect strikers. Maybe Wenger will see that Adebayor scored 30 goals on an extremely efficient 130 shots and say “not good enough.” Maybe Wenger will see van Persie’s chronic injury record and say “not good enough.” Maybe Wenger will fret over Eduardo’s ability to overcome the mental block that is sure to happen because Martin Taylor broke Eduardo’s leg with a professional foul. Maybe Wenger will see the influx of Randall, Vela, and Theo, and say “not mature enough.” And maybe the boss will get sick of the quiescent Nicholas Bendtner.
Maybe.
But somehow I think not. In those 4 strikers (Ade, RvP, Dudu, and Sleepy) Wenger has the perfect set of strikers for Arsenal. RvP is exactly the kind of sparkle player that Arsenal need and the boss is hopeful that his 16 month run of injuries was just bad luck. Ade terrifies defenses with his huge frame, strength, aerial ability, speed, and nose for goal. Dudu is exactly the kind of goal poacher that Arsenal needed last year and the boss thinks he’s mentally cut from the right kind of cloth to bounce back and take on the Taylor’s of the Premier League again next year. And Sleepy… Well, Sleepy… Ok, he could sell Bendtner and buy a fourth striker.
But that’s the only way Arsenal are buying a striker: these are tight times budget wise, folks. I know that I’ve been beating that drum and you’re probably tired of hearing it, but that there is the facts. Arsenal have somewhere in the realm of £20m pounds to spend thus summer. There will be more cash on hand when Arsenal sell Hleb (which is inevitable in my opinion) but that cash will have to be used to buy a replacement. In fact, the only position that will be strengthened is in defense. Any other purchases will be to fill vacancies.
I don’t expect Arsenal to “spend like the big four” this summer. In fact, I don’t even know what “spend like the big four” means. Does it mean to pile on more debt until you reach £1bn? Does it mean recklessly overpaying for players as some kind of Live Action Fantasy Football team for some dumb rich guy who will then pretend to “clear the books” but in actuality has leveraged debt obligations on the backs of the fans? How about an ownership group that has huge public blowouts, debts that can’t be restructured, a free spending manager, and a rabid fanbase that’s willing to sell the future for a shot at a trophy now?
Or maybe they mean a team that plays the world’s most beautiful football, develops young talent, and actually made a profit off player sales this year?
Nah. The press are only interested in top four clubs like Tottenham; who spend through the nose for untalented hacks. After all, it’s a better story when that team falls flat, isn’t it?
Who will Wenger buy, how much will he spend, will it be a striker, a defender, an old player, a young player, a winger, a tisket, or a tasket? I don’t know, but the boss promises to let us all in on it very soon.
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