In Arsene We Trust?

"We will fight to the end to sign Cesc". Although Pep Guardiola may have sounded confident of signing Cesc Fabregas this summer with this quote, Arsene Wenger continues to express his desire to keep his captain. Whether this is because of what Fabregas brings to the Arsenal team or simply because Arsene knows he will be unable to replace the Spaniard is debatable. However, with only 6 weeks until the transfer window deadline day, some Gunners fans are questioning Wenger's methods. Having only brought in one major signing this summer in Gervinho, fans are becoming impatient and fear that Arsenal will not recruit the big names they were promised in time for the new season. Being an Arsenal fan myself, I know the frustration that is felt between July and September as the team I love consistently fail to spend the money available to the club on a marquee signing. In my last post I purposely resisted mentioning Arsenal as I believe that their transfer policies are the most controversial in the English game and would be impossible to sum up in one paragraph. Sure, Manchester City might be spending ridiculous amounts of money on unproven talent but as much as I hate to say it, it seems to be working for them. In this blog I want to avoid sounding bias towards Arsenal as it is not something I believe is ethical in journalism.

It emerged earlier this week that Arsenal have had a bid rejected by Everton for their defender Phil Jagielka. Although the bid was rejected, I was delighted when reading this story. Not only did it prove that Arsenal were attempting to sign a genuine proven Premier League star who has played internationally for England, but that Arsene had kept his promise and had listened to the fans wishes. Furthermore, this headline also provided me with more confidence in media stories of other players speculated to join Arsenal such as Gary Cahill, Christopher Samba and Juan Mata. In addition to this attempt to lure Jagielka to the Emirates, Arsene Wenger also stated on Saturday that Arsenal "Must find one more defender". I do not believe that Arsenal have had a 'proper defender' since the likes of Tony Adams, Martin Keown and Sol Campbell but after this promising comment from Wenger I have strong belief that we might acquire one.

In addition to resolving Arsenal's defensive woes, Arsene Wenger must also find a solution to the ongoing saga of Samir Nasri and Cesc Fabregas staying with club. Although Nasri has been pipped to stay at Arsenal by Wenger, many clubs (notably Manchester City) still continue to pursue his signature. If Arsene's worst case scenario does become reality and he loses two of his best players then I believe they will be hard to replace. Valencia's Juan Mata is a proven talent in La Liga but the Premiership is a different style of football. In addition to this, he is also more of a replacement for Nasri than Fabregas. Players in the same mould as Arsenal's skipper are a rare breed and would be hard to come across in the transfer market which could cause trouble for Arsenal's title challenge. However, with the return of Aaron Ramsey, the continuous blossoming of Jack Wilshire and the skill of Gervinho I have trust in Arsene.

As for the main big spenders of the transfer market, Manchester City can continue to spend vasts amount of money as although its winning them trophies, they are losing more dignity, respect and admirers than any other team and that is one league I am happy for them to be at the top of.

Money Can Buy Happiness

Although some Real Madrid fans might disagree with my title, it seems that in modern day football money is the major factor contributing to a teams success and to a fan's happiness. In this summers transfer window, already the Premier League champions have spent over a whopping £50million. If this is the action that the defending champions must take to ensure a repeat of last seasons success then what must their challengers do? The answer is simple. Spend! Spend! And spend! Although no other premier league club have matched the amount spent by Manchester United, more transfers are imminent. United's "noisy nieghbours' Manchester City are hoping to confirm the arrival of Argentinian wonder kid Sergio Aguero by the end of the week, even if Carlos Tevez is forced to stay for one more season. Aguero was originally lined up as an ideal replacement for Tevez, but after the lack of interest from clubs for the teams controversial captain, City officials are growing inpatient and must progress with the Aguero deal, which is reported to be around £40million.

Elsewhere, Liverpool have also been splashing the cash on British talent, recruiting Jordan Henderson (£20m), Charlie Adam (£6m) and Stewart Downing (£20m) to announce that they are once again title contenders. However, the big wait now is to see if wealthy Chelsea owner Roman Abramovic will provide new manager, Andre Villas-Boas, with the funds needed to land Croatian and Tottenham midfielder Luka Modric. Harry Redknapps continuous fight to keep his starlet midfielder is becoming increasingly difficult after it appeared last week that Modric is prepared to force a move to Stamford Bridge and handed in an official transfer request. If Chelsea are unsuccessful with their plans to land Modric then their attention will again turn to the Brazilian sensation Neymar. Although he is still a teenager, Santos are demanding at least £40million for Neymar.

Whether these arrivals of foreign talent is benefiting the league or damaging England's home grown talent is up for debate, whereas one thing that is certain is that the amount being spent by clubs has become out of hand and could be put to better use within the game. But as for now no changes appear to be on the horizon and the bank accounts of money grabbing football agents will only get bigger. But if the smile on the fans faces gets bigger with them when their clubs new signing scores the winning goal in the cup final then who are they to complain?