And no, Arsenal, we are not being sarcastic. The Gunners with Arsene Wenger at the helm have had yet another unsatisfactory and downright inept summer in the transfer market.
Hopefully for disillusioned or even angry Gunners fans, this might force the arrival of much needed reinforcements. Somehow, we doubt it however.
This was meant to be the summer that Arsenal finally came to the top transfer table again, it has proven yet another false dawn.
After several seasons of frugality coupled with huge income from the Emirates and upheaval at all of the three clubs that finished above them, this was meant to be their time to step up and challenge at the top again.
Wenger wields huge unchecked power at Arsenal and for that reason, he must bear the brunt of the blame for their utter ineptitude in the transfer market. It is, however, notable that Arsenal have failed to make any impact in the market since David Dein left.
The transfer market is a viper’s nest and Arsenal simply do not seem to know any longer how it works.
Wenger continually cries foul of the market, of ‘financial doping’, of huge inflated fees but the reality is that everyone else is getting on with it and Arsenal are holding on to their Champions League status by the skin of their teeth. They are a million miles from challenging for the important silverware.
It is interesting that the returning Jose Mourinho is insistent that trophies are the only thing that matters.
Arsene Wenger has lost all sight of this and his personal crusade against the greater direction that football is taking is at the expense of the wishes of the fans. There could be no doubt that the Emirates faithful would far rather have had the decade that Chelsea have just had rather than theirs.
The ‘non’ transfer of Gonzalo Higuain was case in point. Arsenal postured and quibbled over the transfer of a proven goalscorer and were simply blown out of the water by Napoli. Granted, they are armed with loot bagged from the Edinson Cavani transfer but they should not be able to compete with a team from the top end of the Premiership with crowds of over 60,000 every week and over ten years of Champions League income.
The simple fact is that Arsene Wenger (not Arsenal, it should be said) has a valuation of a player and the rest of the world has another. Napoli understood the necessity to buy the player and simply got on with it.
Wenger’s valuation of players is baffling. Higuain is a proven La Liga and International goalscorer, holding his own for Argentina against competition from Carlos Tevez and Sergio Aguero. He is 25-years old. Arsenal, as it was reported, were prepared to pay £22 million.
Roberto Soldado is a proven La Liga goalscorer with only a handful of caps for Spain. He is 28-years-old – 3 years older than Higuain. Spurs get a little more than half Arsenal’s crowds and a fraction of the corporate income and have no Champions League income. Spurs paid £26 million for him.
Andres Villas-Boas said that Soldado was relatively expensive but explained that you get what you pay for and he is top quality. That is hard to argue with.
The Luis Suarez soap opera is another non event. Liverpool are aiming to replace Arsenal, they are not going to sell to them. If Arsenal were a true big gun they would up the bid significantly and attempt to try and force it through.
Luis Gustavo was heralded as another top transfer target – and what a minder he could have proven for Jack Wilshere – but again it appears he has been lured instead to Wolfsburg, again a club that could hardly claim to possess anything close to the stature that Arsenal enjoys. None of the Premiership top three would be beaten to a player by Wolfsburg or Napoli.
Paulinho is probably a similar player to Luis Gustavo. He has more Brazilian caps but has no experience of playing in Europe, but again Spurs stepped up to the plate, bought the player and moved on.
Arsenal have been crying out for a top class keeper and yet the excellent Brazilian Julio Cesar has been available all Summer at a knockdown price.
Wenger is again blaming the referee for the Aston Villa result but it is his lack of transfer activity that is to blame. Buying players effectively is a huge part of football at the top table and Arsenal are simply not up to it anymore.
Arsenal have less than two weeks now to buy new players and this year they cannot blame a Fabregas, Nasri or Van Persie saga for things this time around. More Gervinhos and Mertasackers are simply not the answer.
While others do, Wenger continues to whinge and complain, you can almost imagine him closing the door when he gets home in the evening and stamping his feet shouting ‘it’s not fair’, but then life rarely is.
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