DownSwinging.com

Word around is that Arsenal are on the verge of agreeing a £20m fee with Manchester City for Kolo Toure. If this is true, Arsenal should seal the move now. In no way is Toure worth that much and receiving £45m from City in the span of a week and a half would be a very attractive proposition to any Arsenal fan. While many would take the ‘he still won’t spend it’ approach, just think about Wenger’s options going forward. No matter what he says, he is aware what the squad needs. And while he says ‘the squad is good enough’, and it clearly is to finish in the top four (more on that later), he knows it’s not perfect. His main traits, loyalty and unbridled optimism, have caused problems for Arsenal fans in recent years and as of right now, there is no proof that any of it is coming to an end. However, he’s never had £45m at his disposal. And despite his cautious spending habits, here are a few things he will do.

He will look at all possible replacements for Emmanuel Adebayor. After losing his flamboyant hit man to an eventual rival, Wenger has taken a lot of criticism. While this is by no means new to the Frenchman, it has to be assumed that he is considering options. With his two most talented strikers both suffering more than their fair share of injury problems, one has to think a deal is imminent. Whether it is a potential 30 goal/ year candidate like Klaas Jan Huntelaar or more of an experienced squad player for a cheaper price, remains to be seen. There have been reports that Arsenal are interested and some claim they have already made a bid. Despite the fact that none of these reports seem to have any substance, where there’s smoke…

Secondly, Wenger is looking into the holding midfield role. As this position is one of the less flashy on the pitch, one can find a good DM for pretty affordable price, something that should definitely appeal to Wenger. Rumored to the position have been Wigan’s Lee Cattermole, St. Etienne’s Blaise Matuidi, Stuttgart’s Thomas Hitzlsperger and a quick return for Matthieu Flamini. Lorik Cana and Felipe Melo were also linked before signing with other clubs. This position is a sensitive subject for Arsenal supporters as it is the side’s most glaring void, and nobody seems close to filling it. Where the Gunners need an experienced and ruthless ball winner, they have Abou Diaby, Denilson and Aaron Ramsey, Wenger seems to prefer Alex Song in a central defensive role, so he will see less time here. This one is more difficult to diagnose as there seem to be very few offers put out by Arsenal. For whatever reason, Wenger seems sure that the answer lies within his squad. To his credit, he could be right. This position seemed a liability two years ago, until Flamini stepped into it and was one of Arsenal’s most valuable players. Once again this one is up in the air, and until I see anything on the Official Website, I won’t believe any of the stuff being bandied around.

Lastly, did I miss something? Unless I read wrong Arsenal are at a huge risk at losing their top four spot to City. Whoever thinks that City have ‘a good chance’ at leapfrogging any of the top four clubs in the first season after their lopsided makeover, is utterly delusional. Can you please explain to me why City’s signings of Emmanuel Adebayor, Carlos Tevez, Roque Santa Cruz and Gareth Barry have made the club 23 points better? Three of them are strikers. I know, I know, they’re starting to spend on defenders now that their attack has been addressed. But as of yet, quality defenders aren’t exactly lining up to join up with Mark Hughes’ side. Furthermore, winning atmospheres aren’t purchased. Even Chelsea finished fourth before the Abramovich era started. It’s an eventual process, not an immediate one. Arsenal has not finished outside the top four in Wenger’s tenure with the club, and they don’t appear close to doing so now.

How much worse did Arsenal really get by losing Adebayor? Sure he scored 24 Premier League goals (6 of which came against Derby) two years ago, and every Arsenal basher loves to spout his record over the past two years because they know his form last year left a lot to be desired. The club just got paid £25m for a selfish, lazy, prima donna who, lets face it, had a lot of trouble converting straight-forward chances. Nicklas Bendtner was a more efficient striker than Adebayor was last season. Instead, while people engage the sensationalist ‘Another Arsenal Exodus’ trash, Arsenal supporters and players are getting ready for a very legitimate title challenge. Yes, Arsenal finished 18 points off the pace last year and yes, the Gunners were even a full 11 points behind third place. But lest you forget, Arsenal’s talisman Cesc Fabregas missed 3 months due to injury, Andrei Arshavin only played half of the year, while Eduardo and Tomas Rosicky saw less than 300 competitive minutes between them.

Importantly, Arsenal tallied up 9 points out of a possible 18 in games against the rest of the big four. Liverpool led the pack with 14; Manchester United earned only 5; and Chelsea, a paltry 4. Last season’s struggles were not down to not being good enough in the big games as so many people have carelessly declared. It was down to a young team not putting away lesser opposition. Losses to Hull, Fulham and Stoke indicate that the problems lay more with the doldrums of the Premier League season. Those who claim the young guns suffered on the big stage must not have done their research.

With the addition of Thomas Vermaelen and the emergence of Kieran Gibbs, Arsenal are starting to develop a good range of depth in the defensive third, this to go with their slew of attacking options up front and, specifically, on the flanks. Arsenal finished 9 points above fifth place despite only getting 22 Premier League appearances from their captain. So to clarify, getting Fabregas back for a full season is what is going to push Arsenal out of the top four? Does Adebayor’s departure really outweigh Fabregas’ return to form in some people’s eyes? If so, they need to go to Spec Savers.