“There is no doubt we will miss two great players, Kolo is one of the greatest defenders for us. I’m sure we will miss him but we have to play without Kolo and Adebayor now. It’s no problem for us. I still think we are better than them.”

Quite right, I must say. I did find it funny though, that the guy who is starting to return the banter to the Eastlands is the player who has been perhaps the least impressive so far this pre-season. After an embarassing blunder last week against SC Columbia, Almunia was a little shaky against Rangers yesterday, flailing several times at inswinging corners. And with Wenger continually offering Fabianski playing time, you have to wonder if this is Almunia’s last season as the number one. Its only his second season with the gig, but I wouldn’t be surprised if Fabianski is handed the job next summer, or even if Wenger were to make a short-term signing to give Fabianski a bit more time. Point is, Manuel needs to focus a bit more on his job.

That being said, it is nice to see someone shooting the talk back at City. A club whose players don’t seem to notice that they’re scuttling through the pre-season. Maybe they’re finding their groove, or maybe Kaiser Chiefs and Barnsley are world class clubs in hiding. But regardless of what City fans say, these games are somewhat important, these are chances to find a cohesion without the risk of losing points. We’ve seen it before, when clubs have attempted to just flip a switch once the season starts, football doesn’t really work that  way.

Laslty, I stumbled upon this article in the News of the World, despite being one of the least respected publications around, it could still serve as pin up material for the Arsenal squad. Despite being desperately anti-Arsenal, the ‘columnist’ also seems to have forgotten Arsenal finished four points off the pace just one year ago.

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.

As of right now, City have an incomplete squad. They have purchased a striker for more than £18m, 5 times in the past 13 months. Jo is now with Everton on a season-long loan, and I think he fits well with Yakubu. But aside from the investments made in the attacking third of the pitch, City are left very vulnerable in the other two-thirds. Sure, Gareth Barry will bring some steel to the midfield, but players like Steven Ireland, Elano and Martin Petrov will not flourish under what Mark Hughes is setting up. It is clear that Hughes will deploy a three-pronged attack, much like the one Sir Alex used this past season. With that formation in mind, City need, at the very least, 2, but preferably 3 ball-winners in midfield. Nigel de Jong fits that bill, but if either he or Barry get injured, City will have numerous questions to answer.

Even if City are winning games, things won’t necessarily be peachy. It will be impossible  for Mark Hughes to keep all of his attackers happy. I have listed 7 attacking minded players so far, all of whom are accustomed to being valued, and only 4 can start if City wants to keep teams from routinely slotting 3 or 4 past Shay Given. When you think about petulant attitudes like Emmanuel Adebayor’s and, at times, Robinho’s, playing time is everything. If he’s cranky, he simply isn’t effective.

The back four is what caused City issues last season, not the strike force. City scored 58 goals last season, the most outside the top four. How did they finish 10th? Well they conceded 50, which was more than any other team in the top 11. The most goals conceded by a top four club, was Arsenal’s 37. They have yet to make one defensive acqisition thus far. Sure they’ve gone after John Terry, and may be mental enough to consider paying  £40m for him. But in truth, their defensive scouting team needs some eye-opening. Terry, Joleon Lescott and Kolo Toure is the best they can do? I know money is no object for the club, but how about going for talent abroad and getting better talent for less money? Phillipe Mexes springs to mind, Giorgio Chiellini could be an option, even Fulham’s big boy, Brede Hangeland, would be a better buy. Nah, not for Hughesy. His central defensive targets raise the question, is he interested in putting together a winning team, or in headlines?

My last point is this: eeeeeeven if all of City’s signings turn out to be good ones in the long term, what are the chances that they gel quick enough to lose little to no ground early in the season to make a sustainable ‘top four’ push past established squads like Everton and Villa, both of which have very savvy managers who know how to sniff out superior teams’ weaknesses. All I’m saying is lavish, flamboyant spending does not equate into onfield success, especially when none of it is spent on the teams’ weakness.

At this point, things can almost only be bad for Chelsea. While they have insisted that Terry is not for sale, were Terry to come out and say that it is his desire to join Manchester City, Chelsea’s hand would be forced. And that would not leave a pretty picture for the Blues. Not only would Terry cause much angst within the club if he left, but there would be a gaping hole at the central defender position. Chelsea might try and make a move to replace him if he were to leave, but it’s not like there are a boatload of John Terry’s out there just waiting to be snatched up by any club that needs one.

I don’t have to tell you that it’s in Chelsea’s best interest to do literally everything they can to keep the England international. No question he is vital to their team, and if they lose him, there season would just be that much more difficult. But even under the assumption that he will stay with the London side, he has already provided the club with some problems. Now that the team has traveled to the West Coast of the United States, undoubtedly every player is wondering if Terry is even their teammate anymore. Each passing day that Terry waits to make up his mind he makes the problem worse for the club, even if he ultimately ends up staying, and that is not the kind of leadership a fragile club like Chelsea needs.

I know Terry would be making far more money at City, but right now he is the face of his club, and he needs to start acting like a captain should do.

Now what does Wenger do with the money? The Marouane Chamakh deal is getting closer and closer to reality, and that’s all well and good. He doesn’t necessarily excite me, but in Arsene we Trust. It is reported that Chamakh could be signed for around £7m, so funds would still be available after that purchase. As you know, we need a strong CM, with Melo signing for Juve, there are still a myriad a players for Arsene to look at. From Cana, Matuidi or Inler, Arsenal could acquire an adequate partner for Cesc. What about the back line? I don’t necessarily feel comfortable that Gallas is still in the squad. Sure he cleaned up his act after being stripped of the captaincy, and his performances improved immensly as a result. But, I still feel he is a bit of a ticking time-bomb. He has already stated that he will not hesitate to leave when his contract runs out next summer. We could reach a stage late in the season where he adopts a “what do I care” mentality, which could be detrimental to any trophy challenges we could be making. Just better to cut our losses on that one, is my opinion.

There’s always been talk of bringing ‘Arsenal fan’, Micah Richards from City. But he seems trouble to me. There is no questioning his talent, but he just doesn’t seem completely focused. While that could change with Le Proffesor, I don’t know if its worth the risk. I really like Hangeland, but I don’t expect him to move till next summer. Same goes for Sakho, who would probably be my first choice to fill in next to Vermaelen.

Either way, if Adebayor goes off to City in the near future, we’ll miss you Manu. We’ll miss your offsides. We’ll miss your sporadically brilliant goals. We’ll miss whingeing about you just 5 minutes after you score those brilliant goals. We’ll miss your odd ‘grenade’ celebrations. Lastly, we’ll miss your unselfishness and staunch professionalism…

On a final note, I’d like to send my thoughts out to former Gunner, John Hartson, who has just been diagnosed with brain cancer. Keep fighting John.

So while Ferguson isn’t sitting on his hands, he hasn’t exactly replaced Ronaldo and Tevez with equivalent talent. Certainly Valencia and Obertan have ability, as does Owen when healthy, but the reality is that more spending would have only gotten Manchester United into more trouble. The fact of the matter is that the club is in a remarkable amount of debt, and at some point the money in has to exceed the money out, with the Ronaldo transfer being a prime example. Ferguson probably is doing a great service to the club by putting on the brakes now, because the current economic climate is not conducive to heavy spending.

While it does not seem that world economy has dampened Real Madrid or Manchester City’s willingness to spend, it ultimately will. There are ebbs and flows in spending in all sports, not just soccer. Taking a look at the free agency boom in 2001 in baseball that led to a $252 million contract for Alex Rodriguez, we see now in our 20/20 hindsight that since the market has calmed down, the overanxious teams were hurt by the heavy contracts. The Rangers were plagued by the Rodriguez deal and only now are starting to emerge as a winning team again. Yes, the scenario is a little different, but Madrid and Manchester City ought to watch out, its a dangerous path they are walking down. Ferguson’s caution is the right move at this crossroads, and in years to come he (well, the board too) will happy they hung onto some of their cash.

Tevez is an unusual case, as he is owned by the Argentine International Advisors, a third party that owns his economic rights. Therefore, unlike most players who leave at the end of a contract, Carlos will not sign with a team for free. The adviors have set the aforementioned £25.5m asking price, which will be met by whoever eventually signs the player. Here is what the Tevez departure means to the English Premier League:

Manchester United: Carlitos’ exit is by no means a huge shock, or even, a devastating blow to the Mancs, but it creates just one more void to be filled by Sir Alex Ferguson in the attacking third of the pitch. It complements the loss of Cristiano Ronaldo and means that, as of now, Wayne Rooney and Dimitar Berbatov are the only proven strikers in the team. It is now clear that Man Utd must invest in their attack, whether it be Karim Benzema of France’s Lyon, Real Madrid’s, out of favor, Klaas Jan Huntelaar or Wigan’s Antonio Valencia. Rumors have also cropped up about United chasing Brazilian and Gremio teenager, Douglas Costa, as being the long-term solution to the loss of Ronaldo. Either way, United have work to do to regain their status as Premier League front-runners. They have the £80m that they will recieve once Ronaldo’s transfer is completed, which gives them a huge leap forward on the rest of the transfer season. One thing is for sure, United fans will miss their Argentine fox-in-the-box.

Manchester City: City are front-runners for Tevez’s signature, as he wouldn’t have to move, and money is no object to Mark Hughes at the Eastlands. The only thing that interests me is, why City is interested in Tevez. In Robinho, they already possess a small, quick footed attacker with an eye for goal. Assumed knowledge insists it is often more effective to put a small forward with a powerful, strong in the air, type. It could be that City want to place the two attakers on the flanks and put a more natural scorer in the middle. That could work…

Chelsea: For me, Tevez’s free agency has little effect on the blues. Other than the fact that Chelsea should now see another player spurn Abramovich’s huge checkbook. Chelsea find themselves chasing Tevez and Emmanuel Adebayor, of Arsenal. I find it unlikely that Chelsea will land either, thus creating an even more difficult time for new boss, Carlo Ancelotti.

Abu Dhabi United Group purchased the club for £200m in September of 2008.  The middle-eastern ownership has given Manchester City the most buying power of any club in the world.  The same day the take-over occurred in September, City shattered the British transfer record to land Brazilian striker Robinho for a fee of £32.5m from Real Madrid.

With the likes of Carlos Tevez, David Villa and Franck Ribery being targeted, the Citizens believe they are on the verge of turning the ‘big four’ into the ‘big five’.   I am always skeptical when a team thinks they will break into the big four; last year it was Tottenham, who started the season with 2 points from the first eight games and eventually fired their manager.  There is always an adjustment period following a busy summer, and with a very demanding board at the helm, City is one poor start to the season away from creating a lot of uneasiness at the Eastlands.

The thing that particularly has me unconvinced about this club’s plans is that it seems as though manager, Mark Hughes, is going after whichever players are being sought by other clubs.  While competing with clubs for a player’s signature is often a barrier that managers have to deal with, it should by no means dictate whether or not a player is a target.  

It seems to me, Manchester City is going for all-out firepower.  With Brazilian strikers Robinho and Jo already costing the club upwards of £50m, there is no need to sign both David Villa and Carlos Tevez.  The completion of those transfers would put City’s strike force at a value upwards of £100m.  Thus, putting a lot of pressure on the strikers who play.  Jo was purchased from CSKA Moscow for £18m last summer, and a player of his value needs to either be sold or played regularly.  As someone who watched City toil at mid-table last season, it is clear that they need two things: midfield creativity, from a player other than Steven Ireland, and one or two defensive rocks.

As of right now City need a center back with experience and a midfielder who could orchestrate the attack.  With Barry holding the midfield, City could build a very strong partnership in the middle of the park.  My thought would be to combine Barry’s tackling and experience with the pace and creativity of Real Madrid’s Wesley Sneijder or even Bayern’s Ribery.  Either way, I will find it entertaining to see how City spend this summer and how they will fare come August.  I just hope they don’t try to spend for the sake of spending, like it looks like they will.