This is certainly a summer not experienced in a long time for Arsenal fans. Normally by this point they are holding their heads in their hands, cracking out the top shelf spirits and bidding goodbye to another one of their star players. We’ve all seen mock-ups of Arsene Wenger on twitter with various captions such as ‘they say we’re no good, but you want all our players’ and that has seemed to be the case for the last few years.
Manchester City and United not to mention Barcelona have enjoyed taking the very best Arsenal had to offer and leaving them in a poorer state on the field because of it. This summer however things have changed. After yet another season with their equivalent of a trophy – a top four spot – in the bag, fans were no longer willing to buy the lack of money or style of play arguments and have made that perfectly clear. For the first time, Wenger’s future genuinely seemed in doubt – things needed to change at the Emirates - and that has been shown by the intent the Frenchman has shown this transfer window.
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Arsenal fans are eagerly awaiting the first arrival of the summer – Real Madrid forward Gonzalo Higuain who has averaged a goal every 112 minutes for the Spanish side and is without a doubt, a top class player. Add to this the links with everyone from Wayne Rooney to Julio Cesar and Arsenal fans are beginning to hope for the first time in a while. There are of course even whispers of a Cesc return.
Chief Executive Ivan Gazidis is tipping a bigger summer for the Gunners, he’s said Wenger is not scared to spend money on players, but he will not blow Arsenal's transfer budget away just for the sake of it. In the past Wenger has been accused of being too concerned with not wasting the club’s money yet Gazidis insists Wenger has the money to spend on the right players.
Real Madrid's Higuain is rumoured to be on his way to the Emirates.
With another season of Champions League football at the Emirates next season the club has secured a pretty healthy transfer budget (apparently around £70m) and Gazidis is adamant that Wenger is the right man to spend it.
Even their current players seem to be bursting with self belief - Santi Cazorla noted that “We have great players. I am sure next season we will be a better team and improve, next season we hope we can be even better and win trophies and the supporters can enjoy it, that is what Arsenal really wants." Whilst we are hard pressed to disagree that trophies are what Arsenal want, whether they can get the top ones – or any at all is another matter.
The general consensus seems that whilst the title is out of reach this season for Wenger and his men, a trophy most certainly is not. Spending their rumoured £70 million kitty in the transfer window and buying wisely – something Wenger is all too good at doing – will stand them in good stead for the seasons to come. Having finished above Spurs yet again last season, Wenger must be sensing a chance this term to at least challenge for the title given the managerial merry go round and looks set to pounce.
One thing that has never been in doubt when it comes to Wenger is his talent as a manager – when Mourinho first arrived in England, Wenger’s side were the crème of the crop and ‘invincibles.’ But for that Mourinho arrival, coupled with a slice of pizza and a defeat at Old Trafford, who knows what may have become of his side? You have got to possess serious talent as a manager to lead a side to the victories Wenger managed – and the style he managed to do it in to boot.
Every team has their cycle at the top and Gunners fans are praying one day it will be their time again. They finally have some money to spend in the summer, no one worth noting is angling for a move, their stadium is second to none and top class players look like finally arriving. Arsenal are always linked with top players and fans are all too often left disappointed when these deals don't materialise but this season is shaping to be different.
Mourinho once noted when asked about why Wenger did not like him and Chelsea that ‘I didn’t like Arsenal at the start of the season when they smashed everyone and I don’t like them now when they beat Everton 7-0. But I liked them very much in the middle of the season when every weekend they lost points. I was in love with them then, so I understand why Wenger does not like us.’
Arsenal fans can only hope that come this time next year, Arsenal have replaced Barcelona in Mourinho’s affections. A likely scenario? Probably not, but then this is football and stranger things have happened. After all, if he finds himself struggling, Wenger could always wait for Joe Kinnear’s weekly call and ask him for help!
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