Manchester City continue to fly in the face of the credit crunch and have just splashed out £16million to tempt Arsenal central defender Kolo Toure to Eastlands. In stark contrast, despite having recently deposited £40 million in the bank from recent player sales, Arsene Wenger has gone on record to say he is no hurry to spend it. Given Arsenal's lack of silverware in recent years and their poor defensive record, is this prudence or madness?Like Adebayor, Toure had been unhappy at the Emirates for a while. He failed last season to secure a regular place in the starting line up for the Gooners and had handed in a transfer request in January. As with Adebayor, Wenger obviously felt it was better to get the cash rather than rely upon demotivated players to put in good enough performances. Most Gooners would agree with him on that one, but must also be asking why Wenger isn't buying anyone.
To date Wenger has made only one summer signing so far, Thomas Vermaelen from Ajax for £10m. The Arsenal manager also put in a bid for Felipe Melo from Fiorentina, however the Brazilian midfielder chose to sign for Juventus instead. Arsenal have also been linked with a number of players including defenders Brede Hangeland of Fulham and Newcastle's Sebastien Bassong and strikers Klaas-Jan Huntelaar of Real Madrid and Bordeaux's Marouane Chamakh; however to date none of these rumours have come to fruition.
Rumours alone will not be enough to satisfy the Arsenal faithful; however Wenger has been quick to point out that buying new players isn't the answer to every problem. Certainly Arsenal have done relatively well and finished in the top 4 in the past few seasons following Wenger's favourite policy of nurturing young talent. Arsenal fans are however desperate for silverware and most would argue that for Arsenal, a club which is undeniably strong up front but weak defensively, buying a couple of brutes for back line is surely worth a try. There was a reason why Arsenal did so well when Keown and Adams bossed the back!
The Arsenal fans might however understand Wenger's dilemma if they were to take a close look at Arsenal's finances. Unfortunately Arsenal expected to raise big sums by re-developing Highbury into luxury flats, but given the recent property slump this venture might ultimately plunge them into more debt. Given this consideration their directors have recommended that Arsenal's gross average annual spend on new players should not exceed £18m, which is less than half of what the rest of the big 4 can afford and a lot less than Man City have put up in the current transfer window. A recent financial report on Arsenal certainly makes sober reading.
One thing that might lift the Emirates from the gloom of their recent lack of trophies and big name signings is the possibility of the return of Patrick Vieira. Watch this space ..