Arsene Wenger said yesterday that he was in no rush to get back into the transfer market and that he would be comfortable going into the new season with the current stock of players. To quote the man:
I would be comfortable yes [if we brought in no one else] but you never know, we might go for somebody else if the right occasion comes along. There are one or two positions we can still strengthen.
Naturally this has provoked some amount of debate as most of us would consider it a dereliction of duty were he not to bring in at least a couple more quality players. That said there’s plenty of time between now and the start of the season and as I’ve pointed out before what Wenger says about transfers and what he actually does are two different things.
Personally I have a great deal of faith in the young players and I have no doubt that they’ll be better next season than the one before. However, I don’t see them picking up 24 points on Chelsea without some help and that help must come from bringing in experienced, quality players who will add something to the first team straight away. Yes, we’ve bought Rosicky but we’ve lost Pires. With Campbell on his way and Ashley Cole almost certainly leaving for Chelsea then not only do we have to bring in players to strengthen the squad we have to bring in players just to keep the squad on the same level it was. Anyway, AW is at the World Cup for French television, he’s got a first hand look at the who’s who of world football.
Anyway, like I said, there’s lots of time. No need to panic or over-react just yet.
And anyway, we’re being linked with Marseille’s Frank Ribery who is a target for Manchester United. Reports this morning suggest we’ve made a belated bid for him, perhaps Thierry Henry has put in a good word. The player is expected to make a decision on his future in the next 72 hours.
FIFA has officially asked the FA to investigate the claims made by BBC’s Newsnight program over our links with Beveren and the £1m payment. ANR reports the editor of Newsnight is a Sp*rs fan, heh.
Not much else going on unless you consider a non-story about Freddie’s migraines worth talking about, which I don’t. Just a couple of days away from some football though, even if it is just a bunch of internationals scrapping over a meaningless trophy.
