So far Arsenal have been linked with plenty of players but the stumbling block invariably tends to be he prices being sought by the selling clubs. Apparently Arsenal had agreed a deal with Real Madrid for Gonzalo Higuain but Madrid upped their price and Arsenal decided to walk away from them. I can understand the club's position if Madrid did move the posts, but the switch of emphasis to Luis Suarez is one that really puzzles me.
Arsenal will have to pay an awful lot more for Suarez than they could have got Higuain for and Higuain is the one with the better conversion rate. Arsene Wenger is a man who is very fond of judging players on their statistics and for me Higuain's conversion rate was the reason they should have pushed the boat out to sign him. As each day passes the likely hood of the quality players Arsenal desperately need to sign actually arriving seems to diminish.
To me it looks like all other possible deals have been put on hold until the Suarez deal has been decided one way or the other and that's not a good thing. The other clubs Arsenal would hope to be competing with next summer have all been very busy in the transfer market with the exception of the champions. If the latest rumours are to be believed United will be bringing a pretty spectacular end to their search for players very soon with Cristiano Ronaldo on his way back to them.
If that deal is to happen it would also see Spurs' star player Gareth Bale on the way to Real Madrid for a record transfer fee. The figures being quoted are quite astounding and very hard to believe but they would give Spurs an awful lot of money to invest if they are true. They would also show how badly Arsenal missed out with the sale of Cesc Fabregas to Barcelona two years ago and to a lesser degree with Robin van Persie's sale to United last summer.
It's hard to see a coherent transfer policy at Arsenal at the moment as they hold out for Suarez. Surely a club with a coherent policy would have brought in the other players the club needs even if they were waiting on the arrival of their marquee signing. With Suarez suspended for the first six domestic games they can afford to wait until nearer to deadline day to try to resolve his transfer but the other players are needed now.
With other clubs already investing heavily in their squads it's hard to see how Arsenal can hope to become genuine contenders again without investing themselves. The boss has said the squad he has can challenge as it is but I can only hope he is saying that to keep his cards close to his chest. They might have finished last season very strongly but they have a long way to go to keep up with United, City and Chelsea.
Even Spurs could end up with a far better team if they sell Bale and invest the money they make wisely. This summer seems to be all about the clubs at the top investing and Arsenal have to do that to keep pace with them. Only time will tell if they really will do so, but at the moment it looks less likely by the day.
I hope I'm wrong and the club come out and spend the money they have on the players that are needed and make us fans happy. If they sign those players and it all goes wrong they will at least have tried, but if they don't sign them and fail to challenge then it will make things very tough for the boss. The decisions he makes in the next few weeks could be the ones that finally move the team forward after too many years of what can be called stagnation at best.
If you haven't done so already why not join my fantasy league for the new season with the code 23040-7359 after you have set up your team. Those who were in it last season will automatically be in again but there's room for loads more teams. There's €50 from my pocket for the winner which may increase if I can get some sponsorship or if everybody keeps clicking those ads on my blog. If you do join up feel free to tell me on Twitter (@JamrockRover) or in the forum on the fantasy site so I can get to know who I'll to pay the money to and good luck.
That's it for today.
See you tomorrow.
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