It is hard to believe that just as soon as the transfer window closes a national newspaper like the Daily Mail prints a list of targets that Arsenal will supposedly choose from at the end of the season.
It is not that the list is not impressive as I am sure every Arsenal fan will find a name or two that they like, but it does not mean that Arsene Wenger will buy any other them, and the reason why is going to be price and wages just as it is every time Wenger tries to make a signing.
The names on the list for Wenger’s supposedly £105 million war chest are in no particular order.
- Diego Costa (Atletico Madrid)
- Jackson Martinez (FC Porto)
- Mario Mandzukic (Bayern Munich)
- Edin Dzeko (Manchester City)
We had all the hype over Julian Draxler being signed from Schalke in January, and in the end all Wenger ended up signing was an over the hill Swede with a bad back.
Personally I do not think any of the players that are on this list will be signed by Arsenal, but what I do think will happen is that during the World Cup there will be a few stand out players that Wenger might be interested in signing, and not some star who is already making a fortune at a top European club.
Let’s just hope that we do not have to endure the spectacle of another Andrei Arshavin who impressed Wenger so much during the 2008 European Championships that the Gunners boss forked out £16.9 million who except for one match against Liverpool turned out to be a flop.
When Arsenal signed him during the January 2009 window this is what Wenger had to say:
“We are delighted to have signed Andrei Arshavin, he is a player I have admired for a long time. He is a versatile player with great experience, who will add real quality to our squad.
“Andrei is an exciting impact player with a huge amount of ability and has been an influential force with both Zenit St Petersburg and the Russian national team in recent seasons.”
I think what we need to do is concentrate on what is our best season in years and leave any talk about transfers until next summer by which time we will know where we have to improve for the 2014/2015 season.
