Arsenal’s business this summer has sparked another call from The Gunner’s fans for Arsene Wenger to lose his job such has been the lack of activity at the Emirates Stadium.
Petr Cech was the only summer addition, a £10 million signing from London rivals Chelsea, which surely will greatly improve a notoriously weak back line. Constant rumours linking Arsenal with a move for Real Madrid and France striker Karim Benzema were true but the deal could not materialise due to a lack of agreement in the payment method between Florentino Perez and Ivan Gazidis. However, we are still talking about the same Arsenal who are in desperate need of a striker of the calibre of Karim Benzema, having lost Robin van Persie to Manchester United a few seasons ago. Benzema wasn’t the only name suggested this summer: Higuaín and Lacazette were both realistic transfer targets too.
However, having said all this, I do believe that Arsenal’s summer has been the most effective of the top Premier League clubs: they have arguably made the best value for money signing in goalkeeper Petr Cech and have managed to send a few young talents out on loan-most notably Gedion Zelalem to Rangers where he is already receiving very high compliments about his style of play and his future. Chelsea made a good signing in Pedro but their desperation for a centre back showed when they failed in bids to sign both John Stones and Marquinhos, not to mention the very underwhelming additions of Papy Djilobodji and Michael Hector. Even though they didn’t sign any of their main summer targets, the Blues’ summer spending still eclipsed that of Arsenal’s and was the 4th largest in the Premier League.
Manchester City did sign who they wanted this summer and made some very good additions in Otamendi, Sterling and De Bruyne but these players cost a lot of money and won’t necessarily get into City’s starting 11. Once again the oil rich club have been accused of over-spending and buying their success.
Manchester United have also a lot of money to spend and were able to spend even more than neighbours City this summer. They made some top quality signings which will undoubtedly strengthen their squad, question marks remain over whether they were value for money but, much like City, United have a vast amount of money available and have spent a lot over the past few transfer windows.
Arsenal did have a very quiet summer but it was productive. They didn’t fix the clear weak areas in their squad in signing a new defensive midfielder and striker, but they definitely improved the group they have-and at a low cost.
We shall see which club will come out on top this season. You can follow all the results and stats at Matchstat.com, where they also provide you with the latest football tips and predictions.
Whether you are an Arsenal, Chelsea, Man City or a Man United fan, the guarantee is that you will be in for a pretty competitive and highly exciting few months.
