Arsenal: False optimism and the true Wenger deals

Thinking about transfer, Arsene?

The transfer window and Arsene Wenger’s antics at the north London club have to go in the same breath these days. The fans of this club will surely be one of the most precarious of the lot; and though most of them claim to have gained certain immunity towards Wenger’s tactics in the window, then again they are the ones who laboriously tread through Twitter in search of the tiniest hope of an incoming player.

This window’s arrival was announced again as being the start of a different era, as Ivan Gazdis was quick to announce:

“This year we are beginning to see something we have been planning for some time, which is the escalation in our financial firepower. That is going to happen partly into next season, it is part way available now in the summer, but the following season as well.”

The rumor mongers were quick to catch up with this and linked Arsenal with a plethora of stars. The striker’s department seemed to be an obvious choice for needed replenishment, as despite Giroud’s 16 goals in his first season away from the Ligue 1, fans were nowhere close to being pleased with “RVP’s replacement”.

Stefan Jovetic became an obvious choice as Wenger’s scouts were seen tracking him in previous seasons. And with the Montenegrin’s contract ending in the next summer, he seemed to be an ideal signing where Wenger could again claim: “he can play through the centre, right and left of attack”.

But Fiorentina’s asking fee and the player’s indecisiveness over staying in Italy made Wenger baulk away. With the rumored “transfer war-chest” bulging out of proportions, the Gunners’ were quick to be linked with unhappy Real Madrid star Higuain. The Argentine is one of the best finishers in the game, though his linkup with the wingers and midfield is still doubted.

After around 3 weeks of speculation of Higuain being at the London Airport or Wenger flying to Paris to meet the striker on holiday there, Madrid’s president announced that there was never a bid from the London club for the striker. This brought back all the high-flying Gooners to rock bottom and in hindsight this has always been the type of reports that have always been linked to Arsene Wenger.

Another factor that came into play was Ancelotti’s arrival in Madrid, and the Italian though having said that he was interested in keeping Higuain, has now accepted the striker’s imminent departure for the right bid. Strong reports from Italy indicate that Napoli’s 35 million bid in the aftermath of Cavani’s departure has been accepted by Real Madrid. And thus Gonzalo Higuain has now fallen into the category of players that Wenger will claim at a later date that he was close to signing.

A temporary subsidy of Higuain rumors in early July, led to the outbreak of a surprising and truly rebellious report of Wenger having made a bid for Liverpool’s ace beaver Luiz Suarez. The whole prospect of Liverpool selling the Uruguayan started from the terms of his ban in the EPL.

This, coupled with the striker’s eventual hunger to play in the Champions League, resulted in rumors about a move to Madrid. With PSG and Manchester City already having exhausted their spots and Barcelona still not believing in the concept of strikers, the only big takers for Suarez’s signature were Manchester United and Arsenal alongside Madrid.

Suarez’s hypothetical move to Old Trafford will surely knock Liverpool permanently “off their f**king perch”, and with Ancelotti having been bit by the ‘Spanish Youth’ bug, Arsenal seemed to be the only option with a huge transfer kitty.

And just to abolish all talks of the fantasy move to Arsenal, Liverpool went and confirmed Arsenal’s eventually rejected bid of 30 million pounds. But this statement had an immense impact on the Gooners worldwide as they stood in disbelief over Wenger bidding 30 million on a player, albeit it was being rejected.