Arsenal vs Aston Villa Preview and lineups – A fresh start

Arsene Wenger

It has been precisely 90 days since the final whistle was blown on a cloudy day at St. James Park, back in May. Arsenal had just won 1-0 and were celebrating St. Totteringham’s day, like they had won the title.

Ever since the final whistle blew that day, I have been waiting for the new season to start. And by god’s grace, it is finally here. The long arduous torturous wait is finally over, and we are nearing kick-off.

Arsenal have had a tough time in the transfer market so far, missing out on players such as Gonzalo Higuain, Luis Suarez and Luiz Gustavo. The only player the Gunners have managed to sign so far has been young French U-21 striker Yaya Sanogo from Auxerre.

However, the club has culled on unecessary spending and has managed to release several players who were eating a fat part of the budget, including Andrey Arshavin, Sebastien Squillaci, Denilson, Gervinho, Marrouane Chamakh etc. The Gunners are expected to offload Park Chu Young and Niklas Bendtner as well before the transfer window shuts completely.

Despite the lack of transfer activity, Arsene Wenger has urged the Arsenal supporters to remain calm and get behind the team, promising some transfer activity between now and the end of the season.

We are active,We are in a situation like Manchester United, like Chelsea, where everybody expects signings and at the moment not a lot has happened.There are 18 days to go, so that is a long time in the transfer market and we will be active.I cannot certify what the number [of players coming in will be] but we will be active until the end, that is for sure.

He also reiterated the fact that he is not reluctant to spend and that the media was being unfair to him.

Of course that’s unfair,Why should I resist? I just defend the idea that you spend the money you have and not the money you don’t have.Why should I resist? I just defend the idea that you spend the money you have and not the money you don’t have.Of course I am excited by that prospect but what I want to convince you of is that we are ready to spend the money if we feel that the players makes us a better team tomorrow morning.Maybe it’s difficult to balance that in a newspaper but football is not only about that.

It’s bigger than that. It’s about the team, the quality of the play, the spirit and togetherness and the quality of the players. Therefore we have to focus on all the rest as well.What happened for years was the quality of our work has been taken away from us because the best players left for financial reasons,For the first time this year that has not happened and I don’t think it will happen again for financial reasons.We have made the first step. The next step is to strengthen the squad and the team by buying the right players.