Handicapping others' transfers: Ronaldo, Bale, Rooney, Cavani and more

Gareth Bale

As important as our movement in the summer transfer-window is, we’d do well to keep an eye on the goings-on among the other clubs we’re competing with. As we seek to bolster our squad, we’d do well to make sure that we’re keeping up with the proverbial Joneses, not to mention the Moyeses, Mourinhos, and Pellegrinis.

On surface, each club seems to have been laying low, sending out feelers and being linked to this or that player, but there has been little apparent movement so far.

Part of that may be due to the fact that the transfer-window is just three days old; part of that may be due to our own perceptions as Arsenal fans, more attuned to any and every murmur, whisper, or hint of a player linked to us. However, it can’t hurt to eavesdrop on the other clubs.

We’ll offer a quick run-down of our closest competitors in no particular order. We all know how the silly season is, so keep in mind that any player may have signed for any club by the time you finish reading this.

Chelsea

As to departures, we could very well see the departures of John Terry or David Luiz with replacements to be named later. Much as I detest Terry, I’d rather he stay, the better to see him get beaten by our fleet-of-feet attackers.

There has been tall talk of the war-chest Mourinho would have available, something on the order of £100m. They’ve been linked with Edinson Cavani, and this could cost upwards of £50m. Should he sign, this could mark the end of Fernando Torres‘s time at the club. Mourinho said that Torres has only been “so-so”.

Their addition of Demba Ba in January hardly sparked the offense but may have helped enough to keep the club in third even in the face of our strong finish. With Romelu Lukaku returning from a triumphant loan to West Brom (17 goals, 4 assists), Chelsea look stronger with or without Cavani. Not to be overlooked is Mourinho’s relationship with other players such as Wesley Sneijder or Julio Cesar, who might rate their chances at glory a bit higher than at their current clubs.

Threat Level: Latent but high. With or without signings, Mourinho has proven that he can deliver. Frankly, I worry more about his impact on the club than I do about the impact of any new signings. Having said that, bringing in Cavani could surely vault the club from third-place to contenders to win the Premier League.

Tottenham Hotspurs

All the talk is of Gareth Bale‘s potential move to Real Madrid. He had a brilliant season by almost any standard, and he’s good for the Premier League and good for us. Keeps us sharp and on our toes and all of that.

I don’t see him surpassing his 2012-13 stats (if anything, I suspect a regression of sorts), so I’m wary of us getting what so many of us are asking for. Should he leave, Spurs may have upwards of £75m to throw around, such is his value. With that kitty, they could replace one player with three or four who, even if they’re lesser individuals, could strengthen the team quite well.

They’ve brought in Paulinho already, and they have been linked with Christian Benteke and David Villa. None of these names strike fear into my heart, but Spurs could sign these players and still have £40m or more to spend. Selling players on the idea of playing in the Europa League might be tricky, but money does talk.

Should Bale end up staying, I’d submit that he’ll struggle to replicate his eye-popping performance of the previous season, labouring under the increased scrutiny and pressure it has generated for him. Should he go, Spurs could make a number of signings.

Threat level: Moderate. I don’t see many signs of ambition from the club. There is active talk of Bale leaving with little in the way of rebuttal from the club, and the rumours link the club to players who seem unlikely to convince Bale to stay or spark the club to a higher finish.