Should Arsenal have shown their transfer hand?

You may have seen the recent statement from Arsenal’s chief executive Ivan Gazidis, where he admitted that Arsene Wenger has a ‘substantial’ transfer budget at his disposal this summer. There is a theory that by revealing the sort of budget they have available, Gazidis may have hampered any chances of getting value in the transfer market. He said:

‘We’ve got a substantial amount of money that we can invest. The important thing for us, which can be frustrating, is not doing it only in response to a public clamour but in a way that can positively impact our performance next year and that’s the focus.’

With a reported £60 million to spend this summer, after Stan Kroenke’s takeover of the club, I think we could well see some uncharacteristic big spending from Wenger before the end of August. With only Gervinho arriving from Lille for an estimated £10 million and the £1 million capture of young defender Carl Jenkinson from Charlton, it’s hardly been a big summer of spending so far, despite the obvious need for fresh blood.

Rivals Manchester United and Liverpool have strengthened this summer, while Chelsea and Manchester City both look likely to splash the cash on big names before the end of the transfer window. If Arsenal want to mount a title push next season, they will need to do similar, especially if they lose either Nasri or Fabregas.

Arsenal fans will be encouraged by Gazidis’s statement, which shows the intention they have bring in new players and it is clear to see that the money is there, it is now a waiting game to see if Wenger is willing to spend it, which would depend on if he see’s value in the transfer market.

However, the statement will not benefit Arsenal in the long-term in capturing their targets at a reasonable price, as the selling clubs now know that they have the funds available and have a ‘substantial budget’ to spend. This could lead to the asking price becoming over-inflated and Arsenal paying over the price for targets. By letting rivals clubs know they have money to spend, it is only going to increase the asking price and is not the best thing to do in an already overpriced transfer market.

Arsene Wenger is unlikely to pay the extortionate wages that players such as Benezma would request, but Gazidis pointed out that he would be willing to sign players who would improve the team.

‘We haven’t finished our business at all. We’re just not conducting it publicly. We’re working hard privately. We understand where the weaknesses have been. If we found an established, world-class player and we thought the economics made sense and he would add to what we could do on the pitch, then there’s no philosophical objection to that.’

Wenger’s transfer targets include defender’s Gary Cahill and Chris Samba and Valencia’s winger Juan Mata, but there has been no movement on any these fronts yet and while they would be excellent signings, they are not the world-class players that Gazidis was speaking about. I can see both Bolton and Blackburn taking advantage of Gazidis’s statement by upping the asking price for either Cahill or Samba to the point where the deal is unproductive for Arsenal. This is not what Wenger will want with the season just around the corner.

Gazidis statement finishes with talk about ‘exciting things happening on the pitch’, but if they want this to materialise they need to support Arsene in his already difficult task of reinforcing the team. His task will not have been made any easier after Gazidis’s openness about the budget they have to spend.

Click HERE to see the original article. This article was first published on FootballFanCast

Written by Aidan-McCartney