Arsene's 'Plan'

As some of you may have realised, the new season is starting in a matter of days and Arsene Wenger is yet to put his hand in his wallet and spend some money on top quality players.

The question is...WHY?! Now, I know there are people on here that would let Wenger shít on their dinner and still smile while they proceed to eat it but even they must be wondering what on earth is going through his mind at the moment.

Ivan Gazidis has been very public and almost bullish this Summer when discussing Arsenal's new found 'financial superpower'. He has put pressure on Wenger to spend and lots of Wenger's followers have been preaching since the start of the year that Wenger WILL spend money when it is given to him. They have brought up financial 'constraints' while dismissing the FACT that Arsenal almost have more cash in the bank than every single club in the Premier League COMBINED. That is not cash that has appeared out of nowhere, by the way, the sum grows every day and we have yet to receive the total influx of new Sky money combined with renewed sponsorship deals that will see the club's revenue rise to upwards of £300M by the end of the financial year.

But lets forget all of the above, pretend none of it is true. The question is, what is Arsenal's actual plan? It is August 13th and we don't seem close to signing anybody (there are conflicting reports on Gustavo depending on who you want to believe. Ornstein is more reliable than Sky Sources for me). So what have we been doing since the Newcastle game? Last season ended nearly 90 days ago. That is 3 months. 3 months and nothing has happened. Nothing in terms of incomings, anyway.

What worries me is not that we have not spent money, but that Wenger doesn't seem to actually know what he wants to do. We were courting Higuain for nearly a month when we decided we no longer wanted him. The reason? Because we got word from Suarez's agent that there was a clause in his contract making a move to Arsenal very likely. We actually ditched a target who wanted to join us because we believed that a clause the club doesn't even know about completely (probably still doesn't know) could bring a player to the club. How amateur is that? What sort of plan is that? I will tell you, it is classic Wenger. Reactive, not proactive. Wenger always reacts, but he never actually plans ahead. He has said as much himself in January when he admitted to changing his mind on transfer targets on a weekly basis. 18 months ago he said we would loan an emergency full back but decided against it because he discovered Coquelin could play there. 12 months ago he promised a replacement for Song but decided against it because Diaby managed to stay fit for 2 weeks.

Now we are pursuing Luis Gustavo, only because we have been made aware he was available. Arsene never planned to go after him in May, he wanted Lars Bender, and since that bid was rejected he has sat on his hands waiting for something to come up. He DOESN'T PLAN AHEAD. Where is our goalkeeper? It is no secret we wanted Julio Cesar but can't agree wages with him. Do we not have a back up option for him? What happens if we don't get Suarez? Do we rely on Giroud and Sanogo (who is already injured *shock horror*) for another season? Do we not have an alternative to him (the answer is no, who else is available?)? What happened to Ashley Williams? Oh yes, Sagna's pre season form at CB has impressed Arsene so we have now decided to go after a right back, a department we didn't even consider a priority in May.

The whole thing is a shambles. I would be lying if I was saying not spending money doesn't bother me, but the thing that REALLY bothers me is not that we haven't spent, but the reasons for not spending. Because in modern football, when Arsenal are not the only team in Europe who have a massive scouting network the dwarfed 95% of Europe's 15 years ago, Wenger is unable to adapt. In modern football when clubs MUST pay over the odds for top quality players, Wenger has failed to adapt. In modern football, when not every player in Europe considers Arsenal a prestigous club they would have dreamed of playing for 10 years ago, Wenger has failed to adapt. It's not just on the pitch he has no plan B, but off the pitch, too.

I look on at Spurs' transfer activity this Summer with envy. They wanted David Villa, couldn't get him, moved on to Benteke, couldn't get him, moved on to Soldado. They have BACK UP options. They have a plan. What do Arsenal have? £150M+ in the bank and a manager that doesn't know how to use it. Wenger out.