The amount we have really doesn't matter. You can only buy what is available on the market, and Wenger won't do any panic buys in January unless he thinks they will fit the team. There's just less players showing interest in a transfer in January compared to the end of the season.
I'm just gonna throw this out there, I haven't seen any rumours or gossip about this but... Balotelli anyone?
As long as you don't get him on loan and not pay all his wages. That's cheating remember To be honest I'd be glad if you signed Balotelli, he's a total liability. Ba is cheaper and quicker to say
What's the deal with Theo? Is he definitely leaving then? Recent sources seem to indicate that... with a move to either Chelsea or Liverpool possible.
As of yet all the news about Theo is speculation - the only things quoted by either side in this are that both think a deal will be done and both want Theo to stay at Arsenal. Whether this turns out to be the case is a totally different story! It looks to me like we are going to keep him until the end of the season regardless of if he signs a new contract or not.
What's wrong with our club? Why does it seem that our club goes through long and troubled negotiations with our top players nowadays? Can't anyone fecking get it sorted on time?
Well, the answer to your question is that we continue to finish higher up in the standings than our financial muscle would suggest. So our players, particularly our best ones, are rated higher than we can ourselves afford. The only way to stop it, is to drop down the standings, and stop qualifying for the champions league, so our players can't command high salaries when their contracts come round for renewal. So the people calling for Wenger's head are right, it will indeed solve the problem as we will no doubt drop down the standings and no longer lose our best players - problem solved.
This whole 'you cant sign quality in January' just does'nt hold any weight. A few January BARGAIN signings I can recall from recent years... Nemanja Vidic (£7 million, Spartak Moscow) Emmanuel Adebayor (£7 million, Monaco) Chris Samba (£450K, Hertha Berlin) Branislav Ivanovic (£9 million, Lokomotiv Moscow) Patrice Evra (£5.5 Million, Monaco) Mikle Arteta (£2 Million) Jelavic (£5.5 million, Rangers) It can be in fact a great time to nab players when they are close to running down a contract. Both Huntealaar and Llorente are in that position.
Ivanovic and Vidic, in particular, were crap when they first turned up. None of those were really bargains either, they all had a lot to prove in their career and just because with hindsight it looks a steal doesn't mean it really was at the time. There aren't often bargains for top players in football but in January you'll end up paying over the odds more often than not.
