Aresnal - buy low sell high, and win no silverware

Arsenal once again, look like a net seller in this market. As of today they have acquired the French international Samir Nasri, I think a perfect signing for Wenger and Arsenal. But they are rumored to lose Adebayour and have lost Hleb, Gilberto and Flamini. The last two the real steel of the Arsenal midfield the past few seasons. Hleb is not a huge loss since Nasri will take his "slot" and is probably a net gain in terms of ability and versatility.

The problem I have, is Arsenal were a little soft for me last season, and the players that were the least soft - Flamini and Gilberto are gone with no replacement yet at the Emirates. I have heard some talk that, well Wenger will just slot Diaby in the middle. While I like Diaby and think he could flourish playing his more natural role as a central midfielder rather than on the wings, the main problem I have is with his health. He has not had a full season, injury free, yet. If he is to be the next holding/defensive midfielder for Arsenal he has to play the bulk of the games, something he has yet to prove he can do. So who else can Arsene turn to? There is talk that they are in the running to get Yaya Toure from Barca, a move I would absolutely love to see. But I am sure they will need to spend some money to get Kolo's brother. Might they get Barry? I doubt it if Liverpool is also in the running, they will overspend for the Villa player. How about the revelation of the Euros - Arshavin? He would be a great addition, but does not address the need for a holding midfielder. He would make a great complement with Nasri and Cesc, that would be a formidable offensive midfield, granted a little lacking in size for the Prem.

Bottom line, I think that until the Emirates finances are better in control Wenger will continue to sell and be frugal and selective on his purchases. He is also going to continue to look to build on the backs of his youth and not hold on to 30+ players. Some might argue this is the way to go, but when is the last time Arsenal has really challenged for the league title? And when is the last time they have won any silverware? Until Wenger loosens the purse strings and realizes that there is value in keeping older players to combine with youth, Arsenal I fear will be looking up at Manchester United and Chelsea....maybe even Liverpool, for the near future. We will not be seeing images such as the one above for a while....