Is Wenger skint or just sensible?

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Evidently, the boss can bang on all he likes about not spending some dough this transfer window but it won’t stop the tabs from their speculation about who we might buy or sell. To be fair, much of the rumours surround who we might sell, which lends some credence to Wenger’s till-he’s-blue-in-the-face announcements about the lack of chequebookery.

Freddie’s allegedly on his way out (“he still has a lot to offer us”, refutes Wenger), as is Lauren, apparently, though there’s no confirmation of that either.

It looked a dead cert a week ago that Ali Oh Dear would be off too – now it’s less cut and dried, but again, nothing can be ruled in or out. We’ve seen enough of these transfer windows now to take things with a industrial vat of salt.

I wonder how much Arsène’s unwillingness to spend is down to lack of money. There’s been plenty of talk that we have nothing to spend right now, but no confirmation of this. Could this be true, really? The money borrowed for the new stadium was loaned, the money borrowed for the redevelopment of Highbury was loaned, and we’ve been told time and again by the club’s hierarchy that we’re now pulling in some of the biggest matchday incomes in Europe. If we’re out of cash already then it would be nice to know why.

Perhaps money has nothing to do with it – at least, not the lack of it. Maybe Wenger’s just wary of spending in a month when there are so many new big spenders – at least five clubs with money to burn. And perhaps we really don’t need anyone. On the contrary, if the Lauren rumours are to be believed, Wenger must believe that not only do we not need players, but we can afford to jettison them.

To be honest, I’ll be glad when it’s February.

Jim

Arsenal since about 1979. Thick, thin and all that.