Arsene Wenger, “We are still looking outside to strengthen the squad”
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger revealed the Gunners are still monitoring players as they look to strengthen their squad ahead of the new season.
The Gunners will be involved in the Emirates Cup this afternoon as they face A.C. Milan and speaking on Friday during the tournament’s press conference, the Frenchman again addressed problems at the back saying how last season showed that three centre backs are not enough for such a long season, reason why a new defensive player could be added to the squad.
Wenger said how the signings of striker Marouane Chamakh and defender Laurent Koscielny are two important additions to his Arsenal side but as it was in the past couple of years, late signings are still a possibility.
He concluded by saying how there is little or no activity going on in the transfer market as clubs are “very tight” with money.
On Friday, Wenger said:
At the moment we are still looking outside to strengthen the squad. If we find the right players we will do it.
We are still on the search because at the moment we only have three centre backs and we have seen last season you needed five. I believe we need at least four because we have some other players who can fill in this position but overall we are still on the search.
We have signed Chamakh and Koscielny already. There are always two periods in the transfer window – very early and very late.
I always did [business] very early. And I always did it very late.
The transfer market overall is very quiet. Clubs are very tight with money.
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Arsene Wenger knows what we need. He will not enter the season with only 3 CBs. He also knows we need a goalkeeper. However the need isn’t as strong. I really hope we do get a leader in goals for next season but if we don’t I’ll suspect it’s because the right one wasn’t available. We don’t want players for the sake of it.
The need for a goalkeeper isn’t as strong? I guess not if you plan on finishing outside the top 4 it’s not…….
When has Arsenal ever finished outside the top 4?
If we have Fabianski in goal we will surely finish outside the top 4 for the first time. He is actually WORSE than Almunia.
I think what TerryWogan was trying to say is that its not strong as it is for a new CB. Its obvious we need more a CB then a GK.
It means we are going to see d new player very late. All d same he should go out here and get like 1 goalkeeper, 1 CB and 1 DM, then, i will believe we are good to go
not far off. but I dont see another DM coming. Unless of course, Frimpong could have a disaster of an Emirates Cup. that could force Arsene’s hand a bit to look for more cover for Song, since Denilson and Diaby seem to be made of glass.
I hope to never see Denilson in an Arsenal shirt again. His constant jogging around and getting beaten on the run is just not good enough. How did we manage to find the only Brazilian on the planet who can’t pass or run straight.
From all your comments it’s clear you despise the manager and most players. What made you become an Arsenal fan in the first place?
I was 100% behind the manager and all the players until last season. I’m tired of being lied to by the manager and I’m tired of hearing the same thing about next year, we’re a young side, blah blah blah. The ones who don’t perform need to go, end of discussion. If you’ve had 3 years in the team and haven’t taken your chances to prove yourself it’s time to move on to someone else who will. This is what makes us lose our best players. Champions want to win things, not be satisfied with third or 4th place. That’s just not good enough. I have been an Arsena supporter since back in the George Graham days so I don’t need anyone to tell me why I should keep my mouth shut and blindly follow a bad policy. The last straw for me was Arsene’s refusal to dip into the market in January when we were in dire need. He could have won us the title by bringing in a couple of loan players. As it was he left us barren and we paid the price. He has lied to us every year about bringing in experience, etc. and he has yet to follow through. I’m fed up with that. If he’s not going to spend then be a man and come right out and say it. I’ll respect you a lot more if you tell the truth and not try to pull the wool over my eyes.
If you actually read my posts you would know the only players I don’t like are the ones who don’t perform. Such as:
Almunia – Never a top class goalkeeper and cost us many points last season
Fabianski – See Almunia
Denilson – Constantly gives the ball away and jogs around the pitch instead of fighting to win it back
Diaby – Hot and cold but mostly cold. We keep hearing the same song and dance about potential. He will be 25 soon, how long do we need to give him to realize his potential? I would rather see Lansbury or Frimpong in the first team.
Everyone else last season put in hard work and did their best. Those listed above let us down along with Arsene. I have great respect for what he has done for us but that started slipping away when he started lying to us every off season.
i agree that almunia isn’t top goalkeeper, every club knows how to score when fabianski is in the team, denilson always gives the ball away, but diaby has great ball control and dribbling but needs to improve on passing (and we should keep him)! i would get rid of rosicky instead diaby, because he (rosicky) is some kind of wannabe playmaker and he loses the ball often!
so wenger, get rid of almunia(not so needed but still), fabianski, denilson, rosicky and buy mertesacker or richards, neuer and veloso!
U re just right….
U r on POINT Wenger just seems crap 2 me sumtyms……….seems unserious, he likes top 4, but not the 1st spot! YES, am ANNOYED!
As much as I would like to see new players added they realy need to be the right players. What would be the point of bringing in a new goal keeper for 10million plus if they aren’t any better then what we have. The same goes for defensive midfield but a another centre back is realy needed.
I would like to see us invest a good amount in a strong consistent defender. With Kosclieny comeing from Ligue 2 I feel he will need a season or two before we see him slot in well same goes for djouro who has missed an entire season of football.
However up front and in midfield I think we have a strong squad. Rosicky will be much improved this season. Diaby showed much more promise last year, Alex Song is steadily improving, Nasri showed glimpses of his star qualities. I would like to see us realy have a good go at the cups this year though.
DIaby will be 25 soon. He’s beyond the age where we should be talking about his having a lot of “promise.” It’s put up or shut up. I would give him until the January window and if he can’t perform he would be out the door.
We really don’t need a goalkeeper. I think Almunia should definitely go and we should let Fabianski, Shez, and Mannone battle it out. I’d be very curious to see what Fabianski can do if plays a string of games and is not thrown into a Barcelona champions league game.
If this was FIFA, I’d bring in 2 defenders but it’s just not plausible. I believe we are looking at one last CB to finish off the transfer season. Serdar Tasci seems to be the most logical choice at this exact time. If Khedira goes for 14m, it seems that Tasci would be worth something in the 10m range which is probably a very fair price. He’s not little, he’s not slow, and he’s very good technically. Everyone loves Mertesacker becauses he’s tall but I feel that Tasci brings together the full package much better than him. Mertesacker is not very fast at all and for how big he is, he is not the strongest.
I say we wait till next year to go after Ozil on the free transfer.
You are being foolish.
NONE of the 3 keepers are quite ready. They need more games under the belt.
You let Almunia go and we’ll be suffering from dependency on inexperience at the back again.
Ozil. More fantasy stuff. You’re more likely to get better value off of Gourcouff.
Your reference to FIFA says it all.
Well Ozil on free isn’t really fantasy stuff. It’s possible. Of course, we won’t offer enough in wages to compete with Chelsea and more likely Man U but maybe all these clubs are really worse off financially than they are letting on.
My point about Fabianski is that the goals he let up were just too ridiculous to be an accurate description of a top 4 EPL team’s goalie. I think he’s probably better than most of us think and the only chance he might get to show it is to leave Arsenal because it’s obvious the fans are giving him much of chance. Almunia wasn’t bad last year either, just VERY stupid in high profile games and he’s over 30 so I do believe his time is up but Fabianksi has much to learn.
However, I think the best combination of what I want would be the signing of Tasci. If we sign Tasci, I do think we are ready to start the season. A goalkeeper would be icing on the cake so to speak.
We need Afflay, Tasci and Akinfev. I think late business does not only cause hypertension for fans but cd also be very risky
Yep, we should have finished the business much earlier.
If we’d finished the business we wouldn’t have any excuses.
Arsene, the time is now! We need a few more boys to give our squad the depth required over a long season. Make sure we are giving them a few weeks to adjust to the squad, you are leaving it a bit late. None of us fans will begrudge you the extra cash if you must pay slightly over odds to get the player you think best. Dont sabotage the season before it starts because you kept the pursestrings too tight. If I recall correctly, you were giving a transfer kitty upwards of £40m for this summer. For christ’s sake mate, use it! Between Koscielny(spelled it right first time!) and Chamakh, you’ve accounted for £8m-£9m. With over £30m available to you, the time for pinching every last penny is gone. If you end this window with the familiar line of, “We were very very close,” you will be making it very hard for even your blindest supporters to continue backing you. The money is there for Mertesacker, Tasci, even Jagielka and Cahill. Any ONE of those or the several hundred other names rumored recently would be a show of good faith on your part, a sign you care about winning as much as you care about being proven correct. I applaud the youth that will apparantly be getting a chance this year (Wilshere, JET, Frimpong, Gibbs), but our youth cant save us at centerback, and unless this is the year of Szczesny or Mannone, it cant save us at Keeper either.
Splash the cash. It doesnt mean that Wenger’s 5 year plan is a failure. Find the players you think will suit the “Arsenal Way” best, and GET them. No one man is bigger than the club, and Arsene, I’m afraid you will find this out the hard way if you dont make a move.
You simply don’t understand how the market works.
Prices come down toward the end. It’s always been that way. There is always a late grab for players.
Wenger has done his most crucial business (bar keeper) in Chamakh and Koscielny.
Now he is looking for the right person (with hopefully experience) and value for the 4th CB.
If opportunity presents itself, he may grab the 5th/DM.
With all due respect, I understand perfectly how the market works. Of course there is more transfer activity right at the end, when managers backs are against the wall to fill the squad, and they can no longer hold out over a £1m-£2m price difference.
My fear is a repeat of January, and a couple of other instances, when there was a pressing need that was not filled. For example, because Wenger was confident of singing Chamakh on a free this summer, he chose to not persue a striker in January. Now, decide for yourself the effect this had on our squad the rest of the year, but there are many people who point to that as one of the downfalls of our season.
I agree with you on Chamakh. That was penny wise pound foolish.
“the time for pinching every last penny is gone.”
Man I should move to Seattle then because where I leave and in the UK lots of people are counting their pennies. There are available season and club tickets at most clubs including ours. There’s a lot of uncertainty about future revenues like for anyone else.
Spending wisely makes much more sense than splashing the cash. We’re the second biggest buyers after Citeh so far this transfer window which is pretty telling.
Yeah all things considered, Seattle’s not doing too bad.
@ Matt: “the time for pinching every last penny is gone.”
if you read the few sentences prior to this quote, you’ll see that I am referring to the fact that of the £40m transfer budget that Wenger was alotted, around 25% has been spent. Now, I’m no mathematician, but that leaves a sizeable portion of our transfer kitty available to fill whatever holes Arsene sees fit.
Arsenal has been very frugal and stayed competitive for years despite building a new stadium, and here we are 5 years down the line from that, with very little dept left. Im in no way suggesting a spending spree to build up woeful amounts of debt, but now that Arsenal has navigated through some very tight financial times, shouldnt we be able to afford the things we need?
Some of them certainly but we won’t bring in 3 players either.
we still need one defender and goalkeeper. Let aluminia go. Emirates cup will not be the judgement for the title. It is still too early, though practice makes perfect if no injuries.
Almunia…be careful for what you wish for.
Assuming you get a new keeper, if you let Al go, we are (again) left with the Academy keepers as back up.
Good as they are, these keepers simply do not have enough games under the belt.
Keep Al as the back up. keep the best of the 3 junior keepers and send the other two out on loan to play regularly and more importantly afford them their mistakes at another team’s expense.
1st Team:
Szczesny
Sagna – Koscielny – Vemalean – Clichy
Fabregas – Song – Nasri
VanPersie – Chamakh – Arshavin
2nd Team:
Mannone(Fabianski)
Eboue – Djourou – Nordtveit – Gibbs(Traore)
Wilshere – Denilson – Diaby(Ramsey)
Walcot – Bendtner – Vela
3rd Team:
James.Shea
Eastmond – Bartley – Miquel – Botelho(Cruise)
Coquelin(Henderson) – Frimpong – Lansbury(Randall)
J.E.Thomas(W.Silva) – Simpson(Sunu) – Barazite(Watt)
We have so much back up players we dont need 2 buy any more 1st team players they only position i think we might need 2 buy is in CB n GK thats if Wenger dosent trust our Keppers after the emirates cup and CB if we dont have injuries i think we would be alright with Vermalean, Kos6, Djorou nd Nordveit but if we can get another CB to be on the safe side like Micah Richards, Cahill, Pape Dikhate, Tasci, Mertseaker, Vertonegeh, that would be great and Mark Shawarzer as a Player Coach that wud be excellent becoz of his age the other keppers would believe Wenger believes they can step us soon.
Notveilt is not ready yet. None of the junior keepers are quite ready either.
4thCB, Keeper and if opportunity presents itself (say Flamini reconciles with the boss), a DM back up (in which case Song can revert as 5th CB if need be)
Koscielny isn’t ready either. A big striker like Drogba would eat him up because he is too lightweight. He needs the weight room and 3 or 4 months before he will be even close to ready. I don’t understand why one earth we would pay 8 or 9 million for him and not someone with a bit more experience and strength.
As much as I probably think your right. How can you say none of the goalie’s are ready? How on earth can you possibly say Koschielny’s not ready?
Right now, none of our goalie’s have let up a goal. Perfect preseason clean sheets and while they have not faced alot of shots, Mannone still saved a penalty. AC Milan will be a very important test, mostly for the goalkeepers. They will definitly face some high quality stops and I think the beginning of the end of the GK battle will occur tonight and we will know the clear cut favorite.
I happen to think the Koschielny signing was pretty damn solid. Yes, he is not going to play like Mertesacker and physically destroy Drogba but he could easily use his quickness to always stay in front of him. He has very good aerial ability according to all the scouting reports (which are not very reliable, I know). My point is, give the player a chance, he hasn’t even played a game and your telling me you don’t think he’s good enough. Drogba takes apart most of the defenders in this world and we don’t need to stop him to win, just slow him down.
Look at Barcelona, Puyol is a not very big but very fiesty. It’s not about the size. Yes, it helps which is why I would like Mertesacker but at the same time I would much rather see Tasci brought in.
Puyol isn’t big but he is physically sturdy. He probably weighs more than Kol but is much shorter. From what I have seen he just seems like he will need a bit of time which is totally understandable. Most center halves need time to acclimate to the league. Vermy was a rarity because he went in and performed brilliantly straight away.
I’m not saying none of the keeper are ready, but I am saying Fabianski and Almunia are not and in my opinion won’t ever be. The other two could be but we don’t know yet. My pick is Wojo but I know Arsene won’t give him a proper chance. Therefore we need a new umber 1.
i think we definitely need the depth. there are no guarantees that Koscielny will be able to adjust right away, and Djourou missed the entire season last year. so that leaves ONE proven CB and with our schedule, there is no way that 1 proven CB, 2 questionable CB’s and Nordveit, is enough cover. Your playing with fire, and your going to get burned by injuries and just plain exhaustion.
Ive mentioned is on an other forum but I think a player which may be made available in the losing weeks/days of the window and would provide depth through his versatility is Vincent Kompany, Wenger is a known fan of him as a player but is a bigger fan of a bargain and at 6′4 is able to play CB and DM, and he’s still young and has premier league experience
It seems doubtful Citeh want to let him go and if they don’t there’s no chance we will buy him out of his long-term contract (2014).
Excellent point, we have so many players it’s going to be a headache to keep the best ones happy with playing time. Last year Rambo got in, this years there’s him and 3-4 more youngsters to integrate (Wilshere, Eastmond, JET…).
We can play Nordveit as our 5th CB taking over from Silvestre but everything indicates we will get a CB signed, probably in the last week of the season.
We may get Schwarzer but we will certainly not pay 4M for a 37yo keeper who isn’t an improvement over Almunia.
I think I would classify Schwarzer as an improvement over Almunia… how much of an improvement is another story. personally, I am hoping Woji Szczesny has a great Emirates Cup and makes the team. Either that or lets go big, Akinfeev or Marchetti or Frey, something along that line.
Arsene should go for atleast 1 CB and if he doesnt trust Almunia let him bring in a masterclass keeper. Almunia can perform if we strengthen our defence.
Arsene pls take Flamini back he is very important in the squad.
As I have been reading the comments on this and other Arsenal fan websites as we have progressed through this summer’s transfer window, I have been reminded of an interview that I saw on American TV about three weeks ago where a former major league baseball general manager (the position in charge of making personnel moves for a team) was discussing how things were likely to progress as the midseason trading deadline approached (it is tonite at midnight).
In defining which teams were likely to be “buyers” and which would be “sellers”, he mentioned two factors that apply in the transfer market and not just MLB in the US: 1.) finances play a big role in determining which teams will be “sellers” and how much they will want in return for giving up one of their better players–the financial condition of the club, the pay that would be owed to the player if he stays with the club, and whether the club can sell its fans on the notion that the deal was or will be good for the team in the long run, are critical factors for the “sellers”, particularly in this market when economic conditions are not good; and, 2.) unless a “buyer” club is concerned about losing out on a particular player that it sees as being a “difference maker”, it is in the best interests of a “buyer” to wait until the last possible minute to make a deal because the longer a “seller” club goes without being able to trade a player, the more nervous it will get about not being able to strike a deal at all (and therefore getting stuck with having to pay the player it wants to off-load) and the lower the price will get.
He correctly stated that, early on, there would be a couple of deals for top-tier talents where the “buyers” would pay a considerable amount in return and handful of minor deals for essentially squad players and replacements for injured players. The majority of deals–the ones where the contenders added the final significant piece or two (not always a big-name player, but a solid veteran who would fill an important need)–would not happen, he again correctly predicted, until the last week before the deadline, with most happening in the last 36 hours. he added that the poor economic climate would force the poorer teams amongst the “sellers” to lower their asking prices significantly because they would not want to risk being stuck in a situation where they would have to pay a solid veteran player or star big money when the club had little chance to win or keep that player.
The course of the transfer market this summer in Europe has run parallel to the course of the trading market in MLB in many ways. There have been a few splashy signings early on along with some minor deals, but there has been far more talk than action at the highest levels. There are a lot of players talking about wanting to move, but even clubs in financial difficulty have been asking higher prices for them than even the fans know that they are worth. Four million for a 37 year old Australian GK? Sixteen million for Jagielka? They’re nice players who could fill significant needs for a club like Arsenal that is a contender, but let’s get real here!
Given the economic climate and financial condition of more than a few clubs that have players who could fill significant needs for the main contending clubs, it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that the “buyers” in the transfer market have largely chosen to wait on the “sellers”. Everyone knows that Man City has to get rid of 8-10 (or more) players and some of them are going to be solid quality veterans. Moreover, the fact that City has to sell off that many players will depress the prices that other clubs can get for the players that they may want or need or be forced to off-load. So, at this point, you don’t really see most of the top contenders, particularly in England, rushing out to splash a lot of cash around. They’re all waiting for the prices to drop as the deadline for the end of the transfer window approaches.
Now, this may be leaving a lot of Arsenal fans (myself included, I must confess) with a gnawing, nagging feeling in the pit of their stomachs–because we all know that the team needs to make at least two significant additions if it wants to really challenge for a title–but it’s hard to say that the club isn’t taking a sound approach from a business or sporting standpoint. I know that Arsene Wenger has gotten a lot of grief for not spending money in the transfer market in recent years, but I don’t believe that the man is stupid (stubborn, yes; stupid, no). I think he knows what the club’s weaknesses are, what the young talent on the squad has the potential to do, and where he needs to add a couple of more pieces.
Given the market and money available, right now he has the luxury of looking at the young talent on hand to determine where he may or may not have to spend money. For example: DM has been a weakness on the club since Flamini left that fans have wanted Wenger to address in the transfer market. Wenger has expressed some interest in adding one (ie Melo, Inler, etc.), but has not done so yet. In the meantime, A.Song has developed into a solid DM who still has room to get better, but the club still needs a second solid DM to emerge because Diaby and Denilson have proven too inconsistent in that role. Melo may be available, but Juve says it wants Clichy and cash in return. But now, not only has Eastmond begun to emerge, but Frimpong has been a revelation this preseason. Should he pull the trigger on a deal for the hot-headed Melo and risk being short at left back? Or, can Frimpong or one of the other youngsters do a good enough job backing up Song at DM that the money that would have to be spent to add Melo (and perhaps replace Clichy) be used to get a better quality CB and GK?
Wenger has just stated that he is looking outside the club to strengthen the team at the back and that he has identified a number of players that the club might be interested in. That makes sense. I don’t know that there is a CB who may be available who would be a complete difference maker, like Rio Ferdinand or Vidic, etc., that Arsenal can afford. In that case, the best strategy would be to have identified a number of solid players who can fit in with Vermaelen, Koscielny and Djourou and wait until the club can get one of them for the best price possible at or close to the end of the transfer window. By then, the price for a Mertesacker, Zapata, Jagielka or Vertonghen may have dropped a million or two pounds–enough to make a solid bid for a GK who won’t block the progress of Szczesny (if the kid shows that he truly is # 1 GK material this preseason–or Akinfeev if he doesn’t).
Like it or not, Arsenal only needs and can only afford to add a couple of more pieces this offseason in order to be serious contenders and, in this transfer market, it benefits the club to wait as long as possible to make deals for those pieces: the supply of players who can fill those roles is greater than the demand. The young core of the team is maturing and should take a step forward this season, as Wenger expects. And, some of the top-flight kids who have won such accolades for the Arsenal youth program are starting to show that they are ready or on the verge of being ready to step up to the next level and take a spot in the club. You can’t take pride in how good the club’s kids are and then not want to give them a chance to show whether they can become the stars they were predicted to become just because they aren’t coming from another club with a high price tag!
So, all I can say is that, as hard as it may be for us Arsenal fans, we’re going to have to be patient and see how things develop. The transfer window won’t be closed until it is closed. And, as we saw with the Arshavin transfer, sometimes even then the story may not be entirely over. So, let’s see what happens. Even though Arsenal has only brought in two players so far, there’s too much activity and too many indications that they are interested in other players to conclude that they are finished doing business just yet. Where there’s smoke, there’s usually fire. And there’s enough smoke to indicate that Arsenal may yet make a couple more of deals before the transfer window closes.
Many thanks for your excellent comment, it’s a very informative and cogent analysis which explains very clearly how the current transfer window will pan out.
Let’s hope those getting themselves worked up will make the effort to read your piece.
Despite what it may appear from my comments above, I do agree with your post. I know it behooves us to wait. The prices will go down as clubs realize they must make deals or risk losing out in the long run. Take Weder Bremen and Ozil, for example. Orginially WB took the stance that he would not be for sale, until Ozil rejected a new contract. Once he had a breakout campaign in South Africa, Bremen realized that the time to sell was now, or else they risk losing him next summer on a free transfer. As the new season approaches, Werder Bremen will be feeling more and more pressure to get all they can for their asset, before it is no longer theirs. Thus, the likelihood of a deal getting done for Ozil increases as the season approaches.
My main concern in my post above is the scenario that played out with Arsene not signing a striker in january, perfering to wait until the season ended to get Chamakh. From a financial sense it may have been prudent, but anyone who watched Arsenal play last season would be hardpressed to say we didnt miss the presence of a proficient striker.
Now, Arsene has said he plans to address the Defense, and I am taking him at his word and being patient.
However, I think there is also something to be said to getting guys in sooner than later, to give them a little more time to adapt to Arsenal’s style, and the style of the EPL. Koscielny may take some time, Djourou missed all of last year, and neither one has much experience with Vermaelen at the back.
Wait till late, the seller gets desperate, and so drops the price.The problem with that theory is that this assumes there is only ever one club ( in our case Arsenal ), in the market for that player. And that NO ONE ELSE thinks the same way.Of course, in reality that is not so.There would be a number of clubs all competing fiercely for that player. Because they would all be aware of this, and behave similarly.
In Arsenals situation, we simply don’ t have the luxury of time. We are DESPERATE to strengthen our team, and should have been in at the start, or much earlier in the window.This would give the new players time to settle in, get used to our playing style, and gel together. Instead here we are just two weeks from the season start, and STILL Wenger hasn’ t sorted the final squad. Good strategy? Sounds more like neglect.
“In Arsene we rust”.
Dont’ count your chickens mate, it’s wont’ be any easier this term, the other clubs are not slowing down to wait for us.
We’re the second biggest spenders after Citeh since the beginning of the transfer window (and we got Chamakh on a free) so yes it looks like all the other clubs are slowing down more than us at the moment.
Maybe it’s because they’re all waiting just like us ? So how then, does that give us an advantage in the transfer market ?
“In Arsene we rust”.
If we’d finished the business we wouldn’t have any excuses.
Good post,AmericanGunnerFan, Its jst that you dont understand what it means to be a gunner fan of late,We have suffered too much.We are tired of the story telling.Can this kids improve in the next 3years?
It is beta 4 him not to disclose the name of the player he want to buy but he should make sure he sign a G K preferably marchetti pls.
Spectrum,
Your last comments were deleted and will not make it on the site.
I don’t want to turn this blog into an AKB vs Anti-AKB war.
Club watching
Waiting to see how our opponents buy analyse their strength and build ours to neutralise them
Home grown is the ticket
AS you can add strength when needed
waiting for kik off
I don’t like AW statement, there are to many “ifs” in it…!!!
“if” should not be used in our case as we are light at the back (4CB have gone and only one got in..!!!)… There is no point starting the season with less players than before, because we will have problems… Because we always have problems…
Also I don’t see him talking about getting a GK… I think that he is going to stick with Fabianski…