Waching the cash: Arsene Wenger and Ivan Gazidis

Published: 4 September, 2014
by STEVE BARNETT

WHEN the news broke that Arsenal’s last-minute attempt to sign Danny Welbeck from Manchester United on Monday night wasn’t true the – shall we say boisterous – fans who had gathered outside the Emirates Stadium to count down the final hours of the transfer window cheered with delight. 

In fact they squealed in ecstasy upon hearing that the striker, who was somehow sharing Sky Sports’ famous yellow “breaking news” strap with the likes of Colombian goal-machine Radamel Falcao, wasn’t going to be a Gooner. 

It’s hard to imagine just how awkward and embarrassed those Arsenal fans will feel if Welbeck goes on to become a sensational summer signing, a very real possibility for a 23-year-old who has already played countless games for United in the Premier League and the Champions League, and established himself as an England regular. 

At a reported £16million, Welbeck is a bargain, especially when you take into account how badly north London rivals Spurs wanted to capture his signature. 

So my first thought when seeing the groaning Gooners jumping up and down was one of disappointment. But then I started thinking, was it really their fault? 

Both Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger and chief executive Ivan Gazidis made it clear that the club had money to spend, and were ready to flex their financial muscles. They were going to match their rivals in a spending spree that would make them genuine title challengers – providing, of course, that it was “on players of proven quality”, as Wenger made clear at every opportunity. 

It all started off well enough, with the energetic Alexis Sanchez swapping the Camp Nou of Barcelona for the Emirates in a deal worth £32million. Perfect. 

From then on, however, Gooners had to slump back in their armchairs while Cesc Fabregas was allowed to join London rivals Chelsea, along with Loic Remy for the bargain-basement price of just £10.5million – a snip in the modern game. 

In fact, when you look at just 11 of the players who could have been snapped up this summer – you start to realise that those cheers were aimed at the Arsenal board and not Danny Welbeck.