Despite the money, why haven't Arsenal signed anyone yet?

Will Suarez be that big catch for Arsenal?

Well, that’s not completely true. Yaya Sanogo has arrived from Ligue 2 side Auxerre on a free transfer, much to the relief of Gooners all across the globe.

Umm, not really…

We’re at a time when fans are busy discussing how their club has fared in the transfer market. How the new signings will fit in. How the new players will breed confidence and optimism into the team. How they will affect the formation and tactics of the team. But all these ‘hows’ only come into the picture when the club does some business. Arsenal apparently have not.

Chief executive Ivan Gazidis made it crystal clear at the beginning of the window that the money is there to compete in the market for the best and biggest (translates to the most expensive now-a-days) names out there. Arsene also hinted towards big summer signings. His argument was – having gone through a ‘very sensitive’ period in a ‘very intelligent way’, Arsenal’s financial strength was stronger than ever.

Sadly, these words haven’t translated into action as Arsenal enter August with no major coup to showcase at the Emirates. At least not until now.

When the season ended, there were two major requirements for the future. One, to get rid of the deadwood eating away the wages at the club and two, to bring in top-class players to improve an already very good squad. Let’s see how they’ve fared on both fronts.

Regarding the first, some very decent work has been done with the likes of Mannone, Squillaci, Arshavin, Santos and Denilson being already offloaded to clubs scattered around the map. Apart from that, Coquelin and Djourou have been loaned out, and Chamakh is all set to join Crystal Palace on a six-month loan deal. That leaves just Bendtner and Park Chu Young walking away with massive salaries week in week out for doing nothing, which too is expected to be sorted out in the near future.

Now we come to the second. The cry was to sign a Higuain, a Rooney, a Suarez. A cry that echoed all around North London and beyond. Arsene seemed to have answered the cry when reports of Higuain agreeing personal terms with Arsenal spread like forest fire. The hard reality, which hit Arsenal fans hard, was that there was still no agreement with Madrid, whose evaluation of him was nowhere near that of Arsenal’s. The result? Gonzalo joining Napoli (who paid £35m for him), much against his wishes.

Arsenal moved on to Suarez, perhaps an upgrade on Higuain. His representatives had told Arsenal of the clause in his contract which allowed him to depart if a bid OVER £40m was made from a Champions League club. Hence, Arsene’s 40m and 1 pound cheeky bid. Liverpool rejected it, suggesting Suarez was worth much more than that.

According to them, £40m was the point where negotiations began. According to Arsenal, it was where they concluded. The situation dragged on only to become the biggest saga of the summer.

(Recent news suggests Suarez has come out and pleaded with Liverpool to fulfil the promise they’d made last season of countenancing a move to a Champions League club, if and when it comes calling. And even though it looks more and more likely he’ll be putting on a red and white jersey next season, nothing is official as yet.)

There have been other high profile targets for the Gunners in the market such as Wayne Rooney and Fellaini, but they’re nowhere near close. Rooney, if at all he is allowed to leave, would prefer joining Chelsea. And as far as Fellaini is concerned, Wenger wouldn’t be willing to meet his hefty buy-out clause of £23m. Jovetic, a former target, has instead drawn lots to join Manchester City. Freiburg’s Ginter, a German international at the age of 19, was also linked, but their sporting director swiftly dismissed claims of him leaving for a meagre £6.1m.

So that’s that. Arsenal has been very brave in the transfer market this time, trying in a much more arduous fashion than ever before. But their intelligence and reluctance to pay that extra million can be questioned. Was not paying £35m for Higuain a sensible decision? Was dragging on the Suarez saga by not paying that extra £10m a good choice?

Wenger should hope it better be. For if his team comes out on the pitch against Villa with no new signings, there stands to be a revolt among the supporters.

Still, you can expect Arsene, with that mischievous smile of his, trying to reassure the fans that the squad is good enough to challenge for trophies, filled with umpteen internationals. That no world-class player was available, and anyone below that wouldn’t suffice and instead impede the growth of a youngster. That Abou Diaby would be like a new signing when he comes back…