Filed under: Arsenal, Champions League, Premier League, Football
Now that the inconvenience of qualifying for the Champions League proper is out of the way, Arsenal can now concentrate on restocking their squad list.Arsene Wenger was understandably relieved after getting past Udinese on Wednesday night to make it into Thursday's draw for the group stages. It came after a torrid couple of weeks for the Arsenal manager in which he lost his battle to keep hold of captain Cesc Fabregas and last season's star man Samir Nasri.
And while those two were going through the process of leaving, he faced question after question concerning who would be coming in. Because even before Nasri and Fabregas upped and left, there was a pressing need to strengthen the team, particularly in defence.
And they were questions he was unable to answer, while the club's Champions League fate hung in the balance. Because in order to attract top players, it helps a great deal if they are in the thick of elite European competition.
But now that they are safely in the group stage, Wenger can get to business. He has promised to "work very hard" on signings - and the names he is being linked with are not your usual run-of-the-mill players. Like Kaka, for instance.
Yes, that Kaka. The Brazil and Real Madrid superstar, who came close to joining Manchester City a couple of years ago but rejected the move because (and we are paraphrasing here) they were a little 'nouveau riche' for his liking.
Wenger is said to have had a loan move turned down by Real, but the fact he is even targeting that level of player is bound to get Arsenal fans blinking in disbelief. What, an established household name? No 17-year-old wunderkind who can hopefully blossom into a league-winner by the time the World Cup kicks off in Qatar?
Kaka is not the only player in he higher echelons of European football (and Bolton) that Arsenal have been linked with. They may have missed out on Juan Mata to Chelsea, but the speculation over Lille playmaker Eden Hazard, Real Madrid defender Raúl Albiol and Gary Cahill of the Reebok remains strong.
Wenger is giving little away with regards to his transfer targets, but said after the Udinese win: "We work very hard. I have said that many times, but we have many players out as well so I think we can be very positive as well.
"There may be signings but I cannot give you any names tonight. I cannot lie and say we sign somebody tomorrow."
And of the naysayers? The growing band of dissidents who questioned whether the "Arsene Knows" mantra is still applicable after 15 years of service? Wenger not only calmed their fears by leading his team into the Champions League, but also told them that Le Prof is not ready to hand in his mortarboard just yet.
"We live in a society where everybody has an opinion on everything," Wenger added. "I'm like somebody who flies a plane for 30 years and I have to accept that somebody can come into the cockpit and thinks he can fly the plane better than I do.
"But that's part of our job and we have to accept that. I just would like to say that the club is in overall a very strong position."
Strong and about to get even stronger. As long as Wenger holds his nerve and actually spends some decent money.
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