I must admit to being a wee bit miffed when I saw that Arsenal Football Club, with all the mega millions sitting in the bank, and after the likes of Stan Kroenke and Ivan Gazidis keep suggesting that they are ambitious and ready to back the manager in the transfer market. It seems that the Board, to give the fans the trophy success we want, will give Arsene Wenger a measly £20 million to spend in January.
So if the report in The Mirror is true, then we can forget about the likes of Marco Reus, Mats Hummels and any other big name players we have been linked with. Or can we?
Because there are also reports from Spain that Real Madrid are ready to sell Sami Khedira in January, before losing the German for nothing in the summer. With so little time left on his contract, Arsenal would not expect to pay more than £10 million for the 27-year old World Cup winner. And that is one of the major problems, defensive midfield, solved.
The other major transfer we need is a central defender and the remaining £10 million would be more than enough to get us either Ron Vlaar from Villa or Winston Reid from the Hammers. It might even be enough to persuade the Scottish champions Celtic to part with their talented young Dutch centre back Virgil van Dijk.
So when you look at it like that, maybe the figure of £20 million is not all that the club will allow Wenger to spend, it might be the amount earmarked for the two signings he has already planned to make. What do you think?