Arsene Wenger has been talking about how Arsenal and the other Big Teams can challenge Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea for the Premier League title next season, and admits that some astute purchases in the summer transfer window can have a big effect on who wins next years trophy.
Wenger thinks that the Gunners have a very strong, confident squad right now, but he thinks our rivals will still be investing in the transfer market and could also be stronger next season.
“We have that feeling (that we can challenge next season] in the squad but it’s still a question because we are behind Chelsea and behind with a pack of Man City and Man United,” Wenger said on Arsenal.com. “We go into the uncertainty of how strong will they be next season. Nobody knows that.”
Le Prof also admitted that Chelsea’s simple addition of two star players last year were enough to give Mourinho the edge in this campaign, but he believes that the Blues already possessed a great defence before they spent their money.
“Chelsea made a big leap this year because they’ve lost just two games.” Wenger continued. “So you must say that is a massive leap to what they did last season. But they had good cohesion at the back and went into the season having brought in Diego Costa. He and Cesc Fabregas gave them a big boost.
“But I think you feel the strength of the Chelsea team when you play against them. And I think we’ll fight against them and it’ll be tight against them next season for everybody because Liverpool will respond as well.”
“You can always look at possible areas where you can strengthen but sometimes in your own team the cohesion is important as well, and that is linked to the type of players that play together.
“Sometimes it’s less risky [to bring players in] but where the heart of the team is, the fact they play together for a long time is very important as well.
“We just spoke about Chelsea. They have a stable defence that has played together for two or three years now. And they conceded fewer goals than the other teams.”
Wenger is basically saying that there will be five teams challenging for the Top Four next year, and the destination of next year’s trophy could depend on who spends their money wisely in the summer. Does that mean he is acutely aware that the Gunners need to splash the cash as well, or get left behind?