Until Arsenal could guarantee Champions League football, frankly, there was very little to attract players to the Emirates, asides from past glories. The world cup beckons at the end of the season, and players who are not pitting themselves against the best teams in Europe will surely fall down the pecking order compared to those who are.
However, 3 away goals and a home game at the Emirates has rendered the upcoming game almost moot, the only priority should be to avoid injuries or a sending off, and then another season in the elite competition of Europe beckons.
Arsenal are not Monaco. They cannot claim to be a work in progress, and throw money at people in the hope that it will supersede the logic of above. Even with the reserves of cash available to them, the structure of Arsenal has to be maintained in order to keep their moral integrity as a club, and their fiscal integrity too. Buying a Rooney at ?250,000 a week wages, would send players such as Walcott into an apoplectic rage, when he had to fight tooth and nail to get well under half of that when he extended his contract. Most players would demand a rise, and then costs spiral.
Arsenal are a self sustaining entity, one of very few in the top class footballing world. They wish to keep it that way, and so, there has to be balance. The cost of new players and the subsequent associated wage issues has to be correlated with the existing squad and it's impact. Champions League football puts them, if you'll pardon the pun, in a different league, to Europa League football. It empowers them, and as such, makes them far more desirable.
So Arsene, you have the appeal. and you have the cash to purchase 1 or 2 genuine world class players. Let's see what you can do.
Source: DSX
Source: DSX