So Close Yet So Far: A look at Arsenal

Arsenal Football Club. A team known for its beautiful football and exciting players gracing the Premier League. However in the last decade, since they last won the league title, they have also been perceived as a bit of a joke when it comes to transfer dealings. They have begun to turn things around in recent years - signing Mesut Ozil in 2013, Alexis Sanchez in 2014, and Petr Cech earlier this week. While they are brilliant purchases, both Ozil and Sanchez were virtually the only purchase during those respective periods. In contrast, cross-town rivals Chelsea signed Diego Costa, Cesc Fabregas, Filipe Luis, Loic Remy and Didier Drogba last season alone, and waltzed to the title with ease. All world class (bar Remy) and all ready to fit into the team. Arsenal meanwhile signed Sanchez, Danny Welbeck (4th string striker from Man United), Mathieu Debuchy and Calum Chambers (who play the same position), and David Ospina. Good purchases yet lacking the same quality that Chelsea received. If Arsenal had taken Fabregas back from Barcelona and combined him with Sanchez and Ozil, they may well have gone all the way. Alas, Arsenal are always 'nearly' there, just a piece away from winning it all, but their approach in the transfer market is slow and tedious and often sees them miss out on their prime targets. Currently they need a world class striker and a defensive midfielder to compete with revelation Francis Coqulian. They've already missed out on Jackson Martinez and Geoffrey Kondogbia. Ideally they should be targeting Alexandre Lacazette from Lyon or Karim Benzema from Real Madrid for the striker spot, and Arturo Vidal of Juventus for the defensive midfield position. With Manchester United's acquisitions of both Bastian Schweinsteiger and Morgan Schneiderlen, Arsenal have another strong competitor for the title. Business needs to be done quickly in order to secure signings of a similar quality. If Wenger seriously wants to win, he cannot wait until deadline day to make a move, yet such is his continuity and stubbornness, this is probably what will happen.