Odds on championship: 12-1. Odds on relegation: 500-1
Manager: Arsene Wenger (since 1996). Odds on first out the job: 20-1
Last season: 4th, 68 points; Champions League last 16; FA Cup fifth round; Carling Cup runners-up
In: Eduardo da Silva (Dinamo Zagreb, £8m); Bacary Sagna (Auxerre, free); Lukasz Fabianski (Legia Warsaw, £2m); Harvard Nordveit (FK Haugesund, £2m); Gilles Sunu (Chateauroux, nominal); Kyle Bartley (Bolton, nominal)
Out: Thierry Henry (Barcelona, £16.1m); David Dein (FC Sulking, undisc); Jose Antonio Reyes (Atletico Madrid, £8m, from loan to Real Madrid); Freddie Ljungberg (West Ham, £3m); Jeremie Aliadiere (Middlesbrough, £2m); Arturo Lupoli (Fiorentina, free); Mart Poom (Watford, free); Matthew Connolly (Colchester, loan); Vito Mannone (Gretna, free)
Fourth place is not what Arsenal have been about under Arsene Wenger. But can they achieve any more at such a turbulent time? The Gunners have been in transition for a couple of years already and now start a season without Thierry Henry or David Dein.
The former vice-chairman is still a power, of course, as a shareholder and a mover and shaker. But the Frenchman will no longer be stirring the hearts of the fans or putting the wind up Premier League defences. Even if Wenger has bought wisely in the bid to replace him, it would be no failure on the part of Eduardo da Silva if he.....
Read the full article here
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment