Wenger: I'm Always Thinking About Transfers

Title Race

As Arsenal's title hopes gushed mercilessly down the drain, followed by all the blood, sweat and tears that have proven useless in a season full of disappointment, false hope and dejected fans sighing, "so close", Arsene Wenger had some explaining to do. Fans were calling for new signings to rejuvenate a young, tired and injury plagued side, yet nothing was done and the club did not benefit, and those same calls will be heard again come the summer. But this time, Wenger will listen. He may be as stubborn as anything, but he will delve into a market which he has scarcely dared to tread in recent years - the football transfer market. 

"We have the quality, that is for sure. We have to strengthen the squad where it needs and make the right decision on that front. It [transfers] is always in my mind every day.”

It must be astonishingly infuriating to see such fantastic young talents, whom he has nurtured and trained, and seen grow into professionals fail to deliver when for so long they looked so close to doing so. It must be even harder to know, that this team that has failed to deliver in terms of silverware, will bare the brunt of the fans frustration of the last 6 years and the emptiness of that trophy cabinet.

Wenger will do his utmost to keep any prices for players as sensible as possible in a market which values men at tens of millions of pounds. There is little value for the best players at the moment, but what would be invaluable is the joy that Arsenal would feel if they were to win a trophy with the help of some well established, top class leaders who can unite a young, but experienced side to success.

A failed title bid, a heavy defeat against the far better side in Europe and a Carling Cup final that went freakishly wrong, but Wenger is proud of what his Arsenal side have achieved this season:

"The team have had an outstanding attitude and will not be rewarded because of small things, but small things cost you."

"It is frustrating because the team has produced the efforts." 

"We have to be realistic that it [the title] is very unlikely now, but we have to finish as well as we can."

Wenger's final words here resemble strongly in Jack Wilshere's tweet after the terrible loss to Bolton on Sunday. Wilshere, who Wenger recently described as "the future of the club"

"Very dissapointing yesterday but we are Arsenal we will not stop fighting...."

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Fabregas & Szczesny Contradict Wenger

Title Race

Arsene Wenger is undoubtedly an excellent manager, he has been a big success at Arsenal and is a man of great knowledge and huge managerial talent. But when he recently claimed that coming second in the League is not a "disaster" - implying that his club would be happy with second place, it prompted more than a few raised eyebrows. Wenger is a winner, you can see from his reactions when his side loses, or suffer a bad result that he oozes the passion to win, however, defending his sides performances and position in the League when supporters have been waiting 6 years for a trophy is not the way to go to appease those fans.

I agree to an extent with what Wenger said; yes, there are 18 other teams in the League who would love to be in Arsenal's position, yes there are clubs all over the world that would give anything to be in the Champions League every year, and yes, every club would love to be in a comfortable financial position. But when fans have been waiting so long for any silverware, and the manager, some say does not buy enough big name players or spend enough money, it mus become frustrating.

Now Fabregas, who was in Arsenal's 'invincible' side of 2003/04 knows what it is like to win a trophy at Arsenal. The majority of Arsenal players currently at the club, do not, and the Arsenal captain has seen this situation coming for a while. He made some very intriguing and valid points too, especially as his manager only recently defended the clubs position on the issues he raises:

 “That the team are always in the Champions League, that we compete until the end, that we have young players, economic stability – for the board this is important. 

“But I imagine there will be a moment when you have to decide do you win things or not? 
The ‘Invincibles’ team (of 2003-4) is the best I have played in. 

“Now a lot has changed. From 2007 on I started to say, ‘We don’t win but we play very well’. After that you realise it doesn’t work. You enjoy it, during a part of the season, like this year, when we were in four competitions. 

“You say, ‘Here I have it all’. But then you cannot make the fi nal step and a decision has to be made – to go out to win or to develop players. But I imagine there will be a moment when you have to decide do you win things or not?"

"From 2007 on I started to say, ‘We don’t win but we play very well'. After that you realise it doesn’t work. You enjoy it, during a part of the season, like this year, when we were in four competitions.

“You say, ‘Here I have it all’. But then you cannot make the final step and a decision has to be made – to go out to win or to develop players.” 

These are genuine concerns from a player who has seen, and captained a side full to the brim with talent, yet unable to bring trophies home. It is sad really, that one of the greatest players of his generation may prove unable to bring Arsenal glory in the form of prestigious trophies.

When Arsenal's performances force their website to have to publish headlines like:

"Gunners let half-time lead slip in London derby on Saturday."

"Gunners lose ground after letting a four-goal lead slip."

"Last-minute mix-up ends Gunners' hopes of glory at Wembley."

It is a shame as the squad is full of talent, but, as their manager implies, their position isn't bad enough for supporters to complain or criticize. Arsenal's goalkeeper, Wojciech Szczesny agrees with his captain; he wants to win, and is not happy with settling with second place:

 "We are only thinking about winning the title, not who is behind us.

"We go into everything to finish first. We are Arsenal - we don't want to finish second and we definitely don't want to finish third. We just think about winning."

This is the right attitude to have, and Arsenal and their manager must have it when going into their game against Tottenham. It is crucial that they make the most of Manchester United's minor slip-up against Newcastle. Arsenal must win against their local rivals Tottenham to keep the pressure on United, because if they don't, quite frankly, they don't deserve to finish first. It will be a season of missed opportunities, avoidable slip-ups and unfortunate incidents that define Arsenal's season rather than trophies. This isn't what any Arsenal fans want, and it is surely not what Wenger wants.

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Lehmann to Return to Arsenal

Title Race

Jens Lehmann could soon become one of very few current Arsenal players to have lifted any silverware wearing the Arsenal kit. Lehmann won several trophies at Arsenal; the Premier League, the FA Cup, the Community Shield and claimed Champions League runners up medal. 

Arsenal have not won a major trophy since the German left Arsenal, and whats more, when Lehmann won the Premier League with Arsenal in 2004, it was done so without losing a single match. His anticipated return to Arsenal comes too late to repeat this feat, just as it is unlikely for the achievement to be completed again, but his experience in abundance and leadership qualities could prove vital in a title race with all too familiar rivals.

Lehmann is reportedly in talks with Arsenal over a short term move to solve Arsenal's current goalkeeping crisis. Wojciech Szczesny, Lukas Fabianski and Vito Mannone are all injured and therefore unavailable, leaving only Manuel Almunia to occupy the goal. Of course you only need one goalkeeper on the pitch at one time, but suppose Almunia were to pick up an injury - which considering Arsenal's current bad luck seems unfortunately likely. They need another keeper, and Lehmann could be a perfectly satisfactory solution.

It is ironic that upon Lehmann's supposed return to Arsenal, Manuel Almunia will be ahead of him in the pecking order. During his Arsenal days, Lehman became increasingly frustrated with the fact that Almunia was chosen ahead of him, and complained to Wenger about it;

"My coach confirmed my impression that he uses a different measuring stick to evaluate [Manuel] Almunia. For me this was a disappointment. It's very frustrating. When I see the performances on the field, I get angry and I have to clench my fist in my pocket."

That was said in 2007, and it looks as if four year on, Lehmann will return with his fist clenched firmly in his pockets. However, it is a nice situation for him to be in - returning from retirement to a club which he earned close to 200 appearance for, and helped to several (now rare) trophies. He could also help the current, still relatively inexperienced squad during the final stages of this incredibly tight title race.

It's a win - win situation isn't it? Well, unless the form of the end of his Arsenal career returns, and upon playing his first football game in a while if Almunia doesn't start, makes a crucial, title losing mistake.

Arsenal Will Rely on Suarez & Carroll for Tomorrow

Title Race

Arsene Wenger's stony expression pasted on his appalled faced was clear for all to see as he trudged down the tunnel at the Emirates, knowing his side had wasted a glorious chance. The chance to close the gap to just one point on United had been fought for fiercely, but against a resilient Sunderland defence that United's own Steve Bruce had organised, the Gunners could not break through.

All they needed was a goal, but it just wasn't to be. It was just one of those days- all teams have them - when that goal simply doesn't come, and it is unfortunate for Arsenal that it came today, at a crucial time in their season. Five goals in midweek against Leyton Orient meant nothing against a Sunderland defence which was in a different class to that of Orient's.

Wenger may count him and his side unlucky with some of the officiating as two crucial calls in particular will possibly be questioned. An offside decision late on in the 87th minute was called up for Andrey Arshavin, whilst replay's show that although very borderline, and very close, the little Russian was probably onside and would have been clear through.

A little earlier too, there was a penalty shout for the Gunners, which was denied, as Arshavin went down from a push from Titus Bramble in the box. Arshavin's subsequent shot was an unbalanced one as he hit it wide of the post as a result of the push. Arshavin was clean through, only for Bramble to fall into his back with arms outstretched. This went undetected and the chance was gone.

In the absence of two of Arsenal's best in Fabregas and van Persie, the other players had to step up and fill in. Nasri, Wilshere and Bendtner helped Arsenal to a total of seven shots on target, but none found themselves go beyond Simon Mignolet in the Black Cat's goal, as the away side held on for the point.

Arsenal were never going to overtake Manchester United through a win in this game, obviously because it was mathematically impossible but they would have expected a win against a side who have been struggling recently since the departure of Darren Bent to Aston Villa. A win would have been a significant stride towards their first League title since 2004, especially considering United's tough trip to Anfield tomorrow.

Arsenal’s strikers may have misfired today, but they do have two aces up their sleeve, or rather Kenny Dalglish's sleeve which Arsenal will borrow. Manchester United travel to Anfield with a weakened defence, and will face a Liverpool front line which has recently been boosted by the additions of Suarez and Carroll. Wenger will be hoping the penetrative power of Liverpool will be greater than United's defensive abilities in the absence of Vidic and Ferdinand. If so, the disappointing draw to Sunderland won't look to bad, and rather a point gained than to points dropped.

Title Race Over for Chelsea

Title Race

Chelsea's sixth draw this season will be seen as another two points dropped as they struggle to keep up with the top two, Manchester United and Arsenal. As they will continue to emphasise, they are still mathematically in the race, with there still being a possibility - although a slim one, of Ancelotti's side gaining twelve points on the leaders without reply. It is one hell of a tall order, especially when the leaders United seem to become a stronger force later on in the season, and seeing as they have only lost one game up until now, Chelsea would be forgiven for setting their sights on fourth spot and not the top one.

After spending a colossal amount of money in January, you would at least expect the results to improve for the Blues. Torres, who cost £50 million, has made little impact in both his debut against his former club Liverpool, and against Fulham today. Perhaps understandably, Fulham fans were heard chanting 'What a waste of money', directing it the Spaniard.

Meanwhile, David Luiz, who had a strong full debut for his new club - apparently worth around £21 million - conceded a late penalty which, if converted, could have made a draw look like a good result. Clint Dempsey missed the spot-kick and saved Chelsea's blushes away at Craven Cottage.

Chelsea ultimately escaped with a point. That is not something anyone was familiar with saying about them last season or early this season when they trampled teams scoring goals for fun. Fulham are a tough side to beat, granted, and as Chelsea's narrow 1 - 0 home victory against them earlier this season proves, Mark Hughes' side are not to be rolled over all to easily. But this is the kind of fixture that Chelsea would be expecting to win, especially when they are already so far behind United and Arsenal.

Petr Cech, who saved the penalty to secure the point admitted:

"For the title, this point is too little."

"Mathematically it is not over, but obviously we are quite far [off] now because they [Chelsea's rivals] won their games and we dropped another two points."

However, the goalkeeper assured fans that this is not the end of them this season. While it still a possibility, Chelsea will continue to fight, in the hope of big slip ups from their rivals:

"But there is still a long way to go and we are going to fight to the end."

Ancelotti said after the game:

"Now [12 points adrift] is too much"

"Obviously it's very difficult to come back to fight for the title, but we have a very important aim to reach until the end with the FA Cup."

Chelsea do however have two games to play against the Manchester United, and therefore six points to gain without reply. After snowy conditions earlier in the season, the scheduled match was postponed, and was re-scheduled for later in the season. The two fixtures will be played on the 1st March at Stamford Bridge, and the 7th May at Old Tafford.

 Have no doubts, those two games will be pivotal in which way this years title swings - whether Chelsea are up there challenging or not. 2 wins for Chelsea aginst United may not win them the title, but it would surely guarantee a top four finish, while perhaps giving way for Arsenal to sneak ahead of United and snatch their first title in however many years its been.

They face a tough, arduous uphill battle, but Chelsea could still defend their title. It is more likely however, that they will have a bigger say in who gets it instead of them - United, Arsenal... or City, while in the meantime, they will have to concentrate on securing a Champions League place for next season, or their £50 million Fernando won't be happy.