WHAT WE WILL ACTUALLY GET IN THE JANUARY TRANSFER WINDOW

WILL THEY DON THE ARSENAL COLOURS NEXT SEASON?

        








As the January transfer window approaches, the talk of the town is- who will get in and who will get out of their club. If you are a Man City fan at the top of the league or QPR fan at the bottom, every fan likes to see quality players(players in their FIFA dream team :-)) to come into their clubs and the player(s) they loath most in the club to leave the club. The transfer window is always an exciting period for all fans alike.

Arsenal have been linked with a gazillion players before this window(hardly a new thing). Interestingly, although Arsenal have almost always signed youngsters and unproven players, we have been linked mostly with some of the best in the business than with rising prodigies this time around. Not that we were not linked to bring in big name players in the seasons gone by;somehow, it is different this time. Most of the rumors are ofcourse  pure works of fiction. But are they all fictitious?

Fact or fiction, what is undeniable is that Arsenal fans have their hopes raised sky high. The mere thought of players like Huntelaar, Llorente, Cavani, David Villa,etc coming to Arsenal gives us goosebumps. What fuels the excitement even more is the fact that Arsenal have recently given preference to signing proven players like Arteta, Mertesacker, Podolski and Cazorla. Also, Arsene is coming under more and more pressure form the fans as well as the media to buy proven talents. The signing of a new and, as claimed by Ivan Gazidis, a "huge" deal with Emirates is another reason for the fans to get excited about.

It won't be an understatement to say that Arsenal fans expect something big in the window; no doubt about that. There are enough reasons to believe that we could get the names(at least one if not some) that we are linked with in the January transfer window. However, I don't need to remind everyone about how many times we have been let down on this front in the past. So, lets keep our feet on the ground yet be optimistic, cautiously.

PAPERING OVER THE CRACKS

The 7-5 win against Reading yesterday night in the Capital One cup was a delight for the neutrals and I dare say it pleased most Arsenal fans at the end of the day.To come back from 4-0 down was really some achievement.But, for me,it was a game one of those games that once again proved that Arsenal are not "there" yet,and sadly, for the 8th season in a row!My view on how Arsenal will perform this season is now more clear and it points at another trophy-less season,sadly.

As I have mentioned so many times in my posts,better defense equals more chances of winning trophies.How did our defense perform yesterday?The less said about it,the better.All the experts,pundits and fans were excited about how well our defense was organized in the first three games of the season which was credited to Steve Bould. We have conceded in every match after those games(except against QPR on Saturday). The "Steve Bould effect" was thrown out of the window yesterday.You might argue it was a reshuffled defense or a reshuffled team but infact,it is more worrying as it proves that defensive frailties resides to the core of Arsenal FC.The club must be built on a solid foundation of defense from the root-level, only then can it lay claim to titles as history has so clearly proven in the past in any league or at international level(or you have to be Brazil or Barcelona who can outscore any opponent and evidently,we cannot do that). Of course out manager wants us to play an attacking brand of football but that does not mean neglecting the defense completely.

If I am to be honest, I actually wanted Arsenal to concede more after it was 4-0 so that it would make the manager realize that we were having problems.But we did the "papering over the cracks" act and came out 7-5 winners.We have ruled ourselves out of being genuine title challengers from yesterday's match in my opinion.Sure Portsmouth won the FA cup and Birmingham  won the Carling Cup a few years ago but if Arsenal win a trophy this season, it would be hailed,as in the case of the aforementioned teams,a miracle!
  
 

THE BUSINESS END

So, the international break is over and we are back to some club football. We are in for some cracking matches this weekend and the weekends to follow.It is now what is described by many as "The Business End" of matches when games come thick and fast.

Points gathered during this time of the season often decides where a team finishes in the table. Arsene described this in his own words recently:

"In October the moment of truth starts for the team.The league establishes itself a little bit and the Champions League goes to decisive moments."


Especially after an International break, matches are often very difficult for teams to cope with as players are fatigued and not in ideal condition for matches.Added to it is the fact that international breaks are always accompanied by injuries to some players(Kos and Wallcot are out for at least the next game!).This makes the matches even more important.

Our next 4 matches read Norwich(A),Shalke(H),QPR(H),Reading(A).The very next match is against Manchester United(A) before we head to Shalke(A) and then host Fulham(H).Only then will we get a 7 day break before we host the North London Derby against Tottenham.It will be breathless football before that!
So, hold on to your seats, because we are in for some treat!