Will Arsenal really be splashing the cash this year?

Summer is characterised by tradition. The short sleeves, sun tan and ice cream symbolise the first (and, most probably, the last) days of summer. Similarly, when Manchester City are linked to the next big thing, Manchester United are set to buy that evasive creative midfielder, and it’s Liverpool’s ‘year’, you know football’s Summer holidays have started. The talk of Arsenal releasing themselves from their self-imposed financial shackles is often the sign that the crazy season is in full swing

Very rarely do these ever come true, and as such it might be foolhardy to believe that this year will be any different. Manchester City’s move for El Shaarawy looks ambitious, Manchester United target Cesc Fabregas looks set to stay at the Nou Camp, and Liverpool’s Uruguayan superstar looks determined to ruin any hopes of his club reaching their previous heights.

Whilst these traditions entice a strong sense of Deja Vu, this really does feel like the season that Arsenal will attempt to challenge through hefty financial spending. Typically Arsenal’s rhetoric about being able to spend big if they wanted to, and having the same financial capacity as the League’s top sides seems half hearted. However, this summer there are justifications for big spending in the summer, and evidence of funds being freed up for spending.

For years Arsenal’s spending has been severely restricted by the astronomical cost of building and upholding the Emirates. However, from the day the historic Highbury was pulled down till today, Arsenal have been a Champions League club. Whilst many fans might question whether or not this can be seen as an achievement, the rewards for Champions League qualification have been greater than ever. As a result, it is likely that ‘winning the forth place trophy’, (a phrase the Arsene Wenger controversially and infamously coined earlier this season) has helped Arsenal significantly in paying off these debts, and will have helped increase their financial power.

Furthermore, Arsenal seem to have learnt the lessons from their previous mistakes. Although they spent extremely effectively last summer, their biggest signing was Theo Walcott. Their top scorers willingness to commit to the club shows that Arsenal’s manager and owner now have some justification behind their rhetoric. It also proves their ambitions have changed – no longer will they allow top players to leave the club with financial justifications.

Even though Ivan Glazidis has claimed that Arsene Wenger will be central to any plans for an Arsenal title challenge, it is general acknowledged that the pressure on the Frenchman’s shoulders has increased significantly over the past years. As long as Arsenal don’t challenge for the Title, this pressure will only increase. Wenger and Glazidis must recognise this, and must also recognise that in order to challenge for the Title, Arsenal need to spend big. In recent years there has been a trend that the team at the top of the table has also been the one that has spent the most effectively- both in terms of the quantity and quality of the players that they have brought in. To be champions, Arsenal must spend.

Already the actions of Arsenal point towards increased spending. Arshavin, Denilson and Squilacci, who had been symbols of Arsenal’s failings in previous transfer windows, have all been released. Not only does this give them gaps in their squad to fill, but  it also releases funds for Wenger to spend, all three had huge wages, that they came nowhere near to justifying.

Most of all, though, it seems to be the right time for Wenger to invest in his squad. The Premier League has been dogged by instability. Manchester United, City and Chelsea have all changed managers, whilst Tottenham and Liverpool have to cope with the potential exits of their star players. Arsenal are the only club in the top 6 – and one of the only clubs in the whole league –  to not be suffering with some form of instability. This presents a rare opportunity for Arsenal, and the best way to capitalise would be spend big. Certainly for managers unaccustomed to managing top Premier League clubs – namely David Moyes and Manuel Pellegrini – would fear a strong Arsenal team with Wenger at the helm.

Talk of Wayne Rooney and Cesc Fabregas might be overambitious, even if Arsenal can spend big. However, Arsenal are, in reality, three quality signings away from being able to sustain a title challenge, especially in the instability of the Premier League. There can be no question, this is the summer that we learn whether Arsenal hold the ambition that characterised their previous Title winning side.