ARSENE WENGER has the green light to splash £15million
on Obafemi Martins to bolster his paper-thin squad.
Last week's ousting of chief executive Keith Edelman frees the
financial shackles at Arsenal and could allow Wenger to compete on
a level playing field in terms of transfer fees and wages. While
Edelman always insisted there was money for Wenger to spend,
Arsenal sources believe the Gunners boss felt restricted in the
transfer market.
Newcastle striker Martins tops Wenger's list, with the French
gaffer confident he can land his target — even if it means paying
the Nigerian £75,000 a week. Wenger, whose side face Everton on
Sunday afternoon, accepts he must stick to a wage structure as the
Gunners' move to the Emirates Stadium has created a £360m debt.
But it is understood Edelman had turned the screw too tight. His
business acumen had helped the club successfully make their move to
the Emirates and increase profitability but, according to one
source, he was cutting costs to the bone — thus affecting the
football side of the club.
I understand Wenger increasingly missed the support of former
vice-chairman David Dein who fell out with Edelman over potential
foreign investment and was ousted last year. Other players on
Wenger's radar will be Aston Villa's Gareth Barry, Manchester City
midfielder Michael Johnson and Miralen Pjanic of Metz.
Wenger does not believe he needs to radically reshape his squad
but he knows he has to inject more power and experience throughout
the team.
Wenger will also be looking for another centre-half and
goalkeeper — possibly West Ham's Robert Green. While a loosening of
the purse-strings may be too late to satisfy midfielder Mathieu
Flamini's staggering demands, it should enable Wenger to add to
quality to his squad and, crucially, keep Cesc Fabregas out of
Spanish clutches.
Wenger said: "The priority is to make sure we keep hold of the
players we have at the moment. "We do have a transfer budget but
that includes any renegotiating of current players' contracts. "I
believe we need to strengthen the team but don't feel we need to
kick some players out and replace them.
"We have a tremendous future but maybe we need to add some
experience. "Last season we had 68 points and were far behind. This
year we can make 83 and who knows?"
