Gareth Bale's £86mil move to Real Madrid was the highlight of the summer, followed by big money moves of Edinson Cavani and Radamel Falcao to PSG and Monaco respectively. It was no surprise more money was spent in a transfer window than ever before. PSG continued to be big spenders following their moves for Ibrahimovic, Thiago Motta and Javier Pastore last season. Newly promoted Monaco's new found wealth also saw them put in an unmatchable offer for Falcao. Man City, who stuffed up badly in the last transfer window, wasted no time in spending over £100mil notably on Fernandinho, Negredo, Navas and Jovetic. A rather 'quiet' off-season for Chelsea still saw over £60mil spent, with Schurrle and Willian being the big signings.
Spurs were the biggest surprise this summer with a big splash on players like Soldado, Paulinho and Lamela. The sale of Bale made them the Premier League's biggest spenders. You would be forgiven if you thought Spurs' spending of £106mil made them the top spenders in Europe, but they were to be denied by the majestic Real Madrid, who wouldn't let anyone steal their limelight of mind-blowing transfers, picking up Bale, Isco and Illarramendi notably for an astronomical total spending of £157mil. The sale of Ozil to Arsenal also marked a record selling price for a Real player and the introduction of Arsenal to the league of top spenders with their £42mil deal to bring in the German international. It easily surpasses their club record, price for a German International, and even puts them above club records set by Man Utd and Man City for their signings of Berbatov and Aguero. The most expensive player bought by a Premier League club to date is still Fernando Torres by Chelsea for £50mil. On a side note, the third most expensive player in history Kaka, returned to AC Milan for free, representing a cost of at least £15mil each season for his services at the Bernabeau.
The transfer market frenzy would have no doubt continued to raise the bar at the highest level, which leaves the mid and lower clubs wondering whether there would ever be a chance to catch up. Football is no different to capitalism, money wields power and moves the game, unfortunately. The financial fair play rules hasn't seem to deter clubs from spending huge sums of money. I am wondering how is it possible clubs are going to comply with cap on losses.
For Arsenal, all Gooners have been looking for redemption and new blood this summer. The proclaimed £70mil transfer budget excited many including myself. Having been disappointed so many times after putting so much hope on us making a big transfer over the years, I had to be skeptical whether it was one of those seasons. Time went by and for large parts of the summer we only had an unknown Yaya Sanogo as our signing, who didn't cost anything. Right till the day when the season started, we only had two signings on a free. But a tipping point occurred, we won a massive game against Fenerbahce and a few players in the team found their form and played some fabulous football. Right on the final day of the transfer window, we sealed our biggest transfer in history. It wasn't a name which had much association to us all this while, but we knew we got our hands on a fantastic player.
On the balance of the squad, I think out midfield is our biggest strength this summer. A mix of speed, creativity, intelligent passing and experience will definitely create some huge waves this season. Cazorla, Wilshere, Ozil, Ramsey, Flamini and Arteta will give us a lot of versatility to play with in the middle. It is going to be exciting how far these players are going to bring us. On the wing, Walcott, Chamberlain, Podolski and Gnabry is going to threaten defences as well as contribute to the goals tally.
Our defence and striking options remain unchanged which I think we could have done more. I believe we are short of one central defender, having lost Squillaci, Djourou and Miquel. We also don't have Alex Song anymore who fits in perfectly when needed. Only 3 recognized centre backs looks a bit thin for me. The understanding between Mertesacker and Koscielny has improved tremendously over the last season, leaving the once guaranteed starter Vermaelen in a very unusual deputising role. I am not sure how we have afforded the risk. Fingers crossed our defence will have their best season yet.
The failure to sign Higuain or Suarez during the summer puts a great deal of reliance on Giroud as the only dependable outright striker. We do have Sanogo or Bendtner on the squad but I don't think they are anywhere near what is expected of an outright striker in a 4-5-1 formation. I've got mixed feelings when Bendtner came back to the squad as his Arsenal career was almost certain to have been over. Probably a combination of his wages and fitness made clubs unwilling to pay beyond a few million pounds. It seems like a year in Italy has changed the big Dane and made him a better and more responsible player. Having been a rarity of returning to the club after a loan spell elsewhere, maybe he still has more to give to the club. I still remember some very important goals he scored for us. Hopefully he does contribute to our season.
Players to watch: Ozil and Gnabry
Key player: Cazorla
Rivals
It's going to be another intense battle this season. There's been talk there might be a six-horse race. Let's look at the other five
Manchester United
The big story of the summer was definitely the departure of Sir Alex Ferguson, who has set a benchmark for every manager in the world. It was a rather weak transfer window for the champions, with Zaha and Fellaini being added to the squad. The latter arrived right on deadline day. Wayne Rooney looked certain to leave all summer, but a kiss and make up with David Moyes has totally changed things. Plus, who is going to pay him $250k a week elsewhere? There is a saying "why change a winning team?". But football today demands enhancements as your rivals are going to get better every year. Man Utd relied heavily on on Van Persie last season, is there anyone going to step up this season? David Moyes has got the season of his life and we'll see how he manages the biggest club in the world.
Players to watch: Zaha and Januzaj
Key player: Van Persie
Manchester City
They broke a 44 year duck last time out but a rather inconsistent season from the Citizens left them well beaten. A decisive and aggressive transfer window this off-season makes them the favourites for the title, on paper at least. The firepower available in the Eastlands makes them the team to beat. Players like Silva, Yaya Toure, Aguero with their new signings will no doubt be one of the most feared in Europe. Their defence also looks pretty solid especially with the consistency of Kompany and Zabaleta. The question left is whether Pellegrini can use his experience and bring them a notch higher in the league and Europe.
Players to watch: Negredo and Fernandinho
Key player: Yaya Toure
Chelsea
It's not surprising Roman got rid of another manager. But I am totally surprised he reappointed Jose Mourinho, despite the fact of him having served the longest during Roman's tenure. The saying that second marriages seldom succeed has got me questioning whether there is really no one else that qualifies to be Blues' manager. I respect Jose on his success in winning the Champions League with different clubs and also breaking the stranglehold by Manchester United and Arsenal on the league. His impact has been long term and Chelsea continues to be title contenders today (Of course credit also goes to the source of the transfer funds). I think Chelsea has already got a fantastic team but maximising the utility of their players will be key to any success this term. World class talent like Hazard, Mata, Oscar, Ramires and Torres gives them every chance for silverware. It is up to Jose to successfully mix and match all the talent he has to add to his already illustrious CV at Stamford Bridge.
Players to watch: Eto'o and Schurrle
Key player: Mata
Tottenham
The departure of Gareth Bale would have usually reduced the odds of Spurs competing for the title, but the opposite has happened, Spurs have a fantasic opportunity this season considering the players they have brought in. There are some really talented players like Eriksen, Townsend and Dembele who will make Spurs bigger contenders than ever. Now that AVB has put together a wonderful team like this, we will see if they can qualify for the UCL once again.
Players to watch: Eriksen, Soldado and Lamela
Key player:
Liverpool
People might think I'm crazy to include Liverpool as title contenders. Although they might be weakest among the six, a decent start to the season has caught many people's attention, even without Luis Suarez. The Reds have got an outside chance for the title this season but top four is a definite possibility. With players like Coutinho,Suarez and Sturridge, we could be looking at best finish from the Reds in years.
Player to watch: Sturridge and Coutinho
Key player: Sturridge
It's going to be another blockbuster season coming up. Next May marks ten years since the season of the Invincibles, the last time we won the title. It has been a very difficult period being a Gooner, seeing us lose some great players and missing out on silverware on many occasions. We only dream of the day where silverware will have our names engraved on it once again. Sport is another example of life, you don't give up no matter what. We will continue fighting to bring back the glory days
~deyao~
The failure to sign Higuain or Suarez during the summer puts a great deal of reliance on Giroud as the only dependable outright striker. We do have Sanogo or Bendtner on the squad but I don't think they are anywhere near what is expected of an outright striker in a 4-5-1 formation. I've got mixed feelings when Bendtner came back to the squad as his Arsenal career was almost certain to have been over. Probably a combination of his wages and fitness made clubs unwilling to pay beyond a few million pounds. It seems like a year in Italy has changed the big Dane and made him a better and more responsible player. Having been a rarity of returning to the club after a loan spell elsewhere, maybe he still has more to give to the club. I still remember some very important goals he scored for us. Hopefully he does contribute to our season.
Players to watch: Ozil and Gnabry
Key player: Cazorla
Rivals
It's going to be another intense battle this season. There's been talk there might be a six-horse race. Let's look at the other five
Manchester United
The big story of the summer was definitely the departure of Sir Alex Ferguson, who has set a benchmark for every manager in the world. It was a rather weak transfer window for the champions, with Zaha and Fellaini being added to the squad. The latter arrived right on deadline day. Wayne Rooney looked certain to leave all summer, but a kiss and make up with David Moyes has totally changed things. Plus, who is going to pay him $250k a week elsewhere? There is a saying "why change a winning team?". But football today demands enhancements as your rivals are going to get better every year. Man Utd relied heavily on on Van Persie last season, is there anyone going to step up this season? David Moyes has got the season of his life and we'll see how he manages the biggest club in the world.
Players to watch: Zaha and Januzaj
Key player: Van Persie
Manchester City
They broke a 44 year duck last time out but a rather inconsistent season from the Citizens left them well beaten. A decisive and aggressive transfer window this off-season makes them the favourites for the title, on paper at least. The firepower available in the Eastlands makes them the team to beat. Players like Silva, Yaya Toure, Aguero with their new signings will no doubt be one of the most feared in Europe. Their defence also looks pretty solid especially with the consistency of Kompany and Zabaleta. The question left is whether Pellegrini can use his experience and bring them a notch higher in the league and Europe.
Players to watch: Negredo and Fernandinho
Key player: Yaya Toure
Chelsea
It's not surprising Roman got rid of another manager. But I am totally surprised he reappointed Jose Mourinho, despite the fact of him having served the longest during Roman's tenure. The saying that second marriages seldom succeed has got me questioning whether there is really no one else that qualifies to be Blues' manager. I respect Jose on his success in winning the Champions League with different clubs and also breaking the stranglehold by Manchester United and Arsenal on the league. His impact has been long term and Chelsea continues to be title contenders today (Of course credit also goes to the source of the transfer funds). I think Chelsea has already got a fantastic team but maximising the utility of their players will be key to any success this term. World class talent like Hazard, Mata, Oscar, Ramires and Torres gives them every chance for silverware. It is up to Jose to successfully mix and match all the talent he has to add to his already illustrious CV at Stamford Bridge.
Players to watch: Eto'o and Schurrle
Key player: Mata
Tottenham
The departure of Gareth Bale would have usually reduced the odds of Spurs competing for the title, but the opposite has happened, Spurs have a fantasic opportunity this season considering the players they have brought in. There are some really talented players like Eriksen, Townsend and Dembele who will make Spurs bigger contenders than ever. Now that AVB has put together a wonderful team like this, we will see if they can qualify for the UCL once again.
Players to watch: Eriksen, Soldado and Lamela
Key player:
Liverpool
People might think I'm crazy to include Liverpool as title contenders. Although they might be weakest among the six, a decent start to the season has caught many people's attention, even without Luis Suarez. The Reds have got an outside chance for the title this season but top four is a definite possibility. With players like Coutinho,Suarez and Sturridge, we could be looking at best finish from the Reds in years.
Player to watch: Sturridge and Coutinho
Key player: Sturridge
It's going to be another blockbuster season coming up. Next May marks ten years since the season of the Invincibles, the last time we won the title. It has been a very difficult period being a Gooner, seeing us lose some great players and missing out on silverware on many occasions. We only dream of the day where silverware will have our names engraved on it once again. Sport is another example of life, you don't give up no matter what. We will continue fighting to bring back the glory days
~deyao~
