Am I alone, a faint voice in the dark unheard? Surely all knowledgeable football fans know that Arsene Wenger W is a man of integrity, that unlike so many in this mercenary age, his word is his bond? The man has never broken a contract! 


Remember, we had to wait for the J-league season to end before he arrived on British shores, so why would he leave now? Would he really want to go to Spain or Italy, where the presidents pick which players come to the club, or a manager is fired for winning the league?

Many people are under the assumption that money is not available at Arsenal for squad strengthening, but that is not the case. AW has always been given money  when he requires it (Sylvain Wiltord, Thierry Henry, Jose Antonio Reyes), but going out and buying proven superstars has never been the great man's way; he much prefers to capture young, hungry players rather than experienced ones looking for a pension.

'If Robin van Persie starts the new season the way he did last year, and Emmanuel Adebayor has settled to the Premiership, Arsenal have a forward line with pace, power, height and above all . . . hunger'


With £16m from the sale of TH14, £2m from Jeremie Aliadiere, and whatever we receive from the sale of Reyes (although I would not be heartbroken if he came back, older and wiser), AW has plenty of money to spend if he believes that is the way to go.

However, if Robin van Persie starts the new season the way he did last year, and Emmanuel Adebayor has settled to the Premiership, Arsenal have a forward line with pace, power, height  and above all . . . hunger. That's something TH14 may just have lost a little of in his last couple of years at the club.

With an older Theo Walcott hopefully showing some of the form that destroyed the German Under-21 side, and Nicklas Bendtner having had a full season on loan at Birmingham, there is some able back-up. In spite of those players, the possibility is that AW may want to bring in a player like Carlos Tevez or Obafemi Martins, and if he does, the board will back him.

So before everyone succumbs to the sense of doom and gloom that the red-tops and certain ex-players seem intent on perpetuating, let's thank TH14 for a wonderful ride (who would have dreamed in the days of George Graham, and 1-0 to the Arsenal, that we would have the best player in the world scoring 30 goals a season for us?), but look forward with hope and expectation.  In AW we trust.