As long as they stay in the Big Four then Arsenal will remain a Big Four side, a simple equation, but some people are claiming that because of Arsenal's slashed summer transfer budget their ambitions are shrinking and they may fall out of that elite group.

A similar argument was made before the season just passed, that Arsenal were frail whelps set to plummet - wishful thinking from jealous critics, I think.

Arsenal's budget is largely irrelevant, as Arsene Wenger prides himself on not spending money. And it is more than merely being frugal, Wenger clearly feels that this is the optimal condition for buying players, being given the time to scout forensically, and bring in young and malleable players. Wenger notoriously turned down transfer funds so the fact that Arsenal's transfer budget has been slashed from £70m to £25m doesn't mean that they are now the poor relations of the Big Four at all. 

'Big money is invariably shelled out for well-known players, but Wenger likes to go for youthful unknowns - players who naturally don't command huge transfer fees'


Arsenal have a glorious policy of bringing in talented whippersnappers, and Wenger has a number of players that he could promote from within to fill the gap.  Mexico's Carlos Vela will come back to Arsenal from his loan spell in Spain, and the 20-year-old attacker has been described as a ready-to-play Alexander Hleb replacement by Spain expert Guillem Balague.

For Wenger, money doesn't bring him want he wants - big money is invariably shelled out for well-known players, but he likes to go for youthful unknowns - players who naturally don’t command huge transfer fees.

The two teams that have launched efforts to break into the Big Four recently are Everton and Tottenham; both teams are entirely different with Tottenham buying an expensive and deep squad - and Everton relying more on a cohesive unit with a strong team spirit garnished with a few expensive acquisitions like Yakubu and Andy Johnson. If both of these sides can get close to breaking the Big Four’s choke-hold on the Champions League positions, then it surely proves that there is more than one way to skin a cat, and that money isn’t the only answer.

But that is the view from the outside; from within the comfy confines of the Big Four, the weakest of the quartet is Liverpool, who still appear disjointed, despite continually throwing money at the situation. Wenger’s lack of transfer funds won’t present a problem to him – and speaking to Arsenal fans, they aren’t too worried about how big their “war chest” is or indeed what players leave… their real fear is losing Arsene Wenger, their football guru.