LONDON -- Following Arsenal’s closely-fought 1-0 win over Tottenham in a fierce North London on Sunday, the sell-out crowd of 60,073 and the hoards of gathered media only wanted to ask manager Arsene Wenger one question...
‘Will you sign anyone?’
And the French manager kept every guessing but admitted he is confident of adding top quality additions before the transfer window shuts.
“We have 24 more hours, maybe we can surprise you, maybe not,” Wenger said. “I am always confident and I’ve delivered very little until now. But I am confident, yes.”
Wenger was also asked about Tottenham’s heavy-spending and how that relates to Arsenal’s need in the transfer market, Wenger set out the Gunners targets in no uncertain terms. He’s going for the big boys.
“The need is different for us,” Wenger said. “We need one or two ‘super players’ and we will try to add them.”
The 63-year-old French manager has been lambasted by many Arsenal fans all summer for not spending big and stuttering in the transfer market. However on Sunday Wenger conceded he may pay over the odds to get the big names he strives to add to his squad.
(MORE: Arsenal 1-0 Tottenham; Giroud’s strike seals tense win for Gunners)
“I am ready to pay what we can afford, " Wenger said. “Even if it’s a bit over the market, as long as it’s not crazy, I’m not against spending.”
Many would argue otherwise.
However with Arsenal and many other clubs, most notably Manchester United, caught up in ‘transfer inactivity’ over the summer as the big players stalled to weigh up their options, Wenger admitted he’s been waiting for deals elsewhere to help him seal his targets. Now it’s all down to the final day of the transfer deadline.
“It’s a domino game,” Wenger said. “Maybe something will happen in the last 24 hours, maybe not. It’s very difficult to predict.”
Spurs have bought big during the transfer window and during the week Wenger had mentioned that it may, at first, have an adverse affect on the fortunes of his North London rivals. That certainly seemed to be the case during Tottenham’s disjointed 1-0 defeat at Arsenal.
“You need a bit of time when you buy many players, that is normal,” Wenger said. “I think the players they bought are quality, you could see that today. But you always need a bit more time when you buy more than three players.”
Arsenal fans will be desperately scouring any media outlet they can in the next 24 hours to see if Wenger will sign the ‘one or two super players’ he’s targeting.
As the famous saying goes... “Go big, or go home.”