Arsenal & Tottenham: A Tale Of Two Contrasting Summers

As we ready ourselves for the North London Derby, Joe Nelson looks at what’s been a contrasting summer for Arsenal and Tottenham.

So much was promised to the Arsenal fans at the start of June when Ivan Gazidis, the Chief Executive of Arsenal F.C, sat down in front of the fan shareholders to discuss their transfer plans for the coming months. He filled them up with hope & dreams of a £100 Million budget in which Arsene Wenger would use to lure the ‘finest’ talent from around Europe’s top leagues.

However, now, with only two days remaining in the transfer window, Arsenal fans remain frustrated with only 2 free signings arriving, Yaya Sanogo, a French under 20 international from League 2 side Auxerre along with former gunner Flamini (29) who was announced very recently.

Just 3 stops on the northbound Piccadilly line would see you arrive at White Hart Lane, where Andre Villas Boas has been spending all summer scouring the globe to bring in as much talent as possible with the impending Bale transfer to Real Madrid funding his endeavours. He has now smashed Spurs’ transfer record in 3 separate occasions in this window; Paulinho has been brought in from Corinthians, who starred and won the 3^rd best player at this year Confederations cup held in Brazil, he cost the Lilly Whites £17m. Wenger had hesitated in his pursuit of Paulinho in the previous summer transfer window when it was reported that he refused to meet Corinthians valuation. This dilly-dallying approach has become Wenger’s trademark in recent years, with the likes of Juan Mata & Gonzalo Higuian both departing to different clubs due to the Frenchman’s reluctance to dig into his ‘war chest’ as it is so often put.

This lackadaisical approach may come back to haunt Arsene & Arsenal as they face even stiffer competition for the top 4 spot this year, with Paulinho bulking up a already impressive Spurs side.

AVB did not stop with the capture of one of Brazil’s finest stars, he has also brought in Spanish hit-man Soldado, with a fee of £26 million attached, he arrived from Valencia with an impressive goals scoring record in La Liga behind him. The Spanish international has hit over 15 goals in his previous 3 seasons in the Spanish first division and will surely help ease the departure of Gareth Bale with much needed goals.

With the North London Derby upon us, AVB thought it wise to invest in another gem; Eric Lamela was captured from Roma for a fee of £30 Million. The 21 year old Argentinian winger has been tipped as the next Ronaldo & described it as a “dream move” to sign for Tottenham. Defender Vlad Chiriches and playmaker Christian Eriksen were also snapped up on what was a hectic Friday of transfer activity for Spurs.

All the pointers turn towards a tough day for Arsene Wenger’s men on Sunday, an injury hit Arsenal side will have to rally the home support and muster whatever fight they have left in them after two gruelling Champions League Play-off games against Fenerbahce, however like in football you do not give up in the 85^th minute & Arsenal fans will hope that in these final few days of this long transfer window, Arsene will still have a few tricks up his sleeve.

Are Arsenal fans concerned by how this summer has gone for them? Are Spurs fans happy with their business? Share your views below.