The biggest spenders in the Premier League this season are Tottenham, a team that won’t even be in the Champions League. After Paulinho, Nacer Chadli, Roberto Soldado, Etienne Capoue, Erik Lamela and Vlad Chiriches, it seems they’re still not done, with Christian Eriksen of Ajax coming next.
There’s nothing official yet, but there seems to be an agreement in the Netherlands that Ajax will have to give up on the young Danish player, who is probably their best player over the last three seasons, as Ajax regained their place on top of the Dutch Eredivisie.
The work Tottenham have done in the transfer market shines a very negative light on Arsenal, and especially on Arsene Wenger and Ivan Gazidis, who are among the highest paid in the respective positions not just in England but in European football, and yet it doesn’t seem like bringing in new players with the insane amount of money Arsenal charge from their fans is in their job description.
Spurs might be a bit too easy on the trigger, but they’re ambitious, and settling for fourth or fifth isn’t something they’re considering. It doesn’t matter if Gareth Bale leaves or doesn’t, Tottenham have already spent nearly £100 million, and if the Eriksen deals comes through, it’ll be closer to £110 million.
There doesn’t seem to be any thinking about needed positions with Tottenham. It’s simply about acquiring the highest quality and number of players they can in order to create impressive depth and quality in a squad that always seems to be missing something. It doesn’t matter if they’ve spent quite a lot over the last couple of years. Those who haven’t been good enough are cast aside, sold or benched. This isn’t about continuity, but about winning, and now. Andre Villas-Boas might be talking about his team not being ready, but they’re not acting like a side patiently building.
Arsenal? Arsene Wenger? They’re making up excuses. Not enough players, not enough quality to improve the squad. It’s hard to understand this complete lack of willingness to sign players, but maybe it has to do with Wenger getting his bonuses and job evaluted based on the profit the club makes, not the players he signs or the trophies he (doesn’t) win.