I think there'd have been less of a big deal if so much hadn't been made of the £70m "warchest" which has, thus far, gone unplundered. No one's hating on Man Utd (who admittedly have a much stronger squad already) for not signing anyone. I think it's because you get the impression that Arsenal - and yeah, Liverpool too - have been trying and failing to sign people, as opposed to just not signing anyone.
Meh, I'm as frustrated as any Arsenal supporter, but my feeling is that Arsene basically has to go against everything he thinks - as an economist and supporter of sustainable football clubs - to bid large on players that might not even be one of the best in their position. We've gotten to a stage where 20m on Cabaye is expected! That is crazy. Up until a few years ago the great majority of clubs hadn't gone past 20m for one player.
Is that an excuse for not reinforcing and panic buying now? No, it isn't, but I think there is a real split in ideologies between Arsene and the board.
Also, plenty of people have been 'hating on' Man Utd for not buying a midfielder but that has been going on for a number of years now. People scoffed at the attempt at Cesc, also. Again, we're living in a world where a 38m bid for a player who isn't even a certain starter at his club is scoffed at.
Oh please, certain clubs/leagues have massive, unfair advantages other leagues/clubs don't have. I don't like clubs selling themselves to oil tycoons, but given that the playing field isn't even I can see why they would.
How many new clubs have made it big in the past ten years? In practice it's the same clubs over and over again, unless someone brings in external money.
Oh, I don't disagree - especially in La Liga where all TV money is routed into the already giant coffers of Real Madrid and Barcelona - but the EPL handles that far more fairly.
I don't blame clubs or fans for jumping on that, and it's easy for me to say as an Arsenal fan when we've been consistently in the top 4, but I just don't think that it's good for football at all. Add to the fact that player agent's are having a far bigger say as they try and get a bigger cut of the transfer fees..they're scum, absolute bottom feeding scum and the clubs are funding it.