Arsenals Positive Front

On the face of it, of the established "Big Four" (TM), Arsenal would appear to be the one which exudes stability, which is how this club of austerity and high-values would always wish to be perceived. The manager himself is the perfect figurehead to carry such an image.

Whilst Manchester United have suffered the ignominity of seeing two of their star forwards depart for sunnier, or more expensive, climates, Liverpools owners seek to sell off their jewels to fund re-financing and Chelsea find themselves left behind in their attempts to make that "marquee" signing, whilst batting away bids for their captain, Arsenal remain relatively untroubled by high-profile issues such as these.

Yet, beneath the surface, legs are thrashing in an attempt to maintain positive momentum. The signing of Thomas Vermaelen for "up to" £10m is a typically unassuming Arsene Wenger purchase that, based on previous judgement is likely to become another success. However, he is not the player that Arsenal fans crave. The search for a replacement for Matthieu Flamini continues, with the best option appearing to be the signing of... Matthieu Flamini.

That deal in particular is overshadowed by its connection to a deal which would see Emmanuel Adebayor leaving the Emirates. Whilst Adebayor had a dissapointing season, he still remains one of the few genuine forwards on Arsenals books, leaving Arsenal in an uncomfortable position. Without being able to find a replacement so far- a deal for Karim Benzema was always going to be beyond their reach- it would appear that they may be relunctanctly forced to retain an underperforming, but highly-paid, player. Indeed, the player himself seems to recognise that he is onto a good thing.

Whilst Adebayor remains on the books, it further exacerbates the seeming inability of the club to compete at the top end of the transfer market in the manner they would desire. Significant shareholder Alesher Usmanov has voiced his concerns that Arsenal need to embark on a "spending spree" in order to compete, funding such deals on the strength of a share issue.

Usmanovs comments drive to the heart of the biggest issue hovering over the club, the latent issue which is the clubs ownership. As Usmanov appears to grow restless, so Stan Kronke has gone about increasing his own shareholding. Whilst these two continue to harvest shares, the club itself is reticent to pass the club into single ownership and bring about the more public issues being encountered by both Liverpool and Manchester United.

All of which leaves the club in a status quo. Insufficient funds to bring in high-profile signings, unable to provide means to encourage sufficient funds. Once again, they appear to be reliant on Arsene Wengers ability as an alchemist, turning young prospects into superstars.

Yet, there is one other route that could be entertained to provide significant resources for investment. The sale of the clubs most highly-value asset, Cesc Fabregas. A bridge too far? Possibly. But it could yet prove impossible to ignore the size of bids being made in this transfer window.