Fans complaining about the lack of new signings are missing the point

For once Arsenal fans can go into a new Premiership season with plenty to be cheerful about. First and foremost amongst them is the continued presence at the club of irreplaceable, inspirational captain Cesc Fabregas.

The alone should be cause for celebration at the Emirates. Arsenal are far better off with Fabregas pulling the strings in central midfield for one more season than they would be with £30 million plus to spend on new signings.

In recent years the transfer market has not always worked to the benefit of the Arsenal first team. The club have lost the services of the likes of Vieira, Henry, Hleb, Flamini, Cole, Toure and Adebayor. The departures of Vieira and Henry were essential for the evolution of the team, Cole and Flamini were at the end of long term contracts and their departures were unavoidable while few mourned the loss of Adebayor.

Consistently losing players of this calibre and failing to replace them will not make any Premiership side more competitive - not even Arsenal with their seemingly endless supply line of up and coming youngsters. Not a single striker was signed after Adebayor left last year and as much as it pains me to admit this, his absence was felt, particularly when Van Persie and Bendtner were injured.

This time around Gallas remains the only significant departure and he has been promptly replaced by the solid looking Koscielny. Eduardo has gone but only because he has been consistently unable to recapture the form he showed prior to his horrific injury. Campbell and Silvestre have also been allowed to leave but, as with Eduardo, they have been released because they are no longer good enough rather than tempted away by a bigger or richer rival club.

It is important to remember that, as a youthful team, Arsenal are constantly evolving. We do not necessarily need to sign new players ever year in order to get better because our existing squad is constantly improving as it matures.

Chamakh looks a quality signing and will offer something a little bit different up front. There are encouraging signs that Rosicky and Arshavin might both be enjoying something of a new lease of life this season and Djourou, Gibbs and Van Persie will all be welcomed back into the fold after serious injuries severely restricted their involvement last season.

There are a number of youngsters on the periphery of the first team who could make a contribution while Wilshere looks ready to make the step up to regular first team football. The only blot on the horizon is the highly unsatisfactory goalkeeping situation. Last season firmly established that, firstly, Almunia is considerably better than Fabianski and, secondly, the Spanish shot stopper is not quite good enough.

Mark Schwarzer would do although I would rather see Wenger shopping at a slightly higher end of the market. Something definitely needs to happen in the two weeks before the start of the season if goalkeeping errors are going to be eradicated from this campaign.

In every other area Arsenal look well equipped for the new campaign. An extra centre back remains high on Wenger’s shopping list but with Djourou, Vermaelen, Koscielny and Norveldt already on the books it is not a matter of real urgency.

Song and Diaby are both developing into world class central midfielders and the consistently excellent Nasri’s exclusion from the French squad at the World Cup was nothing short of extraordinary. The departure of Eduardo should give greater opportunities to Vela to realize his undoubted potential and finally score some Premiership goals. Walcott’s pace is always an asset and hopefully his productivity will eventually improve.

Fabregas remains absolutely vital and will need to remain fit for the majority of the campaign if we are to seriously challenge for Premiership honours. He actually started very few matches during the World Cup and should be well rested once the season begins.

With Chamakh in the squad we look better equipped to cope without Van Persie but hopefully this will be the season that the Dutchman stays fit and finally makes his mark on the Premiership goalscorer charts.

The combination of youth and stability should serve Arsenal well. Neither Chelsea nor Manchester United have as yet substantially strengthened their squads during the transfer window, while Liverpool are in danger of stagnating and Manchester City are trying to introduce too many new players at once to be an immediate threat.

Fans complaining about the lack of new signings are missing the point. For once the first team has not been seriously depleted and progress continues to be made. If Arsenal can cut out some of the careless defensive errors which have blighted too many recent campaigns they definitely have the potential to bring the Premiership title back to their impressive new stadium this time around.

Source: James Goyder, The Online Gooner on 2 Aug 10