2. The Scouting Team
Ignoring the acquisition of England international Alex Oxlade Chamberlain, Arsenal haven't been the force they once were in the transfer market. Where once Arsene Wenger was the king of clever transfer deals, buying low and selling high to generate further funds for investment, fan pressure and the need to bring in experienced players have made those sort of signings a less frequent occurrence in North London. Arsenal need to take a leaf out of Newcastle United's book - ironically, since it was Arsene Wenger's usual transfer manifesto that Mike Ashley and Derek Llambias chose as the model for their own frugal approach to player trading - scouring the world for affordable talents within a certain age bracket who have their best years, and potentially lucrative outgoing deals in front of them. Because the change of approach last year may have brought third place, and Champions League football, but it also saw relatively poor signings like Andre Santos, Park Chu-Young and Per Mertesacker who suggested to many that Arsene had lost his touch. Something needs to change in the scouting set-up to make sure that the best young talents like Cesc Fabregas are still being attracted to Arsenal, or they will find themselves left further behind the teams who are willing and able to spend more money in the transfer market.