When Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger submitted his second bid for Liverpool striker Luis Suarez, he put £40 million and £1 on the table. Now, following his latest attempt at bolstering his struggling side with last night's offer of £10 million for Newcastle midfielder Yohan Cabaye, there's a running joke that the notoriously frugal boss's next move will be to throw in an extra £1. Wenger doesn't like spending money. The veteran Frenchman has become infamous for this trait. Since taking over at the Gunners in 1996, the most he has ever spent on any one player is the £17.5 million paid to Sevilla for Jose Antonio Reyes in 2004. And with Newcastle demanding £20 million for Cabaye, you do have to wonder if Wenger is prepared to smash his club's-transfer-record on a player who turns 28 next January. You see, Arsenal don't splash the cash on big players. Instead of signing Suarez, or Wayne Rooney, or Stevan Jovetic, or Gonzalo Higuain, or David Villa, they sign Yaya Sanogo on a free from Auxerre. It's a worrying sign of how far the Gunners have regressed in recent times. And so, if Wenger is determined to refrain from going on a spending "splurge" this summer by signing Cabaye, here, we take a look at five bargain midfield buys he could make. Click "Next" to continue.
Joseph is an accredited football journalist and has interviewed nearly all of the current 20 Barclay's Premier League managers. He is also a correspondent for Bleacher Report and has written for Caught Offside and Give Me Football.
