Arsenal with Market Difficulties, Fabregas Leaving United on Hold




Beyond The Pitch show

Summary: With another Premier League season upon us in less than a month, Arsenal legend and new NBC Match Analyst Lee Dixon joins us stateside to have a look at what has ben a surprisingly quiet transfer period for Arsene Wenger given advanced expectations and clear needs by the football club which seems to have clear and present needs just to retain top four in England. We examine the potential change in direction that Arsene Wenger once appeared set to make in advance of the 2013-14 season, sending a signal into the marketplace that Arsenal would compete for some of the bigger names who were sure to emerge like Gonzalo Higuain, yet now find themselves left chasing the likes of Luis Suarez who would have once seemed untouchable given his price tag and controversial nature given the priorities at the club where solidarity and harmony in the changing room remain paramount. We also examine the lack of big signings overall in the Premier League as the very top names appear more set to chase their football on the continent and why that may be the case, why David Moyes appears to have found a problem with his handling of the media in the Far East and how that could come back to haunt them down the road. We also evaluate the potential for Cesc Fabregas and his potential move to Old Trafford, a move that has certainly become more complex now that Tata Martino has become the new manager and may have his own ideas on succession planning for Xavi Hernandez and why the loss of David Gill at Manchester United made that deal and many other so much more difficult to pull off as the demands inside a transfer market in advance of a World Cup year mandate that all top level business is best handled sooner rather than later. Lee Dixon was an English international earning 22 caps and began his career with Burnley in 1982, playing for Chester City, Bury and Stoke City before joining Arsenal in 1988 where he remained for the rest of his career, retiring in 2002. He was part of four League Championships, three FA Cup wins, a European Cup-Winners Cup and a league cup.