Arsenal’s boss has been heavily criticized once again after failing to keep up with City and United who had record breaking spending sprees. Fans have gone so far as to suggest the Frenchman lied about Welbeck’s recovery just to avoid pressure from those who wanted to see a new striker at the Emirates. Wenger responded: “When I was in the press conference on Friday morning, I did not know Welbeck had a bad setback. I did not lie to you; I gave you the information I had. I heard late on Friday night that his condition had not evolved as well as we thought it was and he had needed a specialist and needed further investigation. Apart from that, if we did not find someone [to sign], we did not find them”

The fact that Wenger suggested Welbeck will be returning much sooner can also be related to another very big issue Arsenal have been facing for the past couple of years: injuries. The medical staff has delivered wrong treatments, has developed inefficient recovery plans and has overall failed to return the team to health throughout the seasons as quickly as everyone would like. The Gunners have been on top of lists with the most injured players in the Premier League with Wilshere, Ramsey, Gibbs, Arteta and Walcott being regularly benched due to health problems. According to the Guardian, despite all the problems that seem to be the same over and over, Arsenal’s boss is still confident in his squad and insists the Gunners will not have problems in keeping up with City, Chelsea and United.