The problem with Arsenal

It's easy to think of Arsenal as a cliche - fancy boys who sulk when the going gets tough. That's also kind of true (that's team captain William Gallas having a sit-down protest on the halfway line during the game against Birmingham last season).

But a bigger problem than stereotyped (they are mostly French, after all) character flaws is Arsene Wenger. Namely, his transfer philosophy. Arsenal claim that they have tons of money on hand with which to buy players, yet they stick with Wenger's approach of buying young and cheap and molding them into something special. As noted in the predictions, that could pay off one day, but not this year. And in the meantime, ace pundit Tony Cascarino thinks it's time that Arsenal decided to take on the big boys and get some maturity and toughness into their dressing room. Nice article, one that this blogger wholeheartedly agrees with.

It's an especially appropriate sentiment this week, with Chelsea and Manchester United poised to each buy one of the best attacking players in the world.

--Smoods