Ex British prime minister Harold Wilson once remarked that "A week is a long time in politics." Well a week is a lot longer is the summer transfer window, a period in which the rumour mill goes into overdrive and just about every prominent footballer in Europe is linked with every Champions League club. This summer has seen more than its fair share of outlandish gossip relating to player moves: Rooney to Arsenal, Rooney to Chelsea, Ronaldo to United, Cazorla to Atletico, me to New York Red Bulls. The list goes on and on. 

Moreover transfers which seemed nailed on have suddenly collapsed. The Higuain move, for example, which seemed a done deal last time I wrote, suddenly hit the buffers. By all accounts a verbal contract was struck with Madrid to the effect that if Arsenal could meet the striker's personal terms then he could come to North London for somewhere in the region of 23 million. Word has it that after Arsenal successfully met Higuain's requirements for salary, bonuses etc. Madrid jacked the price up to 35 mil. Suddenly the Argentine was talking about how Mourinho wanted him at Chelsea, while Napoli were rumoured to be interested. 

Meanwhile today's gossip column suggests that Higauin would prefer London over Naples. What are we to make of all this? Well the obvious conclusion is that there are no certainties in the Summer Transfer Window. Stories are being constantly 'leaked' or merely invented by hacks, desperate to fill column inches. The Higuain deal seems exceptional though, insofar as his family and agent had both suggested separately that a deal with Arsenal was inevitable. Having asserted with such authority that the 25 year old was on his way to North London last time, I'm inclined to speak a little more equivocally now and suggest that while the deal is not dead, its outcome now rather depends on Arsenal's pursuit of another high-profile South American striker. 

That man is of course that unholy mess of a person, the Mike Tyson of the football pitch and pantomime villain, Luis Suarez. A rumour to which I would lend no credence last week has picked up a head of steam, and in actual fact Arsenal are believed to have put in a bid somewhere in the region of £30 million. Liverpool, it is suggested, rejected the bid, so Arsenal upped the ante and offered 35. Liverpool manager Brendan Rogers has claimed that Suarez will be at Anfield next season, while reports that the player has joined his teammates in Australia for a pre-season tour suggests that perhaps he's right. 

What's more likely is that the club are holding out for closer to 40 million. The three most salient questions that one must ask oneself are therefore: 1) is Suarez worth 40 million pounds? 2) will Arsenal bid 40 million pounds? and 3) would fans feel uncomfortable welcoming a racist cannibal with a victim complex to the emirates? Short answer, yes, no and maybe. 

Suarez scored 23 league goals last season in a fairly mediocre Liverpool side. His shot to goal ratio is disappointing, but with better service, e.g. from players like Cazorla and Wilshere, that could be improved. He is, without a doubt, worth 40 million. Truth be told I don't see Arsenal meeting that valuation however. On top of the transfer fee would be Suarez' wage demands which would doubtless exceed 100,000 a week, so the club would be looking at a serious outlay on a player with a great deal of baggage. 

Would fans welcome his signing? I can only speak for myself and other fans I've spoken to, but the mood seems to be an ambivalent one. Suarez attracts trouble. He is a provocateur par-excellence. Celebrating a goal scored by a player of the Uruguayan's ilk would leave a sour taste in the mouth, as would having to defend him through gritted teeth after another public relations disaster. 

Ultimately you need to ask yourself what is more painful: enduring a trophy drought or watching a team of successful yet morally questionable players. If it's the former then we should welcome Suarez with open arms; if it's the latter then he can sling his hook. For now we can only wait to see who makes the next move.

Meanwhile elsewhere in the world of transfers Manchester United continue in their efforts to pry Cesc Fabregas away from Barcelona. The Catalans are allegedly uncomfortably deep in the red after shelling out many millions on Neymar and need to recoup some of their losses, so rumour has it that a sufficiently high offer would be enough to secure Fabregas's signature. David Moyes is said to willing to test their resolve with an offer of 30 million, although sources inside the club say that he is not for sale.

Particularly interesting about this transfer is that Arsenal have a buy-back clause, meaning that the Gunners have first refusal should the midfielder leave the club; and yet there have been no noises from anyone at the Emirates to suggest that this is being considered. This means one of two things: either Wenger knows that Fabregas will not be leaving Barcelona this summer, or he's happy just to take the money from the hefty sell on clause that was written into the midfielder's initial transfer away from Arsenal. As with the Suarez deal, there's a lot of chatter but very little substance to it, so best to keep an eye on this one as it develops.

I'm  stateside for the next month but I'll update if and when I can.

Summer Transfer Madness

The phrase 'cellar door' is often cited as the most beautiful combination of words in the English language. I disagree. Undoubtedly the sweetest sounding phrase that you'll hear this month is 'summer transfer window', a term which at once evokes feelings of anticipation, suspense, delight and despair. For Arsenal fans it's traditionally the anticipation and despair that dominate proceedings, the transfer kitty having been kept under lock and key somewhere in the bowels of the Emirates stadium; this year, we've been told, will be different though. If rumours are to be believed, Arsene Wenger is gaily skipping around Europe, throwing blank cheques at club chairmen and returning with a burlap sack filled with the continent's elite players.

Not true.

The reality is that we're about to have the kind of summer that a club like Manchester United would describe as "quiet", i.e. one major signing and a handful of insignificant players joining and leaving the club. The latter has already taken place to a certain degree; the club has released several players, a list which includes little Andrey Arshavin, bumbling centre back Sebastian Squirrelaci and sideways passer Denilson, who returns to Sao Paulo. Italian goalkeeper Vito Mannone has joined i fascisti dello rosso nero (beg pardon, Sunderland) for due millioni, while Francis Coquelin and Johan Djourou are both off on loan to Europe's new favourite league the Bundesliga.

Meanwhile Wenger has procured the talents of a promising youngster from the French leagues (how many times have we heard that one before?) - welcome Yayo Sanago, who joins us from Auxerre and plays up front. I look forward to seeing you loaned out three or four times over the next few seasons, before being sold to a German second tier team for peanuts. 

The big news this summer is of course that Argentine goal poacher Gonzalo Higuain could be on his way to the Emirates any day now. The transfer fee floated is in the region of £23 million, while his salary has been quoted as being anywhere between 100 and 150,000 a week. This, I'm reliably informed, is what's known in the business as a 'marquee signing'. Higuain is a proven goalscorer in one of Europe's top leagues; in the last 5 seasons he has 96 goals in 144 league games. He's a natural finisher, something that Arsenal sorely lacked last season, and his capture is also a statement of intent from a manager and board who, for the past few seasons, have shown all the transfer market munificence of a Dickensian workhouse owner. 

Other signings have been mooted - Fellaini has a buyout clause of somewhere around twenty million, but rumour has it that his wage demands are proving a stumbling block. The Belgian is a versatile player who can be deployed seemingly almost anywhere on the pitch - is he truly effective in any one place though? There's something of the jack of all trades, master of none about him which makes me wonder how well he'd fare longterm if deployed in a midfield holding role.

The more desperate sports hacks seem determined that Arsenal will sign one of the troublesome duo of Rooney and Suarez, despite all evidence to the contrary. Firstly let me say this: neither of those players will be at Arsenal next season. Secondly, does anyone even want them here? Luis 'could start a fight in an empty house' Suarez and Wayne 'Granny-botherer' Rooney are the kind of disruptive presences we could do without, and have wage demands far beyond Arsenal's means. Give credence to these rumours at your peril.

Higuain is expected to sign within the next few days, and will likely be joined by at least one more semi-high-profile signing; more to come then, from me and from the club, so plenty to look forward to.