http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport/football/article1550108.ece Wenger has his fingers crossed By ANTONY KASTRINAKIS ARSENE WENGER will be crossing his fingers his first XI stay fit all season — because that is the ONLY way Arsenal can win the title. The Gunners’ line-up is as good as any of the top four and serves up the prettiest stuff too. Wenger, though, is short on numbers and there is no escaping it. They have grown weaker NOT stronger this summer with the departures of Mathieu Flamini, Alexander Hleb and even Gilberto Silva. Samir Nasri came in from Marseille and he is a terrific talent but what about a replacement for Flamini? Wenger argues Abou Diaby was set to start last season as the midfield destroyer but got injured. Yet fans feel he gives away the ball cheaply and even the Arsenal boss concedes he needs an “experienced” central midfielder. Last year, the former managing director Keith Edelman claimed Wenger had a ￡ 70million war-chest available. But the debt incurred by Arsenal’s new stadium is keeping the purse strings tight. The only arrival was ￡12million Nasri and Arsenal are in danger of being left behind again — just when it seemed they had closed the gap on United and Chelsea. They recalled Carlos Vela from Spain and he looks a huge prospect. And, hopefully, Eduardo will make a full recovery from the career-threatening injury that has kept him out since February. For many the pivotal point in Arsenal’s season was the game at Birmingham. They dominated the Brummies, lost Eduardo to THAT double fracture and in the last minute Gael Clichy gave away the ball and a dubious penalty. Arsenal dropped points and should also have dropped William Gallas who staged a one-man sit-down protest on the pitch. It was an insult to Clichy as well as the rest of the team — an outrageous gesture for anyone, let alone the club skipper. Yet, for me, where Arsenal lost the plot was in the FA Cup clash against United at Old Trafford a week before they went to St Andrew’s. They were indifferent and got pasted 4-0 despite fielding a strong side. Their confidence was shaken and they never fully recovered. They won just one of their next seven league games. It was quite fitting that their title bid ended at Old Trafford when they lost 2-1 despite taking the lead. So the big question Arsenal fans must ask is: Are we better than Manchester United? The answer is not favourable of course and, sadly, there is another issue that troubles the fans. Emmanuel Adebayor. More like Ade-boo-yor on last weekend’s evidence. His empty gesture to kiss the badge after scoring the winner against Real Madrid in the Emirates Cup was stomach-turning. Fans booed the Togo hitman — whose contract wrangle ended with him doubling his wages — in the games against Madrid and Juventus. Adebayor must match his 30-goal tally from last season to be fully accepted again. One of football’s cliches is that fans are fickle but his relationship with them has been damaged. Whether it can ever fully recover remains to be seen. His case highlighted that, underneath the carefully-constructed facade of a team that runs like a family, there is an issue that causes rifts - MONEY. The difficulty for Wenger is that Arsenal’s youngsters know what they could be earning for Chelsea or Manchester United. Flamini walked and Wenger accused him of greed. Yet Adebayor got a huge deal. Both had only one good season for the club and both were wanted by Milan. But Flamini was out of contract whereas Adebayor had three years left on his. Gallas’ captaincy has also come into question. What irked players most was that he is the team’s biggest earner and should have behaved like a leader at Birmingham. Stylish Arsenal will again be good value — even for the exuberantly-priced Emirates tickets. But as the campaign starts there are more questions than answers for their anxious fans. 我觉得写的很不错,把一些球队目前的问题都点出来 相当程度的反应了球迷的不安 像我就是... --

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