Arsene Wenger has said that he won’t be drawn into buying players off the back off a good World Cup this summer but is this good advice to follow?

After all didn’t Wenger buy Andrey Arshavin off the back of a great Euro 2008? Albeit he wasn’t signed until Janurary 2009, but he hadn’t exactly impressed in the Champions League group stages with Zenit and the Russian Premier League isn’t the best place to prove yourself. So if Wenger is going to tell managers not to buy players out of a tournament then perhaps he should follow his own advice?

Wenger has said: “The World Cup will not affect our recruitment; it is dangerous to buy on the back of a World Cup. The prices are artificial and you have to bear in mind that anyone can have three weeks of glory.To have 10 years of success is quite different. With the season drawing to a close, people are inevitably looking to discuss our transfer targets.I do have targets and have been talking to people but I cannot mention any names at the moment. The earlier you settle your teams for the next season the better it is and the less anxiety you have.”

It takes an exceptional player to have a good three weeks on the biggest stage of football in the world, not to mention when they also have had to deal with the demands of a long season for their club. At the last World Cup the best player was Fabio Cannavaro and there is no way that Wenger could say that he had a one-off good three weeks as he is a sensational defender. After the tournament Real Madrid paid €7m for the player and Wenger cannot dispute that the amount paid was a great bit of business by the club. So it remains to be seen where these mass inflation prices that Wenger is speaking about come from.

It seems possible that Wenger may well have made this statement because despite saying that he intends to spend money this summer he may not want to spend as much people think he should, so by issuing this statement now he defend himself from any criticism. Arsenal will need a lot of work done to the squad this summer and you just get the feeling that Wenger won’t add to it as much as it needs.

The World Cup will be a great occasion to see some talents on display and the majority of players that perform well and get snapped up by other clubs will already have a reputation and the tournament will merely add to it. As for those that explode onto the scene they will surely be special players as it’s not as though anyone can just turn up at a World Cup and play well! Despite what Mr. Wenger thinks.

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