Hands off! Arsenal fail in bid for Gary Cahill

It is public knowledge that Arsenal have not been shrouded in good luck as of late. The problems at the Emirates continue to cause unrest amongst Gunners fans; another example of this being Arsene Wenger's failed attempt to sign Bolton's Gary Cahill. 

The departures of Samir Nasri and Cesc Fabregas have recouped around £60m for Arsene Wenger to allegedly be able to 'spend' on players. We all know that this has not happened the way he would have planned. 

Gary Cahill has passed 100 appearances for Bolton, but will leave the club for the right price.

Gary Cahill has now entered the last year of his contract with Bolton, meaning if no deal is put in place this year, he is likely to be able to leave on a free transfer next year (providing he does not sign a new contract). Having made 113 appearances for the club he seems to be more than settled at the Reebok stadium. 

Owen Coyle described Arsenal's bid at 'derisory' to say the least, with a reported £7m bid coming from Arsenal. Not too long ago however Coyle had accepted the fact that Cahill would leave the Reebok, suggesting that he would inevitably be tempted away by one of the big clubs in the Premier League. 

The problem Arsenal have is that the Transfer Window clock is slowly ticking down and by August 31st they will need to have made the signings that Arsene Wenger so desperately wants. Injuries to Laurent Koscielny and Sebastien Squillaci make a centre-back the most sought after asset at Arsenal. It is a time-consuming activity to list all of the defenders that Arsenal have been linked with, suffice to say that Cahill seems to be Wenger's number one choice. 

Arsene Wenger remains in search of signings at what is a very frustrating time at the Emirates. Photo: Daily Mail

As followers of the Premier League we are all too aware of the money that needs to be paid for young English players these days. Man Utd paid £16.5m for a player with almost no Premier League experience in Phil Jones. Liverpool have paid a combined total of £40m for Jordan Henderson and Stewart Downing. So why is it that Wenger (if reports are correct) is lodging a bid of £7m for one of England's most talented young centre-backs?

Wenger must accept that he is going to have to pay over the odds in order to get the players he wants. With only five days remaining of the transfer window I would expect to see Arsenal lodge another (more substantial) bid for Cahill (perhaps around £12-14m), which may just tempt Bolton Chairman Phil Gartside enough to let Cahill go. 

In the nightmare scenario (for Arsenal fans) that Arsene Wenger does not manage to make another signing before the transfer window closes, it could be a very long and arduous season for the Gunners faithful. Let's hope the board at Arsenal dig deep into those pockets!

DH