Arsenal Transfer News: Gunners Make Pathetic £6 Million Bid for Gary Cahill

It seems Arsene Wenger will never learn.

With Arsenal in great need of defensive reinforcements, and the transfer window winding down, reports indicate that the Gunners have had a bid of £6 million turned down by Bolton for center-back Gary Cahill.

Bolton manager Owen Coyle rightly referred to the bid as "derisory" and "not even close" to the price of the Englishman, and one cannot help but wonder what on earth was going through Arsene Wenger's head when he placed the bid.

It would be somewhat justifiable if Arsenal were financially strapped and legitimately had no money to spend.

However, with the sales of Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri, in addition to his initial transfer budget, Wenger has approximately £80 million to spend between now and next Wednesday.

Why is it necessary to drastically low-ball Bolton for their most valuable player? Is it at all possible for this manager to put his ego to one side and go out and get the player he wants for once?

With the vast financial resources the Gunners now have at their disposal, paying Cahill's widely publicized £17 million release clause would not even make a dent in Arsenal's budget.

I do realize that Cahill is in the final year of his contract, and he could potentially be had next summer for free. However, the club would be competing with more teams on the open market in that scenario.

What's the point of suffering through another season with no defensive depth when it is totally unnecessary?

Arsenal are not in mountains of debt. They have not spent loads of money already this summer. They could buy four Gary Cahills if they so wished.

Unless the board and/or Stan Kroenke is incredibly stingy and completely against any investment whatsoever, the blame for not actually strengthening the squad falls squarely on the shoulders of Arsene Wenger.

We have seen it before, many times, and indeed during this transfer window. Wenger was in pole position to sign Juan Mata from Valencia, but a failure to act decisively meant that his release clause expired and the club of course lost him to Chelsea.

Even after said clause expired, Arsenal could have pursued the transfer. However, spending money to show real ambition is something that Arsenal Football Club takes a stand against, I suppose.

Wenger needs to man up and spend real money on quality players that he needs, instead of angering clubs by sticking to his ridiculous valuations of their players and then losing them to other clubs.

If Wenger actually wants to move the club forward, he needs to prove that he can swallow his pride and do so, both for the good of the club and to the damage of his ego.

This road to success could start in earnest with the purchase of Gary Cahill for the very reasonable fee of £17 million.

Or, if Arsene shows he can never learn, he could opt for a different path. That one, though, inevitably ends with his sacking.

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