By Chris Rivers, Online Media Relations

Arsenal are in a period of transition which seems to have lasted since the ‘Invincibles’ broke up 5 years ago. The Gunners have managed to replaced Patrick Vieira with Cesc Fabregas and looked to have gone some way to replacing Thierry Henry with Robin van Persie. However following a season where Arsenal came close to shocking everyone in the Premier League with their young squad this period of transition is set to continue as the big names leave. Already Arsenal have lost Mathieu Flamini to Milan, a player who looked to be forming a good partnership with Cesc Fabregas in the centre of midfield.

Now the Gunners look set to lose Alexander Hleb, Emmanuel Adebayor and Gilberto as Arsene Wenger is forced to sell off a number of his best players. Hleb’s departure is all but done with the player just having to agree terms with Barcelona after the two sides reached a figure believed to be £15m for the Belarusian winger. Like Flamini Hleb was in great form last season and will be badly missed. The deal for Brazilian Gilberto to join Greek side Panathinaikos is also in the advanced stages and could be completed by the end of next week. Finally we have the well documented move of last season’s top goalscorer Adebayor. Having said that van Persie was Henry’s replacement it was Adebayor who stepped up his game last season with 30 goals in all competitions following the Dutchman’s absence through injury. Now it seems as the Togo international could be on his way to AC Milan after reports that the two sides have reached an agreeable transfer sum. Here are the odds that Adebayor will go.

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These are worrying times for Arsenal fans who have a lot of faith in Wenger and know his hands are tied due to the financial restraints placed on the club because of the new stadium. Despite this Gooners will be wondering if the club is capable of replacing such big stars and keep their place amongst the other member of the ‘big four’. Wenger has started the club on its road to recovery with the signing of Samir Nasri from Marseille on Friday. The French international has been dubbed the new Zinedine Zidane so at around £11million he could prove to be a steal. Having said that he could go in the opposite direction much like Jose Antonio Reyes did who flopped at the club and hasn’t really done much since. Wenger doesn’t have the best record when he spends large amounts of money on player’s, everyone will remember the ‘fox in the box’ Francis Jeffers. If Nasri does turn into the player that Wenger expects him to then somewhere down the line we could have the situation where Arsenal are forced to sell the Frenchman because of their crippling debt.

This period of transition that Arsenal are stuck in could last for quite some time and threaten the future of the club as one of the big boys in English football. That is not to say Arsenal will ever end up like Leeds but if they fail to qualify for the Champions League one season whilst still strapped for cash it could have massive repercussions. Looking at the short term though and you would think that one paper Arsenal will still finish in the top four this season, especially if they manage to sign some of the players they have been linked to. At this moment in time Arsenal are strongly being linked to Andrei Arshavin, one of the stars of Euro 2008, who would certainly satisfy the needs of those who believe Arsenal can’t attract the big name players. It would also satisfy the fans who believe that while bringing through the young players is great the clubs could do with a few established names whilst the young talent comes through.

That was the problem with Arsenal last season, the lack of experience that many players had seemed to cost the club in the run-in. That and a the lack of depth that Arsenal have meant the club fell at the last hurdle. However will things be any different next season? You look at the squad and you can probably figure that it will be around the same size it was last season once all the transfer have been completed. That said where is the extra depth going to come from that Arsenal need to compete for the title? Well you might say that the young players from last season will have become better and they might but will they probably won’t be ready for a title race. Wenger’s young guns were outclassed by Tottenham and Manchester United last season and there is nothing to suggest that they will be able to compete with those two sides, let alone Liverpool and Chelsea as well. It seems that Arsenal will be stuck in a vicious cycle for some time until either they pay off the stadium or get a rich investor.

If you disagree then head this way for next seasons football odds.

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