Last month Arsene Wenger expressed his admiration for Napoli sensation Edinson Cavani, not ruling out a move for him in the future. Now, the Arsenal manager, under tremendous pressure to deliver some success, has admitted he would not be worried about spending an astronomical amount to bring Atletico Madrid hitman Radamel Falcao to North London.
Wenger has always been known to be extremely reluctant to spend huge amounts of money for one player, which is why Arsenal's record signing for a player has still not crossed the £20 million ($30 million) mark.
Value for money is Wenger's mantra, and there haven't been too many signs that the manager is finally ready to let go of his inhibitions when it comes to spending money in the transfer market.
However, Arsenal do not have a large debt to pay anymore, and the cash reserve is getting bigger with each passing day.
The board of directors keep saying there is cash for Wenger to spend if he wants to and when asked if the Frenchman would fork out a big fee and then wages for a player like Falcao, Wenger answered in the affirmative.
"We can do it and if we can afford it, we will not say no," Wenger told reporters. "I am not reluctant to spend and if we find tomorrow a player of top, top, top quality, we will take him.
"First of all, we only had money recently (after Emirates Stadium move). Secondly, in England there is a way of thinking that every problem is sorted out just by spending money but that's not always the case. If it was like that, the same teams would win the Champions League every year.
"I believe that the problem today is not the money, it's to find the talent that strengthens your team. We went out to spend money at Christmas but we didn't find the players."
Surely, if Wenger had bought a Falcao or a Cavani as soon as he sold Robin Van Persie to Manchester United in the summer, Arsenal would not have found themselves in this situation - knocked out of all domestic cup competitions, on the brink of elimination in the Champions League and 21 points off leaders United.
Therefore, it is easy for Wenger to say such things, but the time has finally come to actually bring in quality to match the ones that go out.
Olivier Giroud was bought by Wenger as Van Persie's replacement for half the price earned from selling Van Persie; as much as the French international is a good squad player, he is not one to bang in 30 goals a season consistently and take up the mantle when necessary.
What did Atletico Madrid do when they sold Sergio Aguero to Manchester City? They bought Falcao from Porto.
That is what Wenger should have done, and now everyone hopes, will do when the summer transfer window is open for business in July.
Cavani and Falcao are fantasy signings, one that is more likely to happen on the PS3 playing FIFA, but maybe it is time for Arsenal fans to finally see a superstar come to the Emirates, rather than the other way around.
