For so long, Arsene Wenger has been after a successor to David Seaman. After years of searching, Arsenal have finally signed themselves a world-class goalkeeper.

Petr Cech’s arrival from Chelsea for around £11 million is a great coup for the club, who has been hailed by former great Seaman. But will the Czech Republic international’s arrival be enough to take Arsenal from top four certainties, to title challengers.

Simply put, no.

Arsenal have needed a signing like this for some time. David Ospina and Wojciech Szczesny are nowhere near the level required to mount a serious title challenge. Keepers before like Manuel Almunia, who was average at best and Jens Lehmann, who was the best of a bad bunch and a part of the ‘Invincibles’, however his erratic form, as proved in the 2006 Champions League final, cost Arsenal dearly.

Cech will come to the Gunners rescue plenty of times. His performances for Chelsea in the later stages of their Champions League triumph goes unnoticed far too much. His saves to keep Napoli at bay, to thwart Barcelona at the Camp Nou and the penalty save from Arjen Robben in extra time of the final. His organisation of the back four is something to be admired too. it’s no fluke that Cech is just two clean sheets away from equaling David James’ record of 170 clean sheets in the Premier league, playing 239 fewer games than the ex-Liverpool and Manchester City keeper.

So if the signing of Chelsea’s former No. 1 won’t propel Arsenal to the top, what will?

A new central defender. Laurent Koscielny is one of the best center-backs in the league. However, his defensive partner is nowhere near the standard needed if you are to be successful. Per Mertesacker is too slow, if he gets isolated then Arsenal are in all sorts of problems and teams look to expose that at every opportunity. Gabriel Paulista needs time to adapt to the Premier League. Injuries have hampered his Arsenal career so far, but more quality is needed than the Brazilian.

A new holding midfielder. A problem for Arsenal ever since Patrick Vieira and Gilberto Silva left the club. A player that does the ugly things and enables people like Santi Cazorla, Mesut Ozil, Aaron Ramsey to just play. Francis Coquelin has done a steady job since his return from a loan spell at Charlton Athletic. However, a real dominant force in the center of the park has been lacking at the Emirates. Players like Morgan Schneiderlin or William Carvalho would be a perfect fit for Arsenal.

A 20-goal plus a season man. Arsenal never fail to create chances. If they finally have a striker that can take the majority of the chances that comes his way, then that alone can really take the Gunners a long way. Olivier Giroud is a decent Premier League forward, but he’s not going to fire you to the title, despite the player’s belief that they can win the title this upcoming season. Look at the chances he squandered against AS Monaco in the last 16 of the Champions League. If you don’t take your chances, you get punished and Arsenal have been a victim of that for some time.

It’s simple for Wenger this transfer window. A new spine is needed. So far the Frenchman has started his summer shopping pretty well. With a couple more additions like the ones I’ve stated above, then Arsenal can really mount a serious challenge on all fronts.

The opening game of Group G saw two European giants go head-to-head in Salvador as Germany faced Portugal.

Germany lined up in a 4-3-3 formation with Thomas Muller leading the line, flanked by Mario Götze on the left and Mesut Özil on the right and a midfield three of Philipp Lahm, Sami Khedira and Toni Kroos. Portugal adopted their usual tried and trusted 4-3-3 formation with Hugo Almeida playing in the number 9 role with Nani and Cristiano Ronaldo either side.

Games that promise so much can often disappoint, but this one certainly lived up to expectation.

A frantic opening to the game saw chances at both ends with Ronaldo going close and Khedira almost capitalizing on a goalkeeping howler from Rui Patricio. The deadlock was broken in the 12th minute when Mario Götze wriggled clear of the Portuguese defense, only to be hauled down by Joao Pereira when he was about to score. The referee only deemed the foul worthy of a yellow card and Thomas Muller stepped up to slot the ball home.

The pace of the game slowed down with no chances of note until the half hour mark when Mesut Özil was set free down the right hand side, his pullback was met by Götze who saw his shot blocked by Bruno Alves and turned behind for a corner. From the resulting corner, Toni Kroos’ out swinging cross was met by the head of Mats Hummels, who powered a header past the helpless Patricio to double Germany’s advantage.

After falling two goals behind, Portugal were sparked back into life with great opportunities for Fabio Coentrao and Eder. However any hope Portugal had of getting back in the game had gone as Pepe was sent off for a stupid act of violent conduct. Pepe appeared to hit Muller in the face with his arm and although contact seemed minimal, Muller going down easily didn’t bode well with Pepe as he then screams and forces his head into Muller whilst he is on the floor, enraging the German forward. The referee was left with no option but to send Pepe off.

It didn’t take long for Germany to completely kill the game off after a sustained period of pressure, Kroos’ cross fell kindly to Muller and his shot somehow found a way past Patricio and Germany were 3 nil up before half time.

The second half was somewhat of a training session for the Germans. Keeping the ball at will, creating more chances and very rarely being tested at the back. Germany’s fourth and Muller’s hat-trick came in the 78th minute as Andre Schurrle got in behind Portugal’s defense, his cross was only parried by Patricio into the path of Muller and the Bayern Munich star tapped home from close range.

The game finished rather quietly with Germany dominating possession and Portugal settling for what was a miserable night.

After a bright start to the contest, the game was finished in the 36th minute when Pepe was dismissed. From there, it was only damage limitations for the Portuguese. The front three for Germany were superb. The interchanging between them caused Portugal all sorts of problems. The midfield three kept the ball superbly and as soon as Germany went ahead, the game was played at their pace.

Germany should top the group from here but as for Portugal, they have two tough games remaining with key players missing.

It’s fair to say that David Moyes’ reign at Manchester United has not gone quite as he would have liked. It has been a long season filled with disappointments and very little to cheer about.

Manchester City were expected to be a real force this season after a change of manager and a busy summer in the transfer market. This season may only be 9 games old, and there’s a lot of soccer left to be played, but so far City currently sit in seventh place, have been beaten three times and look defensively vulnerable.

The summer saw many changes at the Etihad from the manager Manuel Pellegrini to new signings such as Alvaro Negredo, Stevan Jovetic, Jesus Navas and Fernandinho.

So far this season, going forward is not a problem. Sergio Aguero is in sublime form and their creative spark in David Silva and Samir Nasri is looking lively and the central pairing of Yaya Toure and Fernandinho is solid.

However their main area of concern is in defense and most notably at the heart of it.

Vincent Kompany is one of the best central defenders in the world and his performance in the Manchester derby proved that. He is a true leader and organizes the defense superbly.

The problem City have is when he is injured. And at the moment, that seems to be happening too often. They struggle when he is not playing and teams look to take advantage.

Pellegrini struggled to sign a top class defender as cover for first choice pairing of Kompany and Matija Nastasic. All the Chilean could bring in was Martin Demichelis who played under Pellegrini at Malaga.

The Argentine made his debut in Sunday’s defeat at Chelsea and the central defender struggled to handle the attacking threat from the Blues. His best days look behind him and although he may be experienced, lacking pace and trying to adapt to the Premier League will leave the 32-year-old exposed.

In Kompany’s absence, holding midfielder Javi Garcia has filled in at centre-half and his performance against Cardiff City was enough to suggest that he is not suitable cover for the Belgian. Too many times Cardiff clipped the ball over his head and his change of direction and pace was found out too many times as Fraizer Campbell caused him problems all afternoon.

Nastasic is a good player and he will be a top class centre back in time, but as of now he needs someone like Kompany to play alongside him to talk to him and to lead by example. Without their skipper, the 20-year-old is the main man at the heart of their defense and the Serbian lacks the leadership qualities that Kompany possesses.

City’s record without their captain in the Premier League in 2013 speaks for itself. With Kompany, they have played 13 times, winning 10, drawing 1 and losing 2, scoring 30 times and conceding 10. However without Kompany, Manchester City have played 14 times and have won 6, drawn 3 and lost 5 times, scoring 19 and conceding 16. It shows just how important their captain is to the side.

Something that doesn’t give the City back line confidence is goalkeeper Joe Hart. Too many times lately the England number one has made mistakes that have cost City. None more recent than his howler in the last minute against Chelsea where Hart gifted Fernando Torres the last gasp winner. The 26-year-old came charging out of his box when Nastasic had the situation under control. A rush of blood and a lack of communication, and Nastasic headed the ball back to where his goalkeeper should been around the penalty spot, but instead Hart was out of his box, out of position and City suffered another defeat on the road. For the times he does make important saves, the games like Bayern Munich, Cardiff, Aston Villa and Southampton, Hart costs his team too much and maybe Pellegrini should look at either dropping him and playing Costel Pantilimon or consider bringing in a world class goalkeeper to provide serious competition to Hart and make him up his game and show why he should be their number one.

For a team to win the Premier League a solid defense is a necessity. At the moment, City look vulnerable at the back and if their attacking threat can be nullified, they can be got at. The Etihad is still a fortress but on their travels, their form speaks for itself as they have only won once in their last five on the road.

It will take time for Manuel Pellegrini to get his philosophies across and get the team playing the way he wants them to. When Kompany returns Manchester City have to hope he stays fit for the remainder of the season. If he does, then come the end of the season City will be challenging for the title.

Read the latest news, opinions and analysis on our Manchester City team page.

As the clock struck 11pm in England on Monday, the summer transfer window and so-called silly season came to a close. A transfer window that had a lot of movement and broke several records culminating in the most money spent in one window, with a total of £630million. Teams smashed their own club records. Tottenham’s moves for Paulinho, Roberto Soldado and Erik Lamela made them break their own transfer record three times. And of course, there was Gareth Bale’s world record move to Real Madrid.

Before the window started, everyone was expecting Arsenal and Manchester United to spend big. United craved new additions to their midfield but failed with bids for Cesc Fabregas, Thiago, Ander Herrera and Sami Khedira. All that left Manchester United with, at the end, was a last minute deal for Marouane Fellaini — a deal that could have happened in late July when the Belgian’s release clause could have given Manchester United an opportunity to sign the midfielder for £23million. Instead, United left the deal to the last minute and spent £27.5million.

At the Emirates, Arsenal fans were expecting a bumper summer of transfer signings. With the club continuing to make money and having paid off their stadium debt, Arsene Wenger finally had money to spend. A team that needed desperate improvement after a fabulous run at the end of the season only just saw them nick the final Champions League place from their fierce rivals Tottenham.

This was the summer that was going to see Arsenal spend big, sign world class players and have a squad that could finally challenge for major trophies once again. But since the transfer window opened on July 1, Arsenal had only signed Yaya Sanogo and Mathieu Flamini, both on frees. Defeat against Aston Villa at home on the opening day of the season piled even more pressure on Wenger to spend. But the lack of signings was not without trying.

Failed moves for Luis Gustavo, Gonzalo Higuain and Luis Suarez  saw Arsenal still without a world class striker and a strong holding midfielder. But on deadline day, Wenger finally dipped into his transfer kitty and smashed the club transfer record by signing Real Madrid’s Mesut Ozil for £42.4million.

Ozil is one of the best playmakers in the world. His stats say it all and he truly is a world-class player. The German has proven his qualities at Madrid and tore England apart in South Africa during the World Cup in 2010. With the arrival of Gareth Bale and Isco, Ozil was no longer needed at Madrid and was forced out.

Although Ozil is a brilliant signing for Arsenal, is he a player that they really need? Their squad is worryingly thin. And after clearing out all their fringe players, only bringing in four players is slightly worrying. A quality goalkeeper to compete with Wojciech Szczesny was needed and although they signed Emiliano Viviano on loan, a top class keeper is still required. They made no additions to their defense, and this is an area of the pitch that Arsenal look vulnerable. Highlights of the Aston Villa game show their defensive frailties and not strengthening their back line may come back to haunt them if injuries occur.

A central defensive midfielder and a world class striker were also needed. Teams look to bully Arsenal and with no real leader in the midfield since Patrick Vieira left, teams will continue to look to dominate Arsenal in midfield. With Olivier Giroud’s impressive start to the season, a quality striker may not be so high on some Arsenal fans wish list. But if there is an injury to the Frenchman or he starts to lose form, Arsenal will struggle to replace him. Sanogo is inexperienced and will struggle to lead the line for a top club and Theo Walcott is better from the right and doesn’t have the presence to play upfront on his own. Lukas Podolski could do the job but he is currently injured until the end of the year. Nicklas Bendtner has always struggled for form and is not the player he thinks he is.

Arsenal’s signing of Ozil is an incredible one. However other areas of the pitch needed strengthening before signing a playmaker. A lot of Gunners will be excited by the German’s arrival and have every right to be. He oozes class. However, this deal distracts some fans attentions away from the problems that Arsenal have in their team and have not addressed.

Although the signing could be a change in fortune at The Emirates, the deal could be likened to that of Frank Ribery to Bayern Munich in 2007. Munich were struggling in Europe and begun to build their squad and stopped buying mediocre players. The Ribery deal gave them the confidence and the ability to buy some of the world’s best players and just six years on, Bayern Munich are the best team in Europe.

Arsenal will do well this year but qualifying for the Champions League is as much as they can expect. Their squad is too thin and teams will continue to look to bully them. However next summer, they must build on this Ozil deal and strengthen in the areas that need it most. That is the only way they can improve and challenge for major honors.

After a breathtaking season in which he won the PFA Player and Young Player of the Year awards plus the Football Writers Association Player of the Year, Gareth Bale has been attracting a lot of interest from some of the biggest clubs in the world, most notably Spanish giants Real Madrid.

Madrid’s latest pursuit of the Welshman has become relentless. From players like Sergio Ramos and Iker Casillas describing how good Bale is and how well he would fit into Madrid’s team. Then there’s the former icon and arguably the best player to play the game, Zinedine Zidane, who has described Bale as the player who he most enjoyed watching last season. Then there’s the media. Spanish newspaper Marca has a history of printing false stories. But the paper is continuing to print stories of a move for Bale.

This is a tactic that Madrid have used before in their pursuit of Cristiano Ronaldo. Information gets leaked to the paper to speculate a move, key players in the side say they would like to see the player at the club and the legends get involved saying they also want the player at the club.

It seemed that Bale was set to stay at Tottenham for another season, but after the latest interest from Madrid, it’s been reported that Bale now wants to talk to Madrid and seek a move away from White Hart Lane. And why wouldn’t he. Bale would have the chance to play with some of the best players in the world in the UEFA Champions League. Competing against the best players and the best teams in Europe will only make Bale a better player. There’s also the chance to be competing for trophies on a regular basis.

Competing in the Champions League is something that Tottenham cannot offer Bale. After missing out on the final day of the season, Tottenham will have to take part in the Europa League. Bale will get nothing out of playing on Thursday nights. He’s outgrown that competition and he needs to be playing amongst the best.

A problem that Bale may have is his age. Some people think that Bale is too young to make the move abroad and should stay in England. Bale is 24 and has been around since making his debut when he was 16 at Southampton.

Michael Owen made the move to Real Madrid when he was 24. Owen openly admits that he struggled to adjust to life in Spain. Owen told BBC Radio 5 Live,

“Any player going from over here to Spain, it’s a lot different to what you imagine. It’s a slow pace of life and you need to get things in order off the pitch. It’s very difficult.”

After just one year at the Bernabeu, Owen returned to England with Newcastle.

It’s a tough situation for Tottenham and Daniel Levy. They don’t want to lose their best player but if Bale wants to leave then they will have to sell at the right price. That price seems to be of a world record fee. If Tottenham receive a world record bid, they’ll be silly to reject it. The amount of money they could receive for Bale would help Tottenham bring in 3-4 world-class players. As bad as it would be to lose Bale, Tottenham could actually improve as a squad.

An opportunity to play for Real Madrid may only come around once in a lifetime, and if this is Bale’s opportunity, he has to take it.

When David Moyes was asked to replace Sir Alex Ferguson as Manchester United manager, Moyes knew the demands that came with being in charge of such a high profile club. But his recent comments and actions in the media might have exposed his inexperience in managing such a top club.

With under a month to go until the start of the new Premier League season, Moyes has only recruited Uruguayan full back Guillermo Varela. But it’s not been without a lack of trying.

Thiago Alcantara was a target of Manchester United. Thiago’s father and agent had agreed personal terms with United, but when Pep Guardiola’s Bayern side came calling, his head turned towards Germany and to the European Champions. It seemed the Spaniard saw the lure of playing under Guardiola greater than playing under Moyes.

United acted straight away after losing out on Thiago and submitted a bid for former Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas. The Barcelona midfielder would be a great addition to the United side and is just the kind of player that United are looking for. With Arsenal having first refusal on their former captain, the move to bring the Spanish international to Old Trafford looks a tricky one. Barcelona doesn’t seem keen to sell and a move to United will test Fabregas’ so-called loyalty to Arsenal. But United are working hard on trying to make a deal happen.

A midfielder is what United desperately need. Kevin Strootman of PSV was admired for a long time by former boss Sir Alex. Strootman gave the former boss his word that he would join United this summer, but a change of manager seems to have changed the situation as the Dutchman has joined Roma.

But United are after a marquee signing to mark the start of Moyes’ reign. Moyes is keeping his targets close to his chest except for Fabregas. His targets are said to be fan favorite Cristiano Ronaldo, Tottenham’s star man Gareth Bale and Real Madrid’s Luka Modric.

But Moyes’ comments in the media may affect United’s transfer dealings. After seeing United lose in his first game in charge, Moyes said that United have no limit on their transfer budget. Moyes said:

“Isn’t it great that the club says ‘there’s no budget here, you go get who you want to get, just go and do it’.”

These comments may be a mistake. Yes at Everton he worked on a extremely tight budget and it must be a relief to be given an endless budget. But now every club will try to squeeze every million that they can out of United. The likelihood is that United will overspend on most players they’ll buy. And if Moyes doesn’t spend big to get a world class player, then that could upset some United fans as they know they have the money to attract the world’s best.

Trying to bring in players is one thing, but trying to keep hold of them is another. The Wayne Rooney saga looks to be carrying on.

In David Moyes first press conference, he was adamant that Rooney was not for sale, that he was looking sharp and how he planned to get him back to the footballer that everyone wanted him to be.

But after Rooney was sent home early from United’s pre season tour because of injury, Moyes stuck the knife into Rooney. Moyes had said that Rooney is a key part of this United squad, but then came back with this comment just days later:

“Overall my thought on Wayne is, if for any reason we had an injury to Robin van Persie, we’ll need him. Wayne can play up on his own, he can play dropped in behind. It’s going to take time to see how I work with him. Manchester United isn’t about Wayne Rooney, Manchester United is about the team – the club. I won’t allow Wayne Rooney to become more important than the football club and the team, because that’s the heart of it.”

Moyes is absolutely right with his comments. No player should be bigger than the club. But by making this statement, Rooney has shown his dismay over what Moyes has said.

Rooney is said to be angry and confused with his position at the club. Rooney feels he is at the peak off his career and after nine years at Old Trafford, he has nothing left to prove.

United fans might disagree with that. Rooney was poor last season and van Persie has every right to be the main man at United. Van Persie is a better player than Rooney and his form over the last two years has eclipsed that of Rooney. Van Persie is United’s go-to man, not Rooney.

United have already rejected a bid from Chelsea and a long, drawn-out transfer can be expected.

Moyes needs to stand firm with Rooney. A lot of fans want Rooney gone. He wanted to leave once and he said he made the biggest mistake of his life trying to leave United. So wanting to leave twice is unforgivable and United should look to get rid.