Arsenal: Road to the Top

Hello ladies and gentlemen, I'm your host Tyler Key, some of you may know me as TylerK, TK69, TKey69 and some of you may not even know who I am. All that matters is that I'm here and back to making a story that I may or may not stick to. Despite being a big Manchester United fan, this a save I'm looking forward to starting as this is probably Arsenal's biggest chance of winning the title in almost a decade.

Arsenal's manager, Arsene Wenger, has shown that this season he is not afraid to splash the cash, spending over £55m on new signings. Calum Chambers and Mathieu Debuchy are sure to add some defensive solidarity to the team and £30m man, Alexis Sanchez, is bringing some speed and depth to an squad that has been a bit too over-reliant on Olivier Giroud. Some big players have also made their departure from the club with Bacary Sagna and Thomas Vermaelen leaving for bigger and better things with Sagna joining league champions, Manchester City and Vermaelen joining Catalan giants, Barcelona.

Overall this is a team that I feel I can bring back into the spotlight with a few needed signings. Could this be the season that brings Arsenal back to the top of England, who knows.

In a turn of events that left many Arsenal supporters shocked and emotional, Arsene Wenger, manager of the English football club Arsenal, announced his retirement after a long 18 years in charge of the club. Wenger became the longest serving manager in the Premier League after the retirement of Sir Alex Ferguson, earning the respect of many managers and players in the process.

Over the past few years there has been rumours of Wenger retiring from his position in charge of Arsenal, mainly due to the poor seasonal performances of the club compared to their successful past including becoming 'The Invincibles' in the 2003-04 season of the Premier League. Since then they have not had the same success causing an 8 year trophy draught that was broken in this past season when they won the FA Cup, beating Hull City in the final.

Even through the retirement rumours, football fans have still been left in shock as many thought that this would be Arsenals season, thanks to some impressive signings in the shape of Alexis Sanchez, Mathieu Debuchy and Calum Chambers. Still, Wenger thought this would be prime time to leave the team in need of a new manager.

"This is an emotional time for me," Wenger commented. "Whilst managing Arsenal, I feel that I have matured both professionally and personally and this club feels like my home. I would just like to thank the players and the backroom staff for helping me feel at home during my time at the Emirates and Highbury. I'm sorry that I was not able to bring much success in recent years, I hope that my successor will be able to do the Arsenal proud both on the pitch and off it.

Whoever takes charge next will definitely have a talented squad to work with. Arsenal have a mix of youthful, exciting players and experienced, reliable players. The midfield, however, is where 'the Gunners' really shine with Mikel Arteta, Jack Wilshere, Mathieu Flamini and Aaron Ramsey all capable of putting in a great performance in the centre of midfield and Mesut Özil, Alexis Sanchez, Theo Walcott, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Santi Cazorla able to play more attacking roles.

The biggest question now is who will be the next man in charge of Arsenal Football Club. Diego Simeone, Andre Villas Boas, Jurgen Klopp and Rafa Benitez are the most popular choices according to SkyBet. Sky Sports News editor and long-time Arsenal fan, Ron Johnson believes that Simeone would be the best bet for Arsenal chairman.

"Diego [Simeone] showed last season with Atletico Madrid that he has what it takes to manage at the top level," Ron told us. "With Atletico he had the fans support from the start and sustained their affection with numerous memorable and impressive results."

Regardless of the new man at the helm of Arsenal, this season looks very promising for the Gunners.

It has come as no surprise that after weeks of speculation surrounding Diego Simeone and his links to Arsenal Football Club, Simeone has been unveiled as the new man at the helm of Arsenal. Simeone will be helped to ease into the Premier League by his second in command, Steve Bould, who has been in the Arsenal backroom since 2001, becoming assistant manager in 2012.

"A month ago, all of the club were left reeling by the spontaneous decision of Arsene's retirement," Bould told media. "I am delighted, however, to announce that Diego Simeone will take his place as manager of the Gunners. Diego is an extremely talented manager and everyone here is happy that we were able to get him over here in London. Personally, I am a huge fan of the work he has done with Atletico and I hope I can help him replicate the success over here in England."

England will be a massive difference for him to Spain and the biggest problem is the language barrier. Simeone does not speak English yet and that may be a problem when it comes to board meeting and team talks. Due to this, Simeone will be accompanied by a translator in the dressing room and at interviews/press conferences.

Simeone has promised to bring a new style of attacking, entertaining football to the Emirates that he made famous with Atletico Madrid. The need for pace and skill though may leave players like Rosicky and Giroud without a place in the squad, but will be perfect for new signing, Alexis Sanchez.

"Sin faltar el respeto a Wenger (No disrespect to Wenger)," Simeone said. "pero estoy contento con la forma en que su equipo juegue. Tuve éxito en Madrid por una razón y eso es bueno, el fútbol de ataque. Para el final de la temporada, no habrá más "Aburrido, aburrido, Arsenal 'cantos (but I am unhappy with the way that his team plays. I was successful at Madrid for a reason and that is good, attacking football. By the end of the season, there will be no more 'Boring, boring, Arsenal' chants.)"

It is not just his managerial career that made Simeone famous, Diego was well known in his international career with Argentina. Many English football fans will know of the famous incident in the 1998 World Cup where he delivered a 'heavy-handed challenge' and flopped when he was kicked by David Beckham in retaliation. Apart from that however, his career was mainly successful gaining 106 caps and 11 goals whilst playing as a defensive midfielder.

Simeone's first job will be to find a replacement for the recently sold Thomas Vermaelen who made a move to Barcelona for a price reported to be around £15m.

Diego Simeone has confirmed that he is not looking to sell any players as the Premier League draws near. Simeone believes that he should let people prove themselves before he will make the decision to offer them away.

This was announced when in his first interview with Arsenal he was asked by a reporter who he felt was not good enough to play for the club. Simeone replied positively, explaining how much he has been impressed by the players, mentioning Aaron Ramsey and Alexis Sanchez especially.

"Realmente no había visto mucho de Arsenal juegan (I had not really seen much of Arsenal play)," Simeone told press. "y yo estaba asombrado por la cantidad de esfuerzo de los muchachos ponen en la formación. No sé si siempre son este trabajador o era sólo en un ángulo de impresionarme, pero estoy definitivamente feliz. Creo que no tengo ninguna razón para vender a alguien hasta que lo vea jugar lo suficiente (and I was astounded by how much effort the lads put into training. I don't know if they are always this hardworking or it was just in an angle to impress me, but I am definately happy. I don't think I have any reason to sell someone until I see them play enough.)."

Olivier Giroud was one man who, according to heavy rumours, was the first on Simeone's list of people to sell. Giroud hasn't had the best career since joining Arsenal in 2012 from Montpellier, but he hasn't had the worst. The 27 year-old has scored 27 goals in 70 league appearances for the club.

Simeone will remember that he still has to buy players and even through the signings that Wenger made, there is some gaps in the squad that desperately need to be filled. A new defenders is needed after the departure of Belgian, Thomas Vermaelen, Eliaquim Mangala and Gary Cahill are the biggest rumours being thrown around but its all down to Simeone and who signs.

New Arsenal manager, Diego Simeone, has announced three new signings for the upcoming season. First, Sami Khedira arrives from Real Madrid for £14,000,000. Second signing is Neven Subotic, who arrives from Borussia Dortmund for £10,000,000. The last and most expensive signing of the bunch is Lorenzo Insigne, who formerly played for Napoli and arrives at the Emirates for £15,000,000.

After the selling of Thomas Vermaelen, Arsenal have been lacking in the centre of defence. Luckily for them, Simeone was able to get a talented replacement in quickly. Neven Subotic brings in some much needed depth in the defence of the Gunners and at 24 years old, he still has time to grow and hone his skills. The 24 year old was at his former club, Borussia Dortmund for five seasons and made 148 caps, winning the DFB-Pokal in 2012 and the Bundesliga in 2011 and 2012.

"Neven [Subotic] is someone that we were very interested in from the start and we are delighted that we could add him to the team," Bould explained to media. "His tackling, marking and heading skills are second to none and there isn't much more you can ask for in a 24 year old."

Sami Khedira is a player that has been linked to Arsenal for a while and will definately be a key figure in Arsenal's ranks. The German midfielder has spent the last three seasons at Spanish giants, Real Madrid. He signed a lucrative 5-year deal where he will reportedly be earning around £100k per week.

The final signing is the young stallion, Lorenzo Insigne. At 22 years old, the Italian has a bright future ahead of him and one day he may become one of the worlds elite. Insigne has signed a 5 year deal at Arsenal which will see him earn just over 40k per week.

After spending a total of almost £40,000,000, Diego Simeone has definately shown he is not afraid to splash the cash. Buying players is only half the battle however. The Community Shield match against Manchester City is on the horizon and it is all up to Simeone to get his players to work as a unit.