Arsenal have an enormous task ahead of them this summer. The departures of Aaron Ramsey, Petr Cech and Danny Welbeck have added several holes to an already imbalanced squad.



The club could do worse than cast their eye further down the table for potential purchases, though Arsenal have not bought many players directly from the Premier League over the last two decades. The previous manager, Arsene Wenger, had his fingers badly burned by the summer of 2001 and the costly failures of Francis Jeffers and Richard Wright. Consequently, he preferred to recruit from abroad, and that has created a slight culture of snobbishness among Arsenal supporters about Premier League purchases.



Fans tend to turn their nose up at players already plying their trade in England, regarding them as “defined down,” compared to the promise and possibility provided by an unfamiliar name.



Perhaps, however, Arsenal could learn from the likes of Liverpool, who have made a real...