Arsene Wenger says his Arsenal team can challenge for the title, even if he doesn’t make any additions to the squad.

While on the one hand you look at it as the Arsenal manager simply bigging up the players he has at the end of a successful Asian tour, on the other it’s kinda familiar and scary.

Arseblog News admits to touching cloth having read what Wenger said in the Mirror. Our turtle’s tail is out. The Arsenal manager has said he’s ready to do business, but after letting so many go this summer, it’s impossible to find any rationale for him to think the group of players he’s got is good enough for a title challenge at this stage.

“We are ready to do quick deals but all the transfers do not depend only on us,” he said. “But we are prepared to wait. It looks unlikely before the Emirates Cup.

“We still have a strong squad but we are there on the market to try to strengthen our team. With or without additions we can be title challengers next season.”

Having read that and gotten a little bit sick in our mouths, we’re now focusing on the positives and the fact that Arsenal have bid £40m for Luis Suarez suggests there’s a willingness to do business.

“What we want is not as name but as good player,” he continued. “The name is less important. What is more important is the quality of the player. At the moment I must tell you we are not close to signing anybody.

“We try to do the job and we will try to do it well. But that is in front of us. We have worked a lot but nothing has been concluded with anybody.

“Of course we want to do as many top players as we can. But we also have to focus on the players we have and develop them. We have plenty of candidates in midfield now and there is a big fight there. Bacary Sagna settles in well at centre-back with Thomas Vermaelen out.”

All in all, mixed messages. Bid £40m for a player : say you can win title without signings. Look for new players : shift a right back to centre-half.

If doesn’t really speak to a cohesive plan and with no signings likely before next weekend, it leaves little time to get the squad ready for the start of the Premier League campaign.

What’s going on, Arsenal?