Departure of Arsenal trio does not dent Gunners' Champions League qualification chances.

The sale of Gaël Clichy to Manchester City for a fee of £7m has been the first departure for Arsenal so far in this summer transfer window, and it looks inevitable that two more will be walking out the door and to pastures new. The saga involving Cesc Fabregas and Barcelona, the club whose academy he was brought through before being signed by Arsenal, may finally reach a conclusion before the start of the 11/12 season, with the Catalan club ready to pay a £35m fee. Samir Nasri on the other hand has a number of clubs aiming to acquire his services. It has long been believed that Manchester United were the front runners for his signature, with a bid of £20m having been put forward. However, Arsenal denied this and claimed there hadn’t been any offers, and now Sir Alex believes Nasri has already agreed a deal with someone else, that someone likely being their city rivals, Manchester City.A lot has been made of the departure of the trio, “the demise of Arsenal”, “the final nail in the coffin for Arsene Wenger” and a lot of questioning as to whether Arsenal will manage to finish in the top four come the end of the 2011/12 season and qualify for the Champions League. However, in my eyes these claims have been mightily exaggerated.

Gervinho could prove to be a very astute signing

I certainly don’t think Arsenal are in any danger at the moment of finishing outside the top four at the moment, nor do I even see where the threat would be coming from. Despite the money poured into Liverpool’s side over the past few weeks, the squad hasn’t greatly improved from that of last season, nor has much been added or problems been rectified. They still don’t have an out-and-out goalscorer and the defence is certainly remains shaky. Meanwhile, Tottenham are having trouble in keeping hold of their talisman Luka Modric, who has just handed in a transfer request, while Harry Redknapp must reduce the wage bill at the club before he can bring new players in. A striker is still needed at White Hart Lane as well.

While Arsenal supporters may have to settle for a 4th place finish again in the Premier League, what with the spending power of the three clubs in front of them, they shouldn’t be as gloomy as the press are making their current plight out to be. Providing there aren’t any goalkeeping mishaps this time round, a domestic cup win and a good run in the Champions League isn’t out of the question.