This is a real dog-eat-dog world, boy.

Should anyone have challenged the notion that football is not just a business, or even an industry, but an economy all of its own, developments in England over what was our long weekend must make it increasingly difficult to sustain that argument.

First we had the United Kingdom's equivalent of the Finance Minister, Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling, issuing a dire warning on Saturday that the UK's economy is in much worse shape than previously feared, and that the deteriorating situation could be compared to 60 years ago when the country, and indeed much of the rest of the world, was emerging from the massive devastation of World War II.

Yet amid all the weeping and wailing over an impending recession, the decline in value of the pound sterling and the collapse of the housing market, Roman Abramovich was gnashing his teeth for a very different reason on Monday, the Russian owner of Chelsea Football Club having lost out in the bidding war for Real Madrid's Brazilian striker Robinho, who is on his way to Manchester for a fee of 32.5 million pounds (that's around $390 million of our money, give or take a couple million on the fluctuating exchange rate).

And, by the way, as all of you passionate followers of the English Premier League will already know, it's not the United part of Manchester but the previously more modest City part of it that is celebrating the acquisition of the star player from under the noses of the glamorous and considerably more successful London club.

Of course, United, the reigning European champions, got their man, Bulgarian forward Dimitar Berbatov, from another London team, Tottenham Hotspur, for the small matter of 30.75 million pounds. Even allowing for a less than authoritative start to their defence of the Premiership, along with last Friday's defeat to UEFA Cup holders Zenit St Petersburg in the Supercup showdown, Sir Alex Ferguson would hardly be thrown into a state of panic at such an early stage of a very long campaign.

Still, they cannot help but notice how, just like that, out of the clear blue Manchester City sky, their long-suffering neighbours are immediately flaunting the considerable quantities of money now available to them through their new Arab owners.

Had it been September 1, 2002, and not 2008, I find it hard to believe that City, or any other Western sporting club or organisation for that matter, would have leapt at the prospect of being purchased by a business consortium representing the government of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi and headed by the brother of the Middle-Eastern country's ruler. It will certainly make for a very interesting situation in the prime executive suite at the City of Manchester Stadium on game days this month as the new bossman, Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed al Nahyan, should be observing the fast of the Muslim Holy Month of Ramadan while also steering clear of the copious quantities of alcohol on offer as a matter of course anyway.

If nothing else, it confirms that football, at this dizzying altitude, has been elevated to the level of politics (strange bedfellows and a morality of its own) and economics (the bottom line is all that matters). Clearly, the economic numbers in the EPL are much healthier than for the rest of a country that prides itself on discipline, propriety and accountability.

According to the business advisory firm Deloitte, English Premier League clubs splashed out in excess of six billion dollars (that's about one-seventh of our entire national budget!) in pursuit of better talent, and that doesn't include the last-minute scrambles before the transfer widow closed at midnight on Monday.

In the face of what has become a well-established trend, what chance do the newly-promoted clubs have of survival in the Premiership, or the middle-of-the-road sides of breaking the dominance of the "Big Four"-Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool-in the league unless, like Manchester City, they can find a generous benefactor with very deep pockets?

For those relics of a bygone era, when the concept of building and nurturing a team over time in pursuit of success down the road held sway, the attitude of Arsene Wenger seems like a breath of fresh air amid all the high-powered wheeling and dealing for available talent. In refusing to plunge headlong into the transfer market and choosing instead to keep faith with a talented but youthful crop, the Arsenal manager risks incurring the wrath of Gunners' fans if they once more fall just short of the standards of the other major contenders by the end of the season.

Then again, it's not up to the fans in the stands but the businessmen in the boardroom to decide a manager's fate, as Kevin Keegan nearly found out yesterday. However, rumours of his sacking as Newcastle United manager eventually proved false.

But for an errant penalty by John Terry last May in Milan, Avram Grant would have guided Chelsea to the European Cup nine months after replacing the hugely popular Jose Mourinho. Yet everyone expected the Israeli to be sacked anyway, for the pulsating high-octane business of football doesn't demand remarkable progress, it expects success, and it expected it yesterday...or else.

For someone waiting more than 18 years for Liverpool to be crowned League champions of England, it is bordering on sacrilege to hope that Arsenal can confound the ruthless economics of football this season.