It’s been a long window for Arsenal fans. Everyone was happily greeted by the signing of Petr Cech at the end of June, with the expectation that many more signings would come to the Emirates.
For the fans, most seem to be fully aware of what the club are in need of to actively challenge for the Premier League trophy, something which hasn’t been in the hands of Arsene Wenger since 2004.
Wenger has made no secret of the fact that the club have been active in the transfer market and were until the last minute, but were also only out there for the best of the best, players that he thought could bring extra to the side.
The list of players linked has been endless. Edinson Cavani, Karim Benzema, Morgan Schneiderlin and Geoffrey Kondogbia are arguably the biggest names to have been linked with moves to North London.
Despite all the constant links with such top quality players in the positions that so desperately need to be filled, none of the above players have made it near. In fact, Morgan Schneiderlin joined Manchester United for £25million, while Kondogbia moved to Inter. Karim Benzema and Edinson Cavani, possibly unsurprisingly, stayed put.
Those signings were made in early July, and as other clubs around them strengthened, Arsenal sat quietly. Their fellow title contenders in Liverpool, Manchester United and Manchester City had the likes of Roberto Firmino, Bastian Schweinsteiger and Raheem Sterling while Wenger sat stewing over who could come in to really make Arsenal the title challengers that maybe, just maybe, they deserve to be.
As the window drew closer to its end, the links to new players started to fall on deaf ears. Benzema and Cavani soon turned to Mahrez and Yarmolenko, and you just got the feeling that Arsenal could go the entire summer with just the one signing… and that they did.
It’s been no secret that Arsenal have been in need of players in certain positions for so many years. To most, it’s a goalkeeper, a defensive midfielder and a world-class striker. I’m sure most Arsenal fans would tell you that these positions have been lacking in real quality since the days of Jens Lehmann, Patrick Vieira and Thierry Henry have passed.
Of course, there was the era of paying off stadium debts by selling some of the better players to make it at Arsenal, which meant that consistency in the league was really the key in terms of the running of the club.
The debt has been cleared and money is there to spend. So, the transfer dealings this summer really does pose the question: Why have Arsenal only bought one player this summer? Does he genuinely maintain the belief that Francis Coquelin or Mikel Arteta in midfield and Olivier Giroud as a lone striker are enough for Arsenal to sustain a title challenge? It hasn’t worked in the past, Arsene.
There’s no forgetting that transfers are only about players coming in, but also players leaving the club. In that respect, it’s been positive from the club, as they got rid of the majority of the deadwood.
Lukas Podolski and Ryo Miyaichi left the club, the latter on a free transfer while Wojciech Szczesny joined Roma on loan for the season. Szczesny had dropped to third-choice goalkeeper following the signing of Petr Cech, so a move away was almost certainly on the cards, and was sorted out very quickly.
Many of Arsenal’s youngsters who had also been on the lookout for first-team experience have gone out on loan. Gedion Zelalem, Serge Gnabry, Daniel Crowley and Chuba Akpom are just a handful of the players under-20s to have been shipped out to fellow UK clubs. Yaya Sanogo also joined Ajax on loan for the season.
So that’s the general overview of the window cleared up, but how does this rank with other transfer windows, and what do I make of it?
Personally, this has to be one of the worst windows that Arsenal have been involved in for a long time. In the past two seasons, we’ve seen Mesut Özil and Alexis Sanchez join the club. This season it was Petr Cech, so there can’t be TOO many complaints. We’re getting the best players we can, it’s just that no matter what happens, it still ends up not being enough.
If we’re really looking to win a league title, battle Europe’s elite and challenge for the Champions League, the options we have right now are simply not enough, particularly up front. Chelsea have Diego Costa, Loic Remy and Falcao as their strikers, Manchester City have Sergio Aguero and Wilfried Bony, United have Wayne Rooney and Anthony Martial. I could go on for ages, but Olivier Giroud and Theo Walcott in my opinion are not the types of players worthy of helping Arsenal win the league.
In terms of defensive quality and cover, I’d say that was less of a necessity, but still important. The defence itself is more than secure. Gabriel, Laurent Koscielny and Per Mertesacker are more than capable at the centre of defence. The real concern is what is left in front of it. Eight months ago, Francis Coquelin was on loan at Charlton Athletic and looking very likely to be sold this summer, with no place in the first-team.
Injuries struck at the right time for Coquelin. Mikel Arteta missed the rest of the season, and Francis Coquelin grew into the defensive midfielder that Arsenal fans were crying out for. It looks like he’s going to remain Arsenal’s first option in holding midfield. I’m not going to list the players that competing teams have in that position, but Arsenal certainly don’t rank top in that respect.
I’m not against Arsene Wenger whatsoever. In fact, after what happened between 2007 and 2014, with the lack of trophies and big-money signings, we’ve been pretty spoiled with two FA Cup trophies back-to-back, and the aforementioned players being brought in. To call for his head based on a transfer window is utterly ridiculous. I’m not happy with it either, but some of the things coming from fans’ mouths is borderline idiotic.
The expectations on Arsenal have increased since the cleared debts and the big name signings. Unfortunately this season, despite bringing in Petr Cech, those expectations haven’t been met. I’d give this window a 4/10, taking absolutely everything into account. Some good moves for the players leaving the club, but the lack of incomings could prove to be costly.
To add to the disappointment and anger from the fans, everybody is fully aware of Arsene Wenger’s dislike of signing players in the middle of the season. We could be in for a long season, or somehow be pleasantly surprised.
