Wenger is looking at buying a new centre back!
Arsene Wenger has announced ahead of the Gunner’s second pre-season match, that Arsenal will line up with the young English centre back pairing of Chambers and Holding, but that the club will be dipping into the market for a new centre back in the coming weeks.
After Per Mertesacker was ruled out with a knee injury that will apparently keep him off the pitch for 5 months, it added to concern that Arsenal are severely lacking in centre backs ahead of the start of the season opener against Liverpool. With Mertesacker’s injury, we currently have just two first team centre backs available in Chambers and Holding, as Gabriel remains out with tonsilitis and Koscielny is yet to return to training from his extended holiday period.
It led many to question whether Wenger would consequently dip into the market to find a strong experienced centre back to replace Mertesacker. Even though I thought we should’ve been looking in the market for a top quality defender anyway, it now seems Wenger’s got his act together and will be looking at targets in the coming weeks.
Speaking during Arsenal’s tour of the USA, Wenger said: “We have to look for an option to get a bit more experience. We will see some of our young centre backs on Thursday [against MLS All-Stars]. With Per being out, we are a bit short on the experience front and we are looking to bring somebody in.”
Arsenal have been linked with Kastos Manolas in recent days, whilst Koulibaly also remains a consistent target for the Gunners. I think it’s very important that Arsenal look towards signing a new centre back this summer, as well as the obvious striker situation that still looms over us. Even though Mertesacker would’ve played a ‘lesser’ role at the club this year, due to physical fitness and ability in age, his place in the squad is still a valuable position and with the BFG out for so long, Arsenal must look to replace him with cover.
By AH
Don’t think Arsene is thinking about the likes of Manolas & Koulibaly when he talks about “looking to bring someone experienced in”. This will be a Kallstrom-like scenario.
I liked the Mustafi link, but I fully expect us to be in for Howedes again.
Experienced CB?
I see Wenger getting Squillachi at best.
I sadly don’t have faith in such news anymore.
Now that’s a good news, no problems them…
Let’s hope he fulfils his promise..and I hope for Howedes too…Mr versatility!
This is exactly the type of scenario that frugality is suppose to serve. Being sensible with your money, so when a crisis occurs (and we have a CB crisis) you can spend accordingly, you’re not shackled by constraints.
If Wenger doesn’t spend exactly as needed on a CB then how can he and Gazidis even believe in their own policy. I’m optimistic that Wenger will, but if he doesn’t, I can honestly no longer give him the benefit of the doubt.
@jib
It was a much worse situation last season before the transfer window shut, when Wilshere, Rosicky, and Welbeck, were out longterm, and look what Wenger did then…nothing! I hope he signs a top CB,but I wouldn’t hold out any hope!
@ThirdManJW
Although I agree with you wenger’s lack of activity last season was criminal. I don’t think the need to replace wilshire (no longer considered a loss to the team as he is perpetually injured), and Rosicky (an excellent but ageing midfielder that was seeing the last of his days at arsenal) were priorities at all. Their loss didn’t cost us the season.
With Welbeck that’s open to interpretation. You can believe that his imminent return was pushed back by unforeseen injury delays, and wenger (wrongly) assumed that walcott could hold the fort down until he came back.
Or you can believe that Wenger knew Danny was going to be out for a large part of the season, and for reasons only he understand he sat on his hands.
That did cost us the season.
@jib
I completely agree with what you say about those players, but my point was that even if those players were fit, we still needed new signings. The injuries just compounded Wenger’s decision not to strengthen.
In the first six months of financial year 2015 (apr to sept) arsenal made an operating loss due to deferred payments to existing players old clubs. The accounts are on arsenal.com.
No money was made available from cash reserves so we only spent £10m on Cech. It is what Gazidis calls a “disciplined approach in the transfer market”.
Wenger did sit on his hands but the question is, was it voluntary or was Kroenke behind it? I suspect Kroenke.
@jonm
That’s an interesting point, I was unaware of that.
You know what, I have absolutely no idea. We can speculate of course, but certainty is impossible.
What goes on behind the scenes no fan knows about, despite many fans claiming they know exactly what is going on behind the scenes, how the club is run, who reports to who, who makes the decisions, ect
@jonm
Even with that, I find it hard to believe that Wenger’s transfer budget would have ONLY been £10 million (the lowest in the league), it would have been more. Also, if funds were hard to come by for Wenger as you say, then why didn’t he generate more money by selling players? We’ve got lots of average/rubbish players to sell, but Wenger doesn’t! He only brought in around £2 million from player sales last season, I think only around £35 million over the last three years!
Bringing in more income via player sales, and freeing up wages, surely makes life easier in the transfer window. From an economical point of view, it’s baffling why Wenger doesn’t do this. Just selling Ramsey, Walcott, and the Ox, would generate funds in the region of £80 million for example.
Third man, I am not an accountant but the financial statement for the six monthe to 30 nov 2015 shows the following
Payments for purchase of players £47.287m
Receipts from sale of players £7.88m
So we bought cech but paid out over 47m. As I said above it was deferred payments to existing players old clubs.
I agree about selling some of our players, problem with the likes of walcott is finding a club he can agree personal terms with, who will pay his extortionate wages. We had the same problem with bentdner, clubs were willing to buy him but he would not agree to a pay cut and they would not pay his current wage.
Yet again we should NOT find ourselves in this position in the first place, buying young and cheap has yet again left us in a spot where the real player we really need (Goal scoring striker) will go unfilled again, as we now need a centre back to fill the ranks because the ones we have are either inadequate or on extended holiday.
Perhaps if we had brought in the players we really needed in the last few tyransfer windows we would not be in this position now.
The club is being run like a pprivate Feifdom and when these things happen theres no contingency plan Im disgusted by the whole transfer window so far, Higuian goes as the third most expensive player in the world and theres a bloody good reason for that, we may not have had much chance of getting him this time but how the Fack did we miss him last time round?
the whole transfer policy is utter bullsh!t, NOW we will be charged over the odds for a CB as everybody knows we are desperate, IF we’d have brought in Adequiet cover last season or two seasons agao this would,nt be a problem but the frugality of the board and manager has lead us up yet another blind alley.
Just kiss any chance of silverware goodbye for next season cos we will have the same woeful strikers as the last few years.
Oh and Sanogoals
wooo hoooo
So that means we are getting two players now…a CB and a forward…
I used “forward” because I dunno what Wenger wants,maybe an out-and-out striker or a versatile player that can play RW,LW, and top 9 ala Welbeck….
Eventhough, things are kinda dull in the transfer front, am still excited about next season and can’t wait to see our boys playing regularly….coyg!!
@jib
It was a much worse situation last season before the transfer window shut, when Wilshere, Rosicky, and Welbeck, were out longterm, and look what Wenger did then…nothing! I hope he signs a top CB,but I wouldn’t hold out any hope!
Its one thing to start a day emphatically…..like being Linked to New name “Ben Yedder”…..
Another for the day end so badly with no move, squashed rumours and tails between Legs
Btw….i hear Lyon have Lacazette and are as well going for Ben yedder.
My God!….how do these teams get to do these things they do?…we are so weak
Could mean we are in for Lacazzette?
its a strange turn of events typical how when one of wengers “experienced players” gets injured he is ready to whip out the checkbook at moments notice, but when we need world class c/f he ain’t so fast to get it out and spend. have you seen the juve deal for higuan it is to be paid over two payments and your telling me we couldn’t do that also. we could have been £40 million upfront and then £36 million next summer easy to do. but low and behold wenger wont just do it will he so tightfisted unreal.
i think he will be out next summer i sincerely do. he will realize that the tilt at the league will be over by dec/jan and then pick up his p45 at june.
I understand that higuan is the third most expensive player after Ronaldo and Bale and he is 29 years old. Not buying this player can hardly be described as tightfisted and unreal.
I would describe the purchase as foolish, particularly as coming to us would involve changing leagues and he could easily fail in PL and lose us a fortune.
its not so much tightfisted for the sake of it it is more that he didn’t do anything at all. could you have imagine the buzz it would have caused had we bought him. it would have been a massive boost to our title chances and massive lift for fans and players alike higuian number 9 shirt being held up would have put us well up there, i believe he would have done the business for us we have to much attacking quality behind him not for it to work. ozil would be wheres that new contract give it here now, he might just say stuff your new extension. i understand from the other side of the argument that he could also have flopped, but you never know unless you try. unlike never trying and maybe still failing.
Its not just the transfer fee but the wages, i have not seen any reports on this but say its a five year contract for £250 k per week. That is £13m per year and a commitment to spend £65m over the next five years. We could end up paying this wage for a 34 year old striker who is well past it.
It obviously makes sense to juventus but they are in the same league so know how higuan performs in it. Transfer fee plus wages for five years is a commitment to spend say £140m, that is about one third of the cost of emirates stadium, and look what that did to our finances.
if wenger is such a great fan of youth players why don’t he just throw in one of the younger c/h and give then there head, like he did with bellerin it might be the making of chambers or plaguezeulo or someone else just take a chance wenger if your brave enough.
if he does get experienced c/h in it has to howedes for me has it all for me and a few years younger.
Wenger made 3 bad and expensive
defender buys 2 seasons ago.
Debuchy + Chambers in June 2014
and Gabriel 6 months later in Jan 2015.
The 16 mill flop now injured Wellbeck just adds to the financial crisis.
He is now so terrified of fouling up again he is spending cheap
e.g. 2 mill Holding, as well as a slew of 2 mill youngsters
Adelaide, Kelechi and now targeting 6 mill Yedder.
The theory being that if he “stuffs up” again it will be a cheap stuff up.
So it will now be interesting where he goes with
this “experienced” defender he says he is looking for.
Will he spend big or guard against “stuffing up” and go cheap?
There are experienced CB’s like Varane Koulibali Manolis Mustafi Howedes.
Then there are the experienced el cheapo’s Johan Djourou’s or Joleon Lescotts types.
All the while Wenger is (we hope) saving his money
for a big money forward the fans are demanding.
Arsenal management were recently in Germany, Howedes ? Draxler? Djourou?
But may be no one big is coming at all just the Kalstrom family?
Who would know. But its amusing at the very least 🙂
I see Wenger signing Mustafi
Wenger’s chronic penny pinching mindset wouldn’t let him go for a quality experienced CB. There are a couple of them out there at the right price like Varane, Manolas, Koulibaly, Mustafi etc. But not Wenger, he likes them cheap so don’t expect any of the ones listed above.
So BFG is injured??. Its been my wish that we get his replacement since The Monaco horror But seems Nature has its way of getting things done.