Over the past three seasons I’d say that Arsenal fans have been left very disappointed by Arsene Wenger’s actions in the transfer window. Arsenal have recently done well at starting their business relatively early in the summer with a key signing, only to then lose all that transfer momentum and eventually leave Arsenal fans in a state of desperation.
In 2013 Arsenal fans were boosted on the final day of the window, with the Gunners making the sensational club record signing of Mesut Ozil. Even though the window had been poor, Ozil’s signing really lifted the fans and the team and I think that the summer of 2013 is probably the last window we were truly left satisfied with Wenger’s business. The summer of 2014 brought in Alexis Sanchez, a fantastic £35 million buy and a truly great player. However Wenger let us down by not building on that great start to the summer window and he left us desperate in key areas. Again in 2015, Wenger bought Cech and we thought that the summer held plenty of promise. Cech turned out to be our only first team signing for the entire year. Now finally in the present summer of 2016, it looks quite possible that Wenger has again gave fans an early glimpse of hope by signing Granit Xhaka, only to the remain silent for the rest of the window.
It has meant that over the course of the last few years, this team has gradually been built to a more progressively better standard, but we are always still playing catchup to the other teams, our rivals, that spend relentlessly around us. Wenger has taken almost four years to strengthen four positions with world class players, but at the same time he has also failed to address the areas of desperation, upfront and in defence, for the exact same four year period.
I know that plenty of Arsenal fans are frustrated with Wenger’s methods of business and had we managed to obtain the targets we wanted earlier in the summer by doing business early, then we now wouldn’t find ourselves in such a desperate state going into the second fixture of the new season. According to Charlie Nicholas however, Arsenal fans shouldn’t have too much to worry about, with the Gunners just ‘£70m’ away from not having to spend big for years!
Nicholas told Sky Sports: “Wenger just needs to apply the finishing touches to his squad because he’s done the hard work. If he gets Mustafi and Lacazette for £70m then he might not have to buy big again for two to three years, which would put them in a stunning position. Manchester United are spending close to a quarter of a billion pound each summer and Arsenal only need to pay a fraction of that once in a few years.”
First off the amount of money the likes of City, United and Chelsea are spending each year is ridiculous, but for the majority of the time, the money is largely putting them in the direction they want. United may have faulted under Van Gaal’s spending, but Mourinho’s summer has been very progressive and his signings seem to be putting the side in the direction they want to be going. Nicholas’ statement that Arsenal wouldn’t have to spend big for years is in my opinion, quite far fetched. Arsenal may have a strong and competitive team if Wenger strengthens both up front and in defence, but he hasn’t taken into account that if Arsenal fail to win again this season, we may see the likes of Ozil and Alexis look elsewhere, whilst our rivals will also continue to spend around us, continuously strengthening their team’s whilst Wenger (or whoever is in charge next year) feels like business at Arsenal has settled.
Do you agree with Charle Nicholas on this front? Or will Arsenal have to continuously spend if they want to keep up and be better than their rivals.
By AH
I think we are three signings away from bieng complete:
1.a striker: here we need an animal and someone eho loves and has hunger to score.we lack that as our main striker to loves to fees others.
2.winger:sanchez on one and who else on the other? We need another world class winger.walcot,ox and joel not gud enough to be in a starting 11 for a team that aims to win.
3.cb:here is a must and we hve to thank injurys coz if mert was fit we could not hve purchased better.only kos is starting 11 material.l like how mert organises the defence but in modern soccer much more is needed from a defender than just organising skills.
Fact is even if we add this 3 players it all comes down to how our manager will utilise them to ensure they are effective.
im thumbing you down just for calling football soccer:)
Haha will rectify in next typo?.and thumb me up for gud luck u never know we can get a world class striker (striker craving?)
Charlie has a decent point, but he failed to bring players age into it. Kos Mert Monreal Cazorla are going to need replacing soon enough. Giroud too, and we already need better, many say same for Mert. Utd will be doing the same with Ibra, but unlike us they’re likely to throw the money needed to get pure quality, Rooney too soon needs replacing over there. If it takes us one season to bring in one top player, we’ll always be playing catch up unless we get lucky with age now and then. I think Wenger sees the academy as the means to fill the holes in our team, and that is why he is maybe reluctant to bring in many big names at once.
Arsenal one or two signings away from being complete. This is a record stuck in a groove, and has been for a few years.
For four consecutive seasons we have added quality, ozil, sanchez, Cech and xhaka. Problem is it is too slow, top players well leave because the wait for the “one or two signings” is too long so the “complete team” will not happen.
The mistake was last season, we should have dipped in to those cash reserves and completed the team. I just cannot see ozil and sanchez signing a new contract so they will be on their way next summer.
i called rvp judas for years, he wasnt judas, he just understood how we operate means we will never compete for title under this management and model.
he left an got his title that same season
same as nasri an fabregas…even though they both little hobbits …rvp gets a pass for me
Rvp in his last season for us scored 30 goals in the PL alone. We still finished 19 points behind the winners. The previous year fabregas and nasri were sold and not replaced. RVP asked for assurances that new top players would be brought in and did not receive such assurances. No wonder he left, he wanted to win something, same as us fans.
Wenger thinks Welback is world class and most of the players started in all the league’s after Euro 2016 only Wenger thinks our guys only 80% match fit.
No lame excuses. Why they been paid for so much per week?
Ramsey is world class playing for his country but when it comes to perform for Gunners under performs.
Sell
Walcot, Jack, BFG etc and show some guts to buy top notch players whom still are available.
Buy Daxler make him CF and there are 2 or 3 guys available as CD.
Cheers
I feel u but i fear the shoppin spree for world class players has shut now its only average or good enough players.we were lucky to get ozil on deadline day i dont know why our club is waiting for another so called reaction.we were lucky once ,now we hve to settle for mediocre players as which club in there right frame of mind will sell there world class player with only days remaining for the market to be shut
Wudnt hold against ozil nd sanchez if they move on to a more ambitious team cuz arsene hz made us loose d respect we once had in england and europe as a whole…imagine 29yrs old vardy turning us dwn 4 leicester city
sanchez i wouldnt hold anything against, an he probably will
this club, trophy wise will not reach its potential as long as the oldest dead wood is still there
Would that be Kroenke, he is 69 years old.
my opinion on getting a striker. Mandzukich will be a good option now, i think that guy is under-rated and now the arrival of Higuain at juventus will unjustifiably send him down the bench. its sad wenger is blind to see things a times.
mandzukich of bayern
is not the mandzukich of juventus
u would be disappointed
I just look at Utd and can’t help but be a little envious. Before the window they had a very average and beatable team. With just three world class signings on paper they look like they can go up against the best In Europe with a decent bench to match. Once they find their rhythm they will be light years ahead of us.
Wengers in his latest quotes is still mentioning Walcott akpom and even sanogo as viable options as forwards.
I think the sooner we accept this club won’t do what needs to be done to be the best the happier we will be.
Same here what hurts the most last season we had by far the better squad than them.looking on this season they hve a better squad than us!! How the ….did this …..happpen!!
its all about perspective , i would argue that man u in one window have bought more world class players than we have managed in a decade….think about that
thats how u know we are not an elite club.
that and many other reasons.
I think we wanted to emulate barca so much with the develop our own policy that we got blind and didnt notice that barca buys world clasa calibre on addition to development so as to keep em competing
Even more disheartening is that during the 3 or so seasons when Man United was garbage, we only managed to beat them once in the League, while they kept on the recent tradition of beating us every season
A world class CB (as good as Koscielny), a utility player (Robert Pires style), Ozil and Sanchez signing new contracts, Christiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi and finally Diego Simeone as a new manager… Then we will be complete, totally complete.
If you think Wenger will sign a new striker (of quality), a CB and someone else, you have been doing to much crack last night or you are just lying to yourself and being doing so for years and years, so good luck with the “delusion”…?
hes been 2 players away from the title for 12 years.
nothing changes
just enjoy the ride 🙂
Hahaha it doesn’t even have the roller coster effect just flat and straight we go
hahahaha
thats not a rollercoaster, thats basically a train ride lol
It will explain why wenger always has problem with his jacket haha
Hope & Pray ride!
Yes…WC striker and a new manager should do it.
Arsenal need to spend 160mil to finish this team then the kids can come in to a team a winning team and that is how Barcelona do it. All this talk about A-S wanting to leave well sell him for 70mill coz he’s far better then most bought for stupid money. SC I think has this season left as to BFG LK NM they are all getting on and will need to be replaced. We need a number 2 that can take over from AW one that can get our crowd singing and jumping again just something. Yr all saying TH but for me the German manager to come in with TH as number 2
I think we fans should learn to believe that there is another guy outthere who can do the job.so many guyz worried that if wenger goes we will end up like a united2.0. Before things get good they will get worse.but since wenger is around we just hve to hve hope this year we dont fall so much.the wisest bisna that man u did was bringing mou coz he himself made man u attractive for top players,while we are lossing our glamour but ill blame it more on penny pinching(offer a player less and unattractive amount hence we end up bieng rejected)
Knowing we get he will probably sell Sanchez for 25m to not inflate the market with astronomical fees
Arsenal have been eternally needing 2 or 3 world class signings every season to compete. Has anyone pondered tha maybe wwe just need to make one world class signing and every other thing will fall in place. Just sign a World class Manager and the world class signings will come.