Arsenal are worried they might not make a major signing this month

Arsenal has had an unmistakably quiet January transfer window in terms of incomings.

Considering that Mikel Arteta’s side has been struggling in recent matches, fans had expected that the club would back the former midfielder with some new players.

However, that hasn’t been the case, and the club is likely to end this window with no new stars despite losing some squad members.

The Sun says figures around the club are worried that this would be a very low-key window with no major signing made.

That could be a disastrous decision considering that others in the top four race have been strengthening their teams or at least, they haven’t been losing players.

Arsenal has made some nice progress in this campaign, and strengthening the squad is one way to keep the momentum.

If the club eventually sells Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang later in this transfer window without a replacement, this second half of the season could be one that we lose everything we have worked hard for in the first half of the campaign.

Our current squad struggled in the last few games before this break and that shows that they need help for the remaining months of this season.

For the club to ignore that cue shows we are not as serious to get back inside the top four as we want to believe we are.

Tags transfer window

19 Comments

  1. tbh this window has been rather confusing, in that if MA honestly believes that we could realistically compete for a top 4 position what he’s done so far makes functionally no sense unless something significant is already in the works…of course, it’s not unlike this organization to wait until the 11th hour to make moves, unfortunately they’re usually underwhelming and/or uninspiring, Ozil and Auba notwithstanding

    I would suggest that the greater likelihood is that MA didn’t expect us to be in the mix at this juncture, considering the youth movement and the potential competition for spots, and as such he was planning all along to focus more on outgoing than incoming moves in January…sometimes overachieving, in a sense, or the unexpected underachieving of others leads to a very problematic situation, as it raises some serious questions regarding how one might proceed in light of a new and somewhat unanticipated set of circumstances…can he look a gift horse in the mouth, now that he’s raised expectations, or does he proceed with the original “plan”

    the last time this dynamic emerged he pissed the bed and deviated from the process by purchasing Willian and opting for a more veteran-laden lineup, so will he stay the course or double-down again…that said, buying quality young players like a Vlahovic doesn’t count as a knee-jerk reaction, as they serve both purposes, but if he brings in loans without buy-on clauses or veteran players who will negatively impact the developmental process, then all bets are off and I fear for the future prospects of our club with this manager in charge

    (posted earlier, but more applicable here)

    1. That is essentially my take as well. I think being so close to top four going into the window caught Edu and Arteta off guard. Their choice was either to stick or thrust.

      Vlahovic was an attempt at a thrust. As disappointing as it is that it didn’t come off, part of me applauds them for the attempt. And hopefully for keeping their nerve now when we are all begging for new players.

      On one hand we are short. On the other hand we have significantly trimmed the wage bill. Crucially we haven’t got rid of one player who helped us get to this point in the season where we are in the conversation for a top four spot.

      Even though we will probably fail to get into the top four, I’m fairly confident of top six followed by a big summer window (in terms of quality not quantity).

      1. in a way, I want to give them some kudos for shooting their shot, yet I can’t help but think that a more experienced management team would have read the room sooner and realized that we were simply being used as a pawn in order to bring Juve to the table with a serious offer…had this been the case they could have set their sights elsewhere while there was still ample time to pursue a viable alternative

        of course my more serious concern is that they actually did realize early on that this was a “dead end” proposition and they were simply exploiting the situation in order to appease an exceedingly anxious and oft-times gullible fanbase by feigning intent, as this has certainly been the case in the past…I can only hope that I’m wrong about this, but I’m sick of being played by an organization that appears to care more about perception than reality

    2. My thoughts exactly TRVL – exactly the scenario in my eyes and it explains a lot:
      – The board authorised buying close season, not January, hence the major sums spent then.
      – Buying youngsters and not a complete team, this amount of relative success was unforseen so soon. January was intended as only a selling window to clear the decks for summer
      – Arteta is a planner, not a manager capable of adapting quickly. We have numerous examples of this.
      – Stick or twist? Again he wasn’t ready or comfortable twisting, so he dithered.
      – Most transfer talk was undoubtedly media hype, as large funds weren’t availabe. He did get Vlahovic and him alone authorised by Kroenke, probably because although pricy he alone ticked every single box. We held out for him too long because we were told to sell if we wanted any other player other than short term loanees.
      – I too am nervously waiting to see if he panics and buys some rubbish. He’s a good thinker if a scenario falls within his long term “plan” but often makes very poor decisions when he needs to deviate from that or if he is put under any kind of pressure.
      Excellent comments TRVL – we shall soon know!

      1. whether these seemingly logically-conceived presumptions, on both our parts, are based in reality or this club, as it’s currently constructed, simply doesn’t wield the cachet required to entice the kind of players necessary to advance the “process”, will likely be revealed either within the next 72 hours or undoubtedly by the summer window…regardless of the underlying truth, I’m deeply concerned that until we make a move or two of some consequence we will continue to languish in this sort of “no man’s land” malaise, as I’m totally unconvinced by the possibility that MA can “outmanage” our competitors

  2. Thats because they chased people who either didn’t want to join us or were not available . A total balls up. And yet they let first team squad members go

  3. Farcical. A short time ago we were 4th in the EPL, in the FA Cup, and in the League Cup. With players at AFCON or being loaned out the whole world knew we needed a couple of players, but Arsenal are a Mickey Mouse club at the moment. It’s heart-breaking because we support and love this club. I don’t think there is a single supporter who would not admit we have been mismanaged this month. We need a miracle in the next 3 days or we will struggle to keep up with the Spuds and West Ham. Such a shame because 4th place was there for the taking, if the management would have done the business when they should have. Now there is sweet FA left for the season. A farce.

  4. How good a business is Arsenal?. As well as losing many millions of pounds when contracts are run down and not learning from paying players too much, where is all this going? Ah, I see. Create a team of young players, achieve relative success (hope for European football) and after a couple of years, start selling the best players for big bucks hoping that new young recruits will replace the stars who have been sold.. Certainly better than recruiting older (possibly injury prone) players who you get rid of for nothing. At least if you don’t make Europe, a profit can be generated.
    What about the fans? What do they want? At what point does the fan base start to reduce in number? In today,’s game which club would a new fan choose? How do you win over the ‘new fan’? Or don’t they matter?
    Either a big smokescreen has been created or management has wasted the whole transfer window chasing a player who stated he wanted to go to Juventus (nowhere else) and it was obvious he was not going to entertain anything else. A good strategy if you wanted it to appear that you were trying. Perhaps we are mistaken. There may be trouble ahead………

  5. I did not like Arteta but now I do. The problem since and including Wenger is taking miss fits ,iffy defenders, and otherwise mid level players. Arteta is getting rid of them and Jack-offs who don’t care to win as fast as he can. In 4 more windows there will only be top 4 players and then we can critique his tactics and stratagies.

    1. Thanks mate! I’d rather not sign a nobody or some retiree just because its not your damn hard earned money and just to massage ones senile bruised ego which was the norm until 2 seasons back. Hiring Raul was another misfit for us. Again Socrates, Pepe, Torrera, Leno has added more stress to an already stressed manager. Mikel has the right approach as he learnt the tricks of the trade from none other than Pep. A winner’s mentality.

  6. If we are really serious about top 4 and indeed the future of the club, there has to be at least one incoming trade before the window closes. Regarding timing, I think it would be a major embarrassment to the club and the entire league if any last-minute trade is manipulated to influence future ratings for the amazon documentary. Just can’t help being a skeptic.

  7. January windows are mainly for loan deals or short term replacements

    Fans want big signings and multiple signings

  8. – Arteta is a planner, not a manager….He’s a good thinker if a scenario falls within his long term “plan” but often makes very poor decisions when he needs to deviate from that or if he is put under any kind of pressure…..thank you GUY for these comments………we’ve seen it…….!
    Also..in the beginning of the season 6th place was target but that was in the beginning of the season..we not there anymore..now we were in 4th and should adapt to change and plan for 4th..clearing the team is planning for 8th……long term…..!

  9. I think this too, Im not going to lay to much blame for fireing blanks this window at Arteta’s feet as he does not have that type of control that Wenger had at the club. We have a recruitment team that takes care of getting deals over the line. Data analysts and scouts to indentify targets that fit the spec set out by Arteta.

    But as Arteta has alluded to before, we’re not going to add for the sake of adding without making sure that player brings up the level of the team and we shouldn’t. Willian, Luiz, Pepe, Torriera, Leno were Edu and Raul signings, mostly helping their agent friends out. Emery started a good president by asking for Tierney, Guendouzi, Martinelli and Saliba. Then Arteta with Gabriel, White, Tomiyasu, Partey, Tavares, Odegaard, Sambi and Ramsdale.

    I’m definitely seeing a pattern in signings that the managers actually want and who Edu wants. I mean again we look at Luiz and Willian as obvious ones, we could have also ended up with Perdo Neto rather than Ramsdale, Emerson Royal instead of Tomiyasu and now Artur Melo, who allegedly the club have pulled the plug on too. It seems like Edu wants us to sign shit or past it Brazilians for “some reason”.

    As I’ve said on here before even I knew before we were linked to Vlahovic, that he only had eyes for Juve and Juve had already flirted with him and his reps. Again as well that transfer stinking of the medias usual knock at Arsenal, build up a transfer story so we can use it against them at the end of the window. I do believe we were in for him but not as heavy as reported.

    Players in the Italian league rarely make the switch to the Prem. Firstly there’s Juve and the vice like grip on any talent in that league, similar to Munich in the Bundesliga. Also it’s too big of a culture shift and stepup in pace and physicality, some players have failed to make it here from Serie-A. Look at the form comparison the most recent expensive addition Lukaku.

    Why did Edu (allegedly according to our “unbiased against Arsenal” media) spend so much time trying to get Vlahovic is obvious, he potentially has the quality need. But there again we could have said the same about Pepe, one of the best in his league and Europe but the Prem is just too much for him. Would the same thing have happened to Vlahovic or like as it has with Lukaku shown the Premier League is too big a step up.

    A Vlahovic or Haaland type of player is what we need our scouts anylysts and Arteta obviously mooted the former as a guy who potentially could propel us forward. Like Henry did the Wenger teams. But where’s plan B and C perhaps there is a back up. But they too are either univable due to the January market or have eyes on other clubs and want to wait and see.

    Like it or not players like the idea of playing for Arsenal and will love to come, but at the moment we are a plan B. I have no doubt that if Juve were not interested then we probably would have got the Vlahovic deal over the line. End of the day we were Arsenal and he was playing for Fiorentina.

    All that said I’m not a fan of Edu he has no business signing players he thinks we should sign. He should be listening to the manager and chasing those targets, not the Willians of this world. If he listened to Emery we would have Zaha here and not Pepe. If we fail to get top 6 this season Arteta will be called into question but Edu should be immediately shown the door.

  10. I write as rumours abound that Nketiah too will leave permanently this weekend, with Auba potentially leaving on loan to buy.
    The moves outwards are not a disaster – isn’t that what we have all been demanding for over a season? Every player going is surplus to our long term needs. I can see those which are loans (Bellerin, Torreira, Nelson) being made permanent, Mavro and Guendouzi following, and Elneny, Cedric and maybe Xhaka and Pepe leaving in the Summer. All probable, necessary and to be applauded, except arguably Mavro and Guendouzi.
    We have currently 22 seniors of an allowed 28, 3 of which are keepers. Potentially we will have 17 outfield players come Monday, and an infinitely lower wage bill. The decks will be cleared, and most of the players we use only as a last resort gone.
    IF Nketiah is sold I have no doubt that a striker has been signed. That could be it. We have only 17 games to play in almost 4 months. A game a week with our first choice 11. It’s manageable, injury and cards permitting.
    If we have a good striker in the pipeline Europa is odds-on, and Top 4 should not be written off, because we still have the team that achieved great things pre-Xmas, and haven’t lost one player that 95% of us wouldn’t pick to play.

    1. Lots of sound sensible points guy. I truly believe we have a realistically good chance to make top four, BUT only IF we sign a quality strike rin this window .
      Otherwise we are not scoring golas much at all and that won’t make top four.

  11. I agree Guy. But it’s risky. If you run a country like this, you could get stuck. We need to sell all fringe players, of course, but it’s better (and safer) to get your signings in before selling. We are doing the opposite as it stands and it could easily backfire.

    1. The biggest risk is not getting a striker, Kobin. All else is manageable imo. Totally agree and who knows, maybe there’s 2 or 3 coming in on Monday. But I would rather we had nobody than panic buying rubbish, because there’s not much quality out there. Clubs dont want to sell and players just don’t want to move in January. I don’t blame them – I hated it the time I moved school mid-term!

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