Why Arsene Wenger must Spend now and reap the long term rewards for years to come by Ozzy AFC
Good Morning Gooners,
Once again we have something serious to ponder and I have no doubt that this article will bring an absolute plethora of negative comments from certain areas of the supporters of our glorious club, but Hey! Here it is…..
I read with mounting interest (as well as mounting trepidation) that Arsene Wenger has stated that he will be “concentrating on keeping his current squad together, rather than spending too much time in the transfer window”. Well if you guys are anything like me, I am both highly annoyed AND not at all surprised by this. Its these mixed emotions that make me realise that while its LOOKS like things are changing for the better at our club, in reality, nothing is really going to get any better at all!!
Before I get buried under an avalanche of derision and name calling, let me explain my way of thinking, We have in the second half of this season made what appears to be an amazing breakthrough, both in our mentality and in our physicality. We are on course to finish as runners up in the EPL and take away a second successive FA cup title. This, in comparison to the last decades worth of booty, is an improvement of gargantuan proportions.
While for almost all of us it’s a disappointment that we did not make it further in the Champions League, the improvements that the team has made cannot be underestimated. So, common sense would now dictate that we capitalise on this huge leap forward and add those last few key elements that we require so that we can challenge now at the highest levels of football.
We now have a squad that is rapidly establishing its credentials as a team to be both feared and respected, and all that it needs is two of three additions of world class calibre and we could easily go on to dominate in Europe on a long term basis, and who of you wouldn’t want to see that?
There’s an interesting article in the Daily Mail sports section today saying that we SHOULD go out and buy Petr Cech, Paul Pogba, Matts Hummels and Edison Cavani in order to put a spine up the back of the team that would make it a devastating force in modern football. Now, while I understand that a lot of this is just paper cobblers in order to sell the rag, I do also think that there’s a valid point here in this article, especially when you consider that in the same page there’s the suggestion that Chelsea will be looking to buy in Pedro, Antoine Griezmann, Raphael Varane and Fabio Coentrao. I know that this could be paper talk again – but if even half of it is true then we as a club that claims to be looking to compete and keep our fans happy SHOULD be looking to buy in our own world class crop of players to improve on what we have.
I know all the players aforementioned are over priced, but they are all proven players and if we do not spend and get in some more world class talent then we will again be left behind.
IF we were to buy in the two or three we need to strengthen the squad AND give us options in the way we play and to cover any potential injuries, the fact is that we could dominate both at home and in Europe, and we would not need to spend big again for a number of years. This would massively improve the ‘Arsenal brand’ across the world and win us trophies, which would bring in even bigger revenue and this would, over time, pay for the spending we initially outlay on the big names.
We are on the cusp of greatness again and if this opportunity is ignored due to the Board and AW’s financial reluctance and timidity, then we may just have to spend another ten years as the runners up or the ‘nearly but not quite’ team we have been over the last decade.
This is not taking away from what Wenger has achieved under finanacial restraints, but we do have money to spend now and we should at least be getting our noses into the trough to see how we can back up what we have. Arteta should be sold. Diaby should be let go. Flamini should be let go. Mertesacker should be sold. Perhaps even Walcott, and this again would generate funds added to what we have in our supposed war chest. By doing so we are making a massive statement of intent and adding to an already world class squad.
Its worrying that Francis Coquelin was considered excess to requirements until injury necessitated that we bring him back and allow him a chance (which he has taken and exceled in), but would this have been spotted had the injuries not occurred? We are not there yet. We have NOT yet secured 2nd place. We have not yet won the FA cup. And to say that we are the finished article at this point is still way off the mark.
Wenger, I hope, is laying down a smokescreen and will look to add to the squad with top class talent, and in my mind this needs to be another DM, another CB, AND a world class 25 goal a season striker. With these acquisitions we could challenge the top teams in Europe at the highest level, without them we could again hear all the old soundbites about “Next year we will be there” and “we are building a team for tomorrow”, we’ve heard all this before and the time is now, Arsene! Seize the day and reap the rewards! Give the fans back the pride and glory we have not only financed over the years but which we deserve.
OzzyAFC