Wenger’s tough transfer choices by Sam P
Even though the summer transfer window does not open for another couple of weeks, there have already been hunders, possibly thousands, of different Arsenal transfer rumours linking us with players from World Cup and Champions League winners to unheard of but ‘promising’ youngsters.
I feel for Arsene Wenger though, I really do, because the Frenchman is the man who takes the criticism if a transfer does not work out, while he never seems to get the same credit, say for the signing of someone like Alexis Sanchez. And this summer is arguably the most important of his time at Arsenal.
Quite simply, the manager has to get it right, because we have to lift the Premier League trophy next May. So he has to get some good transfer work done while also looking after the great team spirit and balance that we have showed since January.
Does that mean simply bringing in good players to cover in case we are hit by the same sort of injury problems that saw the likes of Giroud, Arteta, Ozil, Wilshere, Walcott and Welbeck miss large chunks. Or does Wenger need to improve on what we have and keep some of our current players as the back up choices?
I ask this question because I really am not sure. I like to think that without injuries, Arsenal already have a squad capable of topping the table and even going much further in the Champions League but am I just kidding myself?
Yes your kidding yourself.
We need improvements, 2 experienced WC players will up our chances definitely.
Yeah you are soooooo kidding yourself. Dream on. If we don’t make these 3 important signings gk/DM/St we can kiss the title goodbye.all of our competitors have squads capable of winning the league but they are still improving every year. We need 3 top draw players and we will be ready for a challenge. Cech/kondogbia/Martinez. All should be signed within the next few weeks. Cuz they are all available and ready to join us.
Why should Wenger get credit for Alexis?if anything this shows what happens when you sign proven top quality players with passion,this should inspire Wenger to buy more quality players who have proven records in Europe like Cech,Vidal etc
Because Alexis said working with Arsene Wenger is one of the main reasons he signed. Arsene usually improves players and he wants to improve. Look, Arsene waited til money was properly there and waited a little more to get the right player. If it was up to you we would be indebted up to our eye balls and we would of went through half a dozen cricket teams with yammerings going on every season about every exotic name and otherwise who have shun for a period.
I really dream of Vidal wearing an arsenal shirt
Both quality and strength is needed kondogbia and lacazette!
Bit of both. I think this team at full health over the length has the starting quality to match everyone else. But Arsene’s tactics tend to rely more on players finding a connection with eachother than many managers. Being healthy is something that really no team can expect, so having quality depth is a must, or else having special players that can change a game by themselves even if the team on the field isn’t quite up to it.
With Arsenal, we seem to have an unusual amount of our top players that are injury prone. I think it is important to find quality players who are less injury prone for one, and also to find another special player (a striker) that has the quality to change a game on their own. Ozil is a game changer, but until he starts finishing his own chances, he will continue to rely on the finishing of others for his team to have major success.
Cazorla, Alexis, and Walcott are all capable of those moments of brilliance, but all of them are still spotty finishers to me. Alexis was tired second half so I’ll give him the benefit of doubt, and I think Walcott creates enough chances to make up for his finishing skills, which are improving every year.
The balance of the team is much better. We are more focused on defending than we have been in a few years, especially the midfielders tracking back and the fullbacks sitting deeper, but it has come at the cost of some of the possession game. This is the main drawback for Coquelin for me as he isn’t going to help keep possession very well. He will sit back and win the ball back, but will then dump it off and wait to defend again. With Ramsey or Arteta in that position, they will position themselves farther up field and play an active role in the build up play as well as helping to overload the midfield. This makes our possession game stronger, but it also makes the defense much weaker, specifically against counters.
With the right balance in midfield, say a Schniederlin and Ramsey/Wilshere partnership, they could possibly be able to keep possession better while maintaining the defensive side as well. It would rely on 2 CMs that are BOTH aware of counter dangers and are BOTH two-way workhorses. And it would also likely rely on forming a partnership over a few months.
But that is only if you want to try to build up the possession game again. As long as the balance is good, we can keep the style the team is playing right now, with maybe an upgrade at striker and better depth in a few positions and the team will be improved. I think if Schniederlin or Kongdobia are signed this summer, it will give a big indication on which style Arsene will be going for as they would likely result in a more possession orientated team with Ramsey, Wilshere, or Cazorla next to them.
Still, the biggest issue for me is still health. We just have too many injury prone players in the first team for me. If we can stay healthy, perhaps we could challenge with the current team, but I think that is too big a risk.
So, final answer: yeah, we probably need more players.
A few top signings and we’ll be able to compete for the league title as long as we can stay consistent from start to finish. Personally, I think a back up for Francis coq has to be priority because I feel like one long injury to him and our title hopes could crumble. There’s no one else in the squad who’s is as effective in the dm spot than coq is and that should be alarming. I believe wenger will keep the faith with theo, danny, and olivier up top so a top class winger would be my next buy. It would be amazing to get someone like reus in or someone of that caliber on our rw. We wouldn’t need another striker if we had another attacker like sanchez on our right. I just dnt think there are better forwards available right now. And cech would be nice, I’d keep the faith the ospina though since he hasn’t done much wrong.
I might be dreaming but someone tell wenger to pull strings and get me reus. He’s such an awesome player. Imagine sanchez, theo,and reus as our forward line. Forget higuain or martinez or benzema for that matter, I want robben and ribery 2.0 at arsenal.
I think without injuries, we have a squad capable of finishing 2nd. But I’d go for quality. I’d invest in a striker capable of moments of magic in tight spaces — someone capable of turning draws into wins and defeats into draws who could potentially bag us an extra 6-9 points over the course of a 38 game season. We have plenty of depth in terms of players who can do a good job up front, and OG does a good job. It’s *moments of magic* that we lack in that department, as another commenter pointed out on another article.
We need quality signings AND the kind of consistency, adaptability and application we showed between January and April, for the majority of the season. No awful starts or lacklustre finishes, and 2-3 defeats at the absolute worst. We’re probably looking at needing 27 or 28 wins and some of those wins coming against our main rivals — and almost certainly beating Chelsea and Manchester United at our place. This is why we need additional quality as well as application and consistency.
In terms of depth, I think we’re fine. We have plenty who can come in and fill a gap/do a job for 3 or 4 matches, even when we’ve got injuries already.
Edit: * also meant to add beating Manchester City at our place.
I have said this before and I’ll say it again – the effort to sign Cech is wasted IMO. Opsina has done little wrong, and Szczes is a better than average backup. What is needed is a strengthening of the soft underbelly in midfield to support the ball artists, so that we don’t get muscled out of the game as much as happened against some of the bottom feeders last season. We have never recovered from the loss of Vieira, who did much the same for Arsenal as Yaya is doing for City. Bring on William Carvalho/Vidal, and a really top class striker, and we will be challenging very strongly indeed for the title, and for the ECL.