At the start of the winter transfer window, a lot of Arsenal fans were enthusiastic about the month they had ahead of themselves.
From transfer links and player unavailability it looked pretty clear that the North London outfit would indeed be busy in the mid-season transfer window.
But by the end of the month, the Gunners had let go of six players without bringing anybody in.
It proved to be very frustrating for the club’s faithful who were hoping to see few fresh faces, which would have certainly strengthened Arsenal’s resolve of a top four finish this campaign.
Speaking ahead of the clash against Wolves in the Premier League, manager Mikel Arteta revealed the reason why the club decided not to inject the team with fresh blood.
“We are (were) very clear. We only want the best people and the best players at this club and when we are in a rush or different pressures, and the reasons are not the right ones to get a player on board, we decided not to do it.”
The Spaniard continued, “I trust the players, the quality that we have, the spirit, the togetherness that we have around the team, and we can achieve what we want.”
While the majority of fans were frustrated, a section of the fanbase sighed in relief, realizing that the club has indeed learned from its past mistakes.
The Gunners have been infamous of plugging their long-term problems with short-term solutions. Denis Suarez, Willian, David Luiz and Cedric to some extent, are few names that immediately come to mind.
Last summer was a promising one and Arsenal again showed a bit of gutsiness in the winter window.
With 17 games to play, things can easily go against Arsenal’s way, with the small squad Arteta has at his disposal. But they can easily go the right way too.
Quotations credits: www.arsenal.com
Watch Mikel Arteta talking the transfer window, Aubameyang and the squad size.