I think most Arsenal fans will agree that Mikel Arteta has done extremely well to get the team performing again after the fiasco under Unai Emery, and he has done it without bringing any of his own players to the club. Even his two loan signings in the January transfer market are yet to play a League game between them.
The new boss has already admitted that the Gunners are feeling the pinch after being out of the Champions League for the third year in a row, but despite this, the Arsenal legend Martin Keown thinks that Arteta should be backed in the transfer market. “Arteta has got to be allowed to build the team,” Keown told Goal. “He’s got to be given money to develop.
“Do the owners need to be put some of their own money in? Obviously there are limits to the losses the club can run at, we know that with Manchester City in recent weeks and what they’ve gone through, but expenditure needs to be made in the team.”
“They need to strengthen the spine of the team,”
“The midfield will need to be improved and so does the defence, the results tell you that.
“It’s about what sort of resources Arteta will be given and where he feels he needs to prioritise. I feel he needs to build from the back.
“All the successful Arsenal teams have had a really strong defence and although you can improve things on the training pitch, I think he has to start with personnel.
“You want dominant figures, people who want to organise and win that ball when it comes into the box. So that has to be an area where he wants to strengthen or change who he wants to start with.”
“I imagine now they are spending a lot of time watching players across the world trying to identify individuals that they can bring in for really good value.
“But Arsenal won’t be able to shop in the most expensive shops I’m afraid. They will have to look for players who are slightly down from that, which has an element of risk.
“It’s about a judgement call on your players. Very good players have been bought in the past that nobody really knew anything about. They are going to have to be imaginative in the transfer market.
“There is a hell of a competition amongst all the top teams to try to find these individuals and it’s a judgement call and in the end I think Arteta will be judged obviously by results, but also in the transfer market.”
Personally, I think that anyone who expects Kroenke to put his hand in his pocket is living in La-La Land, so I am fully expecting Arteta to have a clear out to get some funds for just a couple of new arrivals, and all the other gaps will be filled by promoting youngsters. Luckily we have quite a few good ones coming through at the moment!