Are Arsenal just Opportunistic? By Galen
One of the best things about Mr Wenger is that the media or fans never know what he is up to. Arsenal football club have got a reputation and a history of being very secretive in their dealings. Today I want to ask the Arsenal fans if we have a clear transfer plan or if we are just very opportunistic?
Santi Cazorla – In my humble opinion he by far the best midfielder At Arsenal football club. He came at the club after we had lost Cesc Fabregas and the team was crying out for creativity. But was he really a target? Cazorla was never a target of our scouting team but once Arsenal football club knew that Malaga was in crisis we took full advantage of the situation, and signed Cazorla for peanuts. The Malaga manager Mr Pellegrini said at the time: “Economically, the club had to make a change based on what had been proposed [there was a lot of financial trouble – owner threatened to pull out over TV money] and we had to sell Santi Cazorla.
“Santi’s case was inexplicable. It was a time of acute crisis in the club. The departure of Cazorla at the time and at the amount that was agreed was a blunder.”
Mesut Ozil – This is the signing that surprised me more than any signing in our club’s history. Ozil again was never an Arsenal target. Truth be told we had Cazorla already not forgetting Rosicky, Jack and Ramsey who could all be very creative. What surprised me the most was that the team was crying out for a striker at the time, then Real Madrid signed Gareth Bale. The arrival of Bale meant a Real player had to go. So once again we were opportunistic and paid a transfer record of £42.5m for the signing of Ozil. Was Ozil really a transfer target at the start of that season? The answer is NO. Wenger said at the time. “You can’t say no to a transfer like Ozil when a player like that becomes available on the market.”
Alexis Sanchez – Call me biased but for me he was the signing of the season, and if we had done better as a team he would have been voted Player of the Season. But again his transfer was very opportunistic. When Barcelona signed Suarez (el Vampiro) we knew that they had to let go of either Sanchez or Pedro. Once it became clear that it was Sanchez we had the resources be opportunistic and pounced on the transfer. But this transfer was perfect.
Petr Cech – It was again another opportunistic transfer. The moment the Belgian kid Courtois returned from Madrid and was made first choice keeper by Jose, we knew Cech was up for the taking? Was Cech really a transfer target? No But we were ready to pounce on it once he told Chelsea he wouldn’t be happy to be on the bench.
Debuchy and Chambers – I was not only surprised by these transfers but I was also angry. The team was crying out for a CB after the sale of Thomas Vermaelen to Barcelona. What did we do? We paid £12m and £16m for two right backs, when what we needed the most was a CB. Do we even have a transfer plan at Arsenal ever?
This is what Louis Van Gall had to say about transfer targets. “I look for the players who fit our profile. Then I say to Ed [Woodward, executive vice-chairman]: ‘I want that player first and that player second [choice]’. Then we go to the third when they [first and second] are not available. I am not buying, I don’t spend the money. He is negotiating, I am not.”
I believe that is how most football clubs operate. Jose Mourinho needed just ONE transfer window to create a title winning side. Thats all he needed. ONE transfer window to identify the players they need to fill in the cracks.
Being opportunistic could be great when you get a Sanchez. But its not everytime that it works. Right now fans are hoping Madrid buys a striker so that Benzema will become available for us to pounce on. But what if Madrid don’t buy any striker? So if Mario Gotze becomes available from Bayern, we should just sign him even if we clearly don’t really need him?
We have had cracks to filll in the striker and defensive midfield position for ages, but we keep on ignoring these positions. We are waiting for something opportunistic to pounce on. So if nothing happens in another club we may do nothing ourselves.
The rumours from Spain are that we want to sell Nacho and buy another LB. Do we need to be investing in a new LB as one of our signings? We need a striker and DM and we are linked to a left back for the last two weeks. I pray Nacho stays and we focus on what we really need. Thats how we got Chambers and Debuchy when what we needed was a CB like Paulista or Miranda.
Do we have a clear transfer plan? or we are just opportunistic?
BY Galen Sona