Paul Merson has claimed that Arsenal should have moved to sign Danny Drinkwater instead of Chelsea on deadline day.
The Blues completed a late-ditch move to sign the England international from Leicester City for a reported £35 Million, despite interest in his signature having been known for weeks, and the player even handed in a transfer request in order to get the deal through.
Paul Merson now claims that Arsenal should have made their own attempt to sign the 27 year-old, who was a key member of Leicester’s 2015-16 Premier League title winning squad.
Merson said: “I was at the 8-2 game against Manchester United in 2011. But Sunday was worse than that. This was Wenger’s best team, and they gave up on him.
“The players look like they couldn’t have cared less. You get the sack when your players don’t look fussed. But not at Arsenal. It’s all too nice.
“Arsenal should have bid for Danny Drinkwater rather than let him go to Chelsea. At least he will fight for you. This lot just give up.
“In my day, the dressing room after a performance like that would have been a war zone. You would have had to call the police because there would have been fights everywhere.”
I’m very surprised that we haven’t brought in a single player after that demoralising defeat, especially given the fact that we allowed a first-team player to leave to join Liverpool.
Whether Danny Drinkwater would be an improvement on our starting XI I’m not sure, but his addition would certainly force Francis Coquelin to up his game or find himself offloaded within the next 12 months. We definitely need some guile and a more defensive option other than Le Coq would be welcomed.
Would Drinkwater have improved our starting line-up? Would he beef up our underperforming side?
Pat J