Okay so the transfer window has closed and we Arsenal fans have had a little bit of time in which to take in all that has happened and look at things in a fairly reasonable and calm sort of way (if that is ever possible when you are a football fan).
After all the frustration earlier in the summer and the feeling that Arsene Wenger was making the same old mistake of being way too over cautious with the club’s money, Arsenal did end up spending a fair bit and strengthening our squad in the three key areas of defence, midfield and attack.
But even though the Gunners did splash some cash and add Granit Xhaka, Lucas Perez and Shkodran Mustafi, as well as the promising young defender Rob Holding, I cannot help but feel that we may have been a bit too hasty in allowing some of the other Arsenal squad members to leave.
Wojciech Szczesny I have no problem with, as David Ospina is a fine back up keeper to have and the Pole needs to play in order to have any chance of keeping his Arsenal career alive. I am not so sure about the decision to let Jack Wilshere, Calum Chambers, Joel Campbell and Serge Gnabry go out on loan.
I can understand that each of these fringe players could do with the regular game time they would probably not get if they stayed in north London but taken altogether it strikes me that we may have left ourselves a little threadbare and vulnerable to any more injury problems that might crop up over the course of the season (and we all know that Arsenal and injuries go together like peaches and cream).
So while the squad options available to the boss look alright, we should remember that the Gunners have two domestic cups as well as the Premier League and the Champions League to cope with and the games will soomn be coming thick and fast.
Are Sanogo and Akpom really enough cover for our forward line. Are the Ox and Elneny really in good enough form to suggest we don’t need any more options in midfield? Is Holding enough to boost the defence until Gabriel and then Per Mertesacker get back to fitness?
Bob.