With Arsenal having perhaps the worst campaign in recent history, the situation at the Emirates has invited a lot of criticism from fans and former players alike. The latest former player to give his take on the situation is club legend, Frank Mclintock. The Scotsman, who refused to solely blame Wenger for the current plight of affairs, spoke extensively on Arsenal’s transfer policy as a detrimental factor.
As quoted by TalkSport, McLintock said: “Arsenal were talking about challenging the likes of Barcelona, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich, and that why they moved to the new stadium. But if you look at the buys they are making, the best you can say is they are adequate.
“They are not players that are going to turn Arsenal around and have them right up there at the top of the league. I think the scouting system, this year especially, has been disastrous.
“If you look at Chambers, the two centre-halves, Gabriel and Mustafi, and Xhaka, they are quite good players but they are not Arsenal standard. I can’t see them getting in the top four. It doesn’t look good at the moment. That team is definitely not good enough to win a championship in the future.”
Surely, it would be difficult for anyone to disagree with what Mclintock has to say. Arsenal’s recruitment in the past couple of years, despite improved finances, has been very sub-standard. With the exceptions of Ozil and Sanchez, you could say that that all the players the club have brought in have failed to make their mark at the Emirates.
Apart from the players that McLintock mentioned, if you look at names like Elneny, Ospina, Sanogo, Welbeck and Lucas, all signed in recent years, you’d see that they are all decent players capable of putting a shift in. But when it comes to cutting-edge and the ability to take a team towards championships, none of them have it.
In my opinion, the club’s transfer policy is a direct correlate of Wenger being too stubborn in sticking to his philosophy and not moving with the changing times. The Frenchman himself confirmed that he has the biggest say when it comes to transfers and this is another reason as to why Le Prof must go. If we can get a manager to come in and force the board in investing more on players, which includes modifying the wage bill, then perhaps the club can see a change of fortunes.