Opinion – Reflecting on what can only be described as a disappointing transfer window

Like many, I still can’t get over last Monday.

As the clock ticked down to 23:00, Liverpool got closer to being champions.

When they talk about the decisive day in the 2024/25 title race, many will refer to deadline day.

I wish it was just me being negative—I do. Yet the reality is our owners’ actions (or lack thereof) leave their ambition no longer questionable. Whenever it’s debated in the future, January 2025 is your evidence that cannot be defended (some will try, though).

I can’t get away from the fact that I can’t think of another big club that would just give up on a campaign. Do you think Todd Boehly at Chelsea would be second in the table, have their manager say they are short and need help in attacking areas, and simply ignore him?

At Man City, in the winter window, they spent more than the entire division combined. That’s because the ethos at the Etihad is that they have standards—ones they won’t tolerate falling below—so they would have demanded from Pep Guardiola what he needed to improve things (not the other way around). That’s the league winners four years in a row not tolerating even a moment where performance levels drop.

The Kroenke family are no longer restricted by stadium debt, are not close to breaking FFP rules, and are running Arsenal as a self-sustained model. In other words, they could have invested—they just didn’t want to.

They simply didn’t care. I can’t shake that.

Now, don’t get me wrong—you don’t become a billionaire by thinking with emotion. Financially, I understand: if your December merchandise sold out, you have a waiting list for season tickets, UEFA is giving you another £12 million for being in the last 16 of the Champions League, and your participation in that competition is secured for next season, why pay over the odds now when that doesn’t guarantee to catch the league leaders?

I understand why our custodians in America think that. They never pretended when they first joined the board in 2006 that they were Gooners. When they took control of over 60 per cent of shares in 2011, they never lied about their business model.

What I can’t fathom is why any of my peers would defend the lack of investment. In a world where I’m meant to say everyone is entitled to their own opinion, I can’t comprehend the excuses that have been made.

I assume some think the definition of a supporter is to never critique any aspect of the team.

Toxic positivity, perhaps?

Yet even when trying to play devil’s advocate, any excuse doesn’t add up…

The issue with this thought process is that Arsenal signing their striker in August shouldn’t be an acceptance of giving up on the current season.

Because guess what? Even if it’s believed a world-class forward is moving to North London in the summer, everyone then starts at zero.

In football, you can’t let the moment pass you by.

We might never be in a situation again where the only team to chase is Liverpool. Who’s to say Man City don’t return to their usual selves or that Chelsea or Man United don’t improve?

Gooners would have accepted if a world-class striker was not available in January—they appreciate that this is a hard month to do deals.

Yet there is a huge difference between not buying a world-class forward and doing nothing.

You don’t need to be world-class to improve our current front three.

Let’s go by the notion that no world-class player was available.

What about a better finisher than Kai Havertz?

How about a talent to compete with Trossard?

Even if it was just a body to give us an extra option off the bench?

An alternative to, I don’t know, Martinelli pulling his hamstring!

PSG, AC Milan, Juventus, Aston Villa, Spurs, Man City, Galatasaray, Leipzig— they all found ways to improve their attacks.

Arteta has been forced since last Monday to give out the company line that the club would rather continue its strategy of thinking long-term.

In other words, if off the record they believe Sesko has a gentleman’s agreement to leave Leipzig in the summer, they would argue—what’s the point of paying over the odds for an asset you don’t truly want just to do a few months’ work?

In any industry, though, you adapt. That is a key part of running any company, especially one that makes millions of pounds.

If you rent property, you might have to deal with a leaking roof.
A restaurant owner might have to replace a broken oven.
An airline might have to compensate passengers.
A coach company might have a bus that breaks down.

That means being flexible with your budget.

So, if you know one of your best players could miss the entire season, and essentially his replacement might not be available until 2026, you watch your team lose two cup ties due to poor finishing, and the man you hired to manage the team daily tells you you’re struggling in a specific area—and you have the resources to help—you act immediately.

Isn’t that the whole point of the winter window?

To assess your squad halfway through the season and make adjustments where needed?

Others with less money than us manage it.

This is a straw man argument.

No, I have not seen Arsenal’s balance sheets or the Kroenkes’ bank statements.

Yet all metrics suggest that the club is making lots of money and is not close to breaching FFP rules.

Two Januaries in a row, we didn’t make a signing. In between, our summer net spend was approximately £25 million—that’s being kind and not factoring in the current loans we have with obligations to buy.

So, to clarify, in our last three windows, £25 million has been spent.

When you consider TV revenue, merchandise sales, and the fact that Gooners pay some of the most expensive ticket prices in the world—if there is zero money… where has it gone?

Even if we pretend that our billionaire owners are somehow poor, there were options.

Kolo Muani and Morata were available on loan—both better finishers than Havertz.

Asensio could have competed for a place in our attack and didn’t cost a fee.

Make Neto permanent, and you could then get a Tel or Rashford for the short term.

Chelsea were willing to do business for Nkunku.

There were alternatives that would have been cheap solutions.

You hear this from Gooners losing faith in Mikel Arteta.

I have never been shy about pointing out where I think our manager has gone wrong, yet after the long-term injuries to Saka and Jesus, he’s entitled to ask his employers for help.

If they don’t trust him anymore with the club’s money, then why give him a new contract in September?

They made the Spaniard the second-highest-paid manager in the world, so they clearly rate him.

Does that change after three months?

I don’t know where most readers work, but in most cases, if your boss isn’t impressed with your performance, they sack you—they don’t give you a massive pay rise.

It’s sad that some Gooners say this.

They’re not wrong, but it’s what I would expect to hear from the Kroenkes’ accountant.

Because while they will never publicly admit it, that attitude is their whole business model.

There’s a reason they picked Arsenal to buy—it wasn’t random. Their criteria would have been to invest in a club so big that you make money off the brand even if it’s not successful, and so popular that you will always find customers no matter their incompetence.

They know that if 10,000 people refuse to renew their season tickets, so many more will take those seats.

Like any business, the priority is to make money, so why wouldn’t you release merchandise in December if you know it will sell?

It seems backwards that the same people being manipulated are making excuses for those exploiting their love, but that’s how you become rich with an impressive sports portfolio.

They have, however, chosen to participate in an industry of supply and demand.

That makes us important stakeholders.

There’s a reason, for example, they didn’t release the Varsity range with a warning that they wouldn’t show any ambition in the new year.

Owning the entire club catalogue doesn’t mean you get your money back if the team loses.

No football fan has a divine right to see a trophy lifted just because they buy a ticket.

There is an assumption, though, that if you’re being charged more than most, the club is doing all it can to be the best version of itself.

So there is no excuse, peeps.

Our season was on life support, and we have owners who could have helped us—and it would have cost them nothing.

They simply didn’t care.