DEALING WITH THE FALL OUTS OF A SUCCESSFUL TRANSFER WINDOW by Uche
A successful transfer window is like a double edged sword. If the incoming players are good, the overall quality of the Arsenal team improves. Title chances are suddenly possible, the manager’s approval ratings go up and the fans are over the moon. These are all the things that have happened since Arsenal captured the services of three big players in the shape of Granit Xhaka, Shkodran Mustafi and Lucas Perez. Finally, our much maligned spine has been dealt a major surgery with these trio as the major implants. Suddenly, the chances of us retaining our best players Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez are looking likely again, and all is good in the world. Right? Well, not really.
You see buying new players is the good part. The not so good part are the implications for the rest of the squad. It is easy to say that incoming players will increase competition for places. That is true and it sounds good to the average fan. Of course we love competition. We are elated about the fact that finally, we have a sharp shooter upfront to challenge Olivier Giroud for the striker position for instance. However, our squad unity is under serious threat. We lost Serge Gnabry inspite of his Olympic heroics. That was sad but in hindsight, it had to happen. I mean, how many Arsenal fans were really looking forward to young Serge walking back into our starting XI? It is safe to say none. That was the first casualty. The young man had to leave because he knew fully well that he didn’t stand a chance with all these incomings. And then Joel Campbell got loaned out, which didn’t stop there. He is now making his discontent felt. He believes he deserves a place in the squad and he is a decent player. Unfortunately for him, this is the season where we will witness the fight of our lives and I am not talking about our quest to win the league. Just making top four this season will be a trophy in itself. Calum Chambers got loaned out as well. Calum is still young, error prone and humble. All it will take for him to start grumbling as well is a good loan spell at his new club. And then for the big one is Jack Wilshere’s loan move to Bournemouth…and it doesn’t help that now Ozil wants his shirt number! Perfect.
Just in case folks don’t realize it, we have major problems to contend with in the future especially in midfield. Aaron Ramsey will recover from his hamstring injury to add to our headache. Where exactly do we fit him in after spending 34million pounds on Granit Xhaka and welcoming back our little magician Santiago Carzola? Ramsey is a big player for the Welsh national team and big teams have been after him before. He will not be satisfied with a place on the bench and it is only a matter of time before he starts actively seeking an exit from the club. I don’t want to lose him and Wilshere, mainly because they are thoroughbred Gunners, and signing their replacements in today’s transfer market will cost a ton of cash. Danny Welbeck is in no man’s land as well. With the signing of Lucas Perez, where exactly does Welbeck rank in the pecking order? Third choice striker? Second choice winger? Danny when fit usually gets called up to the England national team and frankly, he does well there. And not to forget a certain Per Mertesacker, our team captain and Gabriel Paulista our other defender.
My point folks is that no good deed goes unpunished as the saying goes. Arsene Wenger and the Arsenal board finally succumbed to the will of the Arsenal fans and spent big (100 million pounds) on new players. That is the good part. We should now brace ourselves for the dire consequences of such a historic endeavor. We will lose players for sure and it will be messy. My only hope is that squad unity remains after this inevitable fallout and that we all remember that we asked for this when the time comes. You see, it is not always Wenger’s fault. Not all of it. When the Ramseys, Wilsheres, Campbells and Welbecks begin to engineer their different moves out of Arsenal, we have to own it. We have to stand up like men and take it on the chin. We the fans asked for this and I am okay with it. Are you?
Peace.
Uche Edochie
Lagos – Nigeria