Kevin Whitcher
So, in the end, Arsenal finally spent some money. A net spend of £85 million. The figure at least is a statement of intent, the delay in spending it could prove terminal as far as this season’s title tilt is concerned.
To be precise. I think it’s fair to say that they could have probably acquired the two players announced this week for the same, and quite possibly less money a few weeks ago, but Arsenal being Arsenal, they tried to play hardball. And ended up with a side that was, in the manager’s own words “not ready” for the start of the season.
£35 million for a centre back might have sounded a lot not so very long ago, although Rio Ferdinand cost Manchester United £30 million 14 years ago and proved a decent investment. However, in the past year or two, the ever growing influx of money into the Premier League means that this is the going rate these days. If Arsenal won’t pay it, another club will. The suspicion is that without the injuries to both Mertesacker and Gabriel, the manager might have gambled with just the purchase of Rob Holding for the central defensive position, but events forced his hand, which is probably why the Mustafi was left so late. How long will he take to settle in? Hopefully not long, but at least a much needed player has been purchased.
The central holding midfield position was addressed nice and early with the purchase of Granit Xhaka before the Euros, although – with him having played a part in the pre-season friendlies – why he did not start against Liverpool on the opening day is a real headscratcher. Why pay £34 million for a player and then bench him?
And so to the third position that needed addressing and the acquisition of Lucas Perez from Deportivo. A gamble for sure, more of a gamble than a Lewandowski or a Griezmann, but also, dare one suggest, perhaps a case of Arsene listening to his scouting network. An attacking midfielder converted into a forward, let’s see if he starts in preference to Olivier Giroud. The selection of Alexis at centre forward against Watford suggests he will get the chance to prove his worth while the HFB contemplates his next hairstyle on the sidelines.
Arsenal still have plenty of cash in the bank, but it is surely a relief that they have spent and – realizing that it was time to join the party – spent significantly. Fans wanted quality in three areas perceived as weak down the spine of the team, and three players have been bought. How successful they make the side remains to be seen, but with the fresh impetus at clubs more familiar with winning titles over the last decade, something had to be done. Let us be thankful it has been.
Going out, the three notables. Serge Gnabry was sold, and with one year on his contract, and no obvious indicator that he was going to come back from the Olympics and begin matches in one of the wide berths, there was little point in retaining him just to allow him to go on a free transfer next summer. He did have misfortune with injury just as he was hitting his stride in the first team back in 2013-14, but then came a season out through injury followed by last season’s disastrous loan spell at West Brom. The very fact that he was sent to work under Tony Pulis was telling. One suspects that was the real moment the manager decided Gnabry was not for him. If he really fancied him, he’d have kept him at the club and allowed him to compete with the other wide attackers for a first team place.
Surely Jack Wilshere’s Arsenal career is over. You don’t send a player of his age and reputation out on loan unless there are no plans for him to contribute in future. I wonder if this is a case of Jack proving he can remain fit so that Arsenal can get a better price for him next summer? There were such high hopes for him before the injury in 2011, in a pre-season friendly, that put paid to his progress for the next 12 months. Although he returned and played a significant number of games from the end of 2012 for two years, since then he has made five Premier League appearances in two and a half seasons. The sad reality is that, with his consistent setbacks, he has become another Abou Diaby. He should have been the cornerstone of Arsenal’s future, but it never worked out. There is an argument to say that the club should keep him and utilise his talents, but the evidence is that – certainly at Arsenal – he can’t stay fit. And even allowing for the lack of match fitness, he looks a shadow of the player we hoped he would become, as witnessed by his by and large uninfluential contributions to the English national side in the Euros. Both Fabio Capello and Roy Hodgson rated him very highly, and he has put in some better performances for England than he did for Arsenal in recent years. It will be enlightening to see whether he stays fit and how well he contributes under Eddie Howe at Bournemouth. It’s also interesting to note that it has transpired the player was open to joining up with his mate Wojciech Szczesny at Roma, which would have been more of a challenge than another Premier League club, but that Arsenal took the deal that was best for them, financially, rather than give the player the choice. Having paid him so much over the years, that is their prerogative.
I can understand the sadness and frustration about Wenger letting Jack go out on loan, and the implications for his future at the club, but the cold hard facts are that they have invested a lot of money to retain his services in recent years, for limited return. If Wilshere had become the holding midfield maestro that Capello and Hodgson felt was his best role, there would have been no need to sign Granit Xhaka. However, at least at Arsenal, it felt as if Jack never got hold of the disciplined fundamentals of the position, so was utilized as a more attacking option. Mesut Ozil fills the role best suited to Jack as a more advanced midfielder, so he ends up as a square peg in a round hole out wide, in a place where the club have a number of more natural options. With Wilshere, it really feels as if the manager has finally lost patience. I am certain his lifestyle away from the pitch has not helped his cause much, and Wenger has rarely indulged ‘bad boys’ for too long. Jack’s talent – and probably his injuries – meant he was tolerated for longer than many, but ultimately, this does look like the beginning of the end.
Will Arsenal miss him? Probably not based on his contribution in the last two years. Reports of fresh injuries or recovery setbacks have become a standing joke. Will he remain fit and fulfill his potential under a different regime? For his own sake, let’s hope so. Sam Allardyce will need convincing if he is to return to the national side, but now, at least, the player has the opportunity to get some extended first team action under his belt and play his way into form.
The third notable exit – at least on loan – is Calum Chambers. For £15 million, he was a real punt, given his relative lack of experience. Two seasons on, and the arrival of Mustafi means he is effectively surplus to requirements, suddenly behind £2 million Rob Holding in the pecking order. Sometimes it seems that Arsenal buy Southampton youngsters based on the reputation of their academy, paying a lot of money in the process, but that they don’t seem to work out. Spot the odd one out – Walcott, Bale, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Chambers. One of those has two Champions League winners’ medals, but hey, at least they were not won before 2014.
So, on top of the of end of contract departures of Arteta, Flamini and Rosicky (two perennially injured players and another well past his prime), the club have lost the potential of Gnabry, given up on Wilshere, and, one suspects, also called time on Chambers’ long term prospects (effectively replacing him with Holding). However, they have spent big on two players, and hopefully taken an intelligent punt on a striker.
They have already lost ground on three of the title favourites, and one suspects the new players will take a little while to adapt and settle. A shame only one of the three deals was concluded before the season started, but the late supermarket dash so often seems to be the Arsenal way.
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