Arsene Wenger is a deeply principled man. His stubbornness to concede that his philosophy may not be the only way for the club to achieve success has hindered the club in recent times. With this in mind, it’s particularly interesting to take a closer look at his activity towards the end of the transfer window – there has certainly been a noticeable change in tack after the humiliating 8-2 drubbing at the hands of Man Utd last weekend. A stark wake-up call had been served, to ignore it and carry on would have been nothing short of madness. It’s been a long time coming, but it appears as if the penny has finally dropped for Wenger.
Mikel Arteta, Yossi Benayoun, Per Mertersacker, Park Chu-Young and Andre Santos all arrived on the final day. All of the five new recruits are aged between 26 and 31 years of age. They boast 233 international caps between them and there are two international captains (Benayoun, Park) among them. It’s abundantly clear that adding experienced, wiser heads became the top priority for Wenger in the final few days of the transfer window.
It’s also interesting to see that players like Arteta and Santos have signed long-term deals, despite being 28 and 29 years of age respectively. Wenger is famed for offering only one or two-year deal extensions for players approaching the twilights of their careers. Players such as William Gallas and Robert Pires have suffered at the hands of Wenger’s strict approach in not offering long-term deals to more seasoned performers in the past and it seems again as if there has been a shift.
The transfer of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain just served to underline that there was sufficient funds in the bank to move for the right players. Paying £15m+ for a relatively unproven youngster appeared to be a kick in the teeth for some fans when they were seen to be bargaining over a million here and there for more established players throughout the summer.
But are they the ‘right’ players?
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Mertersacker is certainly a handful in the air at 6ft 6in tall and he’s been added to try and rid the side of their ineptitude at defending corners and set pieces effectively. However, the side may have to play a deeper line to compensate for his almost chronic lack of pace. Nonetheless, the Bundesliga’s almost break-neck speed of play is extremely similar to that of the Premier League and he should adjust fairly quickly.
The Arteta and Benayoun deals came out of the blue. They obviously needed to replace the creativity in midfield of both Nasri and Fabregas and Arteta in particular looks a great purchase. For a long time now I’ve regarded him as the best player outside of the established top four and it will be interesting how he handles the step up.
South Korean forward Park Chu-Young comes in for a fee around the £2m mark and with a one in three goals to game record throughout his career and significant international experience behind him, he should prove a solid squad player. Although his purchase does put the ineffective Marouane Chamakh’s future at the club in serious doubt.
The signing of Andre Santos just further makes a mockery of Wenger’s earlier baffling claim that the club were well stocked at left back because they had Vermaelen, Traore and injury-plagued Kieran Gibbs to call upon. Santos has fallen in and out of the international picture over the past few years with Brazil and he may lack consistency, but in the true model of a modern Arsenal full back, he’ll add pace and width down the flanks, even if his defensive attributes are under question.
Most fans were apoplectic with rage after the truly shocking nature of the Man Utd result. The side lacked leadership, direction and most importantly, in what is a serious indictment on their manager’s lack of preparation and foresight – a coherent plan. A reaction was called for. Wenger would finally have to dig into those deep pockets and actually spend a few quid.
To be fair to Wenger, he has acted, but not in the manner that we’ve become accustomed to. Most people were expecting expensive moves for young players with potential such as Eden Hazard, Yann M’Vila or Marvin Martin. Were these players simply out of reach or had Wenger left it too late?
It’s difficult to drive a hard bargain when everyone knows you’re desperate for a certain type of player. Wenger must have been aware all summer of the probability of Fabregas and Nasri departing and from the board downwards it shows a serious lack of long-term planning. Would Ferguson or Dalglish have ever left themselves in such a weak position? Unlikely to say the least.
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The players signed may not be the big-name signings that the terraces were crying out for but they are all steady, experienced pros. It is these sort of players more than anything else that Arsenal have missed over the past season or so.
Wenger’s near constant obsession of planning for the future has finally given way to a more pragmatic and realistic approach and although the moves may smell of a whiff of desperation, they should go some way to steadying a ship that had become in serious danger if sinking, with it’s beleaguered skipper firmly at the wheel.
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