Arsenal: Do the Gunners need new signings to win silverware next season?

After securing the signature of Yaya Sanogo, the Gunners’ faithful were expecting the club to add more quality to the squad, in a bid to challenge for title honors next season. And recently, those expectations seemed to have turned into a reality when the club made a mega move for Madrid’s front-man Higuain. But unfortunately, the striker opted for a transfer to Italian outfit Napoli.

Still, the Gunners are still heavily linked with Mr. Controversy, Luis Suarez, as the club looks determined to sign a big-man upfront.

Arsenal’s boss Arsene Wenger is reported to have poured cold water on the possibility of the club completing the move anytime soon, even despite Liverpool’s reluctance to sell.

He told the Daily Mirror:

‘’We are ready to do quick deals but all the transfers do not depend only on us, but we are prepared to wait. It looks unlikely before the Emirates Cup. We still have a strong squad but we are there on the market to try to strengthen our team. With or without additions we can be title challengers next season.’’

And his last words are certainly true, especially when you remember the clubs roller coaster journey last season to end the trophy drought predicament:

Last season’s signings produced scintillating performances, and in fact, should have been rewarded with a shiny trophy if the team hadn’t been careless in all departments – the Capital One Cup can be cited as an example.

Losing to Bradford was totally unacceptable. In a game where you would expect Arsenal to open the floodgates early, especially when you compare the quality of the starting-lineups of both teams . They stuttered and only had themselves to blame as they lost on penalties and were knocked out.

There was no question that the team had the sheer quality to lift the Capital One Cup last season. And even more embarrassing, their FA Cup exit was quite similar. This time, a Rovers side visited the Emirates. Quality and home crowd advantage wasn’t enough obviously, they slumped in similar fashion and crashed out of the tournament.

Predictably, the UEFA Champions League adventure was quite a task. You need world class signings to win a trophy like that. And that proved true in the first leg of the tie against Bayern as Arsene’s men were hammered all over the pitch. But surprisingly, the second leg was a different story altogether, as Bayern had to hang on to qualify for the next round despite having a good lead in the first leg.

Yes, I agree that you need quality signings to compete at the big stage, and win trophies. But it’s not always the case. If the team had avoided certain errors last season, maybe, just maybe, the issue of quality in the Arsenal team today would have been a side story.