After years of hand-wringing by Arsene Wenger and frustration and despair for the fans, Arsenal are proverbially at the promised land. All the yawning gaps experts and us riffraff have been complaining about for ages have at last been filled. Goalkeeper – check (from last year); central defender – check; central defensive midfielder – double check from January and this summer; striker – check (well, sort of).
Wenger and the questionably named Arsenal Brains Trust did manage to drag out negotiations long enough for everyone to start demanding Wenger’s head again. This time, I really felt for Wenger. He tried to move swiftly this summer, with the signing of Granit Xhaka and the “almost” successful signing of Vardy.
If there is any truth to the rumors, he then chased after almost every striker on the market and some who weren’t. I am sure many fans are begging the question, “Why couldn’t you have done this last year?” To be fair, it was the new TV deal that freed up the money we spent this time.
Alvaro Morata, which may have happened had Real Madrid not wanted him back; Antoine Griezmann, which was always a moonshot; Riyad Mahrez, who seemed keen though Leicester weren’t; Alexandre Lacazette, possibly the longest running story of the summer; finally settling on Lucas Perez, about whom I know absolutely nothing. If he can put the ball in the back of the net, I don’t need to know anything.
With all the major signings done with a full three days to spare, my guess is that most of the Arsenal faithful, like me, are probably having trouble breathing with this sudden deluge of fresh air.
The Arsenal squad has changed drastically in the transfer window
One worrisome problem that still remained was the departures – something very few people focus on, but is still critical for trimming the roster and to balance the books. While we have struggled to find a quality striker, we certainly have them in quantity and had best find a home for some of them.
Joel Campbell, who showed some promise last season, is out on loan while Serge Gnabry was sold to Werder Bremen. However, that still left Yaya Sanogo and Chuba Akpom.
The defensive midfield has gone from famine to feast, with Xhaka, Mohamed Elneny, Francis Coquelin and Santi Cazorla. Even central defence boasted a surplus with the surprising performances of new boy, Rob Holding and German defender Shkodran Mustafi – solved by sending Calum Chambers on loan to Boro.
Hector Bellerin and Carl Jenkinson will push Mathieu Debuchy out into the cold and we need to get some money back on him. On the attacking side, with Mesut Ozil, Alex Iwobi, Aaron Ramsey and Alex Oxldae-Chamberlain, Jack Wilshere was sent out on loan to Bournemouth. Jeff Reine-Adelaide showed enough promise that he needs first team football somewhere.
That adds up to a lot of transfers or loans to arrange in a few days. For a team that is notoriously stingy in the transfer market, it may astonish some to know that Arsenal are among the top when it comes to their wage bill. It would be a shame to confine promising talent to the bench or strictly to second team duty.
How much have Arsenal’s rivals strengthened?
With the cash splashed and the gaps all plugged, should we begin marking off the calendar to the day when we lift the title? If so, Manchester City would have won the title every year since their current owners came on board (somewhere along the way, something called Financial Fair Play briefly appeared and was swiftly given the bum’s rush, never to be heard from again). We got better, but how did our rivals do and who looks the part so far?
Let us start with the Pep Boys (the name of an auto parts chain store in these parts). Guardiola isn’t God, but he has moved swiftly to remake the team in his own image. In particular, the move to bring Claudio Bravo in place of Joe Hart is a bold move, though it is going to put a lot of pressure on Bravo.
What is surprising is how swiftly the team has picked up the Pep style of play, particularly in pressing the ball as soon as they lose possession. What remains to be seen is how they will react to adversity and we may get an early look now that Sergio Aguero has been handed a well-deserved suspension for a few games including the Manchester derby.
Antonio Conte has Chelsea off to a flying start. His acquisitions on the attacking side have created a lot of chances and some spectacular goals. Eden Hazard seems to be back to his best. The main questions are on defence, which must irk Conte, who had a fantastic back line at Juventus. Will last year’s “Man of the EPL season” in my book, N’golo Kante, be adequate to protect the defensive line?
Manchester United are the other “perfect” team so far, though their performances have not quite matched their star-studded roster. This is the team whose games I have seen the most of and they still look like they add up to considerably less than the sum of their parts.
They look a bit better defensively, though that is one area where they may still be looking. There are a few intangibles in their favor – Zlatan Ibrahimovic will keep their goal tally ticking and has won in every other league he has played in; Jose Mourinho has typically had first season magic with every team he has managed.
Spurs have mostly shipped people out. Victor Wanyama finally made the move that seemed to be on the verge twice before. He does have a penchant for picking up red cards, which might make for some interesting 10 vs 11 battles for Spurs. If the refs keep an eye on Dele Alli, that might become 9 vs 11 – a superb talent, but a walking powder keg.
Will Vincent Jansen will defy the odds and make a successful transition from the Dutch League – only Ruud van Nistelroy and Luis Suarez come to mind. They have all the pieces in place, but the big concern may be that the symptoms of last season’s fade seem to persist. After dominating the first 10 minutes, Liverpool turned the tables on them, before squandering several chances and allowing Spurs to snatch an undeserved point.
Now that Liverpool have a Jurgen Klopp roster, can they produce results? From the games I have watched so far (Arsenal and Spurs) they could be the surprise of the season. They create a lot of chances and eventually they will get more consistent in putting them away.
Mind you, they haven’t even played Daniel Sturridge much and he is probably their best finisher. The defence looks better and will improve even more once Alberto Moreno gets out of Klopp’s doghouse. No such luck for Sakho, though. Whatever you may say about the man, Klopp does give the most honest and entertaining post-match interviews.
Can Arsenal put to rest the ghosts of seasons past?
As for our own performance, we have continued the practice of the past few seasons in starting the season by digging a hole for ourselves. Curiously, despite the four goals we let in against Liverpool, they did not seem to come about due to our customary errors or weakness, but rather due to good moves and efficient finishing by the Reds.
Well, better late than never as far as the new acquisitions are concerned. The main concerns are the same ones as in the past. We are at the dreaded international break, with the likes of Giroud, Ozil, Sanchez, Koscielny and the newly acquired Xhaka and Mustafi at risk.
Can Theo Walcott keep from pulling a hamstring? Will Danny Wellbeck complete a run of games? Finally, can Wenger use Iwobi to reduce the minutes Ozil has to play? The German playmaker will fade by January if he has to play the full 90 in most games.
That might be the most critical improvement Wenger can make – introducing a bit of squad rotation to spell the likes of Ozil and Sanchez. He finally has the luxury of a complete roster to do so.
Win one for the Wenger!
