Five burning issues faced by Arsenal

Arsenal manager, Arsene Wenger

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in the article are of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the site.

“Why buy an expensive sofa when the roof is leaking?”

This is exactly the case with Arsenal‘s signing of the former Real Madrid number 10 for a record club transfer fee of £42 million. Over the last week, Arsenal fans on social media, Twitter in particular, have gone berserk over the signing of Mesut Ozil. So much so that it has even eclipsed the world record signing of Gareth Bale by the Spanish outfit. The euphoria over the transfer has made it look as though the Gunners have already won the Treble. The stark reality is far from being addressed.

Yes, Mesut Ozil is a luxury for any club. Even when Arsenal already have players stocked up for the attacking midfielder role with the likes of Santi Cazorla and Tomas Rosický and other offensive-minded players like Ramsey and Wilshere, Ozil belongs to a different class. Having played in the elite company of Cristiano Ronaldo and providing a mind-boggling 61 assists (taking into account only La Liga and the Champions League) in just 3 years, this man brings a killer edge to this Arsenal side.

Many fans wouldn’t appreciate such an article at a time when the mood in North London is optimistic, but as always the truth is always bitter and it can hurt. Here are five burning issues, which have been overshadowed by the arrival of the German, and that are yet to be addressed at the Emirates:

1) Same old tactics

“We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used, when we created them.”

This quote by Albert Einstein perfectly applies to Arsenal’s situation. Over the years, the way to beat Arsenal has become somewhat of a protocol. Upset their passing rhythm, handle them physically in the middle of the park, score on the counter attack, game over . This has been applied successfully way too many times by clubs like Chelsea and even lower-ranked teams like Stoke City. When things go wrong, the lack of a plan B is distinctly visible, especially in high pressure encounters. They just pass, pass and pass even more. Arsene Wenger’s passing philosophy is highly commendable and beautiful to watch, but the lack of a backup plan for this strategy has severely contributed to the team’s downfall in recent years.

2) Too little, too late

Former Arsenal player, Robin van Persie

Over the last few years, Arsenal have lost several well-established stars, notably Emmanuel Adebayor, Kolo Toure, Gael Clichy, Samir Nasri, Cesc Fabregas and Robin Van Persie. How can one except the solitary signing of Mesut Ozil to fill the void left by so many world-class players? When Chelsea embarked on their reign of trophies under the Roman Abramovich era, it was achieved with the help of multiple world-class signings. The same goes with Manchester City. Their F.A. Cup and Premier League triumphs came with several quality additions over the years such as David Silva, Yaya Toure, Carlos Tevez, Sergio Aguero, Samir Nasri, Pablo Zabaleta and Vincent Kompany. To expect a single world-class signing to completely turn the fortunes of the North London outfit isn’t wise.

3) Weak striking options

Arsenal striker Olivier Giroud against Tottenham

Back in the 60s and 70s when Liverpool were extremely successful, there was a wise saying from the Merseyside, “Buy a world class striker along with an unknown one.” This was maybe one reason which contributed to their phenomenal success back then. The Gunners have committed a blunder in not buying a proven striker in this transfer window. Yes, Olivier Giroud is definitely improving with each match, but he is yet to reach the domain of the world class striker. And talking about back-up options, who will Arsenal rely upon should Giroud get injured? Given the taxing schedule coming up, with the Premier League, Champions League, Capital One Cup and later F.A. Cup, there is every chance that Giroud could get injured or suffer from fatigue and burn-out. The only striking options available would be Yaya Sanogo and Nicklas Bendtner. No matter how good Sanogo is, as Wenger claims, expecting an inexperienced 20-year-old from the French second division to perform right away in the physical environments of English top flight football could turn out to be very foolish. And one can never be sure of Bendtner. The Dane definitely has talent, but it has been overshadowed by inconsistency and a bad attitude. Relying on him would not be the ideal choice.

4) Transfer Policy

Arsenal’s latest signing, Mesut Ozil.

The hard reality is years of financial imprudence have made Arsenal go stale. The club is desperately crying out for heavy monetary investments, but those in charge have chosen to look the other way. No longer is Arsenal considered in the brackets of the European elite. When there was a golden chance for the issue to be addressed this summer, the manager and the board threw the opportunity away. What happened to our original summer targets? Why did we have to wait till the last day for the signing of Ozil? Was Mesut Ozil the original target? Why didn’t Arsenal sign the ones they first pursued – namely Gonzalo Higuain, Wayne Rooney, Luis Suarez, Luis Gustavo, Lars Bender and Ashley Williams? What were the people in charge up to when the transfer market was open for nearly 83 days? When the Club Executive, Ivan Gazidis, openly stated in June that they had a war chest of £70 million and add to it the additional revenue stemming from the sale of 18 players this summer, why wasn’t all this money invested in strengthening the squad?

5) Stubbornness of the manager

Arsene Wenger

Arsene Wenger cannot run away from the blame. He deserves great credit for the way he transformed Arsenal when he first arrived and went on to win 3 Premier League titles and 4 F.A Cups. But the problem arises when you fail to adapt with time. Wenger still seems to be stuck in a time warp. The days of securing the services of a world-class player for £10-15 million are long gone. With the likes of Chelsea, Manchester City, PSG and A.S Monaco showing off their financial superiority in recent years, Arsenal have fallen behind.

Wenger’s is a classic case of dogmatism over pragmatism. The first question that arises is why the manager doesn’t evaluate a player’s worth and reject it. Shouldn’t it be the job of the board to sort out the financial details of the transfer while the manager’s job should be to request the board to sign the player he desires? One reason Tottehnam, Arsenal’s fierce rivals, have been so successful in bringing several world-class players this summer, like Roberto Soldado, Erik Lamela, Paulinho and Christian Eriksen, is due to the presence of a technical director of football who sorts out the financial details of every transfer with the parties involved, while the coach just asks the director to get the required player. That Wenger has publicly stated his displeasure in working with a technical director of football is a testament to the fact that he refuses to budge from his dogmatic stand. What have Arsenal exactly gained in the last 8 years by saving a few million pounds on each transfer?

While Ozil’s arrival will definitely lift the sagging mood at the Emirates, expecting it to end the trophy drought is nothing but wishful thinking. The signing seems more of a move to appease Arsenal fans who were furious with the criminal inactivity throughout the transfer window than anything else. The rot inside the Emirates is still very deep and is under no signing of any ending. Until these burning questions are answered, Arsenal Football Club cannot expect sunny days ahead.