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It seems that even after years of misery, paying up stadium debts, bad transfer moves, and illogical final day transfer dashes, the club has learnt very little. Two seasons back, when Arsenal sold off Cesc Fabregas, Samir Nasri and Gael Clichy and bought in only Gervinho, and the talented but inexperienced duo of Carl Jenkinson and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, it took a 8-2 mauling at the hands of Manchester United, for Arsene Wenger to call for the shopping trolley and sign five players on the final day of the transfer window.
Will it be another trophy-less season at the Emirates?
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While two of them, Mikel Arteta and Per Mertesacker have stamped their authority on Arsenal, Yossi Benayoun was a temporary fix, while Andre Santos proved to be a major flop. Park Chu Young, despite a loan move to Celta Vigo to resurrect his career, still finds himself on Arsenal’s books.
Looking at the Arsenal squad at the moment, it shows an incredible lack of depth all over. In the goalkeeping department, are the Polish duo of Wojciech Szczesny and Lukasz Fabianski, both of whom have displayed a consistent inconsistency. In defence, Bacary Sagna, Thomas Vermaelen, and Nacho Monreal are definitely injured for the first few games of the season, and we are one injury away from slotting an Aaron Ramsey at right back.
In midfield, the club is woefully short of personnel. Mikel Arteta, as per recent reports is set to miss the first month of the season. Aaron Ramsey remains a doubt for the game against Aston Villa, while Santi Cazorla would be jet-lagged after his trip to Ecuador. That leaves us with only Jack Wilshere and Tomas Rosicky. Abou Diaby is perennially injured, while the other three names on the squad are Emmanuel Frimpong, Thomas Eisfeld and Ryo Miyaichi, all untested at the top level. Add to that names such as Serge Gnabry and Gedion Zelalem.
The strike department too looks shallow. Lukas Podolski, Olivier Giroud and Theo Walcott are the three options, with only Giroud looking to cement his place as the central striker. Podolski has failed at the position last season, often being played on the left, while Walcott has shown inconsistency when being played in the centre. Yaya Sanogo is injured for the opening few games. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is the last player of repute to complete the squad, as the club looks to move on Park Chu Young and Niklas Bendtner before the transfer window closes.
It is a shocking premonition of the squad, that seems to be at the edge. Another injury to a first team player, and there could be problems all over the squad. What is startling is that, Arsene Wenger, despite his 17 years at the top level in England, is yet to address the concern by strengthening the squad with new players, to infuse a fresh impetus.
Arsenal ended the last season with a 10 match unbeaten run, that saw them pip Spurs once again to a Champions League spot, and made a strong start to the season, showing plenty of solidity at the back. There was much talk of how Arsenal could elevate to genuine title challengers, with the addition of 3-4 solid performers.
Yet, we find ourselves in a mire that gets tougher to get out of. All the false promises by Ivan Gazidis that Arsenal have all the cash they need this summer, and of a warchest being handed over to Arsene Wenger, each day of the summer has been excruciating waiting for the club to announce an inbound transfer.
Considering the fact that all other major English clubs have had changes at the top, it was Arsenal’s chance to strengthen the squad, show stability and take the further step to building a team for a proper title challenge. Manchester United parted with Sir Alex Ferguson after 26 years, while Manchester City parted with Roberto Mancini and Chelsea with Jose Mourinho. And, despite finishing 2nd and 3rd last season; City have bought in players like Fernandinho, Stevan Jovetic and Alvaro Negredo, while Chelsea have snapped up German hotshot Andre Schurrle.
Tottenham, as usual have been in the market, and despite strong rumours of losing Gareth Bale to Real Madrid, they have managed to hold on to him, while making purchases such as Paulinho, Roberto Soldado, Nacer Chadil and Etienne Capoue.
While the pre-season has been promising, with wins over smaller teams in Asia, some by margins such as 7-0 and 7-1, Arsenal failed to win the Emirates Cup, drawing Napoli and losing to Galatasaray. And while a 3-1 win in Finland over Manchester City is highly pleasing, there is still a lot of work to do.
The squad is clearly lacking depth, and we are just a day away from the start of the season, with only 15 days before the transfer window shuts down completely. It leaves, me personally speaking, not too confident ahead of the new season.
I want to remain confident, and I am looking forward to the opener against Aston Villa. Have been ever since the final whistle was blown at St. James Park in May. But, the cloud of negativity has been hovering above my head for quite some time now.
All we can do now is wait and watch how things unfold from now till the end of the transfer window. For the moment, bring on Aston Villa already!
