Hell, Arsenal and the Transfer Window

Given all the hyperbole that has been used to describe events at the Emirates this season, there is one statement that does seem to resonate more than most. That this season has undoubtedly proved to be the most challenging and torturous season of Arsene Wenger’s career. Wenger himself recently described Arsenal’s pre season as “hell” and ever since Arsenal and Wenger have barely managed to stay in purgatory let alone aspire to a higher level. It is hard not to view the recent defeat to Manchester United as a potential turning point and one senses that for better or for worse at the end of the season people will look back to the clash at the Emirates as a decisive moment in Arsenal’s season.

As one season ticket holder who sits near me at Arsenal proclaimed upon his arrival to Sunday's match, “I can deal with the disappointment, it’s the hope that kills me”, as the game wore on this statement became more and more prophetic as Arsenal managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of, well not quite victory but at the very least a morale boosting draw.

Whilst there have been calls over the season for Wenger to make this season at Arsenal his last, this blog will not add to the voice of those who wish to remove the man who has made Arsenal into the club they are today. However there is no doubt that there have been some major mistakes made at the club this season and to many of them can be traced back to the clubs torturous pre-season. The gunners boss announced that you couldn’t sell Samir Nasri and Cesc Fabregas and then convince people that you are still a serious club and yet that is precisely what happened, not to mention the loss of Gael Clichy. 

Now these departures were far from unexpected, everyone was aware of Nasri’s contractual situation, likewise it had become clear that the club were willing to let Clichy leave and the Fabregas/Barcelona saga seemed to have been around since the dawn of time. The crux of this issue though is not that these players were allowed to leave, but that the lateness at which the deals were completed, specifically the Nasri and Fabregas deals were blows from which the club has yet to fully recover.

Now it had been clear for a long time that Fabregas was going to leave and that Barcelona were always going to come back in for him after being rebuffed the previous year. The fact Arsenal spent the entire summer negotiating and haggling with Barcelona whilst a shroud of negativity and doubt was cast over the club is inexcusable, and possibly the biggest mistake the club has made this season. The contrast between Arsenal’s handling of their want away captain and Manchester United’s over Cristiano Ronaldo’s move to Real Madrid is stark and revealing.

 Although Manchester United have always denied that a deal was done with Real that ensured Ronaldo would move at the end of the 08/09 season, it is clear now that some form of arrangement had been reached. The Ronaldo deal was done and dusted almost as soon as the transfer window opened in June and subsequently Manchester United had planned and prepared for the loss and did not enter the season with the same uncertainty and negativity that hung over Arsenal. It comes back to the naivety that Arsenal sometimes show, everyone was aware that one day Fabregas would go back and if Arsenal had been realistic they would have been negotiating with Barcelona throughout the season and had everything in place like united did with Ronaldo. With such a deal concluded and the money in the bank it would have given Arsenal more time to look to bring in reinforcements of a higher quality to Yossi Benayoun and Park Chu-Young.

The knock on effect of these delayed yet inevitable transfers resulted in the club being reactive rather than proactive in the transfer market and there is no doubt that the signings the club made in the last 48 hours of the transfer market are still highly questionable. The signing of Mikel Arteta was the best result of those frantic last days in August and he has slotted in well to a position as one part of a double pivot with Alex Song, those who still look to compare his role with Fabregas should actually see Arteta as Jack Wilshere’s short term replacement.

Whilst there have been gradual improvements in Per Mertesacker, especially his increasing willingness to collect the ball short from the goalkeeper, (the sight of him berating Lukas Fabianski for not playing him the ball early was a refreshing sight at the Emirates against Aston Villa), the short comings that were presumably the key factors in not signing him sooner, given that Wenger had run his eye over him on so many occasions, are still there. The alarming lack of pace can be compensated for, but, as a team Arsenal often want to press high and this causes obvious problems when a backline contains the cumbersome German. This is frequently exhibited when Arsenal need to chase a game, regularly Mertesacker is withdrawn and Alex Song drops back. To be fair to the ex Werder Bremen stopper, it is unfortunate that Arsenal’s backline has been riddled with injuries and not having Bacary Sagna alongside him for much of the season has not helped. Despite this the feeling remains that when Arsenal can get Bacary Sagna, Kieran Gibbs, and or Andre Santos fit again the first choice centre half pairing will be Lauren Koscielny and Thomas Vermaelen.

It does not seem to be a coincidence that the two signings that Arsenal had planned in advance this summer have been the most impressive so far this campaign. Gervinho offers a real threat and with a little more composure at times when in goal scoring positions is easily capable of reaching double figures for both goals and assists as he did in his last season in France for Lille when he was the only player to do so. Equally Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain has shown in his few performances some excellent qualities and bags of potential and although ultimately the European Championships will come too soon; there is certainly a talent there. Indeed once Gervinho returns from the African Cup of Nations, I venture to suggest that were Arsenal to line up with Chamberlain and Gervinho in the wide positions ahead of Theo Walcott there would be few who would be against that idea, such is the continued inconsistencies and deficiencies of the England winger.

The long-term significance of the summer departures and their subsequent replacements has been the impact upon Arsenal’s footballing philosophy and style of play. With the loss of Nasri and Fabregas, two players supremely comfortable on the ball even under intense pressure, Arsenal are far less adept at retaining possession. The fact that Arsenal now play with two wingers who are more comfortable out wide running at or in behind opponents means that they have become a more direct team than when Nasri would play nominally from the flanks. Equally the rise of Robin Van Persie to the undoubted star and focal point of the team means that players are now keen to get the ball to him as soon and as much as they possibly can and consequently this results in more risky balls being attempted.