Arsenal have done an Arsenal once again, after the job that the supporters felt as the Gunners signed a world class midfielder in Granit Xhaka even before the start of July, they have been brought back down to earth thanks to the signing of Rob Holding.
It isn’t something to criticise Holding for, after all, how can any player from a lower league resist a move to the Premier League and also have the chance to train under one of the best managers in the world but certainly Arsenal should be looking to aim a little higher.
The Gunners have many gaps to plug but for some reason, they just are not up for it. The manager has often said that he will not splash the cash just for the sake of it but in this day and age of football, there has to be a certain ruthlessness and willingness to spend in the transfer window, something that often harms Arsenal than the other clubs.
The Gunners might be one of the best in the world but they have failed in the transfer window time and again and here are three reasons as to why they cannot click in this crucial period of the football season.
Getting their priorities wrong
It does seem a little worrying that Arsenal do not seem to know who or what to sign. The current signing of Rob Holding proves something similar when the Gunners need a world class central defender, they go out and sign someone who could turn world class in a few years.
That is a big maybe, no one really knows how a youngster can turn out at the end of it all and this might be a small gamble but the club from London could certainly have gotten someone more experienced.
Arsene Wenger seems to build a team that can go on and win things in the future and for years to come but his long-term vision is hurting the team at the present.
Not willing to plug the holes
Continuing the trend of spending on the wrong players, he seems to be spending it on the wrong positions as well or not spending them at all. While the Gunners have needed a quality central defender and forward, they just do not seem to be willing to spend for that.
Danny Welbeck seems to be a panic buy, a similar buy seems to be Gabriel Paulista and even Per Mertesacker does not seem to be that good a buy. Thomas Vermaelen didn’t help the side all that much either. The Gunners need to know what a priority is and what isn’t, should Laurent Koscielny get injured this season for a long time, the Premier League would be in a world of trouble.
The manager is also the problem
The buck stops right at the top, while Arsenal have played some pretty football and gotten the likes of Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil in the side, Arsene Wenger’s love for younger players is costing them time and again.
Apart from Holding, the Gunners signed Takuma Asano as well, another player who won’t be playing first team football anytime soon. The quicker the manager changes his thinking regarding the transfers, the better it would be for Arsenal but that will not happen anytime soon.
There still is a lot of time in the transfer window and the Gunners could still make this a window to remember but it seems highly unlike that anything will change for the Premier League club soon and they will be stuck with this “signing” issue for a few more years at least.