We are heading into the mid of August almost and yet we are left to gaze upon a barren transfer window in terms of players bought. On the contrary there have been a lot of players being sold, youth players released despite showing flashes of brilliance. So let us analyze in depth what has been happening around the club.
Arshavin along with 26 other players have departed the clubThe club has paved way for 27 players so far. Some via loan, sale and majority through release of youth players. While little was expected of Gervinho’s move to AS Roma, Mannone’s move to Sunderland, it was expected that Arsenal would part ways with Sebastien Squillaci, Andrei Arshavin after their contracts were not extended. Andre Santos’s and Denilson’s (remember him?) was a free transfer while the latest Marouane Chamakh fetched a meager transfer fee.
Of the young players who were released there was a surprise to Arsenal fans to see few promising young talents being shown the door. Jernade Meade the promising left back who was quite popular among the fans alongside fan favorite Conor Henderson, Central Midfielder, winner of Academy League twice and FA Youth Cup once who had a bad time with injury but then had a pretty good season last year scoring a pile driver against Bolton U21.
Sanchez Watt, Martin Angha, Craig Eastmond though had a crack at the first team did not show their mettle to stay there. They were released too. However it was quite a surprise to Francis Coquelin who notched 43 appearances in Gunners color being loaned out to Freiburg till June 2014. It is worth to note that Coquelin is versatile who can play as DMF, RB,LB too and was impressive when given a chance to play. Ignasi Miquel to Leicester, Chuks Aneke to Crewe Alexandra, and Joel Campbell to Olympiacos have all been loan moves. There was a lot of speculation about Johan Djourou leaving Arsenal permanently but ended up moving to Hamburger on a year long deal.
Arsenal on the other hand had tied up Yaya Sanogo, 20 year old striker from French side Auxerre on a free transfer. The youngster had an impressive season scoring 10 goals in 13 appearances in the league. Perez, 20 year old of Atletico Nacional had been linked with a move but the same had fallen through.
Much had been said about the players that will be bought this season by Arsenal. Ivan Gazidis said Arsenal could spend 20M transfer fee on a single player plus 200K+ weekly wages. There has been a little sign of it. With Higuain who was rumored to have almost joined Arsenal is now seen in Napoli’s camp. Other big names including Everton’s Marouane Fellaini and Manchester United’s Wayne Rooney have been nothing more than just a rumor. However Arsenal has seen a strong reaction to their bids for Liverpool’s prolific striker Luis Suarez. Reported bids for 35M pounds and 40M and 1 pound????!! Been rejected. Are clubs playing hard ball with Arsenal? It was reported that Arsenal pulled out of Higuain deal due to the heavy asking price of Real Madrid who ultimately joined Napoli for 34.5M pounds. Is it Arsene’s refusal to spend more than what he believes is fair value for a player or the selling club playing smart knowing the rich pocket of Arsenal?
If it is the latter, was it good enough to outcast your strength in words rather than in action. I believe we are right in letting go of Higuain because of his inflated price tag. Seasons gone would tell a tale of stories wherein Arsenal fans were promised of good signings but would end up signing player replacements rather than additions which I believe is a main cause for their trophy drought. Santi Cazorla, Mikel Arteta, Per Mertesacker have shown their caliber and have proved that price tag is not affiliated to quality. But there are instances of soar miss like Juan Mata which hurts.
The current squad lacks depth in terms of number and quality. The first team members are good enough to win the league but fatigue, fixture congestion, injuries etc. would mean it is far from being a reality. With the latest report from Swiss Rambles outlining Arsenal’s spending capability being 100M+, the fans are entitled to see their side signing star players and win trophies.
Much to the above factors the rumors coughed up by footballing blogs and ITKs in twitter about Arsenal’s interest in star players increase the expectation among fans and create false hopes. To sum up, have faith in the team and pray for some new signings rather than slagging, abusing and giving up on the team.
Remember the empty times during the summer when we were sad for not watching Arsenal play. The club needs us more than we do. No club will exist without us fans. Keep supporting the club. Looking forward to the new season. Cheers!
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