We are currently one point behind league leaders Manchester City, with fifteen more games to be played. I just thought I’d remind you of that fact before you begin reading this article.
Have you let it sink in yet? Good. Now, let’s get started.
Many fans appeared to be outraged by Arsenal’s transfer activity this window. The promise of Draxler seemed to put every single one of us in the mindset that we would witness a repeat of this summers transfer heroics.
Well, it looks like it hasn’t played out that way. Instead of another £40 million German, we have been left with a 32 year old Swede on a six month loan deal to salivate over. And he’s a midfielder – the last thing we needed! Useless, Wenger! You are totally useless! For goodness sake, couldn’t you have just paid the money to bring in a world class striker? We all know January is the time for that – just look at Liverpool and Chelsea fans. I’ve yet to see a scouser who doesn’t have Andy Carroll on the back of his shirt. And I’m sick to death of hearing Chelsea fans gloating about their £50 million goal machine – Fernando Torres – winning the Ballon d’Or for the third year in a row. Wenger out! Get Wenger out right now!
Feeling a little bit silly yet?
The only way to judge how your team has performed in a transfer window is to compare the final results with your initial expectations. On the 1st of January, I only wanted Arsenal to sign one player – a backup striker to help out Olivier Giroud. It was the only position we lacked depth in. However, due to a few injuries and Flamini’s suspension, our midfield has become a little lightweight – especially centrally. Our latest addition, Kim Kallstrom, gives us back our crucial midfield depth. In a team which focuses so heavily on maintaining possession – you can’t leave yourself without quality options in the middle of the park.
Not only that, but it could be argued that apart from Arteta, Arsenal lack any other deep lying playmaker – one that can control the tempo of games are start off our attacks. Flamini can play the position, but not the role. He is far too defensive. Kim allows us to make sure we always have fresh legs in such an important role – and gives us a real alternative when Arteta isn’t playing to the best of his abilities. I am very satisfied seeing him in Arsenal colours, and I wish him all the best for the rest of the season.
Am I satisfied that we did not see a brand spanking new centre forward put pen to paper? Of course not – but I do trust that Arsene Wenger looked into every possible addition we could have made, only to deem none worth the effort this time around. As I said before, strikers so often fail to make the impact fans expect in when they are purchased in January. It is a position which requires good chemistry with the rest of the team, and forcing that at this stage of the season is extremely risky. It just isn’t worth taking a risk that big unless you find a player you can be sure with make a positive impact.
As for the Draxler deal falling through – that is something we’ll only need to worry about if we fail to land him in the summer. The young German has a lot of potential, but he is far from the finished article. In all honestly, he wouldn’t have made a noticeable impact for the remainder of this season. For those claiming Wenger could turn him into a world class striker – get real. Do you really think a 20 year old used to playing out wide his entire career would be able to lead the line for a title challenging team in the toughest league in the world after a few days shooting practice? No chance. Things like that take months, and we do could not afford to give him “practice games” upfront, which might have cost us vital points in our run in.
Overall, I think we can all agree this window has been a mild disappointment. We failed to land that backup striker that would ease the tension we feel whenever Giroud gets a knock, and given our initial expectations, we should really have seen a player of that mould come in.
Fear not though, as our season is far from over! Giroud may well go all season without injury; Kallstrom might turn out to be a revelation in midfield; and our wait for a trophy might finally end.
Our main worry is not losing Giroud to injury – it is losing that fantastic belief around the stadium we’ve stumbled upon this season. Let’s not turn a mild disappointment into a spiral of depression amongst the fan base. If we keep our voices loud, and support the team the way we have over the past few months, it’ll take a lot more than a dodgy January window to derail our season.
We are all in this till the very end now. The squad you see before you is the one that will finish the season with us. Lets make sure it is one to remember! Keep the faith!
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Photo by Ronnie Macdonald