It may have passed you by, but on transfer deadline day Arsenal secured two signings: teenagers Kieran Gibbs and Mark Randall both put pen to paper on improved contracts with the Club.
Of course, these were not the signings that many of us imagined or indeed hoped for when, just weeks ago, Wenger made it clear he would be attempting to enlist the services of a top-class defensive midfielder to fill the void left by the departures of Flamini, Gilberto and Diarra in quick succession.
Since those assurances were made, however, there have been statements designed to prepare us for the eventuality of no new additions, the most recent coming in the wake of the Fulham defeat when Wenger said: “What I hate the most is when you have a bad game, the only resource is to buy.”
I have to say, I couldn’t agree more – it sickens me the way that certain teams behave. Rafa Benitez should be made aware that sometimes the onus is on the manager to get the best out of the players he has brought in. After all, no one forced him to buy Aurelio, Pennant, Bellamy, Crouch, Josemi, Voronin…
That said, I do think our squad is too thin. I believe Wenger when he says “we have the quality” and I’m not demanding that we go out and spend £30m on a single player, but the reality is that we only have one fit defensive foil for Cesc: the young, talented, but rather inconsistent, Denilson.
There was a rousing piece by James Lawton in The Independent a few days ago in which he exulted in the idealism of Arsène Wenger:
“You can say that Wenger is on some fantasy trip of his own. Or you can assert, as the belief is here, that what he promises is something that makes supporting a football club truly worthwhile. It is because Wenger’s club is not about seeing who can spend the most, and stockpiling all available talent, but developing a group of players who he believes will grow up before our fascinated eyes, and into something quite splendid and bold.”
I agree with Lawton, and I’m immensely proud and happy to be a fan of Arsenal and of our brilliant, quixotic manager. But does that make it wrong for me to think that we ought to have strengthened when we had the opportunity?
Back in January I supported the manager’s decision not to buy, believing that our superior teamwork and togetherness would see us through. That fantasy perished on the cold rocks of realism. It is a beautiful thing to be idealistic and stick to one’s principles, but there must surely be room for pragmatism and compromise.
The brilliant performance against Newcastle does not obliterate from the memory the shambolic display against Fulham. Against Newcastle we were reminded of the highs this team are capable of, but the Fulham game should stand as a stark reminder of its continued frailties.
Despite his consistent declarations of faith, recent comments suggest Wenger is keen to strengthen:
“Last year it was at midnight – and we are ready to stay up all night this time if it is needed… If we find the right players we will do it – one or two.”
The fact that the last few hours of the transfer window proved fruitless suggests Wenger was unable to find the players he wanted or – as is more likely – find them at the right price.
Reports indicate we were in for Alonso, Inler or Veloso, as well as a season-long loan deal for Real’s German centre-half Christoph Metzelder. The combative defender and any one of the midfielders would have been ideal acquisitions, yet we ended up with nothing. It annoys me to think that we may have missed out because of a dispute over a few million.
Perhaps I simply do not have the courage of my convictions – an accusation that cannot be levelled at Arsène Wenger. I just hope his unswerving faith is vindicated come the end of the season.
