Five mistakes Arsene Wenger made over the summer
Arsenal have suffered a very disappointing start to the season, shocking football pundits and fans across the country. They were always expected to struggle this season following the departures of three of their big name players, Cesc Fabregas, Samir Nasri and Gael Clichy. But what could Arsene Wenger had done differently this summer? Here are five mistakes I believe Arsene Wenger made.
Firstly, the Cesc Fabregas’ anticipated move to Barcelona finally happened, but much too late in the transfer market. Fabregas stated clearly that he was eager to leave and Barcelona made no secret of their interest. Therefore had Arsenal been prepared to sale their former talisman, they would have received the funds earlier, giving them more time to work on signings, rather than panic buy on August 31st.
This then links to another mistake Wenger made, had he been reluctant to negotiate with Barcelona earlier within the summer, he perhaps could have benefited from this by attempting to persuade them to including young midfielder Thiago Alcantara before they sealed a contract extension for him. This would have been a great move for the Gunners as Thiago is seen to be the next “Xavi” and plays in the central midfield role, similarly to Fabregas.
In contrast to Arsene Wenger, Sir Alex Ferguson had his transfer plans spot on. His plans were to buy the following players for the following reasons:
Ashley Young to replace an aging Ryan Giggs, David De Gea to replace retired Edwin Van Der Sar and Phil Jones to learn from and succeed Rio Ferdinand.
These were Fergie’s targets who he would buy regardless of the price and so far all have lived up to expectations and their transfer fees. Arsene Wenger spent the majority of his summer attempting to convince both Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri to stay, resulting in four panic buys on deadline day, and both star men leaving the club.
Since the arrival of Theo Walcott, he has been played continually out wide despite suggesting that he is a centre forward and following Samir Nasri’s departure, the England star’s opportunity to play there looks slim. Although Wenger did bring in wide man Gervinho from Lille, it has not filled the void left by Nasri as in recent times, Russian Andrei Arshavin has looked half the player he once was, resulting in Walcott still being played through the middle. Had Nasri left earlier in the summer, this would have given the Gunners’ boss to pursue his interest in Belgium winger Eden Hazard, who is seen as the hottest prospect around. This would have allowed a Van Persie-Walcott partnership, which could have been deadly due to their playing styles.
Perhaps one of the key mistakes Wenger made was bringing in only one Central defender. Arsenal’s defence has been heavily criticised and with star defender Thomas Vermealen suffering a number of injuries, this has resulted in the unreliable partnership of Laurent Koscienly and Johan Djourou. The signing of Per Mertesacker is a very good signing from Wenger without a doubt as he provides the team with more aerial domination. However the likes of Gary Cahill or Phil Jagielka would have given Arsenal the British bite and leadership they have lacked over recent seasons. A back four of Sagna, Cahill, Vermaelen, and Gibbs would be regarded as one of the strongest in the league, could Vermaelen stay fit and Cahill join the club.
