In the midst of a poor run, everyone’s mind turns to what would improve the squad and where its all gone wrong. It seems that Arsene’s view that he would quite happily turn up for next season with the same squad is not universally popular. Most people want to see a couple of new faces in the Summer, to bring experience and to increase competition for places where it is perceived none, or very little, exists.
To fund the extensive wishlists would make even Abramovich blanche. To fund some of them would make the Arsenal Board tighten their sphincters just a little. Yet why do we expect Arsene to buy ‘big’ in the Summer? He has rarely done so in the past and those who have cost more than Rosicky have rarely fared well in any of his squads. For every success such as Henry, there have been numerous ‘average’ or ‘bad’ buys. Even Henry was not a big name when he arrived; expensive but not a big name. Jeffers was a complete flop. You can use your own judgement on players such as Wiltord and Reyes.
Arsene has recently been quoted as saying that there will not be any ‘big’ signings in the Summer, something to try to quell a clamour that he is probably aware that of. It begs the question as to why? Is it because he is happy with the squad. Yes, to a degree but more likely he knows that he has enough trouble rotating the squad with the existing personnel rather than the suggestion that he cannot ‘handle’ the egos that come as baggage with spending money. It is easier on him to keep ‘younger’ players happy in a rotation programme, resting them as he sees fit, not pandering to them as he would need had they more games under their belts.
The other issue is that he is trying to build a youth policy to allow them to progress. One of the complaints of players such as Sidwell and Pennant is that they could not break into the Arsenal side, displacing Vieira and Ljungberg in their prime was only going to happen if an exceptional talent came through, neither of those two were that. This time though, whilst the younger players are not ‘homegrown’ they are for the most part, from within the ranks. And it is that element that I believe Arsene does not want to destroy.
At the end of this season, Fabregas will have completed two full seasons in the first team squad. He is being held up as an example for the others to follow, a path that is available if someone is good enough. Does it mean though that Arsene should spurn the opportunity to sign an experienced player? It seems so in his public persona and I suspect that there is an element of that in his thinking. He comes across as an ‘all or nothing’ kind of manager. He either fervently believes in a path or else it is not worth pursuing. Such single-mindedness is about the only common trait across all of the top coaches. They achieve results through different methods but they are ‘blinkered’ when it comes to getting to their end result.
Personally, I would say we need more experience. More leadership than is currently available. For the most part, this team is probably easy to captain. However, at the moment there is no-one individual with the force of personality or seemingly tactical nous to make changes on the pitch. A great captain needs one or both of those traits. This is not about anything other than character, not nationality, only the individual. Gilberto does not exude that nor does Henry. Toure could be able to do this but is not able to at the moment for whatever reason whilst making Lehmann captain is not a path I would follow, nothing against the Mad Monk more that a Goalkeeper cannot influence anything more than the midfield when the ball is in play. To do so means that the message comes through another player, losing the impact of the ‘Captain speaking’ directly to individual(s).
With Arsenal’s policies of (a) leaving Arsene to get on with the job and (b) not publicly discussing transfers before a deal is done, it is hard to assess the relationship that the Board have with the manager, other than knowing that they trust him. But should one of them step up to the plate and tell him that in their collective opinion more experience would help him. More to the point though, would he listen? You cannot force a manager to buy a player. Lesser interference than that has forced some peers to re-consider their position. If Arsene does not want to buy then he will not. If he believes that he can replenish the squad without spending ‘big’ then so be it. Much depends on the definition of ‘big’ that you use. Certainly when you see the prices quoted for players such as Villa and Eto’o, then Arsene would never be able to fund a bid for either of those without removing several players from the current squad; several established first teamers, such as Gallas, Toure, Fabregas. Would it be worth it? Not in my opinion.
Should he buy experience in the Summer. Well, yes I think he should but no more than two, perhaps three. There are deficiencies in the Squad yet the injuries have been severe this time around, hampered by the two key forwards at the Club being out for a sustained period of time. Can Arsene afford to ignore this spell, be almost complacent that it will not happen so badly next time round? I do not think so. RvP should heal his foot if the Club are sensible with his rehabilitation without further recurrenceof the injury. Henry is another kettle of fish. His injuries are wear and tear, the sort that should clear up but the nagging doubt in my mind is that they will not fully do so, likely to flare up again in the future. If one of them is struck down next season, we could find ourselves in the same rut all over again and can the Club afford to suffer this particular ‘Groundhog Day’?
Posted in Arsenal, Football, Premiership, Soccer, Transfer Gossip
