The weekend has commenced with a new signing. Inevitably, there have been a large number of underwhelmed responses to it, typically wanting the big signings not caring whether the squad is strengthened for the future. Havard Nordveit has signed for a deal that could reach £2m. Not having seen anything of the lad in action, I will take the view of those who have as being a good guide and nobody has made any negative comments about his ability that I have seen.
There seems to be a clamour for a big name to come, reaching a crescendo. We need to bear in mind the timing of everything before you get your boxers into a twist over the supposed inactivity. Firstly, Arsene has just returned from holiday and for him to have signed, sealed and delivered a ‘big’ name in his first week would have been some going. Secondly, a large number of players are on holiday - look at Aliadiere’s move to Middlesbrough; the deal between the Clubs is done, the deal with the player is done but it cannot be finalised until he returns from his break. Thirdly, the Spanish season is still to finish; this isn’t the only market but lets be honest, outside of The Premiership, La Liga and Serie A are the two main stomping grounds for the majority of the big names that you desire us to sign. So, given that half of the Primera Division has something to play for this weekend, it is hardly surprising that nothing of substance has happened there. Lastly, we know Arsene will sign a younger player and with the Under-21 Championship ongoing, there is no way that anything is going to happen with either Babel or Drenthe or anyone else for that matter until their national teams are eliminated or the tournament is over. So it goes back to the point I made the other day, with the window open until the end of August, why the panic?
Well, I can answer my own question to a degree. With Manchester United having completed the majority of their activity before the end of May, it has put a lopsided spin on the Summer. From the media point of view, a major avenue for speculation is closed. United may sign one more player but let’s be honest, their activity was a major shock. I don’t recall a side pulling off all of their deals so soon after a season’s end and I cannot ever remember Arsenal doing so, which is one in the eye for those who believe the reason for all of the speculation and not signing one is because of David Dein’s departure. Even when he was there, we were quiet on the transfer front until either a deal went publicly wrong or someone was signed. It isn’t the Arsenal way.
Despite being frustrated with the Board’s inability to get some positive news out there, and more importantly to control the negative words of some of the players, they have not done anything wrong (yet) to my mind. In any case, lambasting them for no signings misses the point. Arsene is the man in charge of targeting the players but he can contact one hundred clubs about different players yet if those clubs do not want to sell, or sell for the right price, there is no deal to be had. On paper, I am not unhappy that Ribery has gone to Bayern because £17m for him seems an awful lot of money and the same for Malouda. Yes, the Club should be able to spend big but not fritter the transfer fund by being held to ransom. On that front it is worth bearing in mind that there is a limited number of Clubs that the top players want to sign for; Manchester United are now effectively out of the running on a lot of players, Chelsea likewise having signed two good squad players on free transfers. Overseas Chairman now see Arsenal and Liverpool as their main moneyspinners and that is not lost on the media either.
My other suspicion is that Arsene is occupied with shearing what he sees as ‘dead skin’ from the squad, namely Jose Antonio Reyes and I have a feeling, Freddie Ljungberg. The former has made it clear that he is not coming back to the Club but from Monday he is back on the payroll. He needs to (a) reduce the monthly bill and (b) know that he actually has a vacancy to fill. If Reyes cannot find a new home, he has to buy himself out of his contract to be free to move to Spain, which goes back to an earlier point concerning their season’s end. Ljungberg meanwhile, is an expensive squad player who has been unable to regain his previous form levels through injury, primarily. I guess Arsene will not be unhappy to retain him but I believe, and I have no inside knowledge, that if Freddie received a suitable offer, Arsene would not stand in his way.
So now you know why I’m not panicking over the lack of activity. If it makes sense to others and they ‘chill’ a bit more, good. If it doesn’t help, then I suggest a quick trip to the Quack’s to get yourself some Prozac because it is going to be a long Summer for you otherwise.
’til Tomorrow.
