So Maybe Not All Arsenal Transfer Windows Are A Horrible Mess That End In Disappointment

So Maybe Not All Arsenal Transfer Windows Are A Horrible Mess That End In Disappointment

It was, as you might recall, quite a rough ride for Arsenal through the summer as the media, and some of the fans, continued the demand that money should be spent, spent and spent. Every transfer rumour that came and went caused a further rise in temperature and it was ultimately impossible to open GoonerNews.com without seeing the same requirement: buy a new centre forward and a new central defender.

Of course Arsene Wenger, being the wily old bird that he is, did the opposite, and opened the transfer window by spending a load of dosh on a midfielder.


For a day or two this was thought to be ok, since a defensive midfielder was also on the list. Only then Mr Wenger did an interview and told us that Granit Xhaka was actually a box to box player and not a defensive player after all.

Meanwhile Arsenal did indeed buy a central defender – for £2m. As many commentators said, Mr Wenger surely was having a laugh.

A centre forward did come later – although not Higuain who has been on everyone’s list this year, last year, the year before, the year before… and the blame game went on about not spending enough to get Vardy.

Finally we bought a central defender who by and large most people had never heard of. Another cheap Wenger buy, it was said, although cheap these days seemed to mean anyone coming in at under £30m.

And what have we learned since?

I guess we have all learned different things but what I’ve found out is that Rob Holding could well be the most extraordinary buy of the last thirty years. Quite what Bolton were doing letting him go for £2m is anyone’s guess.

In May this year the local press in Bolton were going apoplectic about the possibility of him leaving for £8m, saying he was worth far, far more, but leave he did and £2m seems to have been the fee. Those in the know suggest there was something in the contract that said if Bolton went down Holding could go – and there is (I am told) a huge sell on fee due to Bolton should Arsenal in turn decide to let him go.

But whatever the cost, and whatever the deals involved, make no mistake, Holding is a superb defender who has slotted in at Arsenal very well indeed.

Of course we now also have Mustafi, but saying that doesn’t tell us half of it, because what we have seen is that we have a new duo playing in the heart of the defence: Mustafi and Koscielny. These two guys look as if they have been playing next to each other for four years not four weeks.

In midfield there is Xhaka – apparently a little miffed that he has not become the kingpin of the team immediately. But he’s now getting games and we know what he can do – he can put through pinpoint shots and passes across 35 yards. He can play box to box. He can play defensive midfield alongside Santi Cazorla. Quite possibly he can also play the piano and bake a perfect cake when his family turn up unexpectedly, so great is his range of talent.

Which brings us back to the forward line. And yes we have a magical centre forward. In fact it turns out we had him all the time, except he was playing on the wing. Now we learn that rather helpfully Thierry Henry played 100 games in his first two seasons, and scored 48 goals. Alexis has got 46 in 99 – an interesting comparison.

So does that mean that we didn’t need all that fuss about Lucaz Perez and the need for another striker? Does it mean Alexis is our new centre forward?

In fact I think the issue can’t be answered in a couple of sentences, which is why the media has tended to let this one go. For the point is that although, on occasion, the success of a team can be built around one particular player, most of the time the success of a team is built around the interactions of the players working together as a… well, as a team.

The forward line is not Alexis – it is Theo, Alexis and Alex Iwobi, with Ozil behind. As those of us who were fortunate enough to have tickets to the match against Chelsea will testify, those four have suddenly found that they can play together.

The problem for Arsenal’s publicity machine, is that Iwobi cost nothing, and Theo was bought a long time ago, so in terms of talking about the new Arsenal they have no value.

But when we really look at this the issue of the new players turn out to be only half the story. Because for the first time since the 25 rule was brought in, Arsenal have a complete compliment in their list of 25 registered players aged over 21. And there are some rather good under 21s coming through as well, namely Holding, Iwobi, Bellerin, Akpom and Reine-Adelaide.

And just to be clear, Arsenal is fairly remarkable in this respect. This season Chelsea this season has only 19. Manchester City has 21. Manchester United has 19.

So what has happened? Basically it wasn’t just Arsenal who had problems finding the right players, so did other clubs. Where Arsenal benefitted was from their youth system which has meant that some players of foreign birth are now considered to be home grown (Coquelin is the perfect example). This has allowed Arsenal to use up all their 25 places by buying non “home-grown” players when they wish. Chelsea didn’t run out of money, they ran out of places for non-home-grown players.

What this means is that Arsenal not only has a superb first team, it has (as we saw against Nottingham Forest) a double squad – enough players to put out a very strong line up without using the first choice XI.

So if we look at virtually any position in the club we not only have a star player but also a good backup. Indeed at centre back we have gone from an apparent total crisis and hardly anyone capable of kicking a ball to having a sublime first choice pair in Koscielny and Mustafi, with Gabriel, Holding and Mertersacker as back up.

Meanwhile at centre forward Alexis turns out to be Henry II (at least as far as Opta’s stats are concerned) while Giroud, Lucas and Akpom wait in the wings.

In the defensive midfield area Coquelin was back in form before his injury, but then when the injured happened Xhaka can immediately step in. And let us not forget Elneny is there too.

So it goes across the team. These were not just a few signings from a club that was panicking, these were the final parts of the jigsaw, giving Arsenal the complete squad of 25, plus juniors.