As the total transfer market spend reached an all-time high in the Premier League this summer, one man’s frugal approach looked somewhat out of place.
While Manchester City, Manchester United and Liverpool all spent heavily and Chelsea tried to without much success, Arsene Wenger’s grip on the Arsenal purse strings remained as tight as ever.
Petr Cech was the only new arrival at the Emirates Stadium, the goalkeeper joining from Chelsea for £10 million (Dh55.9m). That left Arsenal as the one team in Europe’s top five divisions that did not sign an outfield player in the summer window.
The response to Wenger’s lack of action has been split; it seems there is a fine line between prudence and parsimony.
Some Arsenal fans — who pay the highest ticket prices in the Premier League — have bemoaned the Frenchman’s decision to stick with what he has, given it was only good enough for third last season. The club have money at their disposal, and they continue to make a healthy profit for their shareholders thanks to their consistent appearances in the Uefa Champions League.
Other supporters, though, agree with Wenger’s rationale that buying for buying’s sake is rarely the best option.
There is something comforting about new additions, but the belief that pulling out the cheque book can address all of a side’s problems is generally misguided. Spending vast sums of cash is never a guarantee of success.
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There is also something admirable in Wenger’s stance on transfer dealings. This is a man who treats Arsenal’s money as if it was his own, agonising over every penny that leaves the club’s coffers.
Many modern managers appear to be not overly concerned with the long-term health of their employers and are prepared to use whatever means necessary to attain success in the short term.
Wenger, now in his 20th season in north London, deeply cares for Arsenal and would not wish to do anything that jeopardised its future well-being.
Having said that, Wenger would not have put Arsenal at risk by adding two or three more bodies to the ranks in the close-season.
A failure to do so has left the team looking short in key areas. Question marks are already arising about the depth of the squad after just four Premier League matches, with the side five points behind league leaders Manchester City.
Wenger said throughout the window that he was only interested in “exceptional” talent. The Frenchman should not be criticised for his inability to land Karim Benzema from Real Madrid, but there were plenty of ways he could have boosted his group without chasing unrealistic targets.
Morgan Schneiderlin, captured by Manchester United for £25m, would have represented a top-class option in defensive midfield, while the Sevilla midfielder Grzegorz Krychowiak was reportedly available for £18m.
Both would have given depth to the Arsenal side, who are now reliant on Francis Coquelin — a player who has not yet completed a full campaign of Premier League action — in the holding role in front of the back four.
Following the revelation that Danny Welbeck has had knee surgery and will be out for the rest of 2015, Arsenal also look short of choices up front.
Olivier Giroud remains a capable centre-forward, but Theo Walcott is not a natural striker and Joel Campbell has started only three games for Arsenal despite joining the club in 2011.
At centre-back, too, there is an argument that an upgrade on Per Mertesacker was required or, at the very least, more back-up for the Germany international and his regular partner Laurent Koscielny.
Regardless of such concerns, the ever-loyal Wenger has once again opted to keep faith with the players at his disposal.
Arsenal’s longest-serving manager remains an idealist at heart, with transfer market conservatism joining the desire to develop young players and play attractive football as one of the core principles of his doctrine.
Arsenal have begun the new campaign satisfactorily, a 2-0 home defeat to West Ham United on the opening day notwithstanding.
There is a long way to go, however. It is hard to escape the view Arsenal’s squad is neither strong nor deep enough to win the Premier League or compete in the latter stages in Europe, as was the case last year and for much of the past 11 years since they won their last title under Wenger in 2004.
Standing still is not an option in today’s game, where the need for constant renewal is greater than ever.
Although trophies are not automatically handed out to those who spend the most money, Wenger’s failure to add a single outfield player to his squad may come back to haunt him when the major honours are distributed in just over eight months’ time.
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