Arsenal transfer opinion: The Gunners don’t need a defender, they need a striker and to sort out the injury list
It’s that time of the summer again when Arsenal’s transfer business is over-scrutinised and over-thought.
The Gunners have landed Borussia Moenchengladbach’s ball-shuttling Switzerland star Granit Xhaka to shore up things deep in midfield. And, although his success is not a foregone conclusion, a promising full debut against Leicester would lead you to think only his discipline could let him down.
Meanwhile, the north Londoners also snapped up highly-rated Bolton Wanderers defender Rob Holding and Takuma Asano.
Given Arsenal finished second in the Premier League last season and were one of only two teams to defeat eventual champions Leicester City, to an outsider it seems like an entirely sensible transfer window so far.
Evolution not revolution is surely the order of the day. No madness, no panic, just one more top quality signing up front, surely.
Not quite.
Two games into the new campaign, there appears to be panic and dismay as a deal for Valencia defender Shkodran Mustafi looks on the verge of collapse.
Why? Their defence, although beset with injury issues, isn’t the biggest issue at hand. They have five centre-backs currently, a more than adequate amount. Even if a long-term replacement for Per Mertesacker should be in their thoughts over the next year.
Last season, rivals Tottenham saw their miserly defence praised, while the title-winning Foxes’ compact and resolute backline drew praise and admiration as ex-Nottingham Forest star Wes Morgan and Robert Huth blunted even the sharpest attacks.
These two title rivals both conceded just the 35 goals; Arsenal, meanwhile, with injuries, suspension and rotation disrupting their centre-back partnerships, let in just one more, with Petr Cech and David Ospina allowing 36 across the campaign, while the former kept the most clean sheets in the division.
When you look at Arsenal’s stumbles last season, it becomes even more obvious a move for Mustafi isn’t worthy of such a chase.
Two red cards against Chelsea in September saw them go down to a 2-0 defeat, Mertesacker’s sending off after 18 minutes in the return game saw a 1-0 loss inflicted, and a Francis Coquelin’s foolish red card against Spurs let their rivals back into the game, which eventually ended 2-2.
Wenger’s men have never been the most disciplined of sides and these infractions are always going to be costly in the English top flight, a rectification is vital, but seems unlikely given Coquelin’s tightrope against Leicester City last weekend.
Oh, and Mustafi received 14 yellow cards in LaLiga last year, which wouldn’t exactly improve the Gunners’ disciplinary record.
This is, of course, forgetting that injuries also blighted them in their attempts to win the Premier League trophy for the first time since 2004.
Already this season, the Gunners are credited with six injuries as first-team regulars Mertesacker, Gabriel, Aaron Ramsey, Danny Welbeck, and Alex Iwobi all sit on the sidelines, along with Carl Jenkinson.
In July, preceding the announcement of absences for Ramsey, Gabriel and Iwobi, Dutch fitness coach Raymond Verheijen laid bare what is truly afflicting the club.
Although Arsenal’s issues with injuries are widely known, there appears to be no progress to alter it.
Verheijen told our Alan Brazil Sports Breakfast show: “Last year there was a big investigation and all the stats were checked and for the last 13 seasons Arsenal have an injury, on average, once every five games and that’s unprecedented.
“It’s probably the worst injury record in the whole of Europe. So, one way or another, there is a structural problem within Arsenal, in terms of injuries."
Instead of pumping £24million into signing a new defender, how about using some of these precious reserves to improve the club’s facilities and get to the root of their curse?
Between July 2015 and July 2016, Arsenal players suffered 45 injuries, long-term or short, - it’s no wonder a title charge was derailed.
Even with a moderate amount of injuries, Arsenal’s five centre-backs, should be able to hold it out. If Tottenham can manage for 15 games with Austrian defender Kevin Wimmer in place of Jan Vertonghen and carry on their quest for glory, then the Gunners should be able to cope.
If one more signing is to be made, it isn’t in defence – that can wait – but up front. Olivier Giroud and Alexis Sanchez his 16 and 13 goals respectively in the Premier League last year, Mesut Ozil, usually the creative man, got six, while Theo Walcott and Aaron Ramsey followed with five each.
Over the summer, rivals Spurs swiftly moved to sign target Vincent Janssen to offer more goals and also some rest for last year’s Golden Boot winner Harry Kane. Leicester City moved to bring in pacy star Ahmed Musa to muck in with Jamie Vardy, Manchester United grabbed a freebie with Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Chelsea snapped up Michy Batshuayi, Man City moved for Gabriel Jesus, while even Swansea City have splurged decent sums on Fernando Llorente and Borja Baston.
Arsenal though risk being left behind as, despite chasing Alexandre Lacazette, they seem too focused on defence when last season they scored the same amount of goals as West Ham - the joint fourth best in the English top-flight.
Another striker, with different attributes to Giroud, is the signing which could realistically see them improve the most. Instead of persisting with Walcott as an inadequate forward, bringing in a natural striker could propel them into a real battle for silverware.
The midfield is creative enough, the defence solid enough - even with the aforementioned injuries and suspensions - it is a second forward where Wenger must spend his money.
If not, Arsenal risk being outgunned again and left in the chasing pack for another season.