Who Arsenal are Missing

Whilst it's obvious that something is missing at Arsenal its not obvious as to what that something is. Yes the club need new singings to add straight to the first team. Yes the club need to adopt a new transfer policy.  But what else do the club need.

The club’s transfer policy does not immediately affect the first team. Instead Arsene Wenger looks to seek out young prospects mainly, from on the continent but also from England too, and develop them into the best possible players they can be over time. Arsene will very rarely make a signing that will involve the player immediately playing in the first team. He also does not ‘splash the cash’ instead going for cheaper players from ‘lesser’ leagues. For the club to win silver ware this needs to change. More first team addition signings, less youth prospect players and if Arsene Wenger identifies a player who will cost a lot then the board should do everything in their power to attempt to sign the player.

Scott Dann, who is linked with the
Gunners

Player wise it is most obvious where the team is lacking. With the departure of Cesc Fabregas and possibly Samir Nasri the team will have to call upon the likes of Aaron Ramsey, Jack Wilshere and rookie Emmanuel Frimpong to command the midfield; all three are under 24. Another midfielder or two would give the squad depth and the ability to rest tired/injured players. More recently arsenal have been linked with Valencia’s Juan Mata and Shaktar Donetsk’s Jadson to replace Fabregas and Nasri both of which would add quality and depth to the squad. Defence wise the club needs at least one centre back.  Last season this became extremely obvious when Thomas Vermaelen missed most of the season through injury and when Sebastian Squillaci was called upon he could not do his job to the fans’ level of satisfaction and on one occasion the manager’s. For much of the season the club relied upon Laurent Koscielny and Johan Djourou to fill in neither of whom had any real experience of a top flight league. The centre back that the club need, needs to be able to join the first team immediately and if the club purchased a second centre back it would be to cover for any injuries. Bolton’s Gary Cahill, Everton’s Phil Jagielka and Birmingham’s Scott Dann have been just a few of the many centre backs linked with the club. Goalkeeper wise the club unearthed a gem in third choice keeper Woijiech Szczesny when and he appears to have stemmed all talk of new keeper. It has also been said that another striker is needed to partner Robin van Persie. Whilst van Persie is renowned for his injury record he is a quality player when fully fit so if the club were to purchase another striker he would only be cover for van Persie. Recent rumours have put Carlos Tevez in a swap deal for contract rebel Samir Nasri.

The final area where the club lack is in the backroom staff. Whilst Assistant manager and club legend Pat Rice has been at Wenger’s side during many great seasons it appears that it may be time for him to move on. Many people have suggested that another Arsenal legend, Tony Adams, should replace him. The only flaw with the move would be that Adams is managing in Kazakhstan. Other people have suggested that youth team coach and Arsenal legend Steve Bould should take up the job. Last season it became apparent that the defence did not have the mentality or experience to win trophies. Later on it became clear that the whole team lacked this too. The answer to the problem is a sports psychologist and a defence coach. Manchester United invested in a sports psychologist and they do not appear to suffer with the same issues as Arsenal. If the club are to retain the current transfer policy then a new job role may arise. Similar to a scout this person scours the world for talent and prospects and if they believe they have found someone then they clarify it with Arsene Wenger and if he agrees they take control of signing the player. This would allow the manager to concentrate on the players he has and would mean that deals could be done quicker as the scout could arrange a meeting for talks rather than have the club speak to Arsene Wenger.

Overall it appears that the club is lacking more in personnel than it really seems. As to whether any of the backroom staff would change it is unforeseeable in the near future. What is even more unlikely is the possibility of Arsene Wenger making more than five signings in a transfer window or the clubs transfer policy changing.

By  Toby Charter.


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