On transfer deadline day, Arsene Wenger skipped town for Rome to coach a charity match thus proving pointedly there is more to life than football. Good for him. However, Arsenal fans burned with frustration as the hours and minutes ticked by without any cover for Giroud being bought, a centre back, or a holding midfielder. To many it dawned, Wenger’s p-p-poker face was probably directed at them, flipping them the bird inside, and not to mask desperation and drive up prices of potential targets. At this point, even Jermaine Defoe was considered an improvement over the unthinkable horror; transfers on deadline day: Zero.
Welbeck had been spotted at London Colney, a hint some sort of business might be in the works. Utd had by then stunned the world signing Falcao (more on that later) subject to a medical. But Falcao’s arrival meant Utd were now more amenable to selling to a rival. At first, Arsenal were willing only to a year loan but the Utd striker dug in his heels for a permanent move. One can discern clear intent in desiring a career upgrade and improvement with more appearances guaranteed. Welbeck’s talent is undeniable. He has speed and good on and off the ball instincts, its his finishing that’s been questioned. However, he could find himself transformed, like Daniel Sturridge at Liverpool, after his fallow years at Chelsea. With Giroud out for four months, Arsene Wenger now has the sort of speed merchants who can benefit from Mesut Oezil’s subtle service, provided the German shifts to the centre. Welbeck will be best utilized as a direct threat at goal as Sanchez and Walcott operate wide. Also, at 6′ 1″ he’s far more an aerial threat and likely to hold the ball better than either one of them.
At 23 years, he’s more established than Yaya Sanogo, surprisingly just a few years younger, but seemingly a generation behind in his ungainly, coltish motor development. Sanogo, is a Wenger work in progress and he might very well be a diamond in the rough. But football also deals in the here and now. In stark terms, Welbeck has far more English League goals (29) than Sanchez (1), Sanogo (0), and Joel Campbell (0) combined, strikers brandished as Giroud’s understudies. The price tag maybe a bit inflated but then he’s English and comes from a rival club. Welbeck adds to the stable of English talent at Wenger’s disposal, in line with Arsenal’s conscious move away from foreign brands, and in keeping with UEFA’s homegrown rule.
Far more debatable than his price tag and disappointing in the extreme is Arsenal’s reluctance to sign a centre back and a quality holding midfielder. We are extremely short in the centre back department and probably the reason Koscielny was sent back after his nasty head on collision left him groggy, bleeding, and requiring medical attention. For Oezil to be effective in the centre, he requires the protection of a shadowing holding midfielder, because one of the things the German does not do well is to reclaim or track back after losing out. That might explain Wenger’s reluctance making a full switch to Oezil against strongly counterattacking sides. Those demand qualities of speed and anticipation which Arteta and Flamini cannot give by themselves. Diaby cannot be risked because of his excessive injury record. The pity is Oezil then gets stuck out left which attenuates his playmaking abilities but also offers less risk on the counterattack down the flank.
We had Kostas Manolas in our crosshairs for Thomas Vermaelen but for some reason lost out to AS Roma. There was an endless parade of holding midfielders linked with us through the summer but again we chose not to move or considered the asking price abortive. The pity is we started the summer on the front foot with well worked signings in Alexis Sanchez, Calum Chambers, Mathieu Debuchy, and David Ospina. Wenger’s first instinct is to look to his own squad to plug shortcomings but there comes a time when a patch up job is just a patch up job. As on the pitch, Arsenal, finishes this transfer period with a glass a bit less than half empty.