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Arsenal and the transfer window is a subject that never fails to attract widespread conjecture and myth-making. Perhaps it is because Arsene Wenger has been at the helm for almost 20 years, and that familiarity feeds the idea that we are witnessing the same roll of film stuck on a loop every summer.
Some say Arsene Wenger doesn’t like spending money. He has spent upwards of £30 million on Mesut Özil, Alexis Sanchez and Granit Xhaka in each of the last three summers. Some say he dithers too much and is indecisive. Santi Cazorla, Lukas Podolski, Mathieu Debuchy, Calum Chambers, Petr Cech and most recently Xhaka all arrived very early in summer transfer windows.
It may be inevitable for someone in the public eye for almost 20 years; for every compliment you can give them or criticism you can make, there is always evidence to the contrary. That is what makes Wenger such a divisive and written-about figure.
Arsenal have already bagged Xhaka, and wanted to add Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Jamie Vardy. Had they done so, that would have been their transfer window complete. They made a genuine effort to get all three deals done with the haste and conviction they are often confused of lacking, but only one of the three came off. Vardy decided to stay, for reasons best known to himself, and Arsenal were gazumped by Manchester United’s salary offer to Mkhitaryan and the cunning of his agent Mino Raiola.
There are valid criticisms to be made of Arsenal’s conduct in the market; not least their tendency to avoid dealings with avaricious agents and other unscrupulous third parties. However, there is a clear intent to strengthen the team where it needs to be strengthened. Over the next few pages, here are three suggestions for players they could target.
Riyad Mahrez
Arsenal’s defence gets plenty of scrutiny, but in fact their lack of goals at home hindered their title challenge to at least as great an extent. That is not just the fault of the forwards, not matter how much criticism Oliver Giroud may get. Arsenal scored just 31 home league goals, and four of those came on the last day against Aston Villa. Prior to that, it was just 27 in 18 games. When you consider how much of the ball Arsenal typically have at the Emirates, it’s a damning stat.
Arsenal’s title winning sides had a goalscoring wide player, Marc Overmars or Robert Pires. It may be a touch premature to compare Mahrez to the imperious Frenchman, but the 17 Premier League goals and 11 assists Mahrez produced last term are the sort of numbers Pires could be relied upon to turn in.
Theo Walcott is no longer trusted in a wide role, with Arsene Wenger making thinly veiled comments about the amount of defensive work rate that position demands in the modern game. Joel Campbell has proved to be a pleasant surprise; a real grafter with an eye for a cute through ball, but not a potent enough goal threat.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain has the most scope of the three, but has had injury problems as well as the odd crisis of confidence. Claudio Ranieri might suggest that Mahrez will spend his time at Arsenal on the bench, but he would walk into their first team at the moment.