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‘No winter signings’ states Wenger…is he having a laugh?

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According to Arsenal.com , Arsene Wenger has stated that he is NOT intending to sign any players in the January transfer market, leaving many fans (including myself) in amazement and somewhat disbelief.

The winter window is fast approaching, and as usual many high profile players have been linked with a move to the Emirates Stadium this January.

However, speaking exclusively to Arsenal.com yesterday, Wenger declared that he will not bolster his current squad unless injury strikes. He said on the matter:

“I want to keep my squad and I want to continue with these players. We will not be on the market unless we lose some.”

I am struggling to understand the Frenchman’s thoughts behind his recent statement. Unless injury strikes? Do we not have Thomas Vermaelen out with a long-term injury? Is our defence not shaky Wenger? I agree that we do have fine squad depth from previous years, but can Wenger honestly tell us that our team doesn’t need strengthening this January?

In my opinion, Arsenal have done better than expected so far this season, but like many, still see the recurring cracks in the team. We might be banging in the goals, but we are also letting in to many, especially at home.

19 goals have been leaked after just 15 Premier League games, and many of them have cost us crucial points this season. A centre-back must be bought in to solidify the back-line whilst Vermaelen is out (and even when he is fully fit). New arrivals Laurent Koscielny and Sebastien Squillaci have done an adequate job, but both still look suspect at times.


Lukasz Fabianski has certainly impressed since his dire displays last season, but (for me) a more experienced keeper needs to be acquired so that the Pole can learn off him, because lets face it, Manuel Almunia isn’t exactly a class act now is he?

Many Arsenal fans are happy with the firing power the Gunners have at their disposal, but frankly we still need a top-notch striker, or one that is better than Nicklas Bendtner. Yes we have scored 32 goals so far, but with Robin Van Persie labelled as an injury-prone player and Bendtner not good enough, we need someone to challenge Marouane Chamakh for his spot.

At the end of the day, we have a big squad, but most of our players are simply not good enough or are struggling to adapt. Personally, I think Wenger needs to get rid of three players and bring in three new faces (a goalkeeper, centre-back and a front-man).

Wenger latest statement will not go down well with a majority of the Arsenal faithful, as they will probably have the same mindset as me. Wenger’s refusal to spend money this January (unless injuries transpire) will have Arsenal fans either agreeing with their manager or cursing him…just like me.

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4 comments

  • Big Bird says:

    Wenger must buy players or forget about winning the Premiership. Fabianski is playing well but I can just see him making major mistakes which will cost us points. The defensive looks very shaky and we are conceeding goals we could prevent. We need an experienced goalkeeper and defender, possible a striker too.

    Wenger must buy, we can seriously win the premiership, this is only though if he buys players or forget it. It is as simple as that.

  • Byo says:

    @”Big Bird”-
    Here we go again with Wenger must buy crusade!
    Who do you recomend?
    How much will they cost?
    Is their team ready to sell?
    How do they fit in team?
    etc.
    Or you are just one of those who think buying players solve all your team’s problems, or just talking out of your a#ss?
    While you are at it, why not buy 15 new players, as you think Arsenal needs a whole new spine-gk, cb and striker!

  • Big Bird says:

    First of all Byo, its nice to know you responded back to article that was written in November and now it’s January. Also remember I wrote this when the likes of Fabianski and Koscienly were trying to prove themselves, so at the time they weren’t ready, and fine I admit I was wrong, they have both improved.

    But the likes of Fabianski still make basic errors which cost titles. Let’s look at the facts:

    So far this season Fabianski has cost us 6 points. 3 against Newcastle where he tried catch the ball with a charging Andy Carroll coming towards him, and 3 against Wigan where he badly positioned for the corner. I’m sure we can agree on that. Now these were vital points which we lost and I think it is more than likely he will do the same again, but I hope I am wrong. We have a good prospect in Szczesny, but I think he’ll need more time, I could be wrong though.

    Before talking about the defenders I’m going to mention the strikers. We have good strikers, but let’s face it we have Bendtner who prefers to talk about how good he is but never shows it on the pitch. We have Van Persie who is our best striker but is always injured. Vela looks as though he is going out on loan for the remainder of the season. Arshavin is not performing at the moment, and Chamakh who has had a good first season but we can’t expect him to do everything.

    Moving on to defenders, at the moment we have Koscienly and Djourou who are playing very well together. We have Squillaci on the bench and Vermaelen returning from injury, but it doesn’t mean once Vermaelen returns he’ll be able to go into the team straight away, we probably won’t see him return till March and by then it could be too late. Also what if Koscienly, Djourou or Squillaci get injured, then we’ll be very short at the back, and I know what you’re thinking “what if”, but it could happen and Arsenal should be ready for anything. You asked some questions which I’ll respond back to:

    1. Who do you recommend?
    2. How much will they cost?
    Mexes: 2million
    Samba: 8-10 million
    Cahill: Around 10-15 million
    Shay Given: 8-10 million
    Igor Akinfeev: 8-10 million

    3. Is their team ready to sell?
    Mexes has clause in contract that could see him leave for 2million. Samba wants to leave Blackburn and has handed in a transfer request. Ok, Cahill could prove difficult but I’m sure he’d also like to play champions league football as well as premier league football. Given would consider coming to Arsenal because he doesn’t play at Man City and I believe if the price is right City would sell him. Akinfeev even said if Arsenal came for him he would sign, so I think that indicates he doesn’t want to play for CSKA Moscow.

    4. How do they fit in team?
    Well, Samba and Cahill play in the Premiership so I think they could fit in the team easily. You also have Mexes who plays for Roma, and is currently on the bench for them. If you follow this play you can see he tough defender and is not afraid to get stuck in, so I think he can fit in the team quite easily. Shay Given and Igor Akinfeev could easily get into our team because they are both quality goalkeepers, and I’m sure you’ll agree with me on that.

    I’m not saying we need all these players, just one defender and one goalkeeper for reasons I stated above. So mate there are goalkeepers and defenders that Arsenal could get, also there are my answers to your questions, it just depends if he Wenger wants them. I have not mentioned which strikers Arsenal could get as it is very difficult to buy a striker for a reasonable price, but I’m sure Wenger knows some up and coming strikers to buy or get on loan.

    Also I didn’t say we need 15 players, we only need three one in each position baring midfield for reasons I stated above. Now one more thing instead of insulting me why don’t you tell me why we don’t need players because all I see are insults. You must be a very immature person to call me an ass, so my advice is grow up. Notice one thing I didn’t insult you once as I respect your opinion so respect mine.

    Big Bird Out!!!

  • Papa Bear says:

    I agree totally with your comments big bird both about what our team needs and the immaturity of BYO.

    Our Mr Everything acts very strangely about buying players to fill obvious needs. Even he said he needs a central defender yet procrastinates and procrastinates about doing anything. He will buy a Kosilny, an unproven player from the French League 1 level and spend $10 million. Then when he has a chance to grab a proven defender like Samba, with solid Premiere league experience, for a similar amount he stalls and stalls. He is so stubborn which is so frustrating to Aresenal fans and I suspect, even to his own players at times.

    We do need insurance in our defending core… Sigh..

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