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Are Arsenal paying the price for not spending as Smith claims?

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Ex-Gunner Alan Smith firmly believes that Arsenal’s transfer policy is wrong and they are paying the price for it.

Speaking to the Hawksbee and Jacobs Show on talkSPORT, Smith spoke about Arsenal’s pursuit of Gary Cahill and how their failure to meet the asking price cost them the Englishman’s services:

‘We don’t know exactly how it happened but we do know Arsenal made a bid which Bolton rejected, so why not go a bit higher, pay the asking price and get the player?

‘Now he’s gone to Chelsea and he’s a good signing for them, and he would have been a good one for Arsenal, and better than Per Mertesacker, in my opinion.’

Now this annoyed me. I do agree that Arsenal should have signed Cahill for the money that Bolton were asking for because he would have been a great acquisition, However, there is nothing to say that the England international will be a success at Chelsea.

We are all familiar with people getting big money moves to other clubs in the Premier League, you only need to look at Fernando Torres and Andy Carroll who are prime examples of players who went for much more than they’re worth and have done nothing.

Smith went on to say:

‘Once it became clear Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri were both going, that’s when you’re looking for the manager to make adequate replacements, to get some quality in and not have to do something at the last minute as he ended up doing.

‘They did seem like panic buys at the 11th hour. Arteta is 29 with an injury record, something Wenger looks at; Benayoun is 31 and won’t make a huge difference to the first XI at the Emirates; Mertesacker has 80 caps for his country but doesn’t look a player who has that. Ask him to run and he looks slow and it’s worrying. He’s a good solid character, but that’s not always enough.’

Now for me, Mikel Arteta has been our best signing this season. I am already a huge fan of his, so for Alan Smith to come out and knocked on about three players, one being Arteta, and complained at Arsenal for not getting Gary Cahill, is extremely disappointing. It seems me he is seeking attention, as his comments are not supportive of the club in anyway shape or form.

However, I do agree that Arsenal need to change their transfer policy so that we can compete with the big guns in signing the best talent, not just selling them. I just think that there are better ways for ex-Arsenal players to voice their opinions and I think Smith’s comments are more of a dig at the club than constructive criticism.

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14 comments

  • zdzis says:

    Every transfer has its drawbacks. Signing Arteta was a risk because he was to play a different role at Arsenal than he did at Everton. Mertesacker is still not 100% ready to play, and we could expect as much, him being used to the Bundesliga game, which is lightyears behind in terms of dynamics. Santos, coming from an even more off-key league, was bound to take time to grow into the squad.
    But the thing is, Cahill has really far less going for him than Mertesacker. The German is a staple of their national team, a complete pro; Cahill isn’t foolproof and he’s still an apprentice in the national squad, which is not a good sign at his age. Enrique is a capable left-back, but he was only one of a number of options, and I think that, were it not for the injury (which is, as we all know, more a matter of fate than of design), Santos could well better him. He can be fast, tenacious in defense, technically capable.
    Wenger took huge risks this last transfer window, and if they don’t pay off now, well, tough luck, but they definitely look like they WILL pay off in time.
    Plus, what most people overlook, Wenger isn’t dealing with his personal funds but with transfer money assigned by the management. If he doesn’t raise his offer, this could be because he doesn’t have enough cash, now, couldn’t it? The “panic buys” were evidently brought in by a change in strategy, but the change was not Wenger’s, it was the club’s.

  • JOPLEX says:

    IF THIS CARRY ON WILL SOON START THE BLACKBURN FANS BEHAVIOUR 2WARDS DEAN!!!

  • JOPLEX says:

    WENGER IS BECOMING A BIT OF A DICTATOR HE DOESN’T WANT TO LISTEN TO THE FANS CRIES!!!

  • marie law says:

    come on mr wenger we’v sufferd ennuff…

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