Will Arsenal EVER have ‘the rebuild’?
The saying goes, ‘as an Arsenal fan, it is the hope that kills you’. Pretty much every year since Arsene Wenger left, Arsenal fans were promised a big rebuild. 7 transfer windows have passed since Arsene Wenger’s departure. In that period, Arsenal have signed 14 players on a permanent basis, and 6 on loan. And £367 million has been spent on players, while only £72 million has been recovered from player sales.
Arsenal have clearly spent a lot of money on transfers, but why does it not quite feel like we have a new fresh Arsenal era yet? 8 of the players involved in Arsenal’s season finale in the 2017/18 season, are still at the club. 11 of the players involved in Unai Emery’s final Premier League game in charge, are still at the club. So 3 years on from the new era beginning at Arsenal, we are still yet to see proper change at the club. And while there is renewed optimism at the beginning of any transfer window and season, will Arsenal ever have ‘the rebuild?’
Failure to clear out the deadweights
One problem that Arsenal have consistently had, is the inability to sell players that are surplus to requirements at the club. So many names come to mind. Hector Bellerin, Lucas Torreira, Willian and Xhaka to name just a few. The downside of having these players is clear. They all take up valuable money in terms of the wage bill. The 4 players I mentioned above, cost Arsenal a combined £477,000 in wages every week. Willian alone is costing Arsenal just under £200,000 a week, and he is contributing nothing on the pitch.
Secondly, the 4 players I mentioned are all foreign. Arsenal are only allowed to register 17 foreign players to play in the Premier League. 4 of these spots are taken up by these deadweights. This is probably the biggest drawback when it comes to the possibility of a rebuild. Players must leave for new players to join.
So it is pretty clear that if Arsenal ever want to have the big rebuild, they need to get a serious move on with departures at the club.
A COVID market
To be fair to Arsenal, when fans were crying out for a rebuild in 2019, corona was something that people would drink on a night out at the pub. Obviously since then, we have known it as the name of the worldwide pandemic. Something I’ve noticed across Europe this summer, is how many clubs are in a really tough financial crisis. Barcelona is the extreme example, but clubs like Lyon and Inter Milan also come to mind.
This has an obvious effect on Arsenal’s outgoing business. In the cases of Hector Bellerin and Granit Xhaka, offers have been made this summer. However in both cases, offers were made that were not acceptable to Arsenal. Unfortunately, the current situation means that nobody is going to come knocking on our door with £20 million for Bellerin or Xhaka. It would be wrong for Arsenal to just accept the first offer they saw if it is not acceptable. So Arsenal are stuck in a position where we either lose a player for a small fee, or have to keep the player. And at the moment Arsenal are doing the latter.
However a COVID market does have a flipside. We might begin to see this in the last couple of weeks of the transfer window. With many clubs in need of money, we could start to see very good players leaving clubs for cheaper fees. Arsenal really should take advantage of this. If players like Houssem Aouar are placed in the shop window for under £20 million, then we shouldn’t hesitate to take advantage.
Lack of ruthlessness for incomings
It’s been a slow window on the incomings front for Arsenal, with only Lokonga, Tavares and White coming into the club. Arsenal have been linked with just about every player under the sun, and only have these 3 signings to show for it. Granted, some clubs have asked for too much money for some of our targets. But we have to be more ruthless. When a player like James Maddison or Lauturo Martinez comes on the market for around £60 million, we should go all out to make it happen. That’s what a rebuild is all about. Those marquee signings, that Arsenal have struggled to complete.
With the new season having already commenced, and positions like right-back, goalkeeper and attacking midfielder yet to be sorted, Arsenal need to be really ruthless in these next couple of weeks. Smart, quick recruitment is needed for Arsenal’s rebuild.
Is it too late for the rebuild now?
It is starting to feel that way. I can think of about 5 positions where Arsenal need some serious work to get to the next level. A right back, central midfielder, goalkeeper, striker and attacking midfielder are all required. By the looks of it, only one of those could get sorted before the August 31st deadline.
It will take a while for the transfer market to get back to normal after coronavirus. I think that the rebuild will be a very slow process from now on. There is a clear core in this team, and quite a young one as well. So as long as we hold onto and improve those key players like Partey, White, Tierney, Smith Rowe and Saka, while also greatly strengthening the positions around them, Arsenal could come back to the top in a matter of a few years.
