Arsene Wenger's lack of summer
spending looks like it's going to come back and bite him, with Arsenal
teetering on the brink of a crisis.
For
the season opener against Aston Villa on Saturday the Gunners are
barely going to be able to get a first XI together and will have to rely
on a string of outcasts, misfits and youngsters to make up their bench.
In the close season, 17 players left and only one came in - and even he is injured.
Failed: Arsene Wenger has brought in only one player and released 17 this summer
Misfit: Inactivity in the market will leave Arsenal relying on the likes of Nicklas Bendtner this weekend
ARSENAL'S CURRENT FIRST TEAM SQUAD
Goalkeepers: Szczesny, Fabianski.
Defenders: Mertesacker, Koscielny, Jenkinson, Gibbs, Vermaelen (inj), Monreal (inj), Sagna (inj).
Midfielders: Rosicky, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Wilshere, Ramsey (precaution), Cazorla (travelled from Ecuador), Arteta (inj), Diaby (inj), Frimpong*, Miyaichi (inj).
Forwards: Podolski, Giroud, Walcott, Sanogo (inj), Park*, Bendtner*.
*have had minimal first-team involvement over the past season
Defenders: Mertesacker, Koscielny, Jenkinson, Gibbs, Vermaelen (inj), Monreal (inj), Sagna (inj).
Midfielders: Rosicky, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Wilshere, Ramsey (precaution), Cazorla (travelled from Ecuador), Arteta (inj), Diaby (inj), Frimpong*, Miyaichi (inj).
Forwards: Podolski, Giroud, Walcott, Sanogo (inj), Park*, Bendtner*.
*have had minimal first-team involvement over the past season
With a crisis of playing staff
brewing, there are currently question marks over 10 of the 24 players
who are listed under the first-team squad on Arsenal's website.
Three of those are rather liberally placed in the first-team bracket.
Bacary
Sagna hobbled off for France midweek, Thomas Vermaelen, Abou Diaby and
Nacho Monreal are all long-term injury concerns, Mikel Arteta is also
out while Santi Cazorla this week travelled to and from Ecuador to play
with Spain. Aaron Ramsey also pulled out of the Wales squad as a
precaution.
New boy Yaya Sanogo, still just 20, could also miss the start of the season with a hamstring injury - he withdrew from the France Under 21 squad this week.
New boy Yaya Sanogo, still just 20, could also miss the start of the season with a hamstring injury - he withdrew from the France Under 21 squad this week.
THE GUNNERS' GREAT SUMMER EXODUS ...
PLAYERS OUT:
Andrey Arshavin (released), Denilson (Sao Paulo, free), Sebastien
Squillaci (released), Martin Angha (Nuremberg, undisclosed), Craig
Eastmond (Colchester, free), Conor Henderson (released), Jernade Meade
(Swansea, free), Sanchez Watt (Colchester, free), Johan Djourou
(Hamburg, loan), Vito Mannone (Sunderland £2m), Andre Santos (Flamengo,
free), Francis Coquelin (Freiburg, loan), Joel Campbell (Olympiacos,
loan), Chuks Aneke (Crewe, loan), Marouane Chamakh (Crystal Palace,
free), Ignasi Miquel (Leicester, season-long loan), Gervinho (Roma,
£8m).
PLAYER IN: Yaya Sanogo (Auxerre, free).
PLAYER IN: Yaya Sanogo (Auxerre, free).
New boy: Yaya Sanogo is Wenger's only signing of the summer - and even he is injured
Well travelled: Santi Cazorla did a 10,000-mile round trip to play with Spain in Ecuador.
That takes us to the next three members of Arsenal's 'first team' - Emmanuel Frimpong, Park Chu-young and Nicklas Bendtner.
This trio of misfits and unwanted hangers-on can hardly count themselves as bona fide first-teamers.
Frimpong
made just two starts in a loan spell at Fulham. Park Chu-Young played
21 matches and scored three goals in a Celta Vigo side that finished a
single point above relegation to the Segunda Division.
And then there's Bendtner. The Great
Dane (in his own mind) has been on loan for the last two seasons and has been actively
hawked to every team in the world this summer.
That
he is still on the books at the Emirates is testament to the wage
structure employed at Arsenal - no one is willing to match the wages he is paid in north London.
Concern: Thomas Vermaelen is one of a number of players with long-term injury troubles.
Departed Gunners include the much-maligned Marouane Chamakh, Gervinho, Andre Santos, Andrey Arshavin and Sebastien Squillaci.
Vito Mannone has also left for Sunderland, while Johan Djourou is on loan to Hamburg.
The
above names aren't elite players that will wina league title but all
are useful as reserves and all, bar Mannone, have extensive experience
at international level.
If
you are getting rid of players wholesale, perhaps there should be a plan
to bring in adequate replacements - or, perish the thought, better
players.
Ready to step in? Arsenal's youngsters,
including the highly-rated Chuba Akpom have conceded 12 goals to
Colchester and Luton in the last two matches.
There is always the argument that younger players can be promoted to plug the holes.
But
have you seen their latest results? An Arsenal Under 21 side were
smashed 5-1 by League One Colchester United on Wednesday night. The
match before that Luton Town beat them 7-0 and there was also a 4-4 draw
with Leyton Orient.
These
are Arsenal sides including highly-rated youngsters Chuba Akpom, Thomas
Eisfeld and Gedion Zelalem - who may only be 16 but was a part of the
seniors pre-season tour.
Wenger has been linked with many players
this summer. Talk of Luis Suarez, Luiz Gustavo, Cesc Fabregas, Wayne
Rooney, Bernard, Gonzalo Higuain, Adil Rami, Julio Cesar and Ashley
Williams has all got some fans excited.
Missing out: Arsenal have been linked with a number of leading names, but none have arrived.
But the reality is that rather
than buying multi-million pound international talent, Wenger's only
signing of the summer is a 20-year-old unknown from the second tier of
French football.
The
frustration for Arsenal fans is clear. They appear just two or three
signings away from a genuine title challenge but due to Wenger's
inactivity, they know appear on the brink of a serious problem at the
start of the season.
Just
down the road, fierce rivals Tottenham took their summer spending beyond
£60million with the purchase of Etienne Capoue, Nacer Chadli, Roberto
Soldado and Paulinho.
Last
season there was just a single point gap between the two sides - even if
Spurs lose star man Gareth Bale, they have made significant improvement
that should be a real worry.
The Arsenal manager has promised there will be more signings, but will they be good enough or come quick enough?
'We
are active,' Wenger told Arsenal Player. 'We are in a situation like
Manchester United, like Chelsea, where everybody expects signings and at
the moment not a lot has happened.
'There are 18 days to go, so that is a long time in the transfer market and we will be active.
'I cannot certify what the number [of players coming in will be], but we will be active until the end, that is for sure.'
Wenger
needs to move fast or he will be faced with a ninth trophyless season.
And that may be when the Arsenal fans and board finally, rightly, lose
patience.
Getting stronger: Arch rivals Spurs have invested more than £60m to close the gap.
No comments:
Post a Comment