Friday, March 29, 2024

Wenger still open to transfers but warns about availability

Arsene Wenger says the club are still open to doing more transfer business before the window closes, but says finding players who are good enough, and available, is a challenge.

The clamour for additions increased after the 2-0 defeat to West Ham on Sunday, but the Arsenal manager said that had no impact on his desire to strengthen the squad if he can find the right man.

“We are as open after that bad result as we were before,” he said. “We were working very hard and we are focused to do what can strengthen our squad.

“The availability is not big. If we find somebody anywhere who strengthens our squad then we will do it.

“It is not easy, it is not supermarket stuff where you go in and say, ‘I would like this, please can you give it to me.’ The availability is not easy.”

Ever the realist though, Wenger was keen to make the point that his team should have been to win the game against the Hammers without additions from the transfer market.

“When you lose a game you always get that kind of demand, we have to be honest enough and ask, ‘Could we have won the game without any addition?’ and I would say yes.

“Always the solution comes from outside, lets look inside at ourselves and produce the performance that is expected of us. I think that would be much more intelligent than always expecting a miracle from outside.”

So, while everyone likes a new transfer, let’s not pretend that our relative quiet in this window was the reason for the dropped points last Sunday.

For more on transfers, listen to this week’s Arsecast in which I discuss that subject with Tim from @arse2mouse

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Zippit

He’s right you know. But I am a tad gutted about jackson martinez going to athletico. He wanted to come to us you know and I’m sure he would’ve slotted right in.

God is Bergkamp, Bergkamp is God

I’m sure he’s going to make me eat my words, but I personally don’t feel like Jackson would’ve been a worth while improvement on Giroud or Welbz. From what I’ve watched of him, he’s a poacher who doesn’t have an exactly impressive conversion rate and doesn’t press defenders, which would be important for him with the line we play and the burst of speed he can bring. While Welbz isn’t necessarily a dream striker, he does put in a shift when we don’t have the ball. Plus we would’ve had to stump up his 25-30m release clause when Welbeck came… Read more »

zeeno99

d man is quite right but d addition of someone like Benzema will do us so much good…

Crispy

THE man is right and THE addition of someone like Benzema will do us so much good…..

C- must pay attention more and stop looking up the teachers skirt.

Austin Gooner

He obviously understands the rule. If he didn’t, you wouldn’t consistently find d in the determiner position, as is the case here. I don’t think it has anything to do with intelligence.

Crispy

Nuffink wrong wit d queens English , is dere bruv.

Austin Gooner

It’s also “teacher’s” and not “teachers”. You might want to pay a bit more attention yourself as well.

DontForget

Or probably teachers’

Gutbukkit Deffrolla

Only if he was looking up the skirt of more than one teacher.

or

only if ‘e wuz lookin’ up d skirtses of lots of teecherses

zeeno99

Sorry Crispy.. I am conversant with short cuts.. it help me type faster… Thanks for correcting me anyway..

Arsenalman29

Ne nor, ne nor,, grammar police, fuck i hate the police

Crispy

The sense of humour police regularly going missing here 😉

Gutbukkit Deffrolla

No, no, no!!!!

It is “Fuck! I hate the police”, “I hate the fucking police”, “I hate fucking the police”, or “I hate the police fucking me”.

Martin

We might as well just give our money away to some other club who’ll spend it. What’s the point in having all this cash lying around (other than to line Stans pockets) if we’re not going to buy players. I don’t care if it upsets Giroud and Theo if we buy another striker and I don’t care if we pay over the odds. I don’t care Coquelin was immense last season and Arteta is the captain. Buy another Defensive midfielder. And I don’t care if Jack loves the club and Santi is a fans favourite or even if Ramsey is… Read more »

Rohith J

The sheer ignorance of some of our fans. Sheesh!

Cheeky Boy

Giroud would never be the one to nab the winner against Chelsea from a half chance. Say what you will, we still lack elite quality up top, as well as warriors throughout the squad.

Billy

I find it Ironic how the Wenger out and other critics who we’re proven right last season after they for several years have been asking for more cynical tactics especially vs the bigger teams and insisted that we need to buy some world class players if we want to challenge for the title, But now after we have done those exact things to great success the supporters of the old philosophy of pre tactical Wenger and Arsenal dont spend FC are saying I told you so. Some people have no shame. When we finaly get that world class striker critics… Read more »

Gutbukkit Deffrolla

So do you like Giroud or not?

Pooner

It does seem as if there is a real lack of quality players available for transfer at the moment. Which big names have the big clubs of Europe signed/sold this summer?

Everyone’s talking about us buying Benzema, but why would Real sell without a replacement who was as good, if not better? It seems as if there’s no one who fits that bill at the moment. They only sold us Özil because they bought Bale and needed the money/ squad space.

Oliver the Great

and he is useless

Alex

Yeah, he is just the best creator of the PL but who cares.

God is Bergkamp, Bergkamp is God

I can only really think of Vidal following Schweinsteiger and then Mandzukic to Juve very early on, but basically you’re right. I think they would’ve been willing to part with Benzema if Morata had gone back to Real, but with him not interested, it looks blocked off.

How about Dzeko to
Roma? At least Dzeko was available

SB

Vidal? Schneiderlin? Just couple of transfers that would have improved us?

DFS

The handling of the potential Schneiderlin move was bizarre and then buried with no explanation. Few questions were asked as it was so early in the transfer window but something reportedly went seriosly awry…then Man U stepped in. Vidal might have been a little fanciful but the idea marquee players are the only ones worth buying is an abject cop out. Back to Schneiderlin. Southampton were not necessarily happy that Schneiderlin was leaving, but had planned ahead and secured (purportedly through the prior season) Jordie Clasie who is regarded as one of the best midfield prospects in Europe, for 10.5… Read more »

locksley444

Lack of quality players? really? What’s our backup to Coquelin? Flamini and Arteta at DM. Do you honestly believe there’s no DM better that’s available? I would like to see what explanation Arsene Wenger would have if coq gets a muscualr problem that rules him out for 6 months. Its nothing new though. Koscieny was played with an injury, and Giroud was overplayed for a whole season. You can always find excuses for mediocrity.

santori

Coquelin featured last match against the mighty West Ham.

No amount of new signings will help us if we do not get it right as a team.

We should have had the firepower to beat West Ham.

Gutbukkit Deffrolla

We’ll have to start facing the fact that all that new TV money has brought the standards of the rest of the PL teams a lot closer to us. We have just seen the result of that against West Ham. They won’t be the last team we think we should beat easily but actually struggle against (though they did have the benefit of extra match fitness, and they weren’t all that bad last season, at least for a while). Thing is, it’s not only going to be happening to us. This season is going to be much closer, top to… Read more »

Reggie

Dzeko, Manzukic, Vidal, Martinez, etc. they were all available and have been traded

Man Manny

I am with you on this Arsene. We are at a point where we have to shop at the apex if we want to improve our squad. We can’t step down from the Ozil – Alexis level. Jackson Martinez did not excite me; how better is he than Giroud, Welbeck and Walcott. Just like the Ozil transfer, I believe Arsene’s ear is on the ground and if any player that will immediately improve the first team becomes available, he will do it. I believe that if we had Szcz and Ospina like 3 years ago, Arsene would never sign Cech.… Read more »

Zippit

He’s clinical and I think we need that more than anything. Our depends on a striker who can hold it up and bring others into play and he does that well too. Anyway its by the by. He’s not available now. It’s just an opinion. I’d prefer benzema but it’s a question of availability.

Andy Mack

Jackson Martinez…. Clinical……….you’re having a laugh.

Zippit

Not remotely. His record is decent. And he managed to persuade Diego simon to part with a fair old whack. Anyway I’m not part of his fan club or anything I just thought he might have made a good addition.

Austin Gooner

I agree. Whatever we think about Jackson Martinez – and I have serious doubts about whether he would have been an upgrade – it’s obvious that Wenger did not rate him. If you’re not certain that a new player will improve you, why take the risk of unsettling the squad? IMO it’s better not to do a deal under those circumstances. I appreciate that some fans think differently.

Zippit

I can’t argue with that. I’m sure Arsene has his reasons. We have a team capable of winning the league already but another option at front would definitely strengthen us. Whether we do some business or not I’ll be fully behind the players we have as always.

jiminycrickets

delude yourself into thinking we have a squad anywhere close to winning the league…

DrUnKnMuNkY

Get ready to be heavily down voted mate. I understand where you come from. I too feel that we always do the bare minimum business required and try to see if that works and then when it doesn’t we strengthen and often not enough. Coq is good but he needs cover for when he’s having a bad spell. Giroud is good but not win the title good. Henry was not speaking out of his ass and ask yourself this very seriously , if Giroud was the striker of Chelsea , United or city and the only striker at that, would… Read more »

g-blood

Completely agree with you on this. So many “so fans” misconstrue constructive criticism for dissent and think unconditionally shouting COYG would magically tranform to wins

Alex

Benzema wants to play, that’s a reason to leave more than anything else. Madrid want De Gea and cash for Benzema (who has not been playing much in pre-season) would help fund that.

It’s not rocket science – it’s possible, but could be a deadline day deal if it even happens.

Fatboy Gooner

Yeah right!
And that gives Utd the upper hand,
As they too want Benzema and Real Madrid want De Gea…. So.. Mr Einstein?
?

Izzymuzzet

Benzema plays pretty much every game for Real. It all sounds made up to me

WestSideGooner

Our problem isn’t buying new players. Our problem is how to use our present squad. We should be rotating the squad a bit more and stick a player to the position in which he is most comfortable of. Once we find the rhythm, we should be ok.

Fatboy Gooner

If a club knows that you have 200 million pounds sitting in the bank, They are going to try and get more than the actual player’s value from you. we saw that alot with man city when they first started flashing the cash! Why on earth did the old fart from the directors board come out and say how much money we had to spend on player’s? He knows that wenger will never pay the asking price for a player, let alone a bumped up one! So what does that mean exactly? The board are trying to blame wenger, For… Read more »

Chimichanga Monreal (cuz that's way more fun to say)

Problem with that argument is that it is public knowledge how much money we have. We disclose our finances, remember?

Arsene's Apologist

Except, Westside Gooner, playing everyone in their “most comfortable” position would have us lining up with about six central midfielders and three strikers.
I agree that players like Ramsey should stop bitching about where they play and get the job done for the team. But they feel they have the leverage in the relationship. I think Arsene sometimes manages a bit in deference to players. Maybe that’s not all bad, I don’t know.

Crispy

Not sure what to make of all this. We have had the best possible prep for a pre season, no CL qualifier to worry about, ‘minimal injuries’ and the team who should ready, focused and ‘up’ for good start dish out that shocker vs the mighty West Ham. Says a lot when you worry what a Pardew prepared Palace might do. Every squad needs a little freshening up because at the moment the same players (bar Cech) finished a mile behind Chelsea. My concern is that without another CM , Coq will either get complacent of run into he ground… Read more »

sam

God bless you, mate ..and who the f**k thumbed that down?

chippy's chip

Spot on crispy.

Jagger

I think Madrid’s debt cannot be taken as an indicator of the likelihood of one of their players moving, whether it be due to financial reasons or otherwise. Real Madrid is a national institution now, a part of the lives of the people of Madrid and one of the country’s main attractions. Furthermore, it has links with the Spanish royalty. Even if its debt were to triple or quadruple, it will still not bring this mammoth to its knees, as there will always be someone willing to step in and wear the mantle of savior or restorer. And although FFP… Read more »

MannyG

I hate how some people are saying we should just throw money at benzema until Madrid have no choice but to sell. It’s Madrid… They have money pouring out of their noses. 70 million to them is not a significant number. They only sell when they want to, the figure isn’t that significant. Let’s not be stupid here.

David Hillier Handled My Luggage

I don’t really see how anyone can disagree with this comment? Madrid will not be tempted by cash. Madrid are not and do not need to be a selling club as they don’t need the money. So unless they decide to sell him because he is either deemed surplus to requirements… It won’t be because we wave £50m in front of them.

Gutbukkit Deffrolla

…especially if he wants to go to a club who can pay him 5 million a year more then we can. It’s not just how much you have to pay for the player but how much you have to pay the player.

Auta

I disagree with Wenger, there is need for addition. The team need a world class striker, a defensive midfielder and at least a good defender. The prof. keep saying when he gets the right player…., i tell you there are more than enough good players out there. If i may ask , where does other teams in the EPL and other leagues getting good players to buy? Is baba waiting for another defeat before he rush to the market- panic buying? You can,t eat your cake and have it. Wenger, do the right thing at the right time. Same Philosophy… Read more »

ruel

Its not about the availability of players to strengthen the squad, its about the cost of the players available and the undying loyalty to the players in the squad at the moment, this i think is Wenger’s view. I do have confidence in the squad and would not want us to waste cash on a over price player who was not needed (Ozil), although he is improving. however if we intend to be champions we have to think like champions, all top teams add 2-3 players to the squad after winning the title, why, they do not want their players… Read more »

Crispy

Who is thumbing these type of comments down?

No say anything negative even if it makes complete sense.

Get yorself down to the Arseblog comments section, they’re doing great deals on lemmings.

For the record I agree with Ruel……

Alex

I thumb down because Özil was much needed. Proof: 2 FA cups after 9 years drought (and 9 years with dear Cesch…). If you wish to aim the 5th place, yeah, Özil wasn’t needed. If you wish more, then he is needed. I do wonder what Özil has to do to gain your favour…

TeeCee

Simple. Anyone who thinks of Ozil as overpriced and unneeded is getting their opinions from the likes of Michael Owen and Robbie Savage. Which makes them as much of a twat as those twats are.

Maybe Ruel should trot out Alan Hansen’s “Mertersacker is too slow to be an effective defender” meme again instead? We haven’t done that one for a while.

Sean Williams

Wenger is one obstinate f****r. He had ample time to get a quality DM. Kondogbia, Carvalho, Imbula, Khendra. Wenger would rather lose the league than do what the supporters and pundits want. He is one flawed dude. All of us Gooners will be wasted six feet under before that mf wins the League.

Zippit

That cocquelain dudes not bad mind…

DoubleDoubleDouble

Are you saying that Wenger didn’t buy those players just to spite the fans and pundits?

That doesn’t sound like a likely scenario.

bopgun

Wenger has blind faith in players who werent good enough last season suddenly being good enough this season. And we wont improve as thats been his view for years

Al Gilmore

It’s easy to quote names and say that they would definitely make our first team better. But would they actually and in terms of our overall wage structure were they an option. Without really knowing for sure – my feeling is that AW and the board have a structure of pay that is linked to the position and status of the player. If we accept that attacking players will always attract bigger wages if they are proven top class and defensive players slightly less no matter how good then it seems safe to assume AW doesn’t think spending 20 mill… Read more »

jiminycrickets

you’re deluding yourself if you think the only world class players we can buy are those worth 60m+…there are quality players worth less…sure that player might come and not perform but who can be 100% sure? We need to take some risks and we are not even doing that…as it is we’re deluding ourselves with circular logic that the players out there that can improve us are on the 80m pogba level when a 30m vidal will suffice and the biggest problem is not even buying players..it’s tactics, squad building and player selection that is the problem…we have no identity… Read more »

bopgun

It is indeed the tactics and the balance of the squad. Ox is the only player who is comfortable playing wide? Why has the squad been allowed to develop in this way? Why, when our A game isnt quite on are we so easy to play against? Why do we keep gathering up central players and playing them out of position? Who could possibly be to blame for this situation???

- DFS

Your post is somewhat built on a false premise.

We already have one of the biggest wage bills in football and have done for several years.

Gutbukkit Deffrolla

Real Madrid, Barcelona, Manchester City, Chelsea. Just four of the teams (about 8-10 of them, I think) who can outbid us on ANY player in a straight bidding war. They can also pay the biggest wages because they have no effective limit to their finances. This means that they regularly win things worth winning (in the eyes of the players). Therefore they are going to get the first pick of any player on the market. Name any player you want, Messi, Ronaldo, Benzema, whatever. Now tell me how we can outbid those teams for any one of those players. So,… Read more »

Mark

One thing we all should have learned is you can’t believe what Wenger says about transfers. He (and his team) are surely working on things, but I think where the frustration lies with fans is that we see all of these players linked with us by a some random tweet and then it gets picked up by all of the various outlets and published with sensational headlines such as “Benzema Flies in for Medical” or something like that and our expectatoins skyrocket or the time when the picture of Benzema on the plane was published. Wenger is extremely frugal and… Read more »

bopgun

Soldado?? Spuds?? Top team?? Surely some mistake!

Andreas

This time every year we all realise how much we hate Wenger. He is the only reason why Arsenal cannot win the title.

DoubleDoubleDouble

I’d say that the main reason we struggle to win the title is due to the spending power of Chelsea, Man City and Man Utd, but everyone has their opinions.

gunner1905

Cause Atletico definitely didn’t beat 2 of the biggest team in the world recently to the title did they, they can’t have, it’s impossible since as you said those 2 have so much more money.

WengersNoseHair

Ah good old ‘we’. Someone else has escaped from Fatgooner and Trez’s looney bin.

Gutbukkit Deffrolla

“We all” don’t hate Wenger you silly person. You hate Wenger. Some of your buddies hate Wenger.

Don’t say “We all” unless you plan to pay me a handsome fee for the privilege.

Ferngunner

If we dont sign anyone we will win fuck all this season and Wenger will have no one to blame but himself.

That being said there’s still 17 days on the window to go so there’s a ton of room for Optimism on Benzema et all..

Gutbukkit Deffrolla

Win fuck all? We won an FA Cup with this very team just a few months ago. 91 other league clubs didn’t. Nor did my local pub team.

Can Benzema perform in England from week to week? He’s as much of a gamble as anybody United bought last season, and look how some of them turned out. Good in Spain, Italy, France, Germany, Holland or South America doesn’t always mean good in England.

brucejuice

We’ve been crying out for a match winning CF for quite a while now. And i dont buy this availability excuse because we had a chance to buy arguably the best CF in form of Suarez but one of wenger or our negotiators managed to fuck that up by putting that cheeky bid. Even if we manage to get benzema, he doesn’t come close to suarez’s ability to get points for you even when your team isn’t playing well. Iam not a financial analyst yet but getting suarez for same or more money media is quoting for benzema (who at… Read more »

brucejuice

*doesn’t

SDB

if you’re going to charge the highest ticket prices in europe you better be investing that money in the club and challenging for titles. if not, then return the money to the fans. simple. it’s ridiculous that wenger hasn’t strengthened at least the dm position when schneiderlin and kondogbia were available. most players are available if you’re willing to pay – so put an offer in for benzema. at least try to make it uncomfortable for rm and benzema to say no. the idea that fans are happy with wenger and kroenke sitting on this pile of cash while we… Read more »

arsenal-steve

I’ve spent a small fortune watching this wonderful club for 57 years since 1958. To me this team are a pretty footballing team, but overrated. As they are it’s pure fantasy to believe they will win the league. However ‘cohesive’ this side is they are at least two players short of a challenge. What has happened over the last few years will happen again…always two players short. Sorry but if the team is not good enough the answer DOES come from outside. A sows ear will not become a silk purse. Why Wenger will not buy is down to his… Read more »

bopgun

Agreed and if the current manager’s tactics cant/wont change which two players and in which positions will make this team title contenders? Unless they are truly world class game changers then I fear the manager’s approach and formation will nullify any positive influence. We’re talking reus and lewandowski levels here and this manager just wont spend the money to get them.

- DFS

Well, the issue most fans will not admit is this is not happenstance but deliberate choice. Yes, Arsene when you dig beneath the surface is an extremely odd individual. Whether with defense over the years or currently with genuine quality back up to Coquelin a choice is made to leave the team short. It’s not a gamble, it’s not a risk which is taken but a specific decision for the team to be perpetually short of what is needed to contend at highest level….which therefore excuses failure, which inevitably follows. It is transparent Wenger does not want to place himself… Read more »

Aamir

Fuck me… In my dream Arsenal went 1-0 up at Palace after 75 minutes.(an excellent goal from The Ox) I then turned the TV off thinking that we would hold on to the lead.

I turn it back on and it’s 9-9 at Full time with Fabregas getting the last minute equalizer for Arsenal…

I woke up in tears over how it’s only been two games and we’ve already conceded 11 goals.

catbiscuits

fascinating

MrT

The lack of transfer activity this summer has been very disappointing. We’re the least active top flight club (again), and are the only club not to add a new outfield player. The squad is in pretty good shape, so we don’t need major surgery. That said, any team can be improved (especially one that finished third the season before and 12 points off the Champions) and look at what the addition of top quality did for us last year (had we not signed Alexis, last season may have been very different). We need more signings like Alexis – not just… Read more »

JJ's Bender

Did you not read the article? Show the boss (or anyone in fact) anyone like Alexis and he would buy him

bonkers

I’d just like to vent my feelings that Coq isn’t your starting dm. He’s good for a few weeks or even a month, or if there’s an injury, but I still feel we need someone world class to be “the guy.” I would even back Coq in a champions League final if the situation presented itself. He just isn’t the number one

bopgun

Can’t buy as we dont have the money…now its cant buy as there’s noone available. Whats the next excuse? Forgot his wallet? So we cant buy…third the best we can hope for then as its the same players, same manager and same tactics? Must be a great feeling for those fans spending fortunes on season tickets.

gooner1886

We should of signed Jackson Martinez, his in-form is awesome on fifa 15. Lacazette is really good too but we need to wait until fifa 16 comes out to see if he is still playing well 😀

Wyn

I don’t know if it’s just me but i am sick to death of this reactionary bullsh*t from online Gooners every time we lose a game. I think it’s probably fair to say that no Arsenal fan will have been happy with the result or performance against West Ham but guess what? This is football, a game where you win, lose or draw in every match you play and it so happens that we are lucky enough to win more than we draw or lose. Yes, we lost on Sunday and i’ve no doubt we’ll lose again a few times… Read more »

heroku_arsenal

Amen to your comment! Some good sanity returning to the comments at last.

bopgun

Reactionary? Its experience. Ten years of unbalanced squads and blind faith in square pegs in round holes. The third best team in the country last season doesnt get better by some form of osmosis. I would like arsenal to win the league again and sometime soon. Maybe some here dont.

jiminycrickets

there’s nothing wrong with your view point but you’re very liberal in assessing the team’s performances…and such views are consistent with some fans who are happy just the way we are which is finishing among champions league qualification places…but it’s also dangerous to be complacent…you’re contradicting yourself when you think we can win the league with the current squad and yet you can accept performances like the one against west ham which has happened countless of times regardless of the personnel we had since…maybe you can actually live in a world like in the movie groundhogs day…I can assure you… Read more »

GoonerN16

@ crickets, Fair weather fan? Or you simply think you can buy trophies, or both?

jiminycrickets

where in my post have I even mentioned transfers? i’m actually not keen on super expensive players like benzema just functional ones that can address the gap…gabriel was one I was very happy with…but no player we buy will solve our problems, there’s something wrong with the spine of the team and it starts from the manager…or will you have an actual point to argue with rather than simple labeling me as a bandwagoner…

David Hillier Handled My Luggage

The transfer window, eh… Roll on September.

santori

don’t know if its just noise but someone like Illaramendi could be useful.

he could compete with Ramsey in the link role and cover in DM as well in time (COnsidering both his compatriots Santi and Arteta operate in the central area.

plus he’s Basque like Arteta and Monreal!

rch

Just hope Wenger is showing his poker face at the moment and has something up his sleave

AJ

Yes getting a striker would be awesome. If our midfielders starts scoring, scoring goals will not be a tha big of an issue. But my worries is still in defense. We are not that solid defending set pieces still. Mertasacker is great at times, but loses concentration more than once. Debuchy doesn’t look to be ready for this campaign. Only Koscielny has been playing well. Goals will come. but its the defense that needs to be fixed first

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