No one is better than anyone…

Morning all.

Whilst I’m not directly comparing the final years of Arsenal under Arsene Wenger or even Unai Emery’s time at the club, but back then, summer transfer windows came and went and more often than not we’d end with a player or two, sometimes more when you and I would be wondering why. Why on earth has Arsenal signed him or them. The list is far too long but we all know the names I’m thinking about. It was a case of a body in the squad rather than a player who would make the team better. Many of them didn’t even improve the squad let alone the first team. We had castoffs, players on their way down or in the case of a few, they were already down.

Those days are long gone. Now Arsenal are about players who “raise the ceiling” – yes, that’s what the clubs hierarchy has told us. Such kind of players is a subjective topic I think because  a player who stands out in La Liga might struggle in the Premier League and the same applies to overseas leagues. Would Messi have survived in England in the same way Ronaldo did? Who wasn’t excited about Pepe signing only to realise that when the wind got up, it blew him over. Many many overseas players have moved to the Premier League and done well of course but looking at this summer alone, many players have moved from one Premier League club to another and there’s probably a good reason for that. They have what it takes from day one. Physically at least.

That’s why I suppose I found it difficult to understand why Arsenal bothered to waste time going after Alvarez and Vinicius. One has already been and gone from England and the other, who knows if he’d have coped with the not so friendly banter from the sidelines let alone the rough and tumble on a match day. Cash dished out a bit of “Neville” treatment to Tzolis on Monday night and he didn’t like it. To be fair to our player, had the referee got a grip of things early in the game it might have been different but it was Gillet. There’s a difference between strong challenges and going through the back of a player deliberately and had it been roles reversed, I’m pretty sure a card would have been produced.

Arsenal as a club had a choice because according to reports on the internet, money was there to sign a winger. They chose not to or at least who they chose either wasn’t available, was too expensive or simply didn’t want to move which is fair enough in my opinion. The Premier League isn’t for every footballer even if we’re constantly being told it’s the best league in the game.

Don’t get me wrong, a number of wingers have moved clubs this summer and I’m sure had Arsenal gone in hard for one or two of them, they would possibly have joined Arsenal instead of where they ended up. We as fans can reel off names, that’s easy, but if Mikel Arteta doesn’t think a player would fit in at the club there is no point in Arsenal signing him. After all, it’s he who has to make them fit.

The last thing Arsenal needed to do this summer is just sign anyone and hope it works because it’s risky. Especially if in a year’s time the club have to try and sell him. Yes I’m disappointed we haven’t replaced Gabriel Martinelli, I’d rather he stayed in the first place, but I’d certainly rather no one than just anyone. Haven’t we seen enough of that?

Catch up in the comments.