Arsenal Could Potentially Sign No One this Summer and be Perfectly Fine

Arsene Wenger is not of the habit of signing excessive players just for the sake of signing them. Real Madrid sign Toni Kroos and James Rodriguez because they can. Manchester United spent 150 million and didn’t progress much at all with all their new toys. But Arsenal, they do what’s needed when the time comes and nothing more.

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Mesut Ozil was a product of needing a new long-term No. 10, something we had needed since the departure of Cesc Fabregas. Alexis Sanchez was a needed addition of depth, as well as a more consistent winger with the knowledge that Theo Walcott’s contract was dwindling. Both signings have turned out incredibly well.

With that being said, the trend is for Arsenal to make one big summer signing. It’s kind of a unique trend in the upper echelon of world football because most of our rivals are dumping loads of cash into every nook and cranny of in-form players. Not Arsenal though, we don’t delve into those habits. And Arsene Wenger is making the point pretty clear (via the Express):

“We are not close to signing anybody, we have a very big squad, so we need to lose some players as well. We have a big squad now, we have Podolski away, Campbell, Sanogo will come back,” he said. Essentially, all of Arsenal’s needs are being covered by the return of our loanees.

Lukas Podolski could very easily provide cover at striker. If there’s one thing the German has never had any trouble doing, it’s scoring. He doesn’t contribute much off the ball, but when you give it to him, he finds the net. Even when his frustrations were bubbling over at Arsenal, he still managed to add to his goal tally.

Yaya Sanogo is getting to the sink or swim point in his Arsenal career. He scored his first first-team goal before being loaned out to Crystal Palace, where he did a whole lot of very little. I’ve never understood loan deals where the loanee rarely plays. Sanogo played 11 matches and only managed 35 minutes per game. He began as a starter and managed a goal against Southampton but after that – nothing.

Sanogo is 22 years old, so he’s still young but ideally, you’d like to see some semblance of first-team potential before we toss him back into first team action because I can’t remember many things more frustrating than seeing Yaya Sanogo constantly given the nod at striker with Olivier Giroud out (well, Danny Welbeck is pretty frustrating too).

Joel Campbell is the one I’m most excited to see return. At nearly 23 years old, his time is coming. Either that or it’s going to pass by and he’ll go somewhere else. Campbell has been on loan at Villareal in La Liga where he has been a regular, playing the full 90 nearly every game. While the stats aren’t in his favor, that kind of playing time can be invaluable.

Campbell’s versatility will be his greatest ally when trying to squeeze into the Arsenal first team. He can play any attacking role and he’s been able to for Villareal, so he shouldn’t be rusty at all in his return.

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There will be plenty of moans and groans for Arsenal to make big name signings like Edinson Cavani or Petr Cech, but the fact of the matter is, we don’t spend just because we can. Sure, we could sign them if we wanted, but we don’t need them. Arsene Wenger is a team-oriented coach, he doesn’t sign big-name replacements for guys who don’t need replacing. Olivier Giroud and David Ospina are in top form so why would he go out and buy someone to replace them? It would kill the confidence his players have, particularly in him.

Arsenal are in great shape as a squad. A little health would be wonderful, but even then, our depth is pretty well set. I wouldn’t rule out a few small signings like youth stars or deep cover, but don’t expect a new starter in next years starting eleven. Again, why would we mess with perfection? This team has been superb; let’s keep it going, not tamper with it.

Summer signings are fun and all, but this may well be the summer that we break the trend.

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