Arsenal’s Southampton Result Should Not Change Transfer Plans

Arsenal got stomped by Southampton and that is just unfortunate but one result does not alter what the club had planned in the January transfer window.

Arsenal is in the same situation they are always in. Following one disastrous result, just about everyone is jumping on the ‘we need a new team’ bandwagon. Pundits on Skyports, mainly Charlie Wyett, are of the opinion that because Arsenal got destroyed by a lackluster side, that it therefore only makes sense that Arsenal has to change everything in order to prevent that from happening again.

Related Story: 5 Reasons Not To Panic About Southampton Loss

Let’s take a step back. Arsenal is not in a bad situation. They do not need to make massive signings to change the face of the team. This squad is the strongest in the Premier League as is.

That is not to say they don’t need signings. Arsenal have needed signings since the season started. Defensive midfield was a huge weakness and it has to be fixed. But that is it. Aside from that one area, Arsenal has a strong, dangerous side. They may need to add an attacker just to cope with the injuries, but this is not the time to hit the panic button. Luckily, we have Arsene Wenger at the helm, who does not own a panic button.

Arsenal FC

I can feel the anger already after that last bit. It only gets better. Arsene Wenger is absolutely right to come out and say “Buy, buy, buy, buy is always the solution that people see” (via the Independent). But that is not the solution here. Buy a new team and you disrupt the fantastic form that this Arsenal squad can achieve and you disrupt the chemistry this club has. Then you end up looking like Manchester United when you can only pull results on the off chance that all these guys that have never played together happen to hit on all cylinders. It does not happen often.

Wyett went on to say that history was repeating itself. He meant it as a bad thing, but it is actually a good thing. If history is repeating itself then Arsenal win the league. It was just last year that a poor Southampton performance spurred Arsenal on in the second half to notch the most points after the New Year. So if that is the history that Arsenal is doomed to repeat, than what is the problem?

Arsenal need one thing. A defensive midfielder. It is the one point I agree with Wyett on. We need a midfielder that is nasty and mean and as close to Patrick Vieira as humanly possible. Someone that will make attackers hesitate when coming into their area. But that is all Arsenal need. And if Mohamed Elneny is the guy that Wenger has pegged as the answer, then let’s give him a shot. So what if he is 23, so was Krychowiak when he finally left Reims.

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This Arsenal squad was shocked to lose to Southampton as they did but they were also painfully exhausted. That is not the normal Arsenal. This is not the same Arsenal. This Arsenal squad won the second half of the league last year. No, you don’t get anything for that, but it’s a sign of what they can do. Obviously you want consistency, but this year has not gone south. Arsenal did not lose anything other than another missed opportunity when they lost to Southampton. They can just as easily overtake Leicester on Monday.