Arsenal Have Proven Nacho Monreal Wrong

Arsenal left back Nacho Monreal believes that Arsenal’s reluctance to buy in past transfer windows helped the team. Unfortunately, that very team has proved him wrong.

January was a big month for Arsenal. They had two options: solidify the club for the title stretch or live life on the edge with a minor signing and hold on for dear life.

They chose the latter and as it stands, they are holding on with approximately one and a half fingers, give or take half a finger.

With options incredibly limited up front and in the defensive part of the midfield, Wenger signed one man – Mohamed Elneny, who is neither of those things. It is still up for debate whether he knows how tough life in the Premier League is (that joke never gets old).

One man in particular was in favor of this approach – that man being left back Nacho Monreal. Monreal said that, in summary, the lack of signings has kept the dressing room close. It makes this all about one team and not about eleven individuals. He also pointed out that without mass signings, team unity grows.

Nacho has a few good points. This team is growing unified, but in a sense, that has been a problem. As they grow unified, they become complacent and drop out of title races like they have in the past and like they are dangerously close to doing now. If Arsenal lose anymore points on Leicester and Tottenham, the title race will be all but over.

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If this ‘team unity’ is that important and that inspiring, then they better unite incredibly quickly.

Monreal is wrong. Not signing people is not the answer. He has just been drinking Wenger’s Kool-Aid. And for the record, that Kool-Aid is often incredibly watered down.

Buying players has several effects that you usually cannot get through ‘team unity’. When a new player comes in, it lets everyone know that what they were doing wasn’t good enough. Not just at the position of whoever was brought in, but the whole team. They can see that the boss is not happy with where they are and wants to shake things up.

Not only that, but it has the prolonged effect of introducing a little discomfort as everyone around that new signing ponders if they could be the next one to see new competition. So they step it up.

What would Granit Xhaka coming to Arsenal have done? Coquelin looks and sees a new face and realizes he has to step up. Next to him, Ramsey realizes that he could just as easily lose his spot. Behind them Mertesacker and Gabriel realize that Wenger is probably trying to help them out, as they have been hit and miss all year.

Meanwhile, up front, Giroud is looking back thinking that, now that DM is covered, striker is next. So he steps up his game.