Arsenal: Arsene Wenger Cannot Repeat Mistakes Of Years Gone By

Arsenal need new signings and have little time. In the past, Arsene Wenger went on an unproductive spending spree. He cannot make the same mistake again.

It was 2011. Times were, as they so often have been in the latter half of Arsene Wenger’s reign, stressful. The hero of the team, Cesc Fabregas, had just departed to return home to Barcelona, while Gael Clichy and Samir Nasri, two regular first team contributors had left for rivals Manchester City.

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Fans were calling for Arsene Wenger’s head amid his continual resistance to spend the money. Then came August 28th, the megaphone for Wenger’s critics. An 8-2 mauling at the hands of Manchester United brought to many the worst day in their Arsenal lives and to Wenger, intense pressure to spend.

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Spend he did. In the final week of the transfer window, Wenger forked out on deals for Mikel Arteta, Per Mertesacker, Park-Chu Young, Andre Santos and a loan deal for Yossi Benayoun. The rest, as they say, is history. That phrase, though, is synonymous with success. Here, I use it to delineate more morbid circumstances.

Only Mertesacker can be considered a good addition. Wenger ruined Arteta, trying to adapt him into a defensive midfielder, a move that failed drastically, Park very rarely played, and when he did, he lacked the necessary quality, Benayoun was utterly pointless and all of them were significantly better signings than one Andre Santos. Don’t believe me. See below:

It was a week of panic, perplexity and puzzling decisions. The old saying states: ‘Fail to prepare, prepare to fail’. That has never rung more true, and once again, Wenger finds himself in a situation where their transfer decisions will long-lasting ramifications, for good or bad.

Arsene Wenger so often states that he will not spend for spending’s sake, that he will only invest heavily on the right player. He must now, over the next defining two weeks, tread the line between wasteful investment and intelligent, deliberate spending.

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Signings are needed like they were in 2011. The same mistakes, though, cannot be afforded. If they are, Wenger could well be retired this time next year.