Arsenal: Arsene Wenger transfer hints promising

Arsene Wenger dropped a rather heavy hint that he and Arsenal will not be searching for any new strikers or attackers this summer. It is a promising sign given the desperate needs of the squad in other areas.

It was somewhat surprising when Arsenal decided to break their club-record fee for the second time in just six months on two players who play the same position. This is a team that is notoriously hesitant when it comes to spending irrespective of their prior business. To then double down on the same type of player seems a little odd.

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Nevertheless, that is precisely what happened when the Gunners decided to splash £56 million on Borussia Dortmund’s unsettled but wonderfully prolific Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang on deadline day of the transfer window last January.

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It has, predictably, left them with a gluttony of attacking riches, stretching from Alexandre Lacazette, the prior transfer record holder, all the way through to the versatile Danny Welbeck and Alex Iwobi providing solid depth.

So when asked about his potential business in the summer, Arsene Wenger left some pretty heavy hints regarding where the club will and will not invest. His answer, while clearly a little cryptic and ambiguous, was very interesting indeed:

"“In some aspects of the game, there is no need to buy more players at that level, because we have young strikers as well, promising strikers. But we’ll see [about] that at the end of the season.”"

That hint of the positional priority this summer is most certainly promising. Given that Arsenal are coming off a run of five home games in which they have scored three or more goals in all competitions, scoring goals is not exactly an issue. Given the attacking talent that pervades the squad, that much is clear to see. This is a team bursting with attacking potential.

Their problems, unquestionably, lie in the defensive areas of the game. Now, Wenger did not exactly say that the club would invest in the defence this summer. He merely said they wouldn’t invest in the attacking positions. But it is not completely unhinged to infer that that means that there is an intention to bolster the defensive options in the squad.

As Sunday’s game against Southampton proved, this is an extremely unbalanced team that needs a greater defensive structure and security to ever challenge for the top four and title. Without significant investment at a number of positions, from defensive midfield to centre-half, from full-back to goalkeeper, any hopes harboured of titles and trophies are futile.

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Thankfully, it seems as though Wenger and the club may just agree with that sentiment. It remains to be seen if that is true, but the early signs are certainly positive.