Arsenal: Let’s be honest, the excitement is yet to hit

The transfer window is in full swing and Arsenal are busily readying their summer plans. But given the names that have been linked with the club, in all honesty, the excitement is yet to hit.

The summer transfer window has got started. The rumour mill is whirring, the agents are talking, the links are rolling on and the dreams are beginning. This is indeed the season of hope and madness all rolled into one, and for Arsenal, it has that added spice with a first managerial change in over two decades.

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Not since 1996 has this club not had Arsene Wenger play at least some part in their transfer work, and even then, it is often presumed that he was pulling the strings even though he had not been officially announced as the new manager.

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That should inspire an element of excitement within the fan base. An anticipation for the unknown, a fascination at what might happen under this new, modernised, continental regime. And to some extent, it has. There is, as ever, plenty of talk about who this club may or may not be signing. But that same heart-fluttering drama has not yet arrived.

I think, in large part, that it is due to the names that the club are being most strongly linked with. As of writing, there are two leading individuals who it looks as though will make a north London switch in the coming days: Sokratis from Borussia Dortmund in a £16 million deal; Stephan Lichtsteiner on a free transfer after his contract expired with Juventus.

Now, this is not to dismay either of those moves. While I am not as enamoured with the Sokratis signing as many others, I do feel that both additions have their merits, and for their respective prices, they make a lot of sense. But they’re not exactly the most thrilling of signings, are they?

A 29-year-old defender who is coming off one of the worst seasons of his career — certainly one of the worst seasons of the five that he has spent at Dortmund — and a 34-year-old who couldn’t earn a new contract at Juventus. And they come at centre-half and right-back, neither of the more glamorous positions.

Now, that may be precisely what Arsenal need, and I have been a major advocate in pushing the Gunners to be sensible this summer and target players who will challenge the normal order of things. Both these players will certainly do that. But they are a tad dull.

Next: Arsenal: 3 youth players that may need to be ready

Let’s be honest, the excitement is yet to truly hit it. I am still waiting for that Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, that Mesut Ozil, that Alexis Sanchez. I am still waiting for the buzz to hit me because, at this point, it’s yet to arrive.