Arsenal: Should we be concerned by transfer delay?

Arsenal have been strongly linked with moves for Sokratis and Stephan Lichtsteiner for weeks now and neither, as of writing, have been officially announced. Should we be concerned about the delay?

One of the major criticisms of Arsene Wenger’s time at Arsenal was his hesitancy to pull the trigger in the transfer window. The club often dallied, failing to secure targets early and efficiently in windows, often panicking in the dying days to fill out a ragged and bare squad. It is one of the key factors as to why Wenger is no longer at the club.

Catch the latest episode of the Pain in the Arsenal podcast right here

As a result, there was an extremely intentional shift away from the all-powerful-manager model when Wenger departed at the end of last season. As Ivan Gazidis stated, ‘there is no replacing Arsene Wenger.’ And indeed, that is not what Arsenal have tried to do.

More from Pain in the Arsenal

• 3 observations from Arsenal’s victory at Goodison Park
• 3 standout players from 1-0 victory over Everton
• 3 positives & negatives from Goodison Park victory
• Arsenal vs PSV preview: Prediction, team news & lineups
• 3 talking points from Arsenal’s victory at Goodison Park

They have implemented a team, headed up by Gazidis and supported by Head of Recruitment, Sven Mislintat, and Head of Relations, Raul Sanllehi, that deal with the mechanics of the club, from the outworkings of transfers to the commercial streams that are invested in, allowing Unai Emery, as Head Coach and not manager, to solely focus on the team, though his input will be valued and his opinion factored into the equation in other areas.

It is this team that is now leading this club in the transfer window. At this early stage, it is not going all that well. Obviously, it is far too early to accurately assess the efficacy of this structure. But the same old delays to complete transfer is again prevalent.

The two most prominently linked transfers so far this summer, Sokratis Papastathopoulos and Stephan Lichtsteiner, have been worked on for some time. This report from The Independent expressing Arsenal’s interest in Sokratis is from May 3rd; this BBC Sport piece, a news outlet that is famously hesitant to run transfer stories unless if the transfer is relatively far on in the process and reasonably secure, is from May 25th.

Both the Sokratis and Lichtsteiner deals have been in the pipeline for some time now. And each and every day, their completion does not seem any nearer. In fact, as they are delayed further and further, the likelihood of their happening diminishes further and further. It is fair to ask, then: Is this delay something to be concerned about?

Certainly, if Wenger was still in charge, there would be greater criticism for the inability to push these deals over the line. Perhaps there is a fair point to be made: the transfer dallying of this club was because of more than just Wenger.

Next: Arsenal: Player ratings from 2017/18 season

It is too soon to truly judge that accurately or not. It could well be on Friday afternoon that both these deals are announced and all of the worries vanish in an instant. And yet, if the delay to complete signings lingers on, questions need to be asked of the efficiency of the process.