Arsenal: Steadying the ship signings important for now

This summer, Arsenal have targeted players who will steady the ship and get them back into the Champions League. For now, that strategy is important, but it must only be a temporary tactic.

Unai Emery was officially unveiled as Arsenal’s new manager way back on the 23rd of May. Writing this on June 30th makes that seem a very long time ago. That’s because, in football, it is. A lot can change in a month.

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On the day, Ivan Gazidis presented the Spaniard in a fascinating press conference. As a part of what he said, Gazidis touched on the work that Emery faces and the progress that the club anticipates. He called it ‘a rebuilding job’.

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And it was his description of the rebuilding job that I found especially intriguing. Here is what Gazidis said:

"“We have got to understand that [the rebuilding job] is not something we can do in one leap. That will be the result of focus, hard work, discipline, energy will to win. that’s what we need to have our players embrace and I believe they will. They will embrace it and I strongly believe that our fans, when they see the energy Unai can bring with his qualities, will embrace that as well. The challenge we have is very big.”"

The key part for me is the first sentence: ‘[the rebuilding job] is not something we can do in one leap.’ I believe that Gazidis and the club are aware that the goal of challenging for titles and trophies is a long way away, and while it may be the ultimate landmark for which they are reaching, they have a lot of stepping stones to hop across before they get there.

And that is clearly what has happened in the summer transfer window. Sven Mislintat has engineered the signings of an experienced centre-half, a 34-year-old right-back to provide depth, competition and leadership, and two players who can anchor the spine of the team for the next few seasons.

While Lucas Torreira and Bernd Leno are signings with an eye to the long-term, the January acquisitions of Henrik Mkhitaryan and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, allied with the summer signing of Stephan Lichtsteiner and the expected addition of Sokratis are moves intended to have an immediate impact. These are players to steady the ship, to re-right the foundations, before looking to progress further.

For the here and now, they are all good. Certainly, Arsenal’s goal next season must be to get back into the Champions League. Challenging for a title is lovely. But it’s unrealistic. Finishing in the top-four or winning the Europa League should be the priorities of this upcoming campaign, and that means finding players who are capable of helping right now, even if they cannot be contributors for the next decade.

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It is essential that this strategy is only temporary, however. Arsenal cannot carry on signing 29-year-olds. They will never progress in the long-term if they do. But, for now, it’s important. It’s the start of the rebuilding job.