Arsenal: Patience the path to ‘big opportunity’ wisdom

Unai Emery has stated that Arsenal will only sign another player this summer if there is a ‘big opportunity’. It is a wise path, but it requires patience.

Spending wins. While it is possible to avoid spending lavishly and still be successful, by and large, and across a large enough sample size to rule out the rare, unpredictable and almost irreplicable anomalies, the club that spends the most will win the most. But that does not mean that spending well is also important.

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Although Manchester City may have splashed the most cash in recent years and have the best team to show for it, Manchester United have not won a title since Sir Alex Ferguson departed in 2013. In the five years since, their spending has been wayward, to say the least, especially during the more recent and damaging Louis van Gaal and Jose Mourinho years.

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Contrastly, Arsenal have not spent vastly under Arsene Wenger. They actually made a net profit last season thanks to the sales of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Theo Walcott. But this summer, with Unai Emery now taking over for Wenger and new transfer brain trust at the helm, the spending has come.

The Gunners have now spent approximately £62 million on three different players — Sokratis, Bernd Leno and Lucas Torreira –, as well as securing Stephan Lichtsteiner on a free transfer. But Emery, while conceding that he is happy with the squad and the business that has been done so far, does not rule out the possibility of more signings:

"“Normally, in my career, the big clubs don’t close the door or the moment to sign a new player. Today, we are OK. Maybe we can bring in one if there’s a very good possibility for them to help us, but the club has done a great job of signing new players and I am happy. We signed the players who we needed. At the moment, I think the squad is complete. We will only sign a player in the next month if he’s a big opportunity.”"

Emery’s words are important. If Arsenal were to sign another player, it would bring their spending up towards the £100 million mark, which would match any of Wenger’s biggest sprees. Suddenly, even in the exploded market of the past couple of seasons, that is spending big. But unlike United, Sven Mislintat and the team need to ensure that they are not just spending big, but spending well. That is why the wisdom of the ‘big opportunity’ is important.

Emery does not say that Arsenal are actively looking to bring in new players. Emery does not say that the squad is desperate for investment. Emery does not say that more spending will definitely come. He can’t say those things because they’re not true. More spending will only come if the right player becomes available. If that happens, then hopefully the club will not hesitate on pulling the trigger. But they must be patient before that point.

Spraying cash left, right and centre is what panicked and unprepared teams do to appease the wishes of fans. They spend because they believe spending, any spending, is the solution. While spending is a near necessity for winning, it is not the sole factor. The key is to spend well, and Arsenal, in being patient as they wait for the big opportunity, are taking the right approach to do just that.

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Signing any old player simply because they can is not smart. It is exuberance, greed and wasteful. But Arsenal and Emery are not going to do that. They are going to wait, bide their time, and secure the ‘big opportunity’ when it arises. If it doesn’t arise, they will wait until it does. Perhaps van Gaal should take some lessons.