Arsenal: Is a winger still on the summer transfer to-do list?

Arsenal’s summer transfer window has been a remarkable thing, but there is one thing that remains undone, and that is the winger.

Arsenal’s summer transfer strategy marks a distinct change. Gone are the days of monopolizing spend on playmakers in favour of a policy that identifies and addresses obvious weaknesses.

Aggression, ball recovery expertise and a winning mentality have all been purchased thus far, with a positive reception from the majority of supporters.

Recognition has clearly been given to the need for more balance in the team, with an acknowledgement that philosophies and player profiles are fine as long as a team can do the basics, including defending aggressively, winning the ball back and having a variety of attacking approaches.

Having addressed the longer-term weaknesses like a goalkeeper, a commanding centre back and a defensive midfielder, one ponders if a wide forward is the next area to be targeted.

Arsene’s modern day philosophy is built on overlapping full backs who provide the requisite width with wide forwards given license to play as inverted playmakers, drifting in field to create, hence Mkhitarian and Ozil are our current first choice options.

But in the spirit of balance, Sven Mislinat and Unai Emery should be considering the purchase of a natural winger who is happy to play from wide with pace and trickery which will add a new facet to our attacking play.

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The rationale for this requirement is twofold, firstly we need a plan B that includes more directness if our combination game is faltering and secondly because plan A is more efficient when a playmaker is offset by a player with more directness from the other flank such as the past Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez equilibrium.

The perfect signing in this regard would be Ousmane Dembele, who combines electric pace and the ability to beat a player with top level output in terms of goals and assists.

This is likely to be pie-in-the-sky given the huge transfer fee paid by Barcelona last summer, even with murmurings around a potential one-year loan whilst other top-level candidates like Nabir Fakir and Riyad Mahrez, who both offer such directness, are also unlikely to be attracted due to a lack of Champions League Football.

In fact, if media reports are to be believed, then the bulk of Arsenal’s budget has already been spent meaning a cheaper option who brings such directness from the bench might be the best we can hope for. The much publicised Gelson Martins is an option (assuming Atletico Madrid don’t swoop first) but Malcom’s potential or Juan Cuadrado’s proven level experience would appear more logical.

Unai Emery and Sven Mislintat have done an excellent job in the transfer market thus far, addressing weaknesses that have for a long time been neglected.

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The next priority therefore is to readdress our attacking balance with some much needed directness and unpredictability. This will act as the perfect remedy when our combination game falters and a new approach is needed.

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