Arsenal: May memories of Sokratis guide us this January transfer window

Arsenal are not going to be landing any blockbuster deals this January, but there is nothing wrong with that. And as an example, remember Sokratis?

I don’t think many fans are expecting much out of Arsenal this January transfer window. The club has a lot of things needing improving, but the funds are just not there, as we are not a club that runs rich in ownership funds.

What transfers the club does swing will probably come by way of a low transfer fee and an underwhelming name.

Take, for instance, the names that have been liked to the club. Denis Suarez is actually the most promising of them all, as he is still relatively young, and he has the pedigree of having been coveted by Barcelona, which always has to count for something.

Then there is Medhi Benatia, who is about as mediocre of a name as they come. Nothing about the players being linked to the club ring with universal approval, or a belief that they will change anything that so desperately needs changing.

But that’s okay.

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Think back to the summer transfer window. No one in that window was overwhelming. Matteo Guendouzi was remarkably cheap and look at how well he’s done?

Then there was Sokratis, a player that many fans were crapping on (myself included) because he in no way looked the defender that we needed. He was a Dortmund outcast, after all, and if he isn’t good enough for Dortmund, he isn’t good enough at the Emirates.

Plus, £17m is hardly a fee to generate any buzz.

Yet, while the defense is still in need of help, Sokratis, for his part, has been fantastic. He has been the exact defender that we needed. The problem hasn’t been him, but simply the fact that one defender clearly wasn’t enough to solve the problems here.

Still, if we can come away with another signing or two like Sokratis, or like Guendouzi, then what’s to gripe about? Clearly the club is working on a small budget, with the mind of Mislintat behind the bulk of these signings, so let’s just trust him to get the right players until the funds become available (next summer, supposedly).

If he got it right twice (three times, if you count Lucas Torreira’s modest transfer fee), then he will get it right again. Just because a name or a fee doesn’t excite you, doesn’t mean that it isn’t worth the investment.