Arsenal: Tim Sherwood Spurs comparison ridiculous but poignant

Tim Sherwood has questioned whether Arsenal can spend as wisely as Spurs have. While his criticism is ridiculous, it hits at a crucial and poignant point: The Gunners, somehow, must find cheap diamonds.

Unai Emery is in the process of completely and utterly overhauling the Arsenal squad. With average players on far from average wages, as soon as he arrived at the Emirates, it was clear that he needed to gut most of the mediocre talent at the club and somehow try to replace it.

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Given that the wage budget was already being stretched, limited funds, if any, would be afforded from Stan Kroenke and a depreciating commercial revenue now that the Champions League windfall is no more, and player sales would not recoup terrific value thanks to a slew of mismanagements by the previous regime, Emery’s task was not an enviable one.

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And speaking on Sky Sports’ The Debate, it is a process that Tim Sherwood had sympathy with. When asked about what Emery requires, he brought up the example of Spurs and Mauricio Pochettino. This is an excerpt of what he said:

"“He [Emery] has been their 10 minutes. He needs bodies. He’s had one transfer window. You have to give him at least three or four transfer windows to bring his own people in. Now, with £40 million, what are you going to bring in with any quality? It’s not all about how much you spend. It’s about having the right scouting network… to find the talent. Whether they are £5m like Alli. Do you see that sort of transfer at Arsenal? We haven’t seen it at all.”"

Sherwood’s criticism of the Gunners is that they have not proven themselves to be able scouts. Such a statement is rather stupid given that the Emery era is managed by completely different people. You cannot translate the club’s past record in the transfer market onto this current set-up.

But while his actual critique may be misplaced, it does point at a key issue that Arsenal must solve if Emery is to be handed a squad capable of challenging the likes of Spurs, Manchester City and Liverpool. One way or another, the club must sign world-class talent for cheap. They do not have the cash to rival the Manchester clubs. They must follow the Spurs method.

Dele Alli, as Sherwood highlights, cost £5 million. Christian Eriksen was £12 million. Jan Vertonghen and Toby Alderweireld totalled around £30 million. Moussa Dembele was £15 million. Hugo Lloris was approximately £10 million. Eric Dier was £5 million. Heung-Min Son was £22 million. Harry Kane was free. They might be Spurs’ best nine players over the past three or fours years, and they collectively cost less than £100 million in transfer fees.

It is these kinds of deals that Arsenal must now pull off. And that is the crux of Sherwood’s argument. Now, to claim that they are unable to undertake and successfully execute such a process is ridiculous. But the underlying point is critical to the success of the Emery era.

There won’t be much money to play with. That much is certain. Arsenal will have to get inventive in the transfer market and efficient with their signings. The summer was a strong start but there is a long, long way to go.