Arsenal and William Saliba: Yes, this transfer window is ****

Spurs are now set to rival Arsenal for Saint Etienne defender William Saliba. If you needed any more proof that this transfer window was a travesty, you just got it.

I am one for patience. I do not like to rush to hasty conclusions. It is important that contextualised, intelligent, self-aware analysis is conducted, not rushed and rash debate that is unfounded in data and fact.

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That said, sometimes, the raw, emotional, untamed and unchecked reaction is the right one. Sometimes, that gut instinct that is based on nothing but feeling and emotion and very little fact or logical line of thinking, is right on the money. And at this stage, the Arsenal summer transfer window is inspiring just one response.

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After saying that the club had a ‘clear plan’ of how they would attack the summer window, Raul Sanllehi has proceeded to deliver just one signing, an 18-year-old Brazilian winger, make two insulting bids for players that would actually be useful, piss off the club captain, although he is not solely to blame there, and fail to sell any of the overpaid, underperforming individuals that desperately need to be rid for Unai Emery to rebuild the desperately lacking squad. And now, it is about to get worse.

Throughout the summer, Arsenal have chased Saint Etienne defender William Saliba. Lengthy negotiations with the Ligue 1 club eventually led to the two parties agreeing on a £26.5 million deal that allowed Saliba to spend next season on loan at St. Etienne. The Gunners undoubtedly wanted Saliba, but were hesitant to accept St. Etienne’s year-long loan demand. As such, in their unscrupusously painful and infuriating way, they dallied.

That dallying has allowed their fiercest rivals to sneak in the back door. On Friday, it was reported that north London neighbours Spurs are set to make a late challenge to sign Saliba, confident that the 18-year-old defender will choose a move to work under Mauricio Pochettino. If you needed any more proof that this transfer window is a disaster, this might just be it.

Now, Saliba could turn out to be a terrible signing for whichever club eventually wraps up a deal for him. I have no idea if he will be or not. But when assessing Arsenal’s proficiency in the transfer window, that does not matter. They wanted him. And now, because of their penny pinching and hard-nosed negotiating that rubs people up the wrong way and delays transfers to unacceptable extents, they might miss out on him.

Obviously, I do not want to jump the gun too much. While Sanllehi and the club deserve tremendous and unrelentling criticism for the sh*t-show that this summer window has been thus far, there is still just under a month remaining. There is still time for them to pull the rabbit out of the hat.

However, the gut-busting feeling is that this summer is going to be yet another calamity for Arsenal. And with every passing day, that feeling is being proven more and more accurate.