Arsenal: We don’t need a savior, we just need time

Some think that Arsenal need a “savior” signing, but that’s not the case at all. They just need some time to let their own saviors grow.

Sitting in the middle of the table, there isn’t going to be a lot of contentment around Arsenal fans. Obviously we expect more out of this club. We always have. We should be in the Champions League every year, just like Arsene Wenger was able to secure.

Twenty straight years in the top competition, and then suddenly we can’t make it anymore, despite the quality of our individual players noticeably improving. We used to make it with Marouane Chamakh, for crying out loud.

The teams around the club have gotten better, that’s for sure. But, while I know this has been said many times, I want to say it again. Liverpool, before their great big season this year, fell deep down the table in the process of rebuilding.

Now, rebuilding hits every team differently. But it’s not like Liverpool had a “savior” signing that changed their fates all in one fell swoop. They had a lot of investments, over the course of a few years, that built into a formidable machine.

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That’s what Arsenal need. They need time, not a savior. Not just because I don’t think that “savior” exists, but because we already have so many savior types at the club, we just need, again, time. Time to grow them, to meld them, to build around them.

Gabriel Martinelli, Matteo Guendouzi, William Saliba, Bukayo Saka—these are all “savior” types. I’d even throw Nicolas Pepe into that mix. The problem is all these guys are either brand new at the club or haven’t even arrived yet. It takes time for saviors to save. They don’t just show up and turn everything around.

Mikel Arteta is another guy to add to that mix. But again, saving isn’t instantaneous. It’s not an overnight thing. We’ve had just shy of two years to try to rebuild. Unai Emery couldn’t swing it. Now we’re hoping Arteta can. But without the proper investment of time, we will drive ourselves insane if we keep wondering why no savior is arriving.

The saviors are here already. We just need time to let them do their saving.

Patience is not the strong suit of this fanbase, but that’s what we need now, more than anything. And if you’re not willing to practice patience, then prepare for more misery.