Arsenal’s vital summer transfer window balance

What Arsenal hope to gain from the summer transfer will remain internal, likely forever. All supporters know so far is that it will be ‘ruthless’, ‘unprecedented’ and involve a significant turnover of players.

From the outside looking in, before the window opened fans drew a list a players they deemed to be ‘untouchable’. A group, worryingly small, that no matter what offer came in (within reason) would be kept on to help rebuild the team and usher the club into a hopefully prosperous new era.

Kieran Tierney featured in that core and is now here long-term, Emile Smith Rowe will follow suit and Arsenal have already turned down a derisory offer from Aston Villa for his services, while Brazilian duo Gabriel Martinelli and Gabriel Magalhaes also featured in most peoples’ lists along with Thomas Partey.

So too did Bukayo Saka and to some extent Nicolas Pepe, but that was about it.

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Arsenal to strike vital summer transfer window balance as Mikel Arteta prepares for a drastic overhaul of his squad with signings and sales

In theory, pretty much everyone barring five to eight players could have left the club, depending on one’s personal preference. What everyone does know, however, is that it would never, ever, work like that.

Ideally, all those who would leave would be upgraded on by players who would waltz into Mikel Arteta’s training sessions, absorb every detail of his philosophy and get along with the rest of the squad like a house on fire. There would be no break in harmony, no leadership squabbles or chemistry issues. It would work seamlessly.

If only life were so simple.

As Arsenal prepare to sell or loan out anywhere up to double figures worth of players this summer, the overhaul is unavoidably extensive. Those who could depart are all players who need to be moved on, while those who arrive, it goes without saying, are of equal importance.

Such a dramatic shift in personnel isn’t just tough to manage from a recruitment perspective. Indeed, gelling a group of players together who can bond, understand each other’s personalities and playing styles is not an overnight fix.

These situations take time to develop, which is why pre-season is of such paramount importance. However, as all managers know, especially in a tournament summer and with the financial restraints at hand, that vision remains a pipe-dream.

Arteta has a very tough job on his hands. So too Edu, of this nobody is in disagreement. An overturn of players on a scale like this requires more than just finding improvements on those who’ve departed; the human aspect has to be considered too and chopping and changing without due diligence to how the group can come together is ill-advised.

Particularly in regards to leadership.

Continued…

Leadership Demands Thought by Arteta at Arsenal

Tierney has just signed a new contract at Arsenal and it’s universally agreed that once Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang departs, he will assume the armband.

Being here for only two years and struggling to settle in during an injury-ravaged first season in north London, to be in a position where already he is adored by the fans and those within the club that the captaincy conversation is being discussed proves that leaders can be made, as well as purchased.

Having no spine, no commanders, in the team has long been a stinging criticism of Arsenal. From the successful Premier League side of years gone by, the current crop trail in their shadows.

Granit Xhaka, Bernd Leno, David Luiz and Hector Bellerin were all considered as part of last season’s focal leaders. All four of them may well not be here come pre-season.

With Rob Holding, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Calum Chambers, Tierney and potentially Pablo Mari among the new ‘leadership group’, it represents a total shift from the former troupe.

While there is no ‘ruling party’ at Arsenal, those who replace the departed need to be scouted with a view to how they can embed.

And this is what is crucial about this rebuild: it has to be done periodically. Suddenly gutting the whole squad and replacing them with fresh faces will not have the immediate impact Arteta sorely desires beyond just a footballing level.

Nobody is shying away from the seismic task at hand but beyond it being infeasible to get everything done in 12 weeks, it’s also unadvisable.

To ensure this transition is as smooth as can be, tackling it in installments after the first big down payment is the only way to allow the culture to settle and the adequate time for the players to immerse themselves into the club, their surroundings and the manager’s ideas.

It is, in other words, a daunting proposition. One that has to be confronted conscientiously.