Arsenal’s poor pre-season and transfer dealings spell trouble

Arsenal endured its worst season most fans will have known last campaign as it finished eighth position in the league table. Much was expected in terms of outgoings and new signings this off-season, but aside from three signings in Nuno Tavares, Albert Sambi Lokonga, and Ben White, it has been rather quiet in north London.

The transfer activity (or lack of it) is enough to cause serious concern regarding how the team will be able to compete and improve on last season. But throw in a pre-season in which the side has lost three games, drawn one and beaten Millwall and Watford and all of a sudden alarm bells are ringing before a domestic ball is kicked.

It feels like Arsenal fans have been here before, but the club does have three weeks left of the transfer window to make a serious splash. The other concerning thing is the lack of outgoings. Several fringe players in Alex Runarsson, Sead Kolasinac, Hector Bellerin, Mohamed Elneny, Lucas Torreira, and Willian are just some of the names that need to be moved on.

Joe Willock is an inevitable deal but Reiss Nelson and Eddie Nketiah are two more who are available for either loan or a permanent move. As of yet, they all still remain with Willock the only one we can say with any certainty will be moved on.

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Arsenal’s poor pre-season form and transfer dealings spell trouble but all is not lost as Mikel Arteta prepares for 2021/22 Premier League

So a pre-season in which aside from three players is the same team that faltered and underwhelmed to finish eighth in the league last season will likely start the season on Friday.

It is hard to know exactly what is going on at Arsenal but there is an overwhelming sense of dread: the club’s pre-season form bears a striking resemblance to that of last term. Understandably, COVID-19 has made transfers significantly trickier regarding moving players on, but it is eerily quiet when we are talking about the talent coming in.

With James Maddison being heavily linked to a move to north London and Martin Odegaard seen as the second choice, you would not put it past Arsenal to settle for Odegaard. That is no disrespect to the player who played well last season, but it is the Arsenal of old to penny-pinch instead of really going after its targets.

The only saving grace if you want to call it that, is there are still three weeks in which the club can work on bringing in new players and moving out ones that are not needed. In an ideal world, the transfer business would already have been completed with the new faces having time to train and play with their new teammates. August will see things pick up, mind.

However, with Brentford, Chelsea and Manchester City in the first three Premier League games, Arsenal could very well be behind the eight-ball before the season even gets going.

Many fans are holding out hope and praying that a huge signing or two are on the way, but we have seen this movie before. After a strong message from Mikel Arteta at the end of last season in which he stated the club have to be ‘ruthless’, the only ruthless element so far is what Arsenal fans have had to endure from their side on the pitch.

Granted, a lot could change before August 31 and Arteta and co could look like geniuses should Maddison and another high-profile signing arrive. They could.

The last thing the Arsenal faithful want is another frantic transfer deadline day, similar to 2011 when Arteta himself, Per Mertesacker, Andre Santos, and Yossi Benayoun joined in what was a truly rushed final day.