The excitement of 2023 is long gone at the Emirates – remember, when the Gunners were spending huge sums of coin to bring Declan Rice, Kai Havertz and Jurrien Timber to London.
Yes, Mikel Arteta did shell out a combined €77m for the captures of Riccardo Calafiori and Mikel Merino. But the desired impact has not been there yet with the Gunners still trailing Liverpool by six points at the top of the Premier League standings, having played a game more.
The January transfer window came and went with no more major dealings for the Gunners, despite all the hope and talk that a new forward would come in to support the title bid through to May. Ollie Watkins? Nah, not right now.
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Tons of media publications are happy enough to write a review of transfer windows the day after they’ve finished, providing analysis and grades on deals with the ink barely dry.
Sterling and Neto were ‘costly’ busts
The Athletic have given their take on what Arsenal did(or didn’t) do in January, and how the comings and goings last summer also played into what we’ve seen since.
While the publication is not passing sentence completely on what the Gunners have done just yet, there are two moves made last summer which DO come in for criticism. Namely the loan deals for Chelsea winger Raheem Sterling and Bournemouth keeper Neto.
While on the face of it these seemed like low-risk acquisitions with potential for big upside – particularly in the case of Sterling – there is an unwanted spinoff. They take up valuable places in the squad and hampered any hopes of bringing in a striker on loan in January.
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The Athletic’s review said: “Signing Ollie Watkins from Aston Villa would have provided the immediate sugar rush of a proven finisher and the nice story of a boyhood Arsenal fan realising a lifelong dream. But would he have immediately relegated Kai Havertz to the bench? Would his all-round game instantly click in Mikel Arteta’s team? And would forking out £60m now on somebody who turns 30 this year really represent sensible business when it would use up your budget for a striker in the summer window?
“In that context, the summer loan deals for Neto and Raheem Sterling came to look like costly, unintended restrictions on trade, as neither player has made meaningful contributions to the team in the first half of the season yet their presence prevented Arsenal from bringing in a Premier League striker on loan.”
So you see, the Gunners could be counting the cost of those Sterling and Neto deals for a long time to come. They now face four months of hoping and praying that their existing forward options stay healthy. The pursuit of Liverpool is also one that looks odds against in chance of success. Injuries up front right would just about kill it off.
Cross your fingers big time fellow Gooners, we need every bit of help we can get.