Wenger IS a genius at buying talent in the transfer market, but does he miss out aswell sometimes?

This summer Arsene Wenger has brought in three players: Lukasz Fabianski, Bakary Sagna and Eduardo Da Silva. The first is for the future and Arsenal can only trust Wenger’s previously brilliant astuteness in the transfer market when it comes to finding players with potential. Bakary Sagna looks brilliant; he has made the defence more solid and adds options going forward aswell. Eduardo Da Silva has only played part of one competitive match but has looked good in pre season and certainly offered Arsenal something different. These signings do look very good and will improve the team, in some cases they already have.

However has Wenger missed out? If his shopping is finished then I hate to say I think he has. The team lacks a dominant centre back with pace and strength. Senderos lacks the pace but has the others. I’m not saying we would have got him, but I will use Micah Richards as an example. When Stuart Pearce left Manchester City, Richards was unhappy, something he publicly admitted. Before Sven and the new owner came along things didn’t look great for City. Very soon after, Richards publicly admitted to being an Arsenal fan. Some players arrive at a club and claim to be lifelong supporters of the club they joined. This was different. Micah admitted to supporting another Premiership club. Was this a cry out for a move? Whether it was or not, Wenger should have at least put in enquiries. There’s no doubt Richards would improve us and Wenger has complimented him before. It seems Wenger didn’t bother with any enquiry because it was an obvious choice. Richards is exactly what Arsenal missed last season, a player, good on the floor, good in the air with pace to burn. He certainly is a youngster so exactly Wenger’s type of player. Maybe Chelsea would have tried to usurp Wenger but Micah is an Arsenal fan and surely this gave us a major advantage. This is no statement we were seriously linked to a move but rumours circulated and I hate to say Wenger missed the chance, and probably his only chance to sign England’s hottest young player.

The team also lacks width. Eboue has been moved up to solve this problem with Walcott competition for him. However there is a lack of width on the other flank. We have two central midfield players plying their trade on the left and although they are skilful players there is a time when an out right wide man is needed out there. Another example is Morten Gamst Pedersen; linked with him, Wenger denied making any bids. However how absurd a move would this be? Not too insane I say. He has adapted to the Premiership already, has a great left foot and can deliver a fantastic shot and cross. He would cost a bit more with the famous “English Tax” involved but we have still spent less than we gathered this summer. It should be quality not quantity and surely we aren’t that troubled with money that we cannot spend what we get back from sales.

Some people are calling for a striker aswell. With this issue I am on the fence. However it does bring up the other point of this article. Arsenal has 4 strikers who all add something different. Wenger could have gone and spent around £10 million on someone like Anelka or Martins and they may have scored goals people still say we won’t get. However this is where Wenger may have missed a trick. I look at the free signings in the Premiership. The main two that stand out are Claudio Pizarro (Chelsea) and Andriy Voronin (Liverpool). The new Chelsea man has Champions league experience and guarantees goals wherever he is. He is already off the mark for Chelsea and can be a real hassle for defenders. Benitez was astute in getting Voronin; he scores important goals and seems happy to be a bit part player. That is the same with Pizarro, with Drogba free scoring Pizarro isn’t guaranteed a starting role. My angle here is that Wenger could have signed one of these players and used him to guarantee goals in our squad.

The main point here is that free transfers should be looked at carefully. Normally one can pick up players for free, offer them higher wages due to this and many don’t need the guarantee of first team football. They are very useful to add to the squad, especially when Arsenal seems to lack funds. Chelsea signed 3 players this way. I am not saying I want all these specific players but there are plenty more players out there who would have had the dilemma in January about whether to stay at their club. I just feel Wenger may have missed a trick here. He may have looked into this and found no one. I can’t give an answer to that one way or the other.

The main point is that Wenger seems to miss out on certain opportunities. Maybe he is stubborn, maybe he doesn’t want these players and maybe he just hasn’t thought about it. However Arsenal could have a better squad with a bigger look at the obvious. Hopefully it doesn’t bite him from behind on Saturday at home to Manchester City.