Arsenal transfer window - poll

[Mac76]

OK, so let's see people's marks out of ten for this window

I've given an 8, though it's maybe a 7.5

I'm happy with the incomings in themselves, albeit I have misgivings about whether Arteta will make the best of them.

It's clear from the early injuries that we needed the defensive cover and I think all the new players are showing themselves to be very capable, even Madueke whose signing I was sceptical about.

I always wanted Gyokeres although we haggled too long and he missed out on pre-season as a result, which I think has already potentially cost us, e.g. vs Liverpool

Also Eze is a great buy although again it remains to be seen whether we get the best out of him

But the sales have been woeful - £300k for Lokonga, £15m for Kiwior and failing to sell Zin, Vieira or other players is unforgivable

[IBK]

I give it a 9 out of 10. Arteta's subsequent tactics are really a separate issue.

We have essentially upgraded/provided cover for all of the areas of the team that required it.

Sales are indeed woeful, but how do you sell for value if there are no bidders? This is a historic issue for the club - born out of the rebuilding that this team has required since Arteta joined; the fact that few of our previous sales have pulled up any trees (last Summer was actually quite good for outgoing revenues, but none of these outgoings has banged elsewhere); players on high wages and the club hanging onto certain ones for too long.

The players you mention are cases in point. Lokonga was given every opportunity to show his value at Crystal Palace, Luton Town, and most recently, Sevilla. He failed to do so. Loaning Vieira back to his home club Porto - the place where he was most likely to shine and therefore become a saleable asset - didn't work. Almost noone wanted to see Zinchenko play in a side with title aspirations and deep into the CL last season, and those who argue that he should have been played to maintain some kind of transer value are therefore a bit hypocritical. So in the end we were forced to cut our losses, and at least mitigate against the wage costs of players sold cheaply or loaned out. Savings in wages should be regarded as part of any outgoing transfer business.

BTW Reiss-Nelson also follows the pattern above. We did the right thing putting him in the shop window at Fulham. The reason that we have been unable to sell him for value is down to his awful injury record, not Arsenal transfer incompetence.

We can look at Kiwor, yes - (although I think your valuation might be wrong as this loan with obligation reported to be worth a guaranteed €25million, rising to potential €27m - so £21.6 and £23.3) and say we should have got, say, another £5M for him but again we are not immune to market forces and there's no indication that a higher offer was available.

So yes, we can say in principle that we have fallen a long way short with outgoings - but I am not sure that this is a criticism that can fairly be attributed to those managing this Summer's transfer business.

In a sense we are now at ground zero, because I am struggling to think of any of our current squad who would now be impossible to shift for value going forwards (subject of course to how they perform this season). I think we have to accept that the focus this Summer was to address the weak points and build a team able to win trophies. And this we have certainly done, and done well.

[Mac76]

fair points, maybe i'm being a bit harsh

on sales, i get when you itemise each player, reasons can be found but somehow overall we seem really bad at selling players, especially when you see what other players go for elsewhere

I'm disappointed at the failure to sell Zin in particular, by all accounts clubs were interested in him, there was also a story or two (possibly clickbait though) about West Ham wanting Vieira - also we should have sold Martinelli to be ahead of the curve

oh and my OCD kicking in here, but can you add your score to the poll?

[Marc Overmars]

An 8 overall I’d say. On paper it is our best ever transfer window for incomings but of course only time will tell how the players end performing with a stodge merchant for a coach.

Only thing that stops it from being higher than an 8 is that getting players out the door was an issue.

[IBK]

fair points, maybe i'm being a bit harsh

on sales, i get when you itemise each player, reasons can be found but somehow overall we seem really bad at selling players, especially when you see what other players go for elsewhere

I'm disappointed at the failure to sell Zin in particular, by all accounts clubs were interested in him, there was also a story or two (possibly clickbait though) about West Ham wanting Vieira - also we should have sold Martinelli to be ahead of the curve

oh and my OCD kicking in here, but can you add your score to the poll?

Done

I agree with your overall assessment - we haven't been good at selling for years - and this of itself I think contributes to other clubs low-balling us. And while of course outgoings factor into a transfer window I just don't really think that in the circumstances of this particular Summer we should be over critical of the club, or should really have expected anything radically different re outgoings to what has happened.

My logic, and seeing how Berta has gone about his incomings, dictates that there were no firm takers for Zinchenko - who we clearly wanted rid of - and I suspect that wages were the problem.

I think it will take a little while for our reset in terms of policy to kick in to allow money to be made from transfers. There are clear signs that we have and are taking steps to address this going forwards. First we have been a lot better at existing players' contract renewals - so we aren't burnt by contracts running down. Second we are doing well in bringing through top Academy talent. Third we are signing promising teenagers like Victor Ozhianvuna. But most importantly, we now have quality and depth in pretty much every position - which should mean that we don't have to hang onto players when the chance to make money arises. The Mosquera signing is a good example of planning for life without Saliba - who will be a money maker for us when he leaves.

Your point re Martinelli is an apt one. One of Arsenal's problems has been a lack of decisiveness/hard-headedness when it comes to selling their assets. I have no idea whether Arsenal made any enquiries about moving Martinelli on this Summer, and maybe the Eze deal came too late to allow this. But we have a big enough sample now to know that he is never going to perform like he did 2/3 seasons ago, and we cannot afford to keep hoping he will come good for us again. He has value and this must be realised. I think Arteta should make sure he gets games - perhaps as a super sub - and we should be looking to try to exploit another team's desperation in January (there are always teams desperate for forwards then) and sell him then. We cannot go down another road of a player being frozen out and us getting a pittace in sales as a result.

[Mac76]

Done

Thanks

Your point re Martinelli is an apt one. One of Arsenal's problems has been a lack of decisiveness/hard-headedness when it comes to selling their assets. I have no idea whether Arsenal made any enquiries about moving Martinelli on this Summer, and maybe the Eze deal came too late to allow this. But we have a big enough sample now to know that he is never going to perform like he did 2/3 seasons ago, and we cannot afford to keep hoping he will come good for us again. He has value and this must be realised. I think Arteta should make sure he gets games - perhaps as a super sub - and we should be looking to try to exploit another team's desperation in January (there are always teams desperate for forwards then) and sell him then. We cannot go down another road of a player being frozen out and us getting a pittace in sales as a result.

Yes, definitely, hopefully he will get cup games etc plus I think Leo is injured atm so can't play

[Letters]

I give it a 9 out of 10. Arteta's subsequent tactics are really a separate issue.

We have essentially upgraded/provided cover for all of the areas of the team that required it.

Exactly this. We have a squad that is now capable of challenging on all fronts. We have good depth in most areas and we have massively upgraded our options up front, a clear area of weakness in the last two seasons. We couldn't really have asked much more.
Whether Arteta can actually get the best out of them and win a bit trophy. I don't think so, but on his head be it if he can't. The board have given him the tools to do it.