A look at how the Gunners could have recruited differently in the transfer window.
Despite for some time looking like a disastrous summer in the transfer market for Arsenal, with only two unspectacular players coming in for free, the Gunners saved some face late on with the surprise signing of German international star Mesut Ozil for a club-record of £42.4m. However, there were still plenty of disappointing near-misses too, and many other key areas of the team remain unstrengthened going into the new campaign. Here is a look at five realistic signings that Arsenal supposedly targeted or came close to signing that could have been highly beneficial to building a stronger overall squad at the Emirates Stadium this season.
5. Julio Cesar (Queens Park Rangers)
One of the most surprising non-movers this summer has to be Queens Park Rangers goalkeeper Julio Cesar. The Brazilian international was a top performer for Rangers last season despite being unable to save them from relegation, and he now looks set to be playing Championship football with the London club for the season.
Arsenal were rumoured to be interested, and it’s no surprise considering this top quality, experienced shot-stopper would probably have been available for cheap, and would have made a great short-term solution to the Gunners’ goalkeeping problems.
With Wojciech Szczesny looking too young and hot-headed to be the club’s number one at the moment, the signing of Cesar would have allowed him a few years to learn from him out of the limelight and develop his game, whilst also giving Arsenal more of a chance of keeping all-important clean sheets on the pitch. Amazingly, no one else came in for the 34-year-old either, despite Fiorentina and Benfica supposedly also showing an interest in the former Inter Milan man.
Arsenal instead opted to sign Emiliano Viviano from Palermo on a season-long loan. Although this gives Arsene Wenger some good cover for a year – and possibly beyond if he impresses and they sign him permanently – he is not in the same class as Cesar, and there’s no guarantee that they will be able to keep him in the future, as Palermo’s asking price will only go up if he plays performs well at the Emirates Stadium.
4. Adil Rami (Valencia)
Almost as surprising as not signing a goalkeeper, Arsenal also chose not to invest in a new centre-back to challenge current pairing Per Mertesacker and Laurent Koscielny for a place in the team. With Thomas Vermaelen suffering a dramatic dip in form last season, he doesn’t look like much of a backup at the moment, and his future at the Emirates Stadium remains uncertain.
Adil Rami was linked with Arsenal and a few other teams at various points this summer, though he has ended up staying put at La Liga side Valencia despite supposedly being available for around £9m or less. This would have been a bargain signing for the Gunners as they would be landing themselves one of the most solid and consistent defenders in Spain and an experienced French international eager to impress in a World Cup year.
Bacary Sagna has done well when asked to fill in at centre-back for the time being, but Rami seemed an ideal opportunity to add some real depth and quality to that shaky back-line. Will Arsenal now live to regret it?
3. Geoffrey Kondogbia (Monaco)
The chance for Arsenal to sign Geoffrey Kondogbia is now surely gone, as the young midfielder completed a £17m switch from Sevilla to big-spending Ligue 1 giants Monaco. Claudio Ranieri has landed himself a real gem in Kondogbia, as he looks set to become one of the best defensive midfielders in the world in a few years’ time.
Arsenal were linked with him as well as with a few other similar players, but opted instead to look to free agent Mathieu Flamini to return in a second spell at the club as their solution in that position. Flamini, who was released by AC Milan at the end of last season, had one good season for the Gunners in his first spell with the club, and is a risky signing given his fitness problems during his time at the San Siro.
Kondogbia, while more expensive, looks like the real deal in midfield and would have been a more long-term solution for Arsene Wenger as well. Still only 20, he has maturity beyond his years and was a dominant player for Sevilla in his single season with the club, having previously broken through at French side Lens.
2. Etienne Capoue (Tottenham)
Another option for Arsenal could have been a player who ended up signing for their arch rivals Tottenham. Etienne Capoue was linked strongly with the Gunners on several occasions during his time in Ligue 1 with Toulouse, but was snapped up by Spurs for just £9.3m, a very generous price for a quality defensive midfield player. The 25-year-old would have been another cheap option for Wenger, and surely a superior signing to Flamini, as he has shown in his strong start for Spurs.
Capoue faces a spell on the sidelines now after picking up an injury in the North London Derby, but already looks like one of many good pieces of business by Tottenham this summer, and one of many misses by Arsenal in the transfer market.
1. Burak Yilmaz (Galatasaray)
Arsene Wenger has made no secret of his desire to land a top striker to compete with Olivier Giroud this season, having missed out on some big-name targets such as Gonzalo Higuain and Luis Suarez. But with those two world class players perhaps a little out of the kind of price range Wenger is willing to pay, should he instead have pursued Galatasaray striker Burak Yilmaz with a bit more intent? The 28-year-old scored an impressive 32 goals in 39 games for the Turkish side last season, and looks to be the kind of poacher Arsenal are missing upfront.
Giroud has certainly started the season in fine form, perhaps to prove a point to his manager, but while a big name might not be needed upfront, Arsenal are undeniably short of options if their current first-choice gets injured. Lukas Podolski is already out of action for nine weeks for that reason, and untested youngster Yaya Sanogo seems to be the only backup, unless Theo Walcott is switched from the wing to the lone striker spot.
Arsenal tried to land Demba Ba on loan from Chelsea on deadline day, but were unsurprisingly told that the Blues did not want to see one of their players leave to strengthen a rival. It seems much more logical that Wenger should have made Yilmaz his top target, particularly as he was available for a bargain £16m and saw a move to Serie A side Lazio fall through late on in the transfer window.