Another pre-season has been and gone for an Arsenal side managed by Arsene Wenger. Another pre-season of unrest, financial haggling and a lack of activity until very late in the day allowing a horrible opening day defeat to Liverpool. It seems that every summer is the same for the Emirates outfit, but now that the transfer window is over, could this be the year that Arsene Wenger’s men can look back on a positive transfer window?
Here’s four reasons to suggest Arsenal have had a successful transfer window:
Wenger has proven he’s not scared to spend
Despite whatever Wenger says, fans and journalists alike were adamant that the Frenchmen was not prepared to splash the cash when it was needed. Sure, Mesut Ozil had come in one window, and Alexis in another, but when it was truly needed, was Wenger willing to throw in the money on several key players?
He immediately bought in a young midfielder in Granit Xhaka for 30-plus million, replacing the gap left by Mathieu Flamini, Mikel Arteta and Tomas Rosicky. Youngster Rob Holding came in as a promising defender, followed by several other young players who were immediately loaned out again. He may have left it late, but the eventual purchase of Shkodran Mustafi for 30-plus million and striker Lucas Perez puts Arsenal’s spending up to nearly 100 million. Maybe it was fan pressure, maybe they were the players Wenger was waiting for all summer, either way, the Frenchmen has proven that this season he is prepared to spend the money to bring in the players the squad needed.