Sport
Testing times – Pete O’rourke investigates
The Premier League season is just two games old, but Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger is already under pressure.
Arsenal have picked up just one point from their opening two games to leave them already trailing fellow Premier League title hopefuls Manchester City, Manchester United and Chelsea by five points.
The Gunners opened the campaign going down down to Liverpool after a seven-goal thriller and were then held to a goalless draw by reigning champions Leicester to leave more questions than answers for Wenger.
This weekend’s clash with another winless side Watford is also must-win for Arsenal even at this early juncture of the campaign because the idea of slipping seven or more points behind the leaders even at this stage would make a title bid highly unlikely.
Arsenal have finished in the top four in each of their 20 seasons under Wenger, but this season looks the most competitive Premier League ever with all the clubs capable of bringing in big-name signings because of the riches of the TV deal and failure to qualify for next season’s Champions League could be the tipping point for Wenger.
The question on every Arsenal fans’ lips is – why isn’t the club spending money in the transfer window and where are the new signings?
Arsenal’s slow start to the new season has left Wenger with very little room to manoeuvre and it seems the Frenchman invites pressure on himself because of his reluctance to spend big in the transfer market despite having money in the bank to fund a spree in the transfer window.
Swiss midfielder Granit Xhaka has arrived from Borussia Monchengladbach in a £34million deal, but that has not appeased Arsenal fans who can see the club’s deficiencies.
The club have long known that they need a centre-half and a striker to supplement their squad, but with less than a week to go before the window closes Arsenal have yet to bring in new faces to play in those positions.
It has been a case of woe for Arsenal fans so far in the transfer being turned down by Jamie Vardy after agreeing a deal with Leicester to sign the England international, while being priced out of a move for Lyon striker Alexandre Lacazette.
The hunt for a new centre-half has been going on all summer, but Arsenal are still no nearer to signing a defender despite being linked with the likes of Shkodran Mustafi, Jonny Evans, Jose Gimenez and Omer Toprak.
Meanwhile, their rivals Manchester United and Manchester City have moved quickly to bring in Eric Bailly and John Stones to help solve their centre-back problems.
Arsenal have allowed themselves to slip behind their rivals on and off the pitch in recent years with the Gunners (since their last Premier League title success in 2004) making just three £20million + signings, while the likes of City (22), Chelsea (18) and United (15) have spent big to try and achieve success.
Wenger is not afraid to spend big having brought in Mesut Ozil from Real Madrid and Alexis Sanchez from Barcelona, but the difference between Arsenal and other top Premier League clubs is they do that once every few years, not every summer.
This summer’s transfer market is undoubtedly the craziest yet and with spending records set to be broken in the Premier League Wenger cannot afford to be left holding the purse strings otherwise his rivals will beat him to their targets.
Wenger has time to address Arsenal’s issues, but the clock is ticking towards the August 31st deadline and missing out on targets then could see Arsenal miss out again for the target of the Premier League.
The pressure is on Arsenal and Wenger on and off the pitch so it is time to get it right otherwise Arsenal fans will endure another season of frustration in North London.
