Arsene Wenger has never been a manager to splash needless money in the transfer market but when he sets his sights on a player, he must expect to be fully backed by his board at the Emirates. Often criticised for his lack of transfer dealings, Wenger consistently produces competitive sides every year if he buys or not.
Whether it be a youngster such as Theo Walcott or experienced head such as Mikel Arteta, Wenger very rarely gets it wrong in the market but it seems he has made one big mistake.
In 2007 Wenger wanted to sign one of England’s top players at the time, Owen Hargreaves. The Bayern Munich man had a year left of his contract in Germany and was keen on a move to the Premier League. Manchester United had a £17million bid accepted by the German giants and Hargreaves began a nightmare four years at Old Trafford that were plagued by long term injuries.
The need for a holding player in that Arsenal midfield has been clear to see for years now since the departures of Gilberto and Patrick Vieira but Wenger has never reacted on this. His attempts to sign Hargreaves show that Wenger saw the need for the player but since then he has not come back in for a similar quality midfielder.
Cesc Fabregas turned into one of the best Premier League midfielders ever, but even when he roamed the Emirates pitch it was still clear to see that the Gunners were missing a link in their side. Much pressure has been put on Arsenal defenders in recent years and surely the lack of a defensive minded midfield player to help shield the defence is key to that.
Alex Song has been the only player who has come close to filling the gap, but his natural minded attacking approach has not been completely successful. Why didn’t Wenger just swallow his pride and bring in Scott Parker at the start of the summer, a player that surely would have made the difference to an otherwise talented side. Parker’s influence on Tottenham has been clear to see so far in this campaign and could he have been the missing piece of Wenger’s side that could have finally won them some more silverware.
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So whether they bought Parker in the summer or not, the addition of Hargreaves back in 2007 could have been crucial for Wenger and may even have improved the club to a level that would have persuaded the likes of Samir Nasri and Fabregas to stay at the club. Whether it was financially or just bad luck, Wenger missed out on the injury stricken England midfielder and the manager himself believes he would have been a good addition to the squad but feels the youngsters can step up to the plate.
“When he played at Bayern Munich, we followed him very closely but it was a big transfer – he was sold to Manchester United for £17m and he only had one year left on his contract. So we didn’t move in for him at that time” Wenger told the Guardian before last week’s defeat to Manchester City in the Carlin Cup quarter-final.
“So we didn’t move in for him at that time. In the summer, you consider it but we had players like [Emmanuel] Frimpong and [Francis] Coquelin coming back … [Alex] Song and [Abou] Diaby in these defensive positions, where we were not really in the need.”
Arsenal will once again be looking to strengthen in January after the departures of Fabregas and Nasri in the summer and hopefully Wenger will have the money to spend on who he wants to bring in. Robin Van Persie is in contract negotiations over a new deal and new signings are beginning to bed their way into a much improving Gunners side.
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