It's been a while since we talked about Arsenal. I guess the reason is that there hasn't been a whole lot to say. They've been pretty poor of late (today's 7-1 drubbing of Blackburn not withstanding). Over the last month, Wenger has taken a lot of stick from fans & pundits alike & much of it has been deserved. He's made some bad decisions, particularly in his unwillingness to buy in January. That said, much of the criticism has been harsh. Obviously, they need to win more, but I still don't see them missing out on The Champions League next year & they're still in it now (not to mention the fact that they're still in The FA Cup w/ a strong possibility of winning it... of course, I said that last year about the Carling Cup & they lost to Birmingham in the finals so who knows?). The main problems people seem to have w/ Wenger right now though involve his squad choice & his purchases. I think we need to look a bit more deeply @ that though.
His substitutions of Oxlade-Chamberlin should surprise no one. Ox is a young kid getting used to the Prem. & can't be expected to make it through entire matches yet. Walcott got the same treatmet for a long time. The fact that Ashavin has been coming on for him is rough, but the options haven't been there w/ Gervinho in Africa & Henry hurt. Now that Henry is healthy & w/ Gervinho coming back, I highly doubt we'll see much of Arshavin any time soon.
As for the purchases, it's had to say that Fabregas or Nasri where ever replaced properly, but otherwise, the buying hasn't been nearly as bad as people like to suggest. Considering the fact that the board hasn't been releasing the funds to buy people like the other top clubs, perhaps we need to take a look @ the players who have come in over the last few years.
2011-12
Mertesacker: A bit of a let down, but an experienced defender w/ plenty of international caps including strong runs in The World Cup & Euros. Everyone assumed he'd be fantastic.
Arteta: A great signing. He's been ever present & always reliable. He's not as flashy as most central attacking midfielders, but he rarely makes a mistake.
Park: A top scorer in France last year, & teh Captain of S. Korea. He hasn't had many opportunities yet, but all signs point to yes w/ him.
Santos: Brazilian international left back. He's slower than Clichy & Gibbs, but he's stronger than them too... & maybe better @ actually defending.
Henry: 2 goals since his re-debut less than a month ago... not bad.
Oxlade-Chamberlain: He looks the real deal. We'll see.
Jenkinson: I've been impressed by him when he was healthy, & no one can blame Wenger for an injury to the back-up right back.
Gervinho: Like Park, a huge scorer in France last year. Maybe he could find the back of the net more, but he's great on the wing.
Benayoun: Underwhelming, but everyone knows how good he can be. He had trouble @ Chelsea, but @ Liverpool he was always strong.
Ryo: Looks to be another one for the future. I hope his loan spell goes well for him.
2010-11
Squillaci: He hasn't done well, but when he was signed, everyone was excited. He was an experienced French international. The fact that he's taken a shit couldn't have been for seen.
Koscielny: In 2008 he was in the 2nd division of French football. He was just named Arsenal player of the month for January. He's been getting better & better. No one seems to complain about him anymore.
Chamakh: Like Gervinho & Park, a huge goalscorer before joining Arsenal. He did great when RVP was hurt too. I imagine leave in the summer, but I bet if he had a run in the 1st team he'd be back scoring goals again. He's been a flop this year, but no one complained about the signing last year.
2009-10
Campbell*: Rejoined on a short contract to help get the team through some injuries. He was good & there was even talk about getting back into the English national team.
Vermaelen: Ummm... fantastic signing. One of the best defenders in the league... maybe in the world.
2008-09
Ramsey: He's been good this year, but not quite as great as people hoped. Considering his major injury 2 years ago & his age, he's only going to get better & better.
Silvestre*: He'd won everything w/ Man U & had tons of experience w/ France. He sucked, but everyone assumed he'd be fine, & he brought bags of experience to the locker room.
Arshavin: Wenger signed him to make fans happy after the 2008 Euros. He was fantastic, but has gotten lazy. I think he'll leave after the 2012 Euros, but everyone hollering for more big-name buys needs to remember that spending the money is no guarantee.
Nasri*: Was great if a bit of a dick. I was definitely sad to see him go, but Arteta has been fine & the team made a bag of cash.
2007-08
Sagna: best right back in the league. He's been hurt, but buying another one would have been ridiculous. Besides, he's back now & looking good.
Eduardo*: Like so many of the strikers we've talked about already, he was huge when he joined the team. His massive leg-break sidelined him for a year & he lost a lot of confidence. I still like seeing him do well w/ Croatia & Shakhtar.
2006-07
Gallas*: Was a great center back & even became captain for a while. He went nuts, but he's still pretty good when he plays for Spuds.
Rosicky: Another one w/ some injury problems, but he's always been great for The Czech Republic & when he plays, he looks good. He even kept Ramsey out of the line-up today & looked really good. I don't know why, maybe the injury, but I've always liked him. There has been talk of his impending departure, but I hope he sticks around.
Diarra*: An odd buy. He only stuck around for a few months before he was shipped off to Pompy. From there he made his way to Madrid & got into the France 1st team. I never liked him much, but many people do.
All in all, the signings have been good... or at least they've seemed positive @ the time. Besides, the recent calls for the sacking of AW, need to remember that in order to replace him they'd need to find someone better. Real Madrid have been sniffing around & they don't usually make mistakes. There's been talk of Jose Mourhino, but I can't imagine he'd do well w/ a small budget. All things considered, AW has been great, & while I may be in the minority right now, I still trust him to right the ship.
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