Arsenal had just one priority over the summer transfers.
More than anything else, more than another striker or a new right back or another high profile cast-off, as Arsene Wenger's scouting team met in the aftermath of the FA Cup final victory. The Frenchman informed them the club was in the market for a defensive midfielder. That was top of the list. Everything else could come later.
The qualities expected were highly defined: tall, imposing, combative, tactically intelligent, though questions will arise of how technically adaptable he will be to his new teammates. Some of those Wenger solicited felt it was key that there should be no interruption to the side's smooth running; others believed they could sacrifice a little bit of finesse for the physicality they had solely lacked for most parts last season.
Roll on four months and a new season, Arsenal faced Manchester City at the Emirates with 76 million pound worth of new signings at Wenger's disposal: two versatile forwards, a specialist full back, a reserve goal keeper and a defensive all rounder; still no defensive midfielder they had sought after.
Wenger's reign can be broadly split into three eras. The first -- the one that brought all but one of the trophies, built on speed, precision, counter attacking philosophy, founded on the bursts of Thierry Henry and darts of Freddie Ljunberg.
The second, brought on by the defeat in the 2006 Champions' League. In its place, an approach based on ball retention constructed with Cesc Fabregas at its heart. It was designed to help Arsenal conquer Europe, Wenger believed possession was King. It will be harsh to describe it as a failure -- that long record of qualification for the Champions' League speaks volume, but did not deliver what it was supposed to, of that there can be no doubt.
In turn it ushered in the third era, one that at times seemed directionless but rooted in pragmatism. There have been times over the past few years when it has not always been clear what Arsenal have been trying to do. They have long been associated with youth, but from 2009 upwards, Wenger's signings has grown incrementally older; his signings have brought with them the benefit of experience. They have been assumed to be a team built to cherish possession but their statistics have suggested they have been caught between two stools, unsure of their identity, not quite Barcelona and not quite Borussia Dortmund.
The acquistions of Alexis Sanchez and Danny Welbeck, in particular, suggest that Wenger has decided the future lies in the past. No matter where they play, either one deplored as a central forward or both are utilised in the line of three behind Oliver Giroud upon his return from Injury, they both seem designed to help return to their old, jet heeled selves. Theo Walcott spoke of the club possessing the quickest forward line in the Premier League. It is certainly hard to nominate a faster one. And yet for all the optimism and talk of re-invigoration, The absence of a defensive midfield player lays seed of doubt in the mind.
No need recalling the hidings of last season against Liverpool, Manchester City and Chelsea last season, All on lunch time kickoffs, leaving the aggregate score at 17-4. The journalistic desire to find patterns in the noise makes it tempting to suggest that perhaps Wenger are not early risers and maybe a nice long breakfast to be at their best, but the likelihood is that the timing of the games is mere coincidence. No, a far more convincing explanation is the fact that in all three games, Arsenal were being over run at midfield. The qualities emphasized by Wenger to his scouts as key in theoretical new recruit -- power, size, physicality -- were all absent in those games.
In all three, they had just one holding player: Mathieu Flamini against City, Arteta (who is notin all honesty, even a natural for the role) at Anfield and Stamford Bridge. In all three, as their teammates were hounded and pressed, they found themselves tasked with holding back the tide. In all three, they were understandably found wanting. Wenger knew that, that was why he set his scouts the challenges of finding a player who could play that specific role. T is not inconceivable that he envisaged the signing of a player who would only feature in precisely these games against the biggest, best sides, to offer his team a bastion of resilience, to make them more opposing, a sort of footballing equivalent to a special team units in the NFL.
Such players do exist, Manchester City brought in Fernando. Nigel De JOng was available for the right price this summer. Wenger has long tracked Morgan Schneiderlin had he moved fast enough, he might have snatched him away from Southampton. Then there was Maxime Gonalons of Lyon, either one of the Benders, or even Newcastle's Chieck Tiote. They are not in short supply. It is then hard to explain why Wenger and his scouting staff failed to address a need they identified. Perhaps they could not settle on their preferred option, perhaps they moved on to other things. A personal suspicion would be that these are the sort of signings Wenger knows he has to make,but that he does not particularly enjoy bringing them in.
Every manager has a type of player he regards as a necessary evil. Take Jose Mourinho, has always found room in his team for the likes of Deco, Wesley Sneijder and even Fabregas; but you sense that if he could, he would rather not have to.They are too mav maverick, to difficult to merge their finesse into team ethic, too prone to bouts of work-shyness. It is same with Wenger, he desires a team of articians. Whatever the cause, tough, no midfielder arrived. Will the gamble fail? We will find out more in the ensuing months.
Oluseyi Owolabi
