Arsene Wenger’s men have found form in the second half of the season and apart from the loss against Spurs, they have shown the ability to perform and win matches based on sheer footballing skills and surprisingly, tactical tweaking as well. Despite their surge in form, their position on the table is not so desirable. They are fighting for the top four spot in the league but have predominantly been on the edge of the top four throughout the season. While we can argue that Arsenal have a very strong chance to finish in the third or fourth spot come the end of the season, though it may be a stretch for them, it is to be understood that it would be a degrade to last season’s performances.
Last season, Arsenal showed sudden promise and intended to be the surprise contenders for the title for a long part of the season. Apart from a few matches lost to the top clubs, which were naturally considered better in quality, Arsenal were always in the top four, assured of a spot. The Gunners eventually ended the year placed fourth and won an FA Cup. This season, they were expected to mount a more serious challenge with a team that has been reinforced in key areas of offence and defence. Yet, the lack of a quality defensive midfielder proved costly to the Gunners as they lost steam even before their season kicked off properly. They should avoid making that error and must strengthen their engine room to meet the Premier League’s rigorous requirement.
If it was not for Francis Coquelin, the one real defensive minded midfielder in Arsenal who has got the legs to match the demands, Arsenal would have been struggling to cope up with the challenges thrown by Liverpool and Spurs in a bid to attack the top four spots. Coquelin is raw and determined, and has shown great form ever since he returned back, but there is only him in this squad who has shown consistency in this role. While Jack Wilshere has been out injured and among controversies, Aaron Ramsey has been forced to play slightly more defensive role than what we saw him do last season.
What Arsenal need is a player who has the defensive ability along with good attacking skill-set to occupy the box to box role on the pitch. Players like Wilshere and Cazorla aren’t ideally meant for tackling and intercepting, as they are more offensive minded on the pitch. Similarly, Aaron Ramsey is a true box to box player in terms of his work rate and stamina, but the techniques he offers in offense are much better refined than what he can offer in defending. We can safely assume that unless Jack Wilshere gets to reach a consistent level of performance and discipline, we will not see him as a regular starting player while Mikel Arteta is slowly fading away from his prime and Flamini shows the perfect attributes of a squad rotation player and definitely not a starter. So, we are left with Cazorla, Coquelin and Ramsey who are currently showing consistency and are capable of occupying various roles in central midfield.
An addition of someone like Sami Khedira who can provide the experience and quality in defense and the contributions in offense as well would help the team greatly. There needs to be a superstar signing for the Gunners who can improve the team instantly. A big name defensive midfielder would help the likes of Ramsey to be more expressive and also be able to give balance to the squad. Khedira is one name, but there are some more like Morgan Schneiderlin, Arturo Vidal or Paul Pogba, who would cost a fortune each. But Arsenal need one with big stature and world class ability.
Probably Wenger did not want to spend extra in last summer’s transfer window after he spent a sizable amount by investing in Chilean superstar Alexis Sanchez, who has been exceptional in the Premier League. There has been an obvious trend- Wenger has signed a big player in the past two windows. Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez have been proven world class players with quality written all over them. We know Ozil has had some adaptation issues, but given his recent form and confidence, we know how much he has improved the Gunners. So in the coming window, Arsenal must get that one lucrative superstar for their central midfield to gel with the likes of Ramsey, Wilshere, Coquelin and Cazorla in the team. A top player would enter the starting line-up, create competition and also provide consistency to the team. Perhaps, we could also see Wilshere being played in a more favourable role after being protected by a quality defensive minded player who would also attack when need comes.
We have seen how immensely Chelsea have improved ever since Nemanja Matic joined them last January. The role Fernandinho plays for Manchester City is also valuable, despite the fact that as a player, he has shown inconsistency at times. Thus, it is a pre-requisite for Wenger to march into the summer window and splash the cash on a world class player coveted by his rivals. If he can sign Ozil and Sanchez, he can definitely have a fair try at other top players.