Arsenal signs no one

By: travis | September 2nd, 2008

The transfer window has now come and gone. And to a bit of surprise, Wenger signed no one, although reports indicate he did make an effort to go after Xabi Alonso. In fact, the biggest signings for us yesterday were the youngsters Kieran Gibbs and Mark Randall agreeing to contract extensions.

The Alonso signing would be hard to pull off, because Rafa Benitez would be a bit off his rocker to agree a transfer fee to a direct rival without getting much more than the player is actually worth. By doing that, Wenger admits that there is a lack of experience in the midfield. Although if Rosicky and Diaby become fit again, it’s less of a worry. But they never are fit, so therein lies the problem.

With the emergence and sale of Manchester City’s new owners, it looks like a new Abramovich is on the loose. Their audacious bids for David Villa, Dimitar Berbatov, and Robinho were quite outlandish. They seem serious in their determination to buying players for outrageous fees, but they’ll need time to convince people they can put out a quality product on the pitch. Last season they were off to a hot start until injuries caught up and they faded. I’m convinced that Wenger can outcoach Mark Hughes any day of the week as well.

Outside of transfer news, Wenger has high praise for Emmanuel Eboue:

“There was a little bit of frustration from the fans because they thought that he didn’t always have enough end-product, but he has improved a lot in that respect. He has put over good final balls since the start of the season.”

I haven’t seen every minute of every game, but if you’ve seen Van Persie’s second from the Newcastle game, you’ll have to acknowledge that was a great pass. Although I did see him shank a couple of crosses long yesterday. Can’t hit them perfectly.

Players such as Eboue will have to play out of their minds in order to compete with the top this season. I think we’re capable, yet their are still hints of pessimism. There’s a part of me that is relieved that another transfer window opens in January, a part of me that wants to see what Arsene’s kids can do now. The gauntlet has been laid down, and will see if Wenger is a mad genius, or just mad. As per usual, what do you Gooners out there think?