You couldn’t ask for a sterner test for Arsenal to start the 2018-19 season, as Unai Emery prepares for his first Premier League game in charge against reigning champions, Manchester City. At 4pm on Sunday when the ball starts rolling at the Emirates, a new post-Wenger era begins for the club after numerous important changes during the summer.
There were no panic buys or last-minute dramas on transfer deadline day, despite the habitual plethora of rumors and speculation Gunners fans have grown used to, linking an assortment of potential targets. Throughout the summer there has been ongoing talk of interest in Barcelona forward Ousmane Dembele, with reports in Spain suggesting the Spanish giants might be willing to sell.
The English tabloids soon latched onto those reports and claims emerged of a £90 million bid from Arsenal, with just a few hours of the transfer window left. All this despite the 21-year-old Frenchman having already insisted he’ll be staying put at the Camp Nou, having only joined Barcelona from Borussia Dortmund last season. Nevertheless, no move had materialised by the time the transfer window slammed shut for the summer.
Meanwhile, after an impressive 2018 World Cup with a Croatia side that defied expectations to reach the final, defender Domagoj Vida was also tipped for a move from Turkish side Besiktas. However, despite speculation that Arsenal were weighing up a £27million offer, Emery apparently didn’t see the need for further defensive reinforcements; content that Shkodran Mustafi, Sokratis Papastathopoulos, Rob Holding and Konstantinos Mavropanos provide sufficient cover for the centre-back positions.
Indeed, after Stephan Lichtsteiner was first to arrive from Juventus in June, followed by the capture of Bernd Leno from Bayer Leverkusen, Arsenal did well to secure their remaining key signings in an orderly fashion. Papastathopoulos landed from Borussia Dortmund, with Lucas Torreira from Sampdoria and Mattéo Guendouzi from Lorient; all in just a matter of days early in July. All are good signings, irrespective of their price-tags.
Given talk throughout the summer that purse strings might be tight, the total spend is hardly surprising. There’s absolutely no doubt that many Arsenal fans might have been hoping for more, maybe even just one blockbuster signing as a statement of intent, but reality suggests that was never likely to happen anyway. Likewise, the size of a transfer fee is by no means any guarantee a player will instantly be successful, especially in an over-inflated market.
The biggest positive from the transfer window is that having done their business swiftly and without too much fuss, the current Arsenal squad is pretty stable and arguably better prepared than many others in the Premier League. Those thinking of taking a punt with free bet offers via Timeform might now be thinking twice, before backing teams like Manchester United or Tottenham Hotspur to finish above the Gunners. Neither of them have exactly captured the imagination with their signings this summer.
While other clubs have notably continued looking to fill in their blanks, or desperately sought to do their business right up to the final minute, there seems to be a more tranquil level of satisfaction and contentment from Emery and the Arsenal coaching staff. If any tweaks or further reinforcements are needed, well, there’s always the winter transfer window to come, with plenty of time to plan ahead and identify exactly what’s required.
For what has been accomplished this summer in terms of recruitment, including that of Emery himself as manager, the first indication of progress will inevitably be the match against Manchester City. Pep Guardiola’s most notable addition was Riyad Mahrez from Leicester City, but with such a strong squad already, there was little needed improving given their embarrassment of riches.
City will test every last drop of resolve this new look Arsenal have to offer in the opening game, but if Emery and the team can take points, which isn’t out of the question at home against last season’s champions, then perhaps those Gunners fans with lingering doubts will have reason to believe this new era at the club could see things moving in the right direction at last. It’s going to be a baptism of fire, but one that should be welcomed and not feared.
