Mikel Arteta’s 87th minute winner against Manchester City not only all but ended the Blues title challenge but vindicated Arsene Wenger’s decision to splash the cash last August. Despite an 8-2 hammering by Manchester United, many labelled his shopping spree to bring in Andre Santos, Per Mertesacker, Yossi Benayoun and Arteta as ‘panic buys’. Fuming Evertonians even said Arteta was finished and would be in and out of the team because of injuries.
But the performance against City, allied to the recent run which has seen the Gunners make themselves favourites for a Champions League spot has closed the book on that awful August hammering by United. It also seems like a good time to take a closer look at these ‘panic buys’ and assess whether they are just that or yet more examples of ‘Arsene Knows’.
Andre Santos
It’s hard to assess the Brazillian because he has been injured for such a large part of his first season in English football. But a summer of learning the defensive shape and more about the demands of Premier League football and we should have an interesting defender on our hands. Yesterday shows he is tough, not afraid to get involved and stand up to strong centre forwards like Mario Balotelli.
Critics of his will point to the fact that the last Samba full-back Sylvinho was great going forward but hated defending. A good point but one should remember he came from Corinthians in Brazil where defending is not exactly taught. Santos came from Corinthians via two years in Turkey at Fenerbache where defending is both needed and a vital asset.
So was he a panic buy? Hard to say for certain but maybe next season will tell us when he competes with Kieran Gibbs for the left-back slot.
Per Mertesacker
The German has attracted his fair share of critics this year with people saying he is too slow, too error prone and not suited to English football. Let’s deal with the criticisms first; Slow, yes he is not the quickest but all Gooners will tell you that the most famous captain in the club’s history could hardly run and he turned out alright. Once adjusted to the pace of the game, I believe Mertesacker will often be in the right position to deal with Premier League speedsters.
Error-prone, yes Mertesacker has been gaff-prone this season but not many imports come into the Premier League and adjust straight away, in fact his deficiencies have been highlighted in many cases because of Arsenal’s problems in defence all season. Not suited to English football? Well you don’t play nearly 80 game for Germany if you are not a good defender so I think we can let the stats do the talking on that one.
Panic buy? Out of all the signings Mertesacker looks most likely to be stuck with that tag but like Santos I think he needs a full season in red and white before we judge. Remember how error-prone Koscielny was in his first season?
Yossi Benayoun
The Israeli was a surprise signing and almost fitted the Gallas mould, older player unhappy at Chelsea and arrives at the Emirates. His impact has not been staggering but he has always given his best in a red shirt and has played a part in the Gunners surge up the league table in recent months.
His versatility has been an asset to Wenger who has often needed to shuffle the pack this season with injury, loss of form and the departure of Andrei Arshavin. Yes he missed an open goal yesterday but his experience has been worth the loan move from Stamford Bridge.
Panic buy? NO, Wenger saw his squad lacked experienced heads and moved for a player who wouldn’t set the world on fire but would provide calm assurance to the younger heads on the pitch.
Mikel Arteta
‘Finished’, ‘Injury-prone’, ‘Not good enough for Arsenal’ – Just some of the comments levelled at the Spaniard after he left Everton for Arsenal. Sadly for his critics Mikel has shot them all down and proved to be a great buy. His goal yesterday epitomises the confidence he has brought to the midfield and his arrival has provided the missing link which allows Alex Song to get forward without fear of leaving the defence exposed.
Arteta has the ability to put his foot on the ball and slow the game down if Arsenal are under pressure but also is lethal from any dead-balls and from a long way out. Previously teams coming to the Emirates defended deep because they knew Arsenal needed to pass it to death. While that is still true in some cases, now Arsenal have a threat which requires defenders to come forward more.
Panic buy? NO, Arsene knew what he was getting – a more experienced Cesc Fabregas and a cool hand to guide the young pups like Wilshere and Ramsey to the titles and honours they deserve.
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