Arsene Wenger won’t appreciate being compared unfavourably to Jose Mourinho, but the current transfer window highlights the differences between the pair.
The Manchester United manager identified four transfer targets – Eric Bailly, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Henrik Mkhitaryan and Paul Pogba – and landed them all before a ball was kicked.
Mourinho may have been helped by United’s considerable financial might, but his decisiveness in the market has meant the club go into the season looking like genuine title contenders.
The same can’t be said of Arsenal.
Heisenberg is the one who knocks… Arsene Wenger is the one who refuses to spend any money. Ever. pic.twitter.com/043ODXeOmP
— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) August 24, 2016
The club are set to sign Deportivo La Coruna striker Lucas Perez, and central defender Shkodran Mustafi from Valencia, as Wenger finally addresses two problem positions in the team.
However, the capture of Perez, who may turn out to be a good signing, arguably sums up the flawed transfer policy of Arsenal in recent seasons.
According to reports in both The Independent and The Mirror, Wenger turned down the chance to sign the Spanish striker less than a month ago because they didn’t think he was good enough.
The club are understood to have scouted the 27-year-old throughout last season, when he scored 17 goals, the second time he has reached double figures in his career, but turned down the chance to sign him in July.
A month later, the clubs have agreed a fee, and Perez is set to sign a four-year deal.
Three factors appear to have changed Wenger’s mind on the player.
How good is Arsenal target Lucas Perez? We compare his FM16 stats to 5 Premier League strikers https://t.co/Ds4E3bk3cH
— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) August 26, 2016
Firstly, Everton were on the verge of signing the player who has been compared to Jamie Vardy. Steve Walsh, the Toffee’s new director of football, had been interested in signing him for Leicester City at the end of last season, and followed up his interest when he arrived at Goodison Park.
Everton agreed to pay Perez’s buy-out clause of £17m, until Arsenal stepped back in.
The other factor in Wenger’s change of mind is evidently their sluggish start to the season. The Gunners lost on the opening day of the season 4-3 to Liverpool, and played out a goalless draw with Leicester City.
Olivier Giroud has yet to return to the starting line-up, after receiving an extended break following Euro 2016. Danny Welbeck is still injured and Theo Walcott is still Theo Walcott.
Arsenal are short of striker, and it appears Wenger has somewhat panicked. The signing of Perez, however good he turns out to be, is symbolic of Arsenal’s muddled approach in the market in recent season.
Buy, sell, befriend Mendes, listen to Claude. Here's @dionfanning with 6 things Arsene Wenger must do to fix Arsenal https://t.co/Iv6RDiD5jJ
— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) August 18, 2016
Arsenal infamously bid £40m and one pound for Luis Suarez three years ago, seeking to trigger the then Liverpool striker’s release clause. Suarez was unsettled and prepared to join Arsenal to play in the Champions League, but Liverpool rejected the bid.
Had they returned with a £60m bid, Liverpool may have been tempted, and Suarez would’ve turned Arsenal into a team capable of winning the league.
However, Wenger didn’t return with a new bid and Suarez almost helped Liverpool win the league before joining Barcelona for £65m.
Wenger has since signed Welbeck to lead the line, gave Walcott a new contract, and played him as a striker, and will now buy Perez, a player deemed not good enough a month ago, as a back-up to Giroud – a player who has failed to fully convince.
(Arsenal have also signed Alexis Sanchez since Suarez joined Barcelona, but the Chilean looks more comfortable playing wide of a central striker than leading the line).
The final, and perhaps most telling, factor in Wenger signing Perez is his reported reluctance to pay Lyon £47m for Alexandre Lacazette. Given that transfer fees continue to inflate, the French striker could be worth valued at £60m in a year’s time, yet Wenger won’t budge.
The Arsenal manager seemingly longs for a time when there was a degree of rationality in the transfer market, but those days are long gone – as evidenced by Pogba being signed for a world record fee after being allowed to leave for nothing four years ago.
Wenger seeks value, fails to find it, settles for second best – or in the case of Walcott – third or fourth best and Arsenal fail to win the title. Arsenal could’ve signed Suarez in 2013 had Wenger paid the going rate for a world class striker. A year later they ended up with Welbeck.
This year they could’ve had Lacazette, instead they’re signing a striker Wenger deemed not good enough a month ago.
While it may seem unfair on Perez, who again could be a good signing for the club, the deal for him shows Wenger’s reluctance to pay the market rate for top class talent, and the club’s desperation when reality sets in and they realise the need to strengthen. By that point, they’re left with their second and third choice options, and are found scrambling.
The sad thing for Wenger, one of the great coaches of modern football, and a man who has built brilliant teams in the past, there appears to be only one way to end this cycle.
