Arsene Wenger has a remarkable and proven record of making average or good signings into good or outstanding footballers. But while Olivier Giroud and Lukas Podolski remain without a goal in the Premier League and Arsenal sit on only two points from two, not entirely damaging draws, the ghost of Arsenal’s former captain (whose name escapes me right now) will continue to linger.
From the outset, Arsene Wenger is absolutely bang on to defend his decisions in the transfer market and the quality of his latest attacking duo. The Arsenal manager hasn’t always got it right in the summer or winter markets, but when he gets it right, he really pulls gems out of the hat. But what is everyone expecting? That strikers from Germany and France are going to hit the ground running in the Premier League? I spoke previously about the issues of a tough start for the Gunners due to the lack of a good pre-season, and it’s evidently playing a role in the weak form in front of goal from the new recruits up front.
But like with so many good players in the past, Arsene Wenger has had to wait it out for his latest signings to come good and acclimatise to new surroundings. Thierry Henry took nine games to get on the score sheet; Dennis Bergkamp didn’t immediately establish himself as a superstar; Robert Pires needed almost a whole season to become the sensational performer he was; and then there’s Emmanuel Adebayor and Robin van Persie, both of whom only performed to exceptional levels of consistency in their last and second to last seasons at the club. For that, there shouldn’t be too much worry about what Podolski and Giroud are capable of.
But that’s the order of the day, isn’t it? In fact, that’s what Arsenal have to hear each time the club go through a bad spell or are without goals after a couple of games. There were periods in the past where Henry, van Persie and good goal scorers from the Invincibles era couldn’t find the net. Now, however, the story has been sensationalised due to the recent high-profile outgoings from the club.
What many have failed to acknowledge from the last game away to Stoke is that Lukas Podolski looked extremely well-suited to the tough-tackling nature of the hosts at the Britannia. I struggle to see how teams up north are going to throw a hard as nails German international off the ball or out of the game. While Olivier Giroud’s confidence and athleticism to attempt an overhead kick and a shot from well out of range should be promising signs. What happens when the goals start flying in for the French striker and hitting the back of the net becomes a regular and consistent part of Giroud’s game?
Wenger made the point in his defence of his players that he understands what it takes to be a good player and how to improve his new signings. Despite a number of a poor acquisitions in the transfer market, it’s very difficult to compare a player like Park, who was relegated with Monaco, to a title-winning top scorer in Giroud.
The biggest point here is that Arsenal needed to replace the outgoing van Persie with quality good enough to add goals on a regular basis. With all the big name departures from the club in recent years, when has Wenger not been able to find a solution to the need for goals? Jamie Redknapp is welcome to his opinion, but how much knowledge does he have of the Bundesliga or Ligue 1? Many wrote off Laurent Koscielny when he arrived after one season in Ligue 1, but he’s now Arsenal’s most consistent centre-back. But does that go towards just the player’s ability to fulfil his potential, or is it also the influence of the manager?
Wenger has an excellent track record for finding and bettering good players and players with potential. Maybe it needed Podolski and Giroud to arrive off the back of £25 million price tags each. Maybe it just needed both of them to have had Premier League experience in previous years. But Wenger identified two excellent opportunities to add to his attack and he took them.
There should be a lot more trust in what Arsene Wenger can do with £25 million spread out over a couple of signings rather than just one. Arsenal fans should, therefore, have plenty of faith in what the manager is capable of with the players at his disposal. Two very good signings and Wenger is spot on in his defence of them.
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