YOU have to hand it to Arsenal: they stick to their brand.
Despite suffering a spate of defensive injuries across the course of January, the club’s only midseason signing was a slight playmaker: Denis Suarez. Although the club did try and supplement the Spaniard with another loan signing or two, those other moves fell foul of the notoriously tricky January negotiating period.
While Suarez himself is an interesting and relatively risk-free acquisition, it leaves their squad with a decidedly unfinished look. It seemed like Arsenal’s January business would be governed by a series of serious injuries.
When Danny Welbeck went down with a broken ankle, their need for a goalscoring wide forward increased. When Rob Holding and then Hector Bellerin also suffered season-ending injuries, defensive reinforcements felt like a must. And yet, remarkably, Arsenal have signed a player who doesn’t really fit either of those requirements.
Finally, the notification you’ve all been waiting for
Welcome to Arsenal, @DenisSuarez6 #HolaDenis
— Arsenal FC (@Arsenal) January 31, 2019
Arsenal don’t have an issue with numbers, they have issues with balance and quality. Take the centre-back situation: even with Holding out, they still have four centre-halves in their squad—six if you count the versatile pair of Nacho Monreal and Stephan Lichtsteiner.
However, they don’t have a stand-out stopper they can confidently build a defence around. Similarly at right-back, while Lichtsteiner, Ainsley Maitland-Niles and Carl Jenkinson are all available to cover for Bellerin, none look particularly convincing.
One can only assume Arsenal intend to address those issues in the summer. Perhaps the calibre of defender they’re after simply wasn’t available in January, in which case there’s no point stockpiling more substandard squad players.
Were Arsenal ever really in for Ivan Perisic? pic.twitter.com/ko1bZkMJNc
— Goal (@goal) February 1, 2019
They did at least attempt to replace Welbeck, with moves for Ivan Perisic and Yannick Carrasco. Their options were severely restricted by the self-imposed decision to only make loan signings in January. Ultimately, neither player’s club was ever likely to let them leave on loan without a guarantee of a fee further down the line. Their inability to bring in a forward player is presumably what halted Eddie Nketiah’s proposed loan move to Augsburg.
Arguably one of the most intriguing deals of deadline day was the one that took Emile Smith-Rowe to Red Bull Leipzig on loan. Fellow academy product Reiss Nelson is already stationed on loan in the Bundesliga with Hoffenheim, and this offers Smith-Rowe a chance to get some invaluable first team experience at one of Germany’s top four clubs.
With Arsenal out of both domestic cups and most likely fielding their first XI in the Europa League, his chances of game-time in London were slim. It’s potentially a fantastic move for his development.
Arsenal taking over the Bundesliga pic.twitter.com/xNjfyk3r5h
— B/R Football (@brfootball) January 31, 2019
And so to Suarez. Arsenal have signed a player Unai Emery knows well from their time with Sevilla, and credit must go to Head of Football Raul Sanllehi for managing to negotiate a deal that protects the Gunners’ summer budget. There is no compulsory purchase option, so if Suarez struggles to settle, Arsenal can simply send him back.
However, he should at least fit Emery’s system. Suarez is well suited to playing in one of the wide midfield roles usually occupied by the likes of Alex Iwobi and Henrikh Mkhitaryan. He’s someone who will naturally drift infield, allowing the full-back to get outside them on the overlap. The signing of Suarez feels somewhat like an attempted solution to Emery’s discomfort with deploying Mesut Ozil. It will be interesting to see if the Spaniard’s arrival sees the German becoming even more marginalised.
Arsenal did also make moves to bring in Christopher Nkunku on loan from Paris Saint-Germain, but in truth his signing never felt particularly necessary. With the addition of Suarez, the Gunners are well-stocked for versatile creative midfielders. Perhaps Emery will return to this case in the summer.
For now, he must make do with what he’s got. Arsenal had a midseason opportunity to bolster their squad for lies ahead—and for the most part, they chose not to take it. If they suffer for it between now and May, it will take quite the summer to win back the faith of their fans.
