Arsenal's Struggles vs. Aston Villa Symptomatic of a Bad Summer

After an important defeat, it's always tempting to look for excuses. After a 3-1 Premier League opening day defeat to Aston Villa, Arsenal can take their pick: they can blame injuries, or alternatively they can aim their ire at the referee.

However, they would be wise to look predominantly at themselves.

This defeat was the culmination of a disastrous summer. 

Arsenal fans are used to summers of pain. Usually their annual angst surrounds the departure of a major star. Arsenal supporters have been spared that particular pain this time around, yet have been introduced to a new form of torture: raised hopes.

At the start of the summer, Arsenal chief executive Ivan Gazidis was explicit about the club’s renewed spending power as per BBC Sport. He promised a change in policy and described a dramatic shift in Arsenal’s financial capabilities. 

Understandably, Arsenal fans began to feel optimistic about the coming season. The club finally seemed set to join European football’s big spenders. The lean days were over. Arsenal fans dared to dream that prudence was set to be replaced by profligacy. 

That change has not materialised. The transfer window closes in just over two weeks, and thus far Arsenal’s sole signing is the injury-prone French youngster Yaya Sanogo. Comically, he is already injured.

Arsenal need reinforcements all over the pitch. That work should have been done before now. There is still time left in this window, but today’s result demonstrates that Arsenal have left it too late.

Despite the injury problems and the erratic refereeing, a club with Arsenal’s resources still ought to be able to assemble a good enough team to beat an Aston Villa side who spent much of last season staring down the barrel of relegation.

Had Arsenal invested in an experienced goalkeeper, they would not have conceded a penalty in the same impetuous manner Wojciech Szczesny did.

Had Arsenal bought a defensive midfielder to provide backup for Mikel Arteta, they might not have allowed Gabriel Agbonlahor to waltz unchecked into the penalty area in the first place. 

Had Arsenal managed to identify a striker to support Olivier Giroud, they could have had the attacking resources to put the game beyond doubt early on, or claw themselves back into contention in the final stages.

Instead, Arsenal’s inaction has cost them dearly. It may be just one defeat, but a club with title aspirations cannot afford too many of those.

Perhaps Arsenal’s title aspirations are not as real as they claim. If The Gunners genuinely wanted to bring home the Premier League title, one imagines they would have made a more concerted effort to strengthen their paper-thin squad.