Why Arsene Wenger's Transfer Policy Is to Blame for Arsenal's 2015/16 Struggles

After being in such a promising position at the turn of the year, Arsenal’s season is now disintegrating in spectacular fashion. They exited the FA Cup at the weekend at the hands of Watford, and they seem set to replicate that in the Champions League imminently. As for their Premier League title challenge, that too is crumbling.

There are several reasons for their collapse, but it’s impossible to avoid the suspicion that Arsene Wenger’s summer transfer policy has directly hindered this team.

Wenger’s transfer business has always been somewhat idiosyncratic. Last summer, he took that to new extremes. His Arsenal were the only club in Europe’s major leagues to enter the new season without signing a single outfield player.  

It was quite extraordinary. In the past, Wenger’s spending had been curtailed by the need to service debts incurred by building the Emirates Stadium. However, the Gunners are now flush with money from renewed deals with both Emirates and Puma for the stadium naming rights and kit sponsorship, respectively. The shackles ought to be off, and yet Wenger is as frugal as ever.

The only signing Arsenal made with their substantial war chest was Petr Cech. From the outside, that appeared to be a particularly obvious deal to make. However, Wenger admitted that even he had doubts over proceeding with that deal, per Sky Sports: 

"Look, it was a very, very difficult decision for me because I highly rate David Ospina. I have a high opinion of him. Ospina is a goalkeeper who, in my opinion, is underrated, especially in England."

That means Arsenal came incredibly close to starting the season without any kind of signing. For a club with the Gunners’ spending power, that’s staggering. 

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Wenger argued that he simply couldn’t find players of the requisite quality to improve his squad. Per Amy Lawrence of the Guardian, he said: 

"

You either find someone who strengthens your squad or not. Whether we have players injured or not doesn’t change the problem. That’s what I don’t understand from the media. 

If we did not find someone [to sign], we did not find them. I can understand everyone’s hope, but if you look at what happened in the transfer market it shows you that there is a shortage of solutions out there.

I have made more than 300 transfers and every time it’s a decision to make. Do you buy the player because he strengthens his squad or not? The solutions we had were not convincing at all. In the end you do not buy to give hope, you want to buy because the players who come in can help your squad to be stronger. Buying and selling is one way to strengthen your team but that’s not the only way.

"

It is possible to see what he was thinking. Arsenal had finished the 2014/15 season strongly, and a new team seemed to be emerging.

Furthermore, there had been significant transfer business over the past 12 months, with six players—Alexis Sanchez, Danny Welbeck, Gabriel Paulista, Mathieu Debuchy, Calum Chambers and Ospina—arriving over the previous two windows.

In addition, academy products like Francis Coquelin and Hector Bellerin had broken through into the first-team setup. Arsenal seemed to be achieving a delicate balance, and Wenger was loath to disturb it.

There’s precedent for that kind of policy at Arsenal. In the summer of 2003, Arsenal added only Jens Lehmann as a replacement for David Seaman. The Gunners went through the subsequent Premier League campaign unbeaten, claiming the title in the process.

IAN KINGTON/Getty Images

However, there’s a key difference between that season and this. The Arsenal squad of 2003 was largely comprised of players who had also been champions in 2002. It made sense that they would be able to go on and win the league again.

The present Arsenal side have never finished top of the pile, so the idea that sticking with them could produce that result seems fanciful. 

Wenger would presumably point to a squad packed with talent and ask where the gaps are, but it’s actually relatively easy to counter that argument.

The Frenchman repeatedly makes the mistake of relying on players who are prone to injury. For example, his central-midfield options for this season included Mikel Arteta and Jack Wilshere, both of whom have barely featured. That led to a situation in January where Wenger was forced to pair Aaron Ramsey with Mathieu Flamini in a partnership so dysfunctional it cost the Gunners points. 

It’s also difficult to argue that Arsenal don’t need a world-class centre-forward. Olivier Giroud might be the club’s top goalscorer with 20, but he also endured an 11-game barren spell. Arsenal’s title-winning sides of the past have been spearheaded by the likes of Dennis Bergkamp and Thierry Henry. Giroud and Theo Walcott simply aren’t of that calibre.

Francisco Seco/Associated Press

If Arsenal really can’t find players capable of improving the squad, maybe they need to look at how they’re identifying talent. The likes of N’golo Kante and Riyad Mahrez have proven that it is possible to unearth players who can make a genuine impact in the Premier League. Those are, after all, the kind of signings Wenger was once revered for.

Moreover, the lack of activity smacks of a lack of ambition. Wenger seems to love stability but with that comes the risk of complacency.

If Arsenal really do believe they can be the biggest club in England, they ought to act a bit more like it. Putting down money is sometimes a statement of intent—it creates excitement among the fans and competition among the players. There’s a reason the story of Arsenal’s season feels so familiar when the cast are almost identical. 

The fans are tiring of Wenger’s parsimony. Speaking after the closure of the summer window, Tim Payton of the Arsenal Supporters' Trust told the Telegraph:

"

Just one or two more good additions would have strengthened the chances of winning a first title in 11 years.

This isn't an issue that affects just one transfer window and seems to indicate a wider structural issue. We urge the board to now open a full review into its arrangements for scouting and purchasing players.

"

Eleven years is now closer to 12. Arsenal look set for a season without silverware, and the summer will see the club go back to the drawing board. If Wenger is able to survive in his job, he’ll surely have to loosen the purse strings for next season. The fans are unlikely to tolerate another stingy summer. Spending money isn’t the only way to fix a team, but it wouldn’t be a bad way to start.

James McNicholas is Bleacher Report's lead Arsenal correspondent and is following the club from a London base throughout 2015/16. Follow him on Twitter here.