A Detailed Look Inside Arsenal's Chaotic Transfer Window
It was supposed to be different this time.
When manager Arsene Wenger signed his new contract on May 31, he spoke of "optimism" and "excitement." There was a real intention to make a statement in the transfer market and make Arsenal great again.
The ambition was evident when Alexandre Lacazette joined the club five weeks later, but that was as good as it got.
Other business deals collapsed and a total of 23 players left the club—with others ruing their failure to escape. It certainly did not all go to plan.
Same Old Arsene
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New contract, new Wenger. That's what we were told to expect.
After penning that new deal, sources around Arsenal were convinced a corner was being turned. I was told there was genuine belief the next two years would not follow the frustrations of recent campaigns.
No longer were Arsenal going to lack conviction in the transfer market. No longer would they be umming and ahing over targets. No longer would we be waiting until the final day of the window for them to have their signings in place.
Yet, as we look back, we know that none of this was true. In fact, this most recent deadline day became one of the most stressful in history.
For Wenger, chief executive Ivan Gazidis and transfer negotiator Dick Law, the frustrations were all too familiar.
In the final 12 hours of the window, Arsenal genuinely considered selling Alexis Sanchez, their best player, to Manchester City. And on the back of that, they were willing to pay £92 million for AS Monaco's Thomas Lemar, a player they had bid around half that amount for earlier in the window.
Their good intentions derailed, Wenger ended up back on familiar ground.
Tracking the Early Targets
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Arsenal's intentions were good as last season ended, with Kylian Mbappe the man at the top of the their shopping list. The club felt they had a genuine chance of bagging the world's most exciting teenage talent.
With £100 million in his pocket, Wenger went in pursuit of the 18-year-old and made personal checks to convince him how a switch to Arsenal could shape his career.
Wenger spoke of him playing as a centre-forward and emerging into the same type of player as Thierry Henry. But his words fell on deaf ears.
Mbappe decided a move to north London was not for him, and his price tag then rocketed beyond the wedge Wenger had put aside for him anyway.
The truth is, the move was too ambitious. With Arsenal having failed to win the Premier League in 13 years and not even able to offer Champions League football anymore, it just did not appeal.
So the name was crossed off the list and Wenger moved on to target No. 2: Lacazette. It was a transfer that gave all Arsenal fans hope.
After months of speculation, the Gunners tied up a deal for the French forward on July 5. It was a coup for Wenger, although helped by the fact Atletico Madrid had been hit by a transfer embargo—as they had made a strong move for the 26-year-old.
Arsenal reached Lyon's £46 million asking price and could go on to pay a further £6 million in add-ons.
Sources at Arsenal told me how Wenger was encouraged at being able to complete such a deal, as he had failed to land Lacazette the previous year.
The Links with Lemar
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Lemar would end up being a key storyline, but he had been on the radar all summer. During July, serious attention was given to a deal for the France international.
The early signs were two-fold from the Monaco end of business. Firstly, he was valued at £70 million but—more importantly—he was not available anyway. The French side were keen to ensure they kept at least some members of last term's Ligue 1-winning squad together.
Despite this, Arsenal made three bids—the highest of which was a £50 million offer at the end of July—but Monaco knocked them back. The Gunners felt it was a fair reflection of his ability, so from there Wenger and his negotiating team moved away to consider their next move.
The new Premier League season was on the horizon, and the manager's attention began to turn to matters on the pitch. Worryingly, his players did not share that focus.
Losing the Faith
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As the Premier League campaign began, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil had still not signed new contracts. Arsenal were sending out defiant messages that none of them would be sold, but it never seemed believable.
Oxlade-Chamberlain became an intriguing case as it became clear he was willing to turn down a new contract worth £180,000-a-week and pursue a move away. His negotiations with Arsenal had dragged on for 18 months, and by August he had simply had enough.
Yes, there had been concerns over his long-term position at Arsenal as he has a desire to play centrally. But the overriding feeling was simply that, for the good of his career—with club and country—he needed a move.
He joined Liverpool in a deal worth up to £40 million just days after the Gunners had been thumped 4-0 at Anfield. Arsenal consider it a good piece of business, and it is good money for a player whose contract was expiring at the end of the season.
But the fact the England international felt compelled to leave says so much about the current status of Arsenal.
"The club had once again become a shambles," a source close to Oxlade-Chamberlain told me. "In the end, he was desperate to just get away. He had to move."
Sanchez felt the same way. Players at the club sensed he would also force his way out.
Deadline Day Shambles
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By now, Arsenal's plans for a calm summer were in tatters and on the morning of transfer deadline day, talks were taking place between Manchester City chief executive Ferran Soriano and Arsenal's Gazidis. The subject: Alexis Sanchez.
City had been touching base all summer over a potential deal for the Chile forward, and in the lead-up to the final hours of the window had been asked to consider the prospect of Raheem Sterling becoming part of the deal.
That was quickly taken off the table by City—and a £50 million cash offer was laughed off by Arsenal.
But when City came back with an offer totalling £60 million, Arsenal opened the door. This was a player who wanted to join City and will become a free agent in 2018. The Gunners were willing to cave in.
City thought the move would develop well from that stage. Arsenal asked for time to secure a replacement, but figures at City indicated that, in that moment, the Manchester team did not realise quite how far they were from agreeing any sort of transfer for Lemar.
That detail would prove crucial.
Despite lowballing Monaco a month earlier, Arsenal went crawling back with a mega-offer to get him through the door. Suddenly, they were willing to pay £92 million.
The staggering figure perhaps backs up the sentiment from when Wenger signed his new contract, that spending huge sums was not a concern. But it also smacked of desperation.
The transfer failed to materialise. The official line out of the London club is that they would not have had enough time to complete the deal, but sources in both France and England have made it clear to me that the player made the decision not to come.
It was too late in the day, he did not have time to speak with his family, and he was preparing for a France international. The player felt he should not rush such a decision.
The knock-on effect: The Sanchez deal was off.
A late move for PSG's Julian Draxler was also explored...but he didn't fancy it either.
Will They Ever Learn?
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Arsenal are left with Sanchez in a state of despair. He is understood to be deeply frustrated that his dream move to City did not materialise.
Arsenal now have a player who is running down a contract and doesn't want to be there. Whispers around the camp suggest there are even some members of the Gunners squad who wish he had been allowed to leave, such is the effect of him now being left at the club.
Per Reuters, club stakeholder Alisher Usmanov stated in May that "without the right support there remains a real risk his (Wenger's) legacy will be tarnished." He had the financial backing, but Arsenal just didn't get the deals done.
Their summer incomings totalled a £46 million outlay, all of which went on Lacazette. Sead Kolasinac also arrived on a free transfer. They brought in £66 million through the sales of Oxlade-Chamberlain, Gabriel Paulista, Wojciech Szczesny and Kieran Gibbs.
This hasn't quite been the "new Wenger" fans were hoping for. Expect supporters to show little mercy if their form does not pick up over the next few weeks.
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