A horse walks into a bar, the Barman says “why the long face”, and the horse replies “Well, you see we’ve got £70M to spend but we’ve not signed anyone but a French lad from France who cost nothing for free. Yoyo Sagno or summat. And we need a centre-half because we got rid of those two useless muppets Squillaci and Djourou and we’ve not replaced them yet. It’s doing my head in, mate. I’d much rather go back to carrying midgets in a silly shirt and helmets on a track being whipped like a proper masochist.”
The Barman ponders. “You think that’s bad?” he responds, “I’m a Spurs fan – and I’ve got Sciophobia”
If you’re a constant tweeter you may’ve noticed, in fact you will have noticed, that the clamouring for signings grows more incessant with every day that goes by without confirming a deal to bring in a superstar. But what is a superstar; do we really need one?
The definition of a superstar is ‘A high-profile and extremely successful performer or athlete’. So by definition, Luis Suarez (just an example, for now) is not a bona fide superstar. He is very high-profile, but he’s acheived the same number of club honours as Pascal Cygan. Although, naturally – unless you’re an imbecile – you’d never class the latter anywhere near the level of Suarez in terms of profile. But again, by definition, they’re essentially the same.
Morality aside, a player of Suarez’s quality would be accepted immediately. As would the signing of Marouane Fellaini, yet he isn’t exactly a superstar himself. What has he done to leave his mark on world football? The argument is Arsenal just need good players, an argument impossible to be disputed as it’s true. But isn’t that what Arsenal signed last summer? Olivier Giroud, Lukas Podolski and especially Santi Cazorla, all had promising first seasons, however it’s seemingly not enough for some fans even though the club are in a position to simply just add to the squad and not replace or rebuild. Therefore, the need for ‘big name players’ or ‘superstars’ is, in principle at least, not as great as it once was.
Since the last trophy was won, the amount of player departures and let downs involving the club have been extremely irritating. Watching the best players leave only to be replaced by someone who isn’t at the same level, then consequently falling short again, has become the norm in the sunnier side of North London. But as this summer appears to be big name departure free, there is the hope that the club will sign some stars, with the consensus being that the club need three or four great players to compete for the Premier League again. Fans would argue Arsenal need another centre-half, just like the horse would. 2 centre-backs have been offloaded so naturally they must be replaced. Which they can be; with players we already have.
Sagna and Jenkinson are two versatile full-backs able to fill in at centre-half. Carl started out as a centre-back and Bacary Sagna is surprisingly adept in that role. But Arsenal always play players out of position, right? Just sign an actual centre-back and be done with it. That would work, but why do that when you have players for there anyway? In the short-term, what is wrong with a player comfortably filling in. If a footballer can play well in a certain position then why not play them there occassioanlly? That’s not being played ‘out of position’, that’s being played in a position you’re able to play in.
If Wenger comes out one day and says, “We do not need a striker. We have Giroud, Podolski, Walcott and Fabianski, who once played there for his school team and scored a hat-trick. We are little bit covered. And it would kill the 9-year old in our U10s.” then perhaps you could worry. But he hasn’t. Yet. Perhaps a centre-back should be bought for cover, but it isn’t necessarily a top top priority, although some would strongly disagree.
Switching back to the original topic, signing world-class players can only be good for the club. Arsenal can afford it and no one would be annoyed with seeing a big name unveiled as Arsene’s new acquisition. Who could say no? No one, really.
But it isn’t always the best way. Or at least, the only way. Take a look at Borussia Dortmund for example. Jurgen Klopp is a young Arsene Wenger – they both have principles; a philosophy they firmly believe in. Dortmund do not sign superstars, they make them. It works in Germany and has worked in England. Arsenal possess the same mantra, and if it doesn’t work in England anymore, then the problem lies with the league, not the club.
Perhaps the standard of new signings hasn’t been as high as pervious years, but that’s not to say Wenger has ‘lost it’ or that the club should resort to spending loads of money on plenty of superstars. Just one may do, and as long as the club bring in some good players to compliment the current squad, then who can really be annoyed with that?
Mikel Arteta was not a superstar signing but he has arguably grown to be one of Arsenal’s most important players, and Sagna too – besides by Arsenal fans, how often do you see him mentioned in the ‘World’s best right-back’ polls? Gilberto Silva was a key ingredient in the Arsenal side during his time in red & white, yet he was seldom considered a superstar by anyone who did not support the gunners.
Creating a team of superstars is fun and exciting, but then so is creating a team with players who’ll give you just as much without being as well-known or as successful. Watching a team grow into winners is a joyous experience. The Invincibles started out as a team of promising players mixed with very good ones, and they all ended up happily ever after. As world-class superstars. Why can’t that happen again?
Make no mistake, Arsenal do need quality. Super super quality in fact, just not necessarily super super superstars. And there is quality out there away from the bright lights of superstardom.
To summarise, a superstar would be welcomed with open arms but it is not a necessity to compete. Fans do love to see big names coming through the door – it evokes anticipation of the extraordinary – however it is not the be all and end all.
What Arsenal need is players to give the squad that extra bit of style. Maybe the potential 30-goal a season man and the player to ignite fear in the opposition is in fact a superstar, but he doesn’t have to be – yet. And Wenger should be trusted to find them. He’s done it before and can do it again. Although failing to sign anyone would be a sign his hat has lost some of its magic.
And finally to finish, a quote that sums it all up by Mr Wenger himself- “People forget that every big name player in football, was once someone who was unknown.”
