At the moment, Arsenal are a team that nobody can predict. The defensive frailties are well-documented, the infatuation with financial security duly noted and while it tends to be forgotten, the propensity to overwhelm the opposition remains, but is no-where to be seen. The team has stagnated, and are languishing in the bottom half of the table because of it.
The departure of both Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri was inevitable; the chance for unmatched success (and in Nasri’s case: wages) were on offering for both, coupled with the opportunity to desert a sinking ship and escape the fans who were quickly turning on their stars. It was a no-brainer for both, and gifted Arsenal with a financial windfall to start over.
Arsene Wenger dallied in the transfer market, conducted his business late on while every other club with “title aspirations” sat there and laughed. They were busy implementing their new players into a system while Wenger was rushing around for anyone. Mikel Arteta is actually a good fit for the Arsenal philosophy, Per Mertesacker was a long-time target, but neither had a pre-season to adapt, and in Mertesacker’s case especially, have been thrown in at the deep-end.
But I have no qualms with these pieces of business. Sure, they are not candidates for the Ballon D’Or, but both are solid players, and given time to fit into a very intricate system, will flourish. What I am bemused at is the signing of Park Chu-Young and his subsequent treatment.
Signed from AS Monaco, his arrival was controversial. Here we had a player that had undergone part of a medical at Lille OSC, but had chosen to back out of the deal – unbeknown to both Monaco and Lille – to answer the call of Arsenal. Arriving for the principle and very Wenger-like) sum of £2.5 million, Arsenal had more cover for attack and the player had a dream move to the Premier League.
So, when would Wenger give him a chance to shine? Mikel Arteta and Mertesacker have been instantly thrust into a starting berth for the Gunners, but Park Chu-Young has not even come across a regular place on the bench.
Is he good enough? I don’t know, after all, only Wenger himself can decide on that, but surely he cannot be worse than Marouane Chamakh who’s value has plummeted after such a promising start to his Arsenal career? Chu-Young is good enough to captain the South Korean national side, and score goal after goal, but cannot get a place on Arsenal’s bench?
Something must be wrong, and ever the cynic, I have one idea: Could it be that Arsenal have signed themselves another Inamoto?
On one side of the world you have the lucrative East Asian market waiting for brands to captivate the public, and on the other side you have Arsenal signing the captain of an East Asian country only to leave him off the teamsheet…
If this is true, and Park Chu-Young was only signed for these purposes (read: make Arsenal pots of money from an untapped market) then I am going to have to say that it is a step too far, even for Arsenal and their obsession with financial prudency.
You can follow Arron on Twitter @aduckling_10
Introducing the neat little app that’ll pay you to view content tailored to your interests:
ThisisFutbol.com are seeking new writers to join the team! If you’re passionate about football, drop us a line at “thisisfutbol.com@snack-media.com” to learn more.