Transfer Window Aftermath

So the transfer window has come and gone and on the whole I have to say I'm pretty pleased with the results. We lost Cesc, who was always going to be hard to replace, but ended the annual Favreish indecision with a good financial result. Let's hope the Gunners can do as the Packers have in moving forward.
We got rid of two players who think so much of themselves but provided no sustained effort in Nasri and Bendtner. Both were outspoken and generally did not contribute to the harmony required of this team's motto. Also, the Nasri deal had to be done. To get that much for him in his last year was a coup. Bendtner's on loan, so maybe he'll learn something about this club and what it means to be a teammate at the Stadium of Light.
We brought in two solid, world class, national team capped defenders in Santos and Mertesacker, who coupled with Vermaellen and Sagna, I think will provide an imposing, organized defense in front of our ever improving bat-crazy young keeper. Well done, but with the funds remaining I would have like to have seen another player in Samba, Dann or the elusive Cahill to add that bit of depth we sorely lack at times.
In the midfield the coupling of Benayoun and Arteta is pure magic. I look forward to seeing how they gel, instruct, and mold our younger quality midfielders. Provided Benayoun stays healthy, I wouldn't be opposed to trying to keep him at the end of the year. Again, with cash available even after all those signings, we could have used another player here. I will admit as an American and a Gooner, the prospect of having Clint Dempsey make a London switch would have put me over the top. His physical play under mental control and Texas heart would have made this fan extremely happy.
As for the forwards, we lose Bendtner and bring in Park Lee Kim. Hopefully he will get to be a KATUSA when he goes back for military duty in two years. The prospect of him sitting in some dirty, forlorn northern outpost near the DMZ eating canned kimchee and cleaning his rifle strikes me as a little silly. I really hope this motivates Chamakh to get back into a little of the form that made him our best scoring opportunity until RVP returned last season.
Now on to the big question that seems to be the major topic of the day after: what the hell took so long. Stubborn Arsene? Board interference? Or is it as Piers Morgan suggested on Fox Soccer Channel's, Goals on Sunday last week after the ManUre beating, that Wenger is lost without David Dean. That Wenger holds on too tight because he can't make decisions about players. Is that what took so long to pull the trigger yesterday and why we got Arteta at the death?
I also have another suspicion that the players themselves are involved in the delay. Why did we ultimately get Arteta? According to Moyes, he couldn't turn down the Champions League exposure. Were players waiting to sign all summer to see if we would make it to the CL?
Were they waiting to see what the Fabregas/Nasri situation would do? Not sure but at least worth a shot. See you for Swansea, lets hope nobody gets hurt this weekend.

New Beginning

So this morning things are looking pretty bleak on the Arsenal front. Perhaps I picked a bad day to start a new blog. I changed the name and the design and seeing how I hadn't posted on here since 2007 it was needed anyhow.
8-2. 10 Goals. Could have been 14 from both sides, honestly. I thought our offense looked pretty dangerous or at least artful in the first half. Should have had the penalty, Robin. Captain. Leader.
All credit to De Gea, it was a great diving save but in all fairness RVP's attempt was much like the performance in total, a little lacking in vigor. Not sure the penalty or Arshavin's bungled breakaway would have changed the end result, highly doubtful really.
I don't want to rehash the whole thing. It was a team that was outmatched and outclassed. There can only be one thing to blame. We simply need players. Strong, experienced, reliable, and dare I say it, older players. They are out there to be had. Cahill can be bought. Mertesacker can be bought. Schweinsteiger can be bought. Samba can be bought. We have the money, we don't have the will. Arsene's only flaw is that he is too much of an economist. His valuation of players based on age, ability, age, potential resale value, age and birthday will be the downfall if not corrected.
My best friend suggested securing the services of Henry after the MLS season. I say, why wait. Red Bulls are in a free fall. Thierry can't be happy losing, get him now. The fact of the matter is we need help and need it immediately.
I am two weeks out from seeing the Gunners v. Swansea. It will be the fourth game of the season and we will have four players suspended, most likely no Jack Ramsey, and I have the chance to see our first win, first home goal and fist game without a red card. Or I may see Wenger get sacked. Which if we loose to Swansea may happen. I hope not. I think Arsene has earned the right to leave on his own time. But a failure to spend the money this team has just earned from Champions League/Nasri/Fabregas will be unexcuseable. Yes, we will have to overpay. Yes, you are getting bent over a barrel. Yes, its humiliating. So is 8-2, which if something is not done we will see a lot more of this year.