It is almost universally acknowledged that the mauling in Manchester on August 28 was more than just humiliating and degrading, it was the kick up the backside Arsenal really needed. Many consider Arsene Wenger’s decision to bring in five new players in the last 48 hours of the transfer window as a true example of panic buying, and whilst I wouldn’t say it’s as cold as that, there is no doubt the Old Trafford debacle had an effect on the magnitude of the wheeling and dealing done on deadline day.
Even if Park Chu-Young is yet to play a prominent part, fellow newcomers Per Mertesacker and Andre Santos have settled in pretty well at the back. The winning goal on Wednesday night proved Yossi Benayoun’s worth but there is no doubt one player has been the star signing of the summer from an Arsenal perspective: the last to be completed and arguably the most anticipated.
Following the departure of the talismanic Cesc Fabregas and the occasionally-influential Samir Nasri, there was perhaps an aura of disappointment and anti-climax that the big bucks hadn’t been splashed on a headline name. Mario Götze was linked and rumoured to be the subject of a substantial bid but a move failed to materialise. The alternative signings of Benayoun and Mikel Arteta from Everton were certainly not like-for-like replacements.
However, some people, particularly in the media, haven’t quite got that into their heads. Arteta is still being regarded as the man who fills the boots of Fabregas but judging from the set-up of the team this season, this is simply not the case. Aaron Ramsey has been given the task of being the penetrative force in the final third, with Arteta sitting deeper alongside the imperious Alex Song; a role he has performed to near perfection.
His attitude looks to be second to none, a trait which was discovered before he even stepped foot onto the pitch. With time running out on deadline day, the Spaniard, desperate for Champions League football and a move to a club he’d admired for a long time, drove the move forward himself and was rumoured to have taken a £10,000 pay-cut in order to get the deal done.
His performances in an Arsenal shirt have demonstrated this willingness to succeed at the top. In his first two appearances, he suffered head injuries, a consequence of putting his body on the line, just to win 50/50 balls. He strikes me as a player determined to do everything he can for the team. His pass success rate is 90.1% a record bettered by only a handful of Premier League players.
His deeper role allows him to play a variety of passes; long diagonal ones to the flanks or the simple five-yard passes that begin attacking moves. In this sense, he is very similar to the heartbeat of the all-conquering Barcelona team, Xavi. The shared nationality, and black spiky hair is not where the similarities end; both players are absolutely fundamental to their team’s success. They keep things ticking over and essentially dictate the game by keeping the ball moving, even if it is their teammates further up the pitch that provide the ammunition for the forward players.
Arteta’s experience has been invaluable to an Arsenal side that has not unjustifiably so been branded “naïve” and “immature” in the recent past. He provides an element of calm and control in the middle of the park but equally he has the ability to direct his teammates and maintain a sense of organisation. When Song goes bursting forward, he is intelligent enough to sit a little deeper and soak up any counter-attacks the opposition may initiate.
Increasingly, Arsenal fans are beginning to wonder if the signing should have come years ago; that Arteta would have been an excellent foil for Fabregas rather than the replacement he has apparently become. At £10million he has been an absolute snip and whilst Robin van Persie’s goals have undoubtedly been a major cause of Arsenal’s resurgence, so has the consistency of Arteta. One has to wonder where The Gunners would be if the last-minute move had not been completed.
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