Mustafi and Perez will improve Arsenal, but Wenger still guilty of panic-buying

What will Arsenal fans now chant at Arsene Wenger? After a turbulent summer of transfer market travails and turmoil, the Gunners boss has finally spent ‘some f****** money’ as his own kind demanded, with a combined £50 million splurged on the signing of Shokdran Mustafi and Lucas Perez. All is right with the world again at the Emirates Stadium.

Well, not really. Arsenal might have signed a central defender and a forward, just as they blatantly needed to this summer, but the manner in which they have made both signings should still be the cause of concern. Wenger has enjoyed a good week, winning convincingly at Watford and securing two new signings, but he mustn’t be allowed off the hook so easily.

“He’s not only a goalscorer, he’s a guy who combines well with partners, who can give a final ball and makes good runs,“ Wenger gushed about Perez upon the announcement of his signing. He’s got a good eye for goal and had an outstanding season last year.” That may be true, but there are still questions to be asked of Arsenal’s two new signings.

Just because both Mustafi and Perez will strengthen Arsenal and plug some gaping gaps in their squad doesn’t mean the club’s transfer strategy is working. It’s not just that the Gunners have targeted and signed the wrong players in recent years, it’s that they have left it far too late to make those signings. They haven’t learned their lesson.

Things looked to be different early on this summer, with the signing Granit Xhaka completed before the Swiss left for the European Championships. Wenger appeared intent on doing his business early in an attempt to avoid the deadline day trolley dash endured in recent windows. His bid for Leicester City striker Jamie Vardy underlined that presumption. That’s when it all fell apart, though.

Wenger was left without a Plan B when Vardy decided against making the move to the Emirates, signing a new four-year contract with the Premier League champions instead. Speculation linked Arsenal with moves for Lyon striker Alexandre Lacazette and Real Madrid’s Alvaro Morata, but nothing of any substance washed up at the club. The transfer market became an deep, dark abyss of tedious conjecture for the Gunners.

Arsenal were grossly underprepared for the start of the new Premier League when it came around, with Wenger admitting as much following the opening day defeat to Liverpool. It’s only after the late signings of Mustafi and Perez that his side can be judged fairly, but a more coherent transfer strategy would have seen them arrive in North London much earlier than did eventually did.

When it comes to the transfer market, Wenger is too principled for his own good. The Frenchman certainly isn’t alone in the view that the summer transfer window should close before the start of the domestic season, but he must accept the hand that is dealt to all and alter his stubborn philosophy accordingly.

As one of the richest clubs in Europe, Arsenal’s penny-pinching is infuriating, even for those who don’t count themselves a fan of the club. If Wenger harbours ambitions of challenge for the Premier League title once more he must abandon, or at least tailor, some of his principles. his rivals are threatening to leave him and his Arsenal side behind.

Manchester United paid well over the odds for Paul Pogba in order to get him in as early as possible, with the start of the league season set as Jose Mourinho self-imposed deadline. Pep Guardiola also made the majority of his signings before a Premier League ball was kicked, paying the premium for the luxury of a fuss-free transfer window. Arsenal must do the same in future.

As it is, Arsenal already have ground to make up just three games into the new campaign. It’s not that Mustafi and Perez are necessarily bad signings (although there are questions to be asked of Perez’s pedigree and the money being paid for Mustafi), it’s the way in which they have been signed that should be questioned.

Mustafi in particular will strengthen the Gunners, but they are still guilty of panic buying this summer. It all gives the impression of a club without much of a plan. Maybe Arsenal’s supporters should from now on alter their famous chant: ‘spend some f****** money and do it quickly.”