Arsenal don’t need to sign star names (22/6)

[gooner.ed]

Usual thread starter… Wasn’t Sol Campbell a big name? Arsene has splashed the cash before. The silly wages demanded by the crème de la crème though are probably the reason we don’t buy the very biggest but are forced to develop in-house by buying players Wenger feels he can improve. It’s a policy that had brought silverware aplenty, but the question next season is whether or not the magic has run out. Boy, does the team need to get off to a confidence boosting flying start.

[Cus Geezer]

But if he does, Arsenal will still go on. I’ll be disappointed, but no more than I was when.....Rixy left

Why would you have been disappointed when Graham Rix left? He was about 34 and had fallen below Martin Hayes in the pecking order.

Hence the reason why he left for Caen (oh so mighty!!) for free in 1988.

[Cus Geezer]

Wasn’t Sol Campbell a big name? Arsene has splashed the cash before.

Wasn't Marc Overmars a big name, after winning the European Cup in 1995 with Ajax?

Or Thierry Henry having won the World Cup with France in 1998?

Or Davor Suker having won the Golden Boot in France 98?

Where do you dreg these people up from to write the articles?

[Justonge]

It's nice to find someone finally talking sense. It has always been the Arsenal, or more accurately the Arsene, way to do the deals behind closed doors. I hope Henry does decides to stay but as you rightly point out how many other have left, that at the time seemed irreplacable, only for Arsene to unearth someone else in their place? The speculation over who we might sign is interesting but nothing more. It'll only ever be the authors best guess and is only designed to fuel argument and discussion so you either play along or sit it out. We'll all just have to wait and see who lines up in the red and white come the game against Fulham.

As for the list of 'big names' we've signed. Marc Overmars is the only one who gets close really. He may have been a big name but probably not in Bergkamp's league. Henry was a bit part player in the 1998 world cup and certainly not an established mainstay of the team; and Davor Suker was a stop gap, well past his best when we signed him - he had the big name but he and everyone knew he was with us for one last run in the top flight; and Sol Campbel was only really high profile because of who we signed him from, he was a good player but not someone the rest of the footballing world would be loosing sleep over.

[proudtosaythatname]

I think Wenger can do it but just worry after what happened in Cardiff whether he will ever again get the same amount of time in which to bring them on in the same way. The big spending clubs can put together a winning team overnight, as Chelski eventually proved. And no one can say Fergusmoan doesn't develop players - but ManUre are still buying. I think Arsene will need to swallow some pride and 'bite the bullet'; after all, he has achieved a fantastic amount along the way.

[MK Gould]

Good article.

I had the same debate with - would you believe - a QPR fan at work. He started saying that Arsenal weren't in the top 5 in the spend league. Who cares! Leeds, Man City & Spuds have all spent big in the past and where did it get them! There is only one league which matters & that doesn't start until August. Look at Chavski last season. Their big buys were a huge disappointment & they ended up relying on their established lesser names.

I'm still not sure I'd swap our current squad for any other in the Premiership.

[IDOLX]

justonge, you're right. Overmars was the closest to a big name signing and even then he was coming off an injury and no one else wanted him.

Have we ever needed a big name signing? Even if Wenger did get the funds that have been touted who would he spend it on? He spent millions on Reyes, Wiltord and so on but none of them were big names before he bought them.

If he did have limitless wealth he'd probably just put it into a bank account and live of the interest.

[Galasso]

Don't forget Francis Jeffers....

[Cus Geezer]

As for the list of 'big names' we've signed. Marc Overmars is the only one who gets close really. He may have been a big name but probably not in Bergkamp's league. Henry was a bit part player in the 1998 world cup and certainly not an established mainstay of the team

I think calling him a bit part of France 98 wouldn't exactly do him justice, he may not have played in the final but he scored three goals in the tournament and one of the penalties that knocked out Italy.

Remember that we signed him for only about £5.5m less than we've sold him for.

He was a notable enough part of France 98 for me to remember his input and be pleased at the time that he was a Monaco player and a former protege of Wenger and I was actually disappointed when Juve signed him and not Arsene.

By not being a 'big name' signing I assume that you mean not being 'thingy' from somewhere like Beveren, like Toure and Eboue were or 'obscure' from the youth side of a big club like Fabregas and Viera?