Arsenal’s New Signing Is Vastly Underwhelming

Arsenal have started early with their transfer business, signing Granit Xhana from German side Borussia Monchengladbach for around £25 million, which could rise to £35 million depending on various add-ons, etc.

Just like the signing of Mohamed Elneny, it is another uninspired acquisition. Like the Egyptian I have no doubt he is probably a decent player but it smacks of hypocrisy from Arsene Wenger. After years and years of not signing players, using the excuse that he would only add players of “top, top quality”, Arsene has signed two players who, let’s be honest, no-one had really heard of before joining Arsenal.

Of course, just because they’re not a well-known name doesn’t mean they’re not good, but by the same token an established name is just that because they have a reputation of performing at the highest level. Elneny and Xhana don’t strike me as the “top, top quality” Arsene keeps on harping on about.

Unlike most Arsenal fans I’m not afraid to admit (like when Elneny arrived) that I’d never heard of Xhana. And why would I? He comes from a mid-level team from Germany, so unless you’re a German football enthusiast then you wouldn’t have heard of him either.

Both Elneny and Xhana weren’t cheap either, costing a combined £40 million (and that’s a conservative figure). We have money in the bank to strengthen the squad but why not buy established talent?

Midfield is probably the one area we are well-stocked and Elneny and Xhana are probably more likely reserves to players like Cazorla, Ramsey, Wilshere and Coquelin – replacing the outgoing Flamini, Arteta and Rosicky. Much more important to strengthening the squad would be signing a couple of central defenders and a striker who can actually score on a regular basis.

Unless Arsenal make some real top signings this summer, we are going to struggle badly next season.

 

82 thoughts on “Arsenal’s New Signing Is Vastly Underwhelming

  1. Sadly you are probably right. We knew this anyway. For example could you imagine Giardiola or Mourinho playing Giroud as their main striker? Mind boggling isn’t it? Wenger has gradually become more and more deluded as he has got older.

     
    • Finally an Arsenal fan who isn’t deluded. What gets me is how the vast majority of Arsenal supporters buy the same crap year after year. It’s painful to see Arsenal alway fall short when every man and their dog knows we’re 2/3 signings away from being champions.

       
      • Personally it is supporters liek you that lost us the title last year !! your not behind the club manager or team !! why the hell support if your so negative !! the only way to please people like you is to spend 70 million on each player even if it has never been or never will be the clubs aim.. Bringing youth through is important to keeping that club not pure business feel !! look at what we have brought in over the years and tell bar sanchez and Ozil who cost the vast sums you need to be spent !! none !! Henry was have an awful time in Italy Bergkamp the same both came for realistic sums and both are legends !! Fabs Merson Wright Adams Viera etc the list is endless but you lol say every year we get sucked in by the buys !! ok lets look at that Sanchez and cech Ozil Monreal bellerin elneny now i can see a bad buy there can you ??? fools like you are glory hunters !! never been to the Arsenal only started supporting When Wenger one his first double the glory years !! you cant remember Terry Oneil don Hower even George Graham yet Wenger is the worst manager !! WTF

         
        • Nicely put elneny as turned out to be fine player and unless they’ve watched granit in action they know nothing, infact his a good player and fans will be surprised his got all the force of Vieira in his style something arsenal have missed for many years and we did finish 2nd in bpl. ppl like those above just plastic supporters who the club don’t need

           
    • Your deluded worship of Mourinho should be reminded that he decided to sell the likes of DeBruyne, Lukaku, Schurrle, and Mata, and replace them with utter donkeys like Falcao, Cuadrado, Pedro, & Pato (bought by Hiddink but chased by Mourinho for months before.) Yes, you are an idiot! and while you’re licking your wounds from being proved what an imbecile you are, Giroud scored more goals than any Chelsea forward and played less games. I repeat, idiot!

       
  2. Evidently you don’t watch much football outside of Arsenal. If your idea of “top class” is someone you’ve heard of, maybe AW should consult you on signings?

     
  3. Wenger still insists on his stupid theory of not buying established top quality players.
    Arsenal fans’ tolerance towards Wenger is unbelievable.

     
    • No its not !! its what you call supporting the club manager and team !! somehting you guys have forgotten how to or never did !! you came in the glory days you have no idea

       
  4. Yes, you’re right none has heard of Granit Xhana but Granit Xhaka has been well known in the football world for quite some time.

     
  5. Here we go….Never heard of him and never seen him play so he is crap.Give it a rest. Why are these so called supporters so bloody ignorant.

     
  6. You obviously have no idea what you’re talking about. Firstly, his name is Xhaka, not xhana. And dubbed the next schweinsteiger. Captain at the age of 23 at munchengladbach. He will not play second fiddle to any those players. He will easily start over coquelin. Start researching buddy. Because you are stuck in a bubble. It’s fans like you who make us all look bad.

     
      • and another thing to be noted is arsene has never spent such much on crap like our neighbors United usually do

         
    • You mean Xhaka will start ahead of Ramsey and Wilshere? Xhaka, Coquelin and Cazorla should be rotated for the deep lying midfield role, Wilshere and Ramsey have had YEARS to prove themselves just like Walcott and they have come up short.
      Wilshere and Ramsey should remain at Arsenal as back up just like Arteta and Flamini have over the last few seasons.
      The author of this article knows very little about football outside of England and his stupidity is clear when he assumes Wilshere and Ramsey, will STILL be first choice players.

       
  7. Poor article… The only information that is relevant is when you admit you’re ignorant. I wonder what made you feel like sharing this fact worlwide.

     
  8. Arsenal would be fine next season, if they would win the league? Honestly i can’t answer that but the team would definitely be exiting to watch next season.

     
  9. I want to differ a little bit. Granit xhaka played with Borussia Moncheglabach for four years and was captain of the side before his just concluded transfer to Arsenal. He was key in their return to the Champuons league. I watched him a few times ant considering his age and his style of play, i think he will add steel to our midfield.

     
  10. lol it seems any fool can start a blog then dispense his opinion on players that he has never heard of yet be totally dismissive as if he has scouted them personally
    i suppose the great otmar hitzfeld who described him as the next schwinestiger knows fuk all about football compared to this blogger
    let alone all the scouts and Wenger himself who some of the best known players credit for enhancing their careers
    i bet you have never even managed a pub team yet you tell other fans thsat they are deluded because they have faith in a manager that has done more for Arsenal then you ever will writing tripe on this blog.
    ps most people including pundits like stewart robson who hates wenger thought elneny was a success but hey you know better cos you watch the odd game and motd
    COYG

     
    • i could not have put it better !! and not only is elneny a great player he is even a nice guy that has time for the fans !! eg i was out shopping and dumped into him nearly literally as i was in a rush !! he said chill man and smiled … we had a few words and a selfie and he went on with his day !! so many of these inflated stars have not got the time of day for the fans but he is class on the pitch as well of it !!

       
  11. Wow I’d never heard of granit xhana before either but I’m pretty sure granit Chaka is a beastly player

     
    • Ferguson is absolutely right. This is the time when people are going to misguide Cristiano but that has always happened with the young players.Alex Ferguson has given the best days of his life to the club so he knows whats good for the club and whats good for the player. I totally agree with him.

       
  12. Pointless article. Players don’t need to be known before they are signed as koscielny and kante have proven otherwise there’s no point having scouts. Xhaka is a good player and would add steel that we’ve been lacking to our midfield

     
  13. an idiotic and stupid post, just to count yourself as one of arsenal related blogs! has elneny not shown that he is a classy midfielder since he joined arsenal? did you know of kante before he joined Leicester from a mid-table French club? how much did vardy cost Leicester when they bought him from a championship club? so my man, this post did not really make great sense. think of better things to write on next time.

     
  14. ok, to start with, it’s not Xhana but Xhaka

    “Elneny and Xhana don’t strike me as the “top, top quality” Arsene keeps on harping on about.” – you need a rethink mate. wake up

     
  15. What an incredibly ignorant post.

    If you’re too dumb to write an intelligent blog then don’t. Or go support the spuds and join their great stupid ranks.

     
  16. If he doesnt buy you criticize. If he buys you also criticize. Lets give the boy a chance and then judge him. Also he was on the Bundesliga team of the season.

     
  17. Hate reading dribble this early. Get his name right first and then you might have heard of him. I’m not an arsenal fan but anyone that can post garbage like this how it’s allowed is beyond me. He’s been a consistent performer for years. You say your not a fan of bundesliga fair enough but that doesn’t excuse you as a football columnist not to know a player that has 37 champions league apps 2 Europa league apps which would suggest a high calibre player since his arrival at gladbach they’ve qualified every year for champions league and twice with basel and if your not a fan of champions league I’m sure you’ve never watched a world cup well he was at the last one and the euros. He’s got 39 caps for the swiss. Absolutely pathetic article.

     
  18. I hadn’t heard of Elneny but certainly an upgrade (voted our player of the month twice) And as Xhaka do some research. I hate these plastic fans.

     
  19. Are you serious with this article! You obviously know very little about football. Both players are fantastic and well know, if you follow international football. Your blog ARSENAL 4 LIFE is so negative. I have followed Arsenal through the good and bad years since 1962 and I loved the club win or lose. I am a supporter that is what supporters do, support our team!

    I am really embarrassed by our so called supporters, particularly since we moved to the Emirates. No wonder we have so little atmosphere or noise at the matches with so many plonkers and glory hunting supporters. We can learn a lot from Liverpool and Newcastle who really get behind the team. And Newcastle were relegated!! How can we get rid of the glory hunters and get seats for the real supporters, who turmed up at Highbury. COYG

     
  20. these people make me sick,get behind the team ,two of the best midfielders Arsenal ever had nobody had heard about ,and thanks to Mr Wenger ,he got them to The Arsenal ,remember Viera and Petite C O Y G

     
  21. I know that there are many wood heads in the world, including among ?rsenal fans . They are neighborhood level football and loves to scream and jostle in their neighborhood pub. And enjoy when Arsenal beat Tottenham. Meanwhile, want Arsenal to be champion, take the Champions League Trophy. You must select one of the two friends. And very bleak, this year Tottenham is not a mediocre team, right.
    Elneny and Xhaka are good players, but they do not solve anything. Elneny is timid and gentle, literate handled the ball but will not solve anything special. it is healthy and feisty. Wenger Arsenal filled with players in midfield who profess his intellectual and ballet style of play. Only Coquelin. We have Cazorla….
    Unfortunately, with players like Elneny, Ramsey, Iwobi, Campbell and Wilshere we will be not a team of the highest caliber. We will be at the level of Everton, Southampton and West Ham. For me this year Arsenal is 6 spot, considering the crisis at Chelsea, Manchester United and Tottenham mistake in the last game. Wenger has no affinity for strong players who win, he stayed 10 years back in time, but now football is another. See Atletico Madrid also see Leicester. Which player from these teams is worth more than 15 million. We need a coach, something like Diego Simeone who teaches players to fight. Every team that plays a little harder and pressure can beat Arsenal. He’s tired of unpleasant emotions and disappointments. Unfortunately we’ll have to wait one or two years. Wenger will not buy Mascherano and Koulibaly, Kante, Mahrez, Suaruz, Lewandowski or Lukaku. Will take Morata which is the level of Giroux. This way no way…

     
  22. You haven’t got the slightest idea what you are talking about. Just shows you are not a football fan cos if you are you would know that vardy, kante, mahrez, Morgan and all the current stars in leicester city fall into the nobody bracket and yet they are champions. If you have too much time on you hands and you wanna write abt a sport you should write about tennis or golf cos u obviously know nothing about football.

     
  23. For a fan who can’t even do a proper research on a player’s name, you must be appalling. Xhaka was in the BuLi team of the season, you don’t know that, do you? Inasmuch as I am frustrated by Arsenal, I think we can’t rely on people like Injury prone fellows like Wilshere.

     
    • you can rely on Wilshere !! he like so many players get injuries when they are still growing and he will be fine next season as Wenger wil play him a bit deeper !! as i think he plays better as a holding mid them attacking he can find these through balls and has the brains to hold or not !! for me it will be Xhaka and Wislhere and Ozil in the middle next season with like for like replacements in coq and elneny and carzola but the head ache will be with wenger as i cant see why playing wilshere wide right can help the team !! the only place for him is in the middle !! we need a natural winger to go on the right and stop playing ramsey wilshere the Ox out there !!

       
  24. I called you out on just doing these articles for clickbait yesterday….

    This article proves you are doing it… because you cant really be this retarded.

    Banning your blog from my NewsNow feed.

    To everyone else:

    If you got here through NewsNow click on Arsenal 4 Life (Weblog) under the “Arsenal New Signing is Vastly Underwhelming” headline and click “hide publication” and hopefully no more nonsense from this numpty shows up again in your Arsenal feed.

     
  25. Either you’re just coming out with this shit to rack up ‘clicks’ or you a fucking moron. My money’s on the latter- either way.

     
  26. These articles are clearly written as click bait . Mission accomplished! Perhaps if most fans ignore stupidity as this, idiots like you can wither away. Trouble is, in you arsinine zeal to be relevant , you are unaware of the division you foment amongst the fan base . It’s no wonder there are fans who chose to disrespect the greatest manager this club has ever had simply because they disagree with the clubs policies. Everyone iis entitled to an opinion but this borders on the absurd. Would it really be asking too much to do some research before posting such drivel. Your post does appear on the Newsnow aggregator most fans use to receive their Arsenal news . Consequently, your opinion does affect people’s views on the club.

     
  27. complete and utter rubbish – Vieira was pretty much completely unknown when we signed him and went on to become one of the best players we’ve ever had.
    May be better wasting your time writing something useful or switching allegiance and supporting another club mate – don’t need fans who write bollux!

     
  28. I guess the Bundesliga team of the year is meaningless as a credential evidently. Oh and btw, I’m pretty sure a no name Elneny came in and helped stabilize the midfield after arriving in January. How is that underwhelming?! I’m thinking you shouldn’t even mange your FIFA 2016 team on Xbox after this horse#$!&.

     
  29. Problem with this comment is it is written by a clear fool !! Elneny is a brilliant player and has shown this is his games he has played for us so far !! This guy is going to be a strong candidate for player of the year next year, but to say his uninspiring is foolish and that know had heard of him well some of us actually love football and i for one had seen him time and time again play !! in every match i saw him play before signing for us he was amazing scoring from distance holding the ball up keeping the ball moving with simple but good passes and his passing was at least 88% this si not a player that is uninspiring!! what is it coz he isnt a big name? well nor was viera before he came here same can be said about most that come to the Arsenal of the years !! but i can also say that they were stars during their time here and some are legends of football liek henry Viera Adams etc
    as for Xhana WTF is wrong with you ?? this guy is being spoken about across Europe by all the massive clubs yet coz you know f all about football or never watch a game unless it is Arsenal !! then he is average to poor!! Xhana is all class and when you see him play you will see that !! but you will be sitting here writing how good both are next season !! but you personally have no right to write anything about them next season after your remarks in this article !! i will be watching your comments and if you praise them i will kill you for it on here !! slaughter you trust me i will !! as it is your kind that we do not need at the Arsenal !! glory hunter !!

     
  30. LOL, the guy only replied to the first 2 comments. This Xhaka guy was wanted since 2 years ago, what kind of arsenal 4 life are you?

     
  31. Granit xhaka is an excellent player maker who also has strength and defensive quality in central midfield. Not only is he exactly what we need but he is a top European player, he plays for a German team who qualified for the champions league by finishing 3rd this season and he is one of the main reasons his club achieved this. If you are going to write hate peices online at least get your facts straight before you do. The reputation of journalism as a respected profession is dying because of Morons like yourself writing uninformed opinions online without any basis of authority to comment on your topic. The world would actually be a better place if you kept your inept irrational thoughts inside of your own head where they belong and where they have an audience that actually wants to hear them

     
  32. Somebody have never heard of xhaka??????damn guy u need to be a football fun not an arsenal fanatic……xhaka is a dope plus i dont believe in buying big names because leicester proved that to win it takes only teamwork and determination…….wenger is right this time on xhaka i bet

     
  33. whaaat???what’s the definition of top class and top quality according to you? pathetic article to about my club

     
  34. Wow, this article looks like it was written by a child.
    Why would you write an article about football when you obviously have such little knowledge?

     
  35. Dumb article. I have lost faith in wenger getting us a title, but if he is signing someone for 30 mil+ you better believe it is top quality. he wont screw up big money signings believe me. sanchez and ozil have been a major sucess. and get your head out of your ass and rethink the “if i dont know him he must not be very good” analogy.

     
  36. I can’t believe the unbelievable ignorance that some Arsenal fans come out with, the team that went 49 games unbeaten and is probably the team that you started supporting didn’t contain well known superstars until they had won the title, no one had heard of Pires, Viera, Henry, Ljunberg and signings such as Wiltord, Van Bronckhorst and Overmars were considered average, they became superstars playing for us. It’s never been the club’s philosophy to ruin the transfer market the way Chelsea, Man City and Man Utd do and have done for years (particularly utd).
    We also have a new head scout, he’s the guy who found the likes of Rihad Mahrez and N’golo Kante for Leicester City. I am much happier to NOT spend the daft money on the likes of Falcao or Jovetic or Carroll or Benteke. Angel Di Maria is a well established name in football, a bargain at £60 million some Arsenal fans like you would have said undoubtedly annoyed that Man u signed him and not us…..I wonder why Wenger didn’t fancy him?…..what do you reckon?…..idiotic article if you are going to reference Arsenal, clearly a glory fan who doesn’t really understand the football club they’re “supporting”, it’s why we don’t employ cheque book managers like Mourinho, Redknapp or Van Gaal, the Arsenal core don’t want to see our club financially ruined.

     
  37. Can you tell me which club did Ozil play for before Madrid signed him; which club did Sanchez play for before Barca signed him; which club did Lewandowski play for before Dortmund signed him? And Aubameyang. And so many of them lot

     
    • That’s easy you stupid cunt!

      Ozil – Werder Bremen
      Sanchez – Udinese
      Lewandowski – Poznan

      Next question you fucking retard?

       
  38. Time will tell, but after years of watching Ramsey, Wilshere, and now Elneny get muscled off the ball, having a player of the new guy’s stature is going to be a welcome improvement.

    The guy looks like he could be hit by a bus and not move, and having a midfielder that can win a header would be nice too.

    That HAS to be a good thing.

     
  39. a mid level team that qualified for the champions league? this article spews shit, all fans like you are probably the same ones who said wenger should spend and when he finally does you fucking criticise the player before he’s even touched a ball on the pitch for arsenal. honestly fans like you make me understand why most other football fans hate arsenal fans

    btw its xhaka… at least spell his name right you moron

     
  40. This is one of the most embarrassingly poor articles I’ve read in a while. Getting the players name wrong throughout and using your own ignorance and lack of football knowledge as an excuse to criticise a signing. Rather than assuming anybody who doesn’t play for a champions league club is crap, maybe you should consider where players are meant to develop? Given your lack of player knowledge I’m sure you hadn’t heard of the likes of Vincent Kompany before he came from a mid table German club to England, that doesn’t make him a bad player

     
  41. Personally i like Xhaka a lot. Believe me when im saying you’re going to love him. I cant be that certain obviously but 99% sure. If you liked elneny then you’re going to love him. I’ve followed him since his break through when he was 18. He was always a promising prospect but in the last 2 seasons he has really begun to shine. Germany is one of the best leagues in the world and he was the best in his position last season. If only he played for a bigger team.and he’s only 23!

     
  42. I hate the idea that our fans are so divided just because people have a diffrence of opinion we want arsenal to win trophy,but we have different views ever one knows our striker is not good enough and we need a first class one and that should have being his first buy, but xhaka is a great buy and because I am not in the stand does not mean I don’t follow arsenal I love arsenal football club just as much as you in the stadium, some time you see things clearer from outside looking in their is a lot Wenger gets wrong and I can see why some of the fans wanted him gone and I all so see why some want him to stay but don’t believe another manager can’t do better than him he took over from Bruce Rich who took over from George Graham we need trophies know 12yrs is more than enough time. coug

     
  43. This article is a good one because it brought most of the fans back together again even for a moment to see some one could write some thing so stuppid is amazing I am in Barbados and I love these conversations God bless you all and arsenal

     
  44. I think I’ll take the naval battle in the Verona coliseum. On the other hand, that dubious publication Newsweek informs us that there is now solid evidence that (physical) exercise is good for the brain. I guess this means that, there being no skiing hereabouts this year, I had better get off the couch and dig up the rollerblades.

     
  45. Oh my gosh the fondants..the Lindts..and Fiji..Too beautiful 🙂 I hear Fiji is absolutely breathtaking~ Enjoy every minute..we will be here waiting for photos..I have to try those Lindts:)And your Molten Marvels:)I bet you had a wonderful visit with family♥

     

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