The Gunners only made one addition to their first-team squad this summer in goalkeeper Petr Cech and were the only side in European football’s top five leagues not to sign an outfield player. But Wenger insisted despite looking hard, there were no players who were an appropriate fit.
“In the end the solutions were not what we wanted,” said the Frenchman, per Alex Richards of the Daily Mirror. “We looked but you have to find an efficient solution. I am confident that we have enough quality and cover. The good news about the window shutting is that we can now focus on the football.”
One area of the squad that many Arsenal supporters are concerned about is at the point of the attack. An injury to Danny Welbeck has left Olivier Giroud as the club’s only fit striker going into a critical spell of matches and questions remain over whether or not he’s good enough to lead the line for a team hopeful of challenging for the title.
But Wenger is confident that his squad can cope and share the goalscoring burden, per Richards: "Look at what happened on the transfer market and it tells you there is a shortage out there. The solutions we had were not convincing at all. We have Sanchez, Giroud and Walcott. We have quality and can score goals.”
Goals haven’t flowed yet for the Gunners, with just three to show for in their opening four games. Much of that is down to the stuttering start made to the season by Giroud, and the French international has had a torrid time of things during international break too, being booed by his own supporters.
The forward missed a host of chances during his side’s 2-1 win over Serbia in midweek, including this chance, per 101 Great Goals:
Needless to say, Wenger has backed his man emphatically. “He has my full support,” said the Arsenal manager, per Richards. “It’s difficult for any player after they miss chances.”
Wenger also had some mixed news when talk turned to injury updates. Most positively for the Arsenal supporters is that the club’s first-choice centre-back pairing of Laurent Koscielny and Per Mertesacker could be reunited this weekend, with Wenger revealing both have been back in full training, per James Olley of the London Evening Standard:
The news wasn’t so good on England international duo Jack Wilshere and Welbeck, though. As noted by Richards, according to Wenger the former has suffered “a little setback” in his recuperation and did not put a time frame on his subsequent recovery. It was also confirmed Welbeck will be out until Christmas.
Wenger was also bullish over accusations he knew the forward was injured and lied about Welbeck’s issue before the window shut, per Olley:
Talk did eventually turn to the game this weekend and an opponent who have caused the Gunners some problems down the years. Arsenal have found it tough going against Stoke on their travels up north, but they have beaten the Potters in the last six matches at the Emirates Stadium, as noted by WhoScored.com.
As we can see here via Arsenal’s Twitter feed, Wenger paid tribute to the strides made by the club under Mark Hughes, more of a football aesthete than his predecessor Tony Pulis, and insisted there has never been bad blood between the two sides despite their battles:
The manager also revealed an admirable charity initiative the club will be implementing for this match:
Wenger always seems to cut a frustrated figure during the early weeks of the season with the transfer window still open. But now he can focus on his team, it’s time for Wenger to prove he was right to stick by his current playing squad and trust they’ll be better placed to launch a title challenge this season.
The Gunners home record has been poor as of late, with no wins and no goals scored in their two matches at the Emirates so far this season. But the visitors have really struggled in the opening weeks of the campaign and are usually gripped with fear when they head to this illustrious venue. Wenger will be desperate to see his team take advantage if these flaws materialise again.
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