Arsenal have 18-point Premier League regret but £32.5m January calls pay off handsomely.
Arsenal drew their 13th game of the season as Crystal Palace made it an 18-point cause for introspection in their limp title challenge, but their January inertia may yet lead to the ultimate prize.
The end of the January transfer window saw us sharpening our knives after reports of a failed Ollie Watkins approach offered ammo for further criticism of Arsenal and their inactivity during another trophyless season.
But while yet another draw explained and only delayed defeat in the one-horse Premier League title race, it was a game to extol the virtues of the transfer inertia that allowed Liverpool to be Arsenal’s scourge domestically but is now helping the Gunners in their quest for the greatest trophy of all.
Arsenal fans watching this game may have been considering what might have been. Would they have won the title had they signed an alternative right winger to Raheem Sterling in the summer? Would they have challenged Aston Villa for the signing of Marcus Rashford in January had. They not been burned by that previous deal for a down-on-their-luck Englishman? The Chelsea loanee put in yet another underwhelming performance.
The club came in for criticism for failing to เล่น UFABET ผ่านมือถือ สะดวกทุกที่ ทุกเวลา improve their attacking options in January despite Sterling’s struggles in the absence of Bukayo Saka. Even before both Kai Havertz and Gabriel Martinelli were struck down with injuries. The window appeared to slam shut on their hamstrings.
They offered £40m for Watkins and walk away. When Aston Villa want £20m more in a decision that was justified across two legs against Real Madrid.