Former Arsenal striker John Hartson has defended under-fire manager Arsene Wenger‘s decision not to sign a striker this summer
Supporters of the north London outfit have been extremely unhappy with the Frenchman this week for a couple of reasons, with the first being his lack of transfer activity on deadline day as the club failed to sign an outfield player during the entire summer window.
Then when the club announced on Friday afternoon that Danny Welbeck is set for a lengthy spell on the sidelines after undergoing knee surgery, the reaction from a selection of Gunners fans was less than pleasant on Twitter.
Wenger has also been criticised by club legend Paul Merson, who accused his former boss of “cheating” the fans for failing to bring a striker to the club this summer [via Mirror Sport].
Real Madrid superstar Karim Benzema, Paris Saint-Germain’s Edinson Cavani were among a host of centre-forwards linked with a move to the Emirates Stadium during the transfer window, but a deal could not be reached for either player and Hartson backed Wenger’s decision to not waste the money on an average alternative:
Why would he buy just for the sake of buying?” the Welshman asked on talkSPORT.
“I totally understand why Wenger has not bought. The Danny Welbeck situation is unfortunate now he has to go in for a knee operation. You look at Liverpool, and how much did they need Danny Ings? They signed him for a free, but what’s the point, Danny Ings has hardly kicked a ball for Liverpool.”
“That’s not the way Wenger works. He protects the club’s money, he doesn’t just go out and buy bang-average players. If you’re going to get into his team, you’ve got to improve it and you’ve got to be better than what he’s got.”
“He’s not going to buy players just to add the group. You’ve got to bring in players that are going to enhance the team,” Hartson added.
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