Arsenal: Paul Merson A Buffoon For Transfer Grade
Arsenal’s transfer window was absolutely brilliant, but according to Paul Merson it was ‘Meh’. The former Gunner has laid out some serious buffoonery.
With the transfer window over, prepare for numerous talking heads offering their ‘professional’ grades for each teams performance within the window. I would grade Arsenal an ‘A’ because everything was answered. We got a striker. We got a center half. Granit Xhaka is a world beater and future captain. Even Rob Holding looks to be a future star.
And it was all done within a realistic budget. Everyone was worth the price that was paid and Arsenal are truly and wholly stocked for the season ahead.
But Paul Merson begs to differ. On just about every account. Merson referred to Mustafi as just ‘a good player’, referred to Xhaka as a ‘decent midfielder’ and passed negative judgment on Lucas Perez under the pretense that Spain has not called him up yet and they’ve been looking for a center forward.
No really. That was his logic, as reported on Sky Sports.
I can accept that he lowered the grade half a mark or so for how long it took, but to blatantly disregard the quality that Wenger purchased? That’s inexcusable. Xhaka is much more than a ‘decent midfielder’ and we have seen that already. Meanwhile, Lucas hasn’t been called up to Spain because he’s been a winger up until last year.
Merson should be aware of how flimsy this argument is because his old team mate, Ian Wright, was not called up to England until he was 28. It’s no incrimination that a Spanish striker, who has scored more goals than any Spanish striker in La Liga since last August, has not been called up to the national squad. I guarantee you he will make an international impact within a year and be included in their 2018 World Cup squad.
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If you need a reference point as to why Merson’s assessment is so poor, look no further than his assessment of Chelsea. I’ll quote it word for word.
“I don’t think Marcos Alonso is good enough for Chelsea. Michy Batshuayi looks lively so far… David Luiz? No, no, no, no, no. Did you watch him play against Monaco last week? He gave away the silliest penalty I’ve ever seen and Paris Saint-Germain probably dropped him off.”
I cut out one part where he spats about N’Golo Kante. Apparently two poor signings and one average signing can be ignored because one signing will win the league. And for that they get an A+.
Meanwhile, Arsenal answered all their questions, wasted no signings and even added Rob Holding, who Merson just ignored, and they get a B+. Buffoon.