This changes everything!

The result in the Villa game was a bad one, but that in itself isn't a cause for neither panic nor radical changes in the long term plan. The game didn't change what we need to do to succeed in the long term, the positions we need to strengthen are exactly the same as they were before the game. So what was it that did change then, as the headline suggests, and what changed it?

I always say that the notion that the result in a single game would change our long term plan is a ridiculous one and I still stand by that. However, events in a game can impact the way that plan needs to be executed. That is what happened in the Villa game. The injuries suffered, Arteta’s included, and the red card to Koscielny will forces us to act differently in the market.

Before the game we were in a position where we could afford to gamble a bit and hold out for the right prices. The squad was indeed thin, but not thinner than what it could be during a short period of the season due to injuries or bans. The squad had enough to potentially get through August and we gambled on them doing just that allowing us more time to secure the players we wanted. That gamble is one I do support us taking, in my opinion it was the right decision to take at the time.

What the injuries and the red card does, is radically changes the situation. We no longer have two center backs for next weekend, we have one. We no longer have two midfielders of quality on the bench, we may have one at best. In other words, we no longer have enough in the squad available to support the gamble. The club needs to realize this and change the approach, immediately.

Our immediate need for a center back means our willingness to pay for such a player needs to be increased. When you have two who can play center back you can hold out a week longer to get the price down to the level you want, when you don’t that luxury is gone. To many of you this sounds like a primarily good thing. I am not so sure it should. While it forces the club to act now it also enhances the importance of time in relation to the quality of the player. We may end up settling for a lesser player because we simply cannot wait for more complicated deals. For instance if this had happened at the striker position rather than center back then maybe we would have had to choose to pay over the top for Michu rather than settling the Suarez deal.

Desperation may help us seal the deals we want if they are simple but the may also force us to pull out of some good deals simply because our immediate need doesn't allow the time plan they come with. This is why some people should be careful what they wish for.

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Goonersphere's response:

Thank you for that post Martin and for sharing on YouWrite. You are spot on, this result changes very little in terms of what we needed and what we suspect the club is trying to do. Very level headed article after a result that could understandably make many lose their cool.

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