What Arsenal Mean by Chasing Players Who Can ‘Change the Dial’
Arsenal’s evolution has continued this summer because manager Mikel Arteta and the owners want to make the Gunners the “best club in the world.” To do that, they need players that, in the words of chief executive Richard Garlick, can “change the dial.”
Arsenal finally finished top of the Premier League last season for the first time in 22 years, ending the club’s longest ever title drought since entering the top division in 1919. But one championship does not make a dynasty and the Gunners fell short in the Champions League final, with European glory still elusive for England’s third most successful club of all time.
It explains why Arsenal showed interest in signing Vinícius Júnior until he signed a new contract with Real Madrid, and why the club has committed around $482 million (£353 million) on 11 signings since the start of last summer’s transfer window.
“It’s certainly the ambition of the club and the owners to be the best club in the world,” Arteta told Sky Sports ahead of Arsenal beginning their title defense at home to Coventry City.
“In order to do that, you need the best facilities, the best stadium, the best supporters, and you need the best squad and the best players in the world. Those are the ones that win you football matches and the ones that can be decisive when it matters.
“That’s what we try to build with the actual players that we have, and with the players that we want to sign to make the difference for Arsenal.”
Garlick called them players who can “change the dial” and ultimately “take Arsenal forward” in a way that not all of the existing group might be able to.
We’ve seen Arsenal’s shortcomings, reaching the Champions League final last season but ultimately getting completely dominated by Paris Saint-Germain in that match. Losing only in a penalty shootout distorted how mismatched that contest actually was.
Arsenal arguably had the best midfield in the Premier League last season. But with the huge physical burden on Declan Rice, the Gunners still made Bruno Guimarães the second most expensive player in the club’s history going into the new campaign.
Arsenal Aiming Higher in the Transfer Market
Garlick noted that the caliber of player Arsenal are targeting is different than it used to be.
When Arteta was appointed just before Christmas in 2019, Arsenal sat 10th in the Premier League standings. He inherited a squad with very few players who could be considered regular starters and the Spaniard’s first two seasons yielded back-to-back eighth-place finishes.
From beginning with the club’s lowest placings in the 20-team era of the Premier League, Arsenal have never gone backwards since. Now, having climbed back to the top of the mountain after gradual improvements year on year, the group of players capable of actually improving this team is getting smaller and smaller.
“In the past we’ve looked at players that maybe helped build out the squad or get us to a certain level, but now we're competing right at the top level, and we do need to bring in players that are going to change the dial,” Garlick said.
“That might be younger players that come into your squad and give them time to develop, and you’ve seen that in the last couple of years at Arsenal. If we’re able to combine those players that are coming through the academy with some of the best players in the world then we’ve got every chance of maintaining that success and going beyond what we’ve already achieved.”
The very best teams don’t only win trophies, they retain them. Winning back-to-back Premier League titles is not something, even at the peak of the Arsène Wenger era, that Arsenal have ever done. The last time the Gunners pulled off a title defense, Franklin D. Roosevelt was U.S. President, George V was on the U.K. throne and World War II was yet to happen. The year was 1935.
