Arsenal are ready to break their club transfer record fee in order to sign Karim Benzema from Real Madrid, and after the shambolic performance against West Ham in their English Premier League opener, they certainly could use the lift that a marquee signing brings.
The Gunners were woeful at the Emirates on Sunday, failing to find anything remotely resembling their attacking rhythm, while conceding two goals via poor defending.
Petr Cech did not have the greatest of debuts either, with the goalkeeper, signed amid much fanfare from Chelsea, culpable on both goals, even if there were mistakes from the defence leading up to the two finishes.
Wenger was at a loss to explain how Arsenal could play so badly after a flying preseason where they conquered every team they faced, but that inevitable question of Benzema/big signing was naturally put to the manager, with Wenger giving a typically Wenger response.
"I would like to think that we are responsible to buy the players and the coaches, not the media," the Arsenal manager said. "When you're a pro footballer, you have to face your responsibilities and not always look at something else.
"Today we have to look at ourselves and think we were not good enough and not to think that these kinds of things are solutions for us. We were not good enough, we were not convincing. And that's basically it. West Ham played well. Congratulations to them and hopefully we can bounce back quickly.
"Again, I can only repeat what I already said. If an exceptional solution turns up, we'll do it. But after a defeat like that, it's important not always to think we take a solution from outside."
The Daily Mail have reported Wenger has been given the green signal to eclipse the £42.5million Arsenal paid to sign Mesut Ozil, who was handcuffed by a 16-year-old Reece Oxford in the game against West Ham, to sign Benzema, with Real Madrid willing to do business.
Olivier Giroud did not have the greatest of games up front for Arsenal, while Theo Walcott could not make much of an impact either after coming on. There were a couple of half-chances for Giroud in the match, and you wonder, had that been a world-class striker – the kind of striker who is right up there – he might have buried one of those opportunities.
The margin for error, even in a long season like the Premier League, isn't much, and Arsenal can ill-afford to have too many more matches like the one against West Ham. If signing a Benzema will cut down those "sooner forgotten the better" games, then Wenger should not hesitate in completing the signing.
