Sir Alex Ferguson ya gina masarautarsa wani bangare ta hanyar wata ra'ayi mai sauƙi amma mai zurfi: nemo masu kai hari mafi kyau daga cikin tsakiyar teburin, biya abin da ya kamata, ka kalli yadda suke bunƙasa. Dwight Yorke, Teddy Sheringham, Dimitar Berbatov, Robin van Persie — waɗannan ba caca ne ba. Su ne masu kai hari da aka tabbatar da iyawarsu a gasar, waɗanda suka ci gaba zuwa mataki mafi girma da zarar Manchester United ya tuntuɓe su.

Arsenal, ƙarƙashin Mikel Arteta, sun ƙi bin wannan dabarar a sashen kai hari akai-akai — kuma hakan na zama ɗaya daga cikin mawuyacin al'amari a kasuwancinsu na ƴan shekarun baya.

Ban da Trossard

Karshen lokacin da Arsenal suka yi irin wannan saye shi ne Janairu 2023 — kuma ma, ya faru kusan ta dama. Bayan Mykhailo Mudryk ya zama ba nasu ba a ƙarshen lokaci, Gunners suka canza shiri cikin sauri suka kawo Leandro Trossard daga Brighton da ƙasa da fam miliyan 25. Ba a yi wa ɗan Belgiyom lokacin daidaitawa ba — ya ci kwallo cikin makonni kaɗan, ya kara ƙarfin harin Arteta, kuma tun daga lokacin ya zama ainihin wata alama ta kulob.

Duk da haka, Arsenal bai sake yin irin wannan saye ba. Tsawon shekaru uku bayan haka ba su taba zaɓar wani ɗan wasan kai hari mafi ƙarfi daga wajen abin da ake kira manyan shida ba.

Jerin damammaki da suka ɓace

Jerin 'yan wasan da Arsenal ba su bi su ba — ko kuma suka bi su rabin rai — ya yi mamaki. Antoine Semenyo yana akwai kusan fam miliyan 60. An ƙididdige darajar Anthony Gordon a kusan fam miliyan 40 lokacin da Newcastle United suka ɗauke shi daga Everton; a wannan lokacin rani, farashin ya kusan ninkawa, kuma Arsenal sun ƙi sau biyu. Ivan Toney, Ollie Watkins, Pedro Neto, Bryan Mbeumo, Matheus Cunha — Arsenal ba su kasance a tattaunawar neman kowane daga cikinsu da gaske ba. Har da Alexander Isak bai sami wata ƙoƙarin gaske ba rani da ya gabata.

Jamie Vardy ya ƙi shiga tare da su cikin wani matsayi da ya shahara, bayan da Leicester City ya lashe taken. An zaɓi Nicolas Pépé a kan Wilfried Zaha. Canja wurin Kai Havertz da Noni Madueke sun zo daga Chelsea — wanda ba ƙungiyar tsakiyar teburin ba — don haka sun faɗa cikin wata rukunin daban gaba ɗaya.

Babu jinkiri a tsakiyar filin

Abin da ya sa wannan tsari ya zama mafi abin mamaki shi ne son Arsenal na kashe kudi da ƙarfin hali a tsakiyar filin. Declan Rice a ƙarshe ya kai fam miliyan 105 — adadi wanda ɗan hukumar kulob Josh Kroenke ya yarda ya wuce tsammanin sa. An ce ƙoƙarin farko na sayen Bruno Guimarães ya fara da ƙasa sosai da fam miliyan 75 da aka biya. An sami jinkiri game da fam miliyan 60 da ake buƙata don Eberechi Eze, kafin sha'awar Tottenham Hotspur ta taimaka wa Arsenal su matsa.

Gunners sun nuna cewa suna iya kuma suna son biya fiye da farashin kasuwa don tsakiyar filin da ya dace. Wannan tabbaci ba kasafai yake miƙewa zuwa sashen kai hari ba.

Ƙoƙarin kayar da kasuwa — da fa'ida da asara

Maimakon haka, tsarin Arsenal a sashen kai hari ya dogara ga nemo dukiyoyi da ƙimar su ta yi ƙasa. Gabriel Jesus ya zo ba a so shi daga kulob ɗin sa na baya. Gabriel Martinelli ya yi tsada kaɗan kuma an tsara shi ya dace da abin da ake buƙata. Raheem Sterling ya zo ta hanyar aro mai araha. An ga Viktor Gyokeres a matsayin ingantaccen ƙima idan aka kwatanta da Benjamin Sesko. Mantiqin ya dace: kayar da kasuwa maimakon yin gasa kai tsaye a cikinta.

Wannan falsafar na iya tabbatar da ingancinta har yanzu. Christos Tzolis, wanda aka saya da ƙasa da fam miliyan 40 kuma ana kwatanta shi da saurayin Trossard, ya bayar da taimakawa biyu a Community Shield a wasansa na farko. Idan ɗan wasan Girkiyar ya ci gaba da wannan matakin, jinkirin Arsenal na biya fam miliyan 60 don sunan da aka kafa a gasar zai yi kama da hikima maimakon taurin kai.

Amma tambayar ta kasance a cikin iska. Mohamed Salah ya canza Liverpool zuwa zakara. Sadio Mané ya ba su shekaru na ƙwarewar matakin duniya, yana fitowa daidai daga irin wannan neman ƴan wasa na tsakiyar teburin da Ferguson ya taɓa ƙware shi. Arsenal yana da lu'u-lu'unsa — amma kulob ɗin har yanzu yana neman wannan ɗan wasan: wanda aka tabbatar da iya sa a gasar, wanda yake lashe wasanni, wanda aka ɗauko daga tsakiyar teburin, wanda ya hau mataki kuma baya koma baya.