After what was nothing less than a dreadful season for Arsenal, they have spent big money in the transfer window to improve their luck
The Gunners have the highest net spend of any Premier League club this summer after Deadline Day.
Although the club has continued their bad form by losing their first three league games without scoring, Mikel Arteta will hope that some of these new players can turn their season around.
6. Nuno Tavares – €8 million
This was Arsenal’s first signing of the summer back in early July and it left most fans bewildered. The 21-year-old signed for a relatively small fee from Benfica and he has gone on to make two appearances in the league already.
Last season he only managed seven starts in the Portuguese league, providing no goal contributions. Arteta has clearly seen something he likes in the player but for now, he seems like more of a backup for Scotsman Kieren Tierney.
5. Ben White – €69 million
Arteta fiercely fought for the signing of White from Brighton & Hove Albion but after his first few games, it seems more like a panic buy. Arsenal have shown trouble at the back and going by his only game so far, the 23-year-old will not be the one to fix it.
It is clear that White has many years ahead of him and will probably play most of the remainder of Arsenal’s season but the main problem is the ludicrous price.
After a good season in the Championship and an alright one in the Premier League, Brighton managed to sell the player for twice what he is actually worth.
4. Aaron Ramsdale – €28 million
This was the transfer that Arteta hunted down the most in the transfer window. Ramsdale is still a young goalkeeper at the age of 23 but has already been a part of two relegated Premier League teams.
Although he was part of the Gunners win of the season – a thrashing of a West Brom reserve team in the EFL Cup – he does not seem worth his price tag.
Arsenal always had a decent keeper in Bernd Leno and it just seems that Ramsdale is costing more due to being English.
Aaron Ramsdale for Arsenal:
– 2 clean sheets 🧤
– 0 goals conceded ⛔️
– 10 goals for ⚽️
– 1 fan favourite already 👏 pic.twitter.com/fdFiQXOc0y— Av (@aviv_lavi) September 2, 2021
3. Albert Sambi Lokonga – €18 million
This signing has shown a slight bit of merit, Lokonga may have been in two of Arsenal’s opening losses but has shown to be a strong replacement for Granit Xhaka.
The 21-year-old started 27 times for Anderlecht last season and made five-goal contributions from a mainly defensive midfielder role.
The Belgian has also been praised by Premier League legend Vincent Kompany during his time in Anderlecht.
Sambi Lokonga has been the best player in last 3 games. Its a shame Arteta will bench him when Thomas Partey is back and employ Granit Xhaka. pic.twitter.com/MOfR8qeSJs
— SAMBi (@Sambilokonga48) August 31, 2021
2. Takehiro Tomiyasu – €20 million
Here is another quality signing for a reasonable price. Tomiyasu signed from Italian midtable side Bologna on Deadline Day. He managed 31 starts for the club last year and three Olympic Games matches playing in every position in the backline.
What makes the deal sweeter is that they stole it from under the noses of their bitter rivals Tottenham at the last minute.
1. Martin Odegaard – €40 million
This is the biggest name / highest quality player that the Gunners managed to sign. Odegaard spent last season on loan at the club and Arteta loved every minute that the Norweigan spent on the field.
Signing from Real Madrid makes his price of €40 million more understandable. The main plus is that he has a lot of experience at the highest level for someone that is still only 22.
Arsenal's biggest ever transfer window outlay – around £145m.
– Ramsdale (£24m)
– Lokonga (£15m)
– White (£50m)
– Odegaard (£30m)
– Tavares (£8m)
– Tomiyasu (£16m)Impossible to really rate it now. It could be two years until we know if most of them are decent signings or not. pic.twitter.com/QRSnke9kZw
— Charles Watts (@charles_watts) August 31, 2021
Only time will tell if any of these signings prove their worth and can pull Arsenal from the terrible rut they are in.
