Arsenal’s hierarchy may have been tempted to place their trust and confidence in the squad that steered the club to a long-awaited Premier League title ahead of the new season.
After all, it had been 22 excruciating years since Arsenal had last lifted the trophy under the tutelage of Arsene Wenger. What’s that old adage? If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it?
But instead of sitting still and resting on their laurels, the Gunners set out their stall in the transfer market and made sure to explore every possible avenue of interest right up until Tuesday’s deadline.
Arsenal’s first piece of business – activating their option to take Piero Hincapie on a permanent basis from Bayer Leverkusen – wasn’t exactly the sexiest and would hardly have set pulses racing, but it could prove to be one of their savvier signings of recent times.
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And just days after they were beaten to a deal for Morgan Rogers by Chelsea, Arsenal announced that they had reached an agreement with Club Brugge for highly rated winger Christos Tzolis.
Again, a sensible move on the face of it, in the wake of Leandro Trossard’s departure for Besiktas, but not the kind of deal to break the internet or one that would have had Arsenal’s rivals quaking in their boots.
This duly arrived when Newcastle and Brazil midfielder Bruno Guimaraes finally brought an end to months of speculation over his future to complete a £75million switch switch to the Emirates – the most expensive deal in Arsenal’s history behind club-record signing Declan Rice.
The north London giants followed that up with another statement to the rest of the Premier League as Aston Villa and England centre-back Ezri Konsa joined in a £51m move, just the latest addition to Mikel Arteta’s seemingly limitless supply of high-quality defenders.
Illan Meslier, who won two promotions across a six-year spell with Leeds, also signed on the dotted line as back-up for David Raya after coming to the end of his contract at Elland Road.
For Trossard, Gabriel Martinelli, Jakub Kiwior, Gabriel Jesus, Fabio Vieira and Christian Norgaard, it was goodbye.
The departures of Trossard and Martinelli have proven divisive amongst the fanbase, especially with the club failing to find an elite-level left winger on deadline day. Have they left themselves short?
Only time will tell if the champions were right to cash in on their two title-winning wingers.
Arsenal incoming and outgoings
INCOMINGS
- Bruno Guimaraes (Newcastle) – £75m
- Ezri Konsa (Aston Villa) – £51m
- Piero Hincapie (Bayer Leverkusen) – £35m
- Christos Tzolis (Club Brugge) – £34m
- Illan Meslier (Leeds) – free transfer
OUTGOINGS
- Gabriel Martinelli (Al-Hilal) – £56m
- Leandro Trossard (Besiktas) – £17m
- Jakub Kiwior (Porto) – £14.8m
- Gabriel Jesus (Barcelona) – £8.6m
- Fabio Vieira (Hamburg) – £8.6m
- Christian Norgaard (Everton) – £7m
Best transfer deal – Bruno Guimaraes
Predictable, yes, but Bruno Guimaraes is Arsenal’s standout signing of the summer transfer window.
Guimaraes brings a new dimension that Arteta was lacking last season: aggression at both ends of the pitch combined with genuine world-class technical ability.
With Newcastle last term, Guimaraes won more ground duels and made more tackles than every one of Arsenal’s central midfielders – an invaluable trait which should give the likes of Declan Rice, Martin Odegaard and Myles Lewis-Skelly even more license to roam in the final third, where they can wreak havoc.
On paper, the Brazilian’s versatility, gritty tenacity, ball-winning attributes, natural creativity and handy goal contribution makes him the perfect acquisition for the Gunners.
Guimaraes vowed to take on the role of Arsenal’s ‘warrior’ when he arrived through the doors last month, and it would be foolish to believe he would be anything but on the basis of his time at Newcastle – where he captained the club to a first domestic trophy in 70 years.
Doubt him at your peril.
Worst transfer deal – Leandro Trossard
It’s far too premature to brand Arsenal’s decision to sell Trossard a ‘mistake’ but there’s no doubting the Gunners have taken a risk offloading the ultra-dependable Belgian.
In selling Trossard, Arsenal have parted ways with an incredibly useful squad player who has never let the club down and is capable of playing on the left wing, through the middle or as an attacking midfielder.
Across his three-and-a-half year stay in north London, Trossard racked up 70 goal contributions in his 174 appearances – an outstanding return for a player who was often used as a rotation option by Arteta.
A fee of £17m seems minuscule for such a valuable and multifaceted asset, one that notched six goals and six assists across the side’s title-winning campaign last term.
While Arsenal’s treatment of Martinelli has received some criticism amongst the fanbase, the Brazilian’s numbers tailed off to an alarming degree over recent years.
The same cannot be said for Trossard and they could have squeezed at least another year out of the former Brighton man.
The one that got away – Vinicius Junior
The transfer saga that had Arsenal fans most gripped to TV screens and hitting refresh on gossip columns this summer was that which linked their club to Real Madrid megastar Vinicius Junior.
At first, it appeared to be nothing more than a pipe dream for even the most optimistic Gooner – but the interest was genuine and Arsenal’s hierarchy were hopeful of wrapping up a deal for the Brazilian right up until the start of last month.
Arteta was said to be ‘absolutely smitten’ with the idea of bringing Vinicius to the Premier League, eager to add an elite, world-class talent to his title-winning frontline.
However, the 2024 Ballon d’Or runner-up would ultimately snub Arteta’s advances to sign a new long-term contract at the Bernabeu, leaving Arsenal flailing around for an alternative on the left wing which never came.
Honourable mentions – Morgan Rogers and Julian Alvarez
Morgan Rogers began the window as one of Arsenal’s primary attacking targets and the then Aston Villa star – the PFA Young Player of the Year for 2024/24 – was perceptive to the Gunners’ pursuit.
But Rogers would end up at Stamford Bridge and there were some reports which indicated the England international had ‘rejected’ Arsenal – these were false.
The north Londoners simply didn’t get the deal over the line at Villa’s eye-watering £117m asking price, while Chelsea were willing to pay it.
Undoubtedly a supreme talent but Arsenal weren’t willing to pay what they felt was over the odds and that was that..
Seeking support and competition for last year’s marquee signing, Viktor Gyokeres, Arsenal made a late push for Atletico Madrid striker Julian Alvarez.
However, Alvarez’s preference had been Barcelona all along and Atleti made it clear they never had any intention of doing business with their La Liga rivals.
The truth is, the Argentine never truly wanted Arsenal. Yes, he considered the Gunners as his ‘only option’ when resigned to the fact that a move to the Camp Nou was off the cards, but the logistics were complex and the pull wasn’t enough to coax the former Manchester City man back to English football.
The speculation surrounding Alvarez’s future is likely to rumble on and on, with the forward clearly far from happy at the Metropolitano Stadium.
Watch this space in January if it becomes glaringly obvious that Arsenal are missing something that Gyokeres and Kai Havertz cannot provide up front. It’ll take an astronomical fee to make it happen, though.
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