ARSENAL splurged nearly £250million on players in the summer to take Mikel Arteta’s total spend to over £1billion.
The perception among many is that the club’s summer business has been a blazing success, but is that really the case?
Here, SunSport’s Chief Football Correspondent Charlie Wyett looks at the signings.
MARTIN ZUBIMENDI – 8
The best of the summer arrivals. A £51million capture from Real Sociedad, the Spanish international looks as though he has been playing in the Premier League for years.
Along with Declan Rice and Jurrien Timber, he has been a real star for Arteta this term yet the actual transfer was done before the arrival of current sporting director Andrea Berta in March and sealed by the previous regime who saw off competition from Liverpool.
The wheels were greased for the transfer when Arsenal signed Mikel Merino from the same club in 2024.
ARSENAL RATINGS
Martinelli is electric & Norgaard impresses but Madueke struggles v Palace
So the Zubimendi capture was heavily influenced by the previous sporting director Edu and technical director Jason Ayto.
CRISTHIAN MOSQUERA – 7
Another good signing from Spain although he still has lots to prove.
The defender arrived from Valencia for £13m and has played well when given the chance although Arteta stuck with his favoured back four before the inevitable injuries occurred.
He had made only four Premier League starts before suffering an ankle injury against Brentford earlier this month and the problem is more serious than first thought.
CASINO SPECIAL – BEST CASINO BONUSES FROM £10 DEPOSITS
PIERO HINCAPIE – 6
Another defender who joined to add strength in depth. The deal is a loan with an option to sign the Ecuador international from Bayer Leverkusen for £45m.
After impressing at first, he has made some bad mistakes and you have to wonder whether Arsenal will go ahead with the transfer next summer.
KEPA ARRIZABALAGA – 6
The keeper joined from Chelsea for £5million and has had to be patient.
You can hardly blame Arteta for sticking with David Raya but Kepa will get his chance like he did in Tuesday’s Carabao Cup win over Crystal Palace when he was the penalty hero.
CHRISTIAN NORGAARD – 5
The Brentford skipper was a £10million capture and has impressed with his excellent attitude and is already an extremely popular member of the dressing room.
He has been a victim of Zubimendi’s success as a holding midfielder and has yet to start in the Premier League. Made only his fifth start against Palace but was decent.
VIKTOR GYOKERES – 5
Signed from Sporting Lisbon for £54.8m as the central striker the team has been crying out for.
Yet despite arriving from Portugal with a stunning goal record, the former Coventry forward has found his return to England tough.
After a slow start, he seemed to be finding his way before suffering a hamstring injury against Burnley.
Since returning, he has been really poor and looks completely off the pace. In total, he has scored seven times.
EBERECHI EZE – 6
The lifelong Arsenal fan could not hide his delight when joining from Crystal Palace for £60m.
He has delivered some decent performances and scored his first goal against former club Palace before stealing the show with a hat-trick in the 4-1 win over Tottenham.
Equally, he still needs to do more. If he is not careful, Eze could end up losing his England place.
NONI MADUEKE – 7
Arrived from Chelsea for £48m and was a controversial signing.
Despite a petition not to sign him, Madueke has won over the Arsenal fans with some good performances.
But he suffered a knee injury when he was getting into his stride, which ruled him out for two months, and he made only his eighth start against Palace on Tuesday.
VERDICT
The jury is out on some of Arsenal’s summer signings. For the amount spent, you would expect more of them to be certain starters.
Whether this huge spending will be seen as a success will be determined by one thing – and that is Arsenal winning either the Premier League or the Champions League.
Would securing just the Carabao Cup be enough for Arsenal’s fans?
Maybe, but for £1billion, you would expect more than that.
