Arsenal's Transfer Window: How did the Gunners do?

The transfer window slammed shut at 11pm on Tuesday as Arsenal squeezed through a deadline day deal to cap off a summer of big spending. Now the dust has settled, let us see how Arsenal got on:

Incomings

Ben White - £52.65 million

Martin Odegaard - £31.50 million

Aaron Ramsdale - £25.20 million

Takehiro Tomiyasu - £16.74 million

Albert Sambi Lokonga - £15.75 million

Nuno Tavares - £7.20 million

Total: £149.04 million

(All fees taken from Transfermarkt)

Arsenal spent the most money of any Premier League team during the window, an amount which demands a return, but what is very apparent from Arsenal's transfer strategy is that there was a clear plan of action - sign players under the age of 23 with good mental and physical attributes who will improve as the years go on.

The benefits of this strategy are threefold.

Firstly, players within this criteria are likely to develop further, resulting in them becoming better footballers and thus retaining, or even increasing their value. Furthermore, targeting players with good mental attributes makes it more likely these players will see through their development.

Secondly, this type of player is often cheaper than a player in the prime of their career, giving more scope to acquire many of these players as opposed to just one or two. Given Arsenal are in need of an overhaul, bringing in 6 new faces is a good achievement.

Thirdly, these players will demand lesser wages which helps their future sell on value. Arsenal have encountered problems throughout the past few years with trying to shift on players who are on hefty wages, resulting in several of them leaving on frees. More reasonable wages help make these players more attractive to other clubs should Arsenal want to sell.

With the uncertainty at Arsenal over the past few years, and at the start of the 2021/22 Premier League season, future proofing assets is a smart idea. Under Unai Emery, Arsenal signed the likes of Nicolas Pepe, Lucas Torreira and Sokratis Paspasthopoulos, all of which are good players, but they are each limited to a certain way of playing which has given Mikel Arteta issues during his time at the club.

Acquiring two future England internationals alongside other young talent should help protect Arsenal should a new manager or transfer team come in.

The downside to Arsenal's strategy is that these players are somewhat unproven and may take some time before we really see what they can do. Players like Alexis Sanchez and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang came to the club in their primes having played at the highest level for multiple years, they were players who were guaranteed to be great. Players coming in from Sheffield United and Bologna for example are not as guaranteed to be a success.

The biggest question mark over the players signed in this window, and indeed the manager, is time. Arteta is building a project at Arsenal, and with these signings he has acquired the tools to make his system work. The necessity of this project is explained in this thread:

The players signed in this window at least give Arteta a chance to fully implement his system, and if not, the next manager will acquire a group of young, promising players who will be valuable assets.

This is also the case with Arsenal extending the contracts of Kieran Tierney, Emile Smith Rowe and Granit Xhaka. The former 2 are leading players at Arsenal currently and will be part of the core to lead the team forward. The latter is protecting value for a player who is worth more than the £15 million Roma were offering. All 3 extensions represent smart business.

Arsenal have put themselves in a good position with all of these players going forward as Arteta continues to assemble his young core.

Outgoings

Joe Willock - £26.46 million

Lucas Torreira - Loaned to Fiorentina, fee £1.35 million

Matteo Guendouzi - Loaned to Marseille

Hector Bellerin - Loan to Real Betis

William Saliba - Loan to Marseille

Reiss Nelson - Loan to Feyenoord

Alex Runarsson - Loan to OH Leuven

Willian - Released

David Luiz - Released

Dani Ceballos - End of Loan

Mathew Ryan - End of Loan

A big issue heading into last season was the size of Arsenal's squad. Arsenal have a similarly large squad heading into this season, but now are without European football to help appease the fringe players.

Arsenal were able to recoup money for 1 player, Joe Willock, an academy graduate who has spent the last few years developing into a Premier League player before fetching the Gunners a good fee. It is exactly the sort of smart business Arsenal need to do more of. With such an excellent crop of players coming through the academy over the past few years, developing them into the first team squad or selling them on to fund incomings is essential, and that is exactly what has happened with Willock.

Mat Ryan and Dani Ceballos's loans came to an end, prompting the signings of Aaron Ramsdale and Albert Sambi Lokonga to replace them. While David Luiz's contract expired and Willian agreed to a termination in order to join Corinthians.

Then we come to the loans. A lot of loans.

Arsenal actively looked to shift on Lucas Torreira, Matteo Guendouzi, Hector Bellerin, Reiss Nelson and Alex Runarsson permanently, but failed to do so. As a result, loans seem to be the best way of dealing with players who simply were not going to get a look in and Arteta does not want around the dressing room.

William Saliba's loan has become an interesting case due to the absences of Gabriel and Ben White during the start of the season. We have seen both Rob Holding and Pablo Mari struggle, leading to Sead Kolasinac making a surprise appearance at centre back. In isolation loaning out a 20 year old centre back to a top team in France makes sense, but given the options that remain at the club it seems he could have been a useful player to stick around.

An area in which Arsenal were not successful was moving on or extending players with 1 year left on their deals. The likes of Alexandre Lacazette and Eddie Nketiah for example are left on expiring deals with little prospect of getting a return for them in January. According to Transfermarkt, Lacazette is worth £25.20 million, whilst Nketiah is worth £14.40 million. That is a lot of money that Arsenal are letting walk away.

Despite a difficult market, Arsenal failing to move on a number of players, jeopardising the values of others can only be seen as a failure.

Verdict

On the whole this transfer window deserves a 7 out of 10. The players in represent exciting prospects for the future, alongside smart contract extensions. However, the inability to shift on players leaves Arsenal with a high net expenditure and a bloated squad.

Adam Perry - 03/09/2021