The Gunners have racked up the largest bill of any club during this seasons transfer window – but will the new faces at the Emirates allow Mikel Arteta’s side to bounce back from failing to make Europe this season?
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Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has hit the market in a blaze during this summer’s transfer window as he looks to rebuild on the squad that failed to secure a spot in a European competition for the first time in 26 years.
The Gunners manager has so far totalled a bill of almost £140m that will bring a plethora of young talent to The Emirates in all departments in what has been this transfer’s biggest spree by any club.
Notable admissions at the Emirates include Brighton defender Ben White, attacking midfielder Martin Odegaard and goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale who has joined the club from Bournemouth.
But with footballing legends such as Roy Keane still unconvinced by Arsenal ’s big spending this summer, it remains yet to be seen just how successful this transfer window will be for the North London side.
So here’s a look into the Arsenal’s summer transfers so far and other notable windows since 2000.
2021-22 summer transfer window
In: Ben White, Martin Odegaard, Aaron Ramsdale, Albert Sambi Lokonga, Nuno Tavares
Out: Joe Willock
Net Spend: £105.84m
Arteta’s additions to the Gunners squad this summer ought to breathe some life back into the side following the dejection of failing to make the Europa League this season.
The boss will be delighted with the retention and commitment of Martin Odegaard who appeared for the club last year while on loan from Real Madrid.
Add to this the recent signing of 21-year-old Albert Sambi Lokonga from Belgian side Anderlecht, Arsenal have found themselves well stacked in the midfield.
But Arteta endeavours to strengthen the defence by adding English centre-half Ben White and Portuguese left-back Nuno Tavares have proven the key signings of the summer and the stamina and ball-playing ability of the pair will come in real handy.
2003-04 summer transfer window
In: Philippe Senderos, Jens Lehmann, Cesc Fabregas, Gael Clichy
Out: Graham Barrett, David Seaman, Oleh Luzhny, Guillaume Warmuz
Net Spend: £23.73m
A historic season for the Gunners – the 2003/04 invincibles season will remain tattooed in the memories of any football fan let alone exclusively Arsenal supporters.
While the signings may seem a little underwhelming at first glance, it cannot be ignored that each member of the team had a part to play in one of the greatest feats in Premier League history and one that is unlikely to ever be matched.
Goalkeeper Jens Lehmann appears to be the strongest signing that year after arriving from Borussia Dortmund as a replacement for David Seaman, keeping 15 clean sheets during the season and having a significant impact in their topflight victory.
It’s also worth noting that the net spend during the summer transfer window remained relatively low and there were no real star signings – impressive for a club that remained unbeaten in 38 games.
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Image:
GETTY)
2013-14 summer transfer window
In: Mesut Ozil, Yaya Sanogo, Mathieu Flamini
Out: Denilson, Andrey Arshavin, Vito Mannone, Sebastien Squillaci, Andre Santos, Gervinho, Marouane Chamakh
Net Spend: £33.39m
Mesut Ozil’s arrival at The Emirates from Real Madrid was dubbed as one of the club’s biggest signings in recent history and with a record of 105 games for the Spanish side and a tally of 19 goals, this left fans brimming with optimism.
But fans were often left frustrated with the German midfielder’s hit and miss form and the frequency of his mistakes lead to a reduction in game time in the latter stages of his career, before he departed The Emirates in January this year.
Arsenal also offloaded a significant number of their fringe players that season as well as saying goodbye to Ivorian forward Gervinho, who failed to impress in his two years with the club after much hype.
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Image:
Clive Rose/Getty Images)
2019-2020 summer transfer window
In: William Saliba, Dani Ceballos, Nicolas Pepe, Gabriel Martinelli, Kieran Tierney, David Luiz
Out: Aaron Ramsey, David Ospina, Kystian Bielik, Petr Cech, Danny Welbeck, Stephan Lichtsteiner, Takuma Asano, Laurent Koscielny, Carl Jenkinson, Xavier Amaechi, William Saliba, Alex Iwobi
Net Spend: £96.08m
The 2019/20 summer transfer window remains the highest spend in Arsenal history having broken the club transfer record as big names arrived at the North London club.
Centre-back David Luiz joined the Gunners from near neighbours Chelsea for a very reasonable £8m fee. The arrival of Ivorian Nicolas Pepe appeared to be a good signing too as the striker went on to score 15 goals in 61 appearances.
But cash flow also proved strong during the summer as Arsenal offloaded plenty of their squad, including a deal of £38m for winger Alex Iwobi, who after four years with the club and 100 appearances could only muster 11 goals to his name.