Hello everyone! by Nayan
Thanks a lot for your inputs on the last article! I agree that there are different opinions on transfers, and in hindsight I should have called them “mistakes” instead of “blunders” – apologies for the same.
I also wanted to appreciate all the hard work Arteta, Edu and the entire transfers and coaching team has put in. Noting down what I feel are some of the best player decisions taken by them (this includes buying / selling/ promoting from academy/ walking away from a deal).
1. Martin Odegaard
Starting with the crème de la crème – Captain Cool. Never easy to fill large shoes of some of the most charismatic creators Arsenal have had over the years – Fabregas, Ozil, Cazorla. The year before, Arsenal tried a similar experiment by loaning another La Liga player – Denis Suarez. However, that ended up being a disaster. Odegaard had some fine performances while on his first stint on loan, but he still hadn’t won everyone over in the 6 months that he played for us. We got him for a reasonable 35mn at that time, which looks like a bargain now! Hoping he keeps up the good work and leads us to CL success next season 😍
2. Ben White
50mn for a lesser-known defender from Brighton while Manu and Chelsea were busy signing some of the world’s best defenders in the world for lower seemed outrageous at beginning. But white has proven himself worth every penny and more since the day he signed for us. Showing amazing versatility to play an entire season on RB is no mean feat and adapted it like duck to water!
3. Granit Xhaka (retained instead of selling)
Must be one of the best redemption stories in the history of football! When the world seemed to agree that Xhaka’s Arsenal career is over, Arteta kept him instead of selling to the under-balling Roma and Mourinho 😁😁. He had his best season in Arsenal shirt last year and is still fetching a decent sum even towards the end of his Arsenal career. Adios Xhaka, you’re a true inspiration 🫡
4. Aaron Ramsdale
Paying 30mn for a backup goalie who had been relegated twice, hot on heels of a disastrous purchase of Runarsson while the hot shot goalie we sold for just 17mn (Martinez) the year before outperformed our first choice Leno – seemed one poor decision too many in the goal keeping department. However, Ramsdale and Arteta had different plans, and has proven all the naysayers wrong. Great to have him tied up for the future, surely the long-term no.1 for England in my view.
5. Thomas Partey
This must be one of the cheekiest transfers Arsenal ever pulled off. Last min signing in the transfer window, Arsenal had a heavy outlay of 45mn + 200k wages for a 27 yrs. old. He had a frustrating first season loaded with injuries but had a stellar season last year and has helped strengthen the spine of the team considerably. Latest news suggest that he may also be sold in this transfer window – possibly also having some relation to his personal matters. Will need to replace him adequately, else we will end up with a weaker squad next year.
6. Gabriel Magalhaes
This one seems to have just flown under the radar altogether. Arsenal bought Gabriel at the age of 22 only, for a decent 27 Mn. He has been an absolute revelation in the heart of the defence. His ability to cover large spaces allows Zinchenko to play the inverted LB role. He has an enviable fitness record, playing the bulk of matches since joining. While he may have a few mistakes here and there, this has been an astute transfer and money well spent by the club!
7. Eddie Nketiah – contract renewal
I’ve always been an ardent fan of Nketiah – he was the first academy striker to break firmly into the first team in many years and had the poacher instinct in front of goal. It was irritating to see Nketiah not get enough chances, while Auba and Laca had very poor seasons, and he was all set to depart on a free transfer. However, his performances towards the end of 21-22 season convinced Arteta that he has a future here, and got awarded with a new contract. He has repaid the faith with decent performances when Jesus was injured, and everyone thought the title charge is over. Hope he still gets chances to play next season!
8. Leonardo Trossard
Thankfully Arsenal backed out of signing Mudryk for the obnoxious fees, and the team went on to buy Trossard for a reasonable 27mn. He has kept raking up the assists in his short time with the club and would love to see him scoring more free kick goals next season!
9. Folarin Balogun – Loan
This was a good decision to let Balogun gain first team experience, instead of playing as 3rd choice backup in cup games. With a stellar season under his belt, Arteta has to make a tough choice now – I would prefer to have him and Nketiah as the 2 striker options, while Jesus plays on either of the wings. However, if Arsenal decide to sell, he must not be let go for less than 50 Mn 🙏🏻
10. Aubameyang – Sale
This is one that hurts a bit – PAA went from being the firm fan favourite and darling, to an outcast soon after signing his new deal. It’s quite unfortunate that Arsenal have had bad luck with players signing bumper contracts – Walcott, Ozil, Auba, hoping Saka, Saliba and Martinelli will break this trend. Back to PAA, Arteta showed balls of steel to banish the premier striker and captain from the team for indiscipline- no player should be put bigger than the club. Subsequent spell in Chelsea has also validated the decision to let go of our star striker.
11. Lacazette – released
It would have been easy to hide behind the fact that PAA is leaving, to give Lacazette a year’s extension. However, Arteta made the right call by ending the striker’s tenure after a difficult year where he hardly scored any goals and looked out of depth vs the best defences in the league. Case to argue is that he ended the last season with 25+ goals – but it’s in a different team structure, playing against easier defences hence not apple to apple. Good to see him doing well – he was a good player and was unfortunate to suddenly find himself in the shadow of PAA despite signing as Arsenal’s record buy at that time.
12. Joe Willock – sale
I’m sure some fans would disagree with me on this, but selling willock for 25mn was a great piece of business. He had received enough chances in Arsenal 1st team but had struggled to adapt to physicality of the league. Sure, the run of 7 goals in 7 games did give an insight into his potential, but it was a case of striking when the iron was hot. Arsenal have not been able to monetize their academy talents well unlike Liverpool, with Ox and Iwobi the only 2 other recent transfers that come to my mind. We will run the risk that some of these will go on and have great careers, but it’s better to sell for decent value then to repent as in case of Gnabry.
There are more such transfers, which deserve appreciation, including Jorginho and Tomiyasu, Ozil.
Saka, Martinelli, Saliba – while these were bedrock of our title challenge last year, they were actually integrated / bought by Emery. Arteta deserves credit for playing them enough last year. I do believe that we should have bought back Saliba a year earlier, instead of sending him on another loan.
P.S. – Hopefully I’ll be able to include Declan Rice in the above list next year as well! What a statement signing this is gonna be 😍 one of the best young English players, future country captain in the making, signing for Arsenal, despite interest from other top clubs!
Let me know what you guys think – which other decisions do you all appreciate the most?
Cheers
Nayan
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