Arsenal are bidding to successfully defend the Premier League title for the first time.
Here, the Press Association looks at Mikel Arteta’s options following the closure of the transfer window.
Significant signings
Bruno Guimaraes (Newcastle) – £75m
Ezri Konsa (Aston Villa) – £55m
Piero Hincapie (Bayer Leverkusen) £34.5m
Christos Tzolis (Club Brugge) – £34m
Illan Meslier (Leeds) – free
Arsenal have spent almost £200million in evolving a squad which ended the club’s 22-year wait for a Premier League title. Bruno Guimaraes is their most significant signing, and he joins Declan Rice and Martin Odegaard in the heart of Arsenal’s midfield. Arteta has held a long-term interest in Ezri Konsa, and the club’s move for the England international accelerated after William Saliba’s back injury at the World Cup. Konsa can also operate at right-back, which became a problem area last season, with both Jurrien Timber and Ben White out for extended periods. Christos Tzolis arrives after scoring 43 times in 108 appearances for Club Brugge, while Piero Hincapie turned his loan move into a permanent one.
Summer departures
Leandro Trossard (Besiktas) – £17m
Gabriel Jesus (Barcelona) – £13m
Christian Norgaard (Everton) – £7m
Jakub Kiwior (Porto) – £15m
Fabio Vieira (Hamburg) – £7.7m
Reiss Nelson (released)
Ethan Nwaneri (Borussia Dortmund) – loan
(TBC) Gabriel Martinelli (Al-Hilal) – expected £60m
The departure of Leandro Trossard and expected sale of Gabriel Martinelli to Al-Hilal (the Saudi Pro League transfer window closes on Sunday), leaves Arsenal exposed on the left side of their forward line. Martinelli played 53 times for Arsenal last season, scoring 11 goals, while Trossard landed eight strikes across 50 games. However, perhaps surprisingly, both were deemed surplus to requirements. Gabriel Jesus fell behind Kai Havertz and Viktor Gyokeres in the pecking order, while Christian Norgaard, who failed to leave a positive impression on Arteta, has been moved on after just one season for a £3m loss. Arsenal explored selling Ethan Nwaneri but opted for a loan deal, fearing the 19-year-old’s market value has dipped after an unsuccessful spell with Marseille last term.
One to watch
Both Guimaraes and Konsa are weighted in Premier League experience but Tzolis is an unknown quantity. Tzolis played a key role in two of Arsenal’s goals in their 3-0 win against Coventry, but he was withdrawn after just 45 ineffective minutes at Aston Villa. Arteta will be relying on the Greece international to get up to speed quickly with Martinelli and Trossard no longer at his disposal.
Squad strength
In the wake of Arsenal’s Champions League final defeat to Paris St Germain, Arteta called on the club to be “very, very ambitious” to take the club to “the next level”. So, the transfer window will feel like a missed opportunity. They failed to land any of their high-profile targets in Vinicius Junior, Julian Alvarez and Morgan Rogers. Sources at the club felt the latter was not worth more than £80m – he joined Chelsea for £117m – while it seems improbable Arteta would have sanctioned the sales of both Trossard and Martinelli for only one left-sided forward (Tzolis) to arrive. Guimaraes and Konsa will add further armour to an already steely defence and midfield, but the lack of a new creative spark is a disappointment. Indeed, Arsenal are three attackers lighter than they were at the beginning of the window. There are also question marks over Gyokeres’ future with the Sweden international curiously not playing a single minute in Arsenal’s opening two games. Nevertheless, the Gunners still boast impressive squad depth – possibly the best in the league – and remain the favourites to retain their crown.
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