Arteta makes Arsenal transfer admission after £200m summer spend in title hunt

Arsenal transfer news - Mikel Arteta has discussed transfers and how complicated signings really are, following on from the summer window

The north Londoners made a surge towards the Premier League title, leading it for the majority of the campaign before falling away. Manchester City were the eventual champions, but with a young squad at his disposal, there was a feeling that Arteta's side was only going to grow stronger.

That is something Arteta was keen to discuss when talking to journalists in his pre-Everton press conference, saying: "We are all human beings and you know that one plus one isn’t always making two. In the end, it’s a bet. When buying a player, it’s a bet – and that bet can go wrong... because it’s a human.

“You have to bring them from different countries, cultures and styles of play. Then they have to live and adapt within a different system and environment. Sometimes it takes time. Sometimes it works. Sometimes it doesn’t. I feel extremely responsible, especially when we’re demanding to buy players for huge amounts. You have to make sure we’ve done the work to make it happen. But sometimes it doesn’t.”