Mikel Arteta and Arsene Wenger agree on $22m 'new signing' as three Arsenal players await return

Mikel Arteta's Arsenal squad has evolved so much in the Spaniard's four years at the club, but there has been one constant throughout.

Since his first game on Boxing Day 2019 against Bournemouth, Arteta has included at least one Hale End graduate in his starting XI for all-but-three of his 179 games in charge — the infamous north London derby defeat to Tottenham Hotspur in July 2020, 2021's 2-0 win at Newcastle and last season's 4-1 win over Leeds United.

Bukayo Saka has been the most regular academy prodigy used by Arteta. The elite winger has 179 senior appearances to his name — 160 have come under Arteta. But Eddie Nketiah, Emile Smith Rowe, Reiss Nelson, Ainsley Maitland-Niles and Folarin Balogun have represented the first-team under Arteta.

The onus on youth is becoming a more and more important factor for clubs around the world. The perfect examples of Ajax and Benfica have seen great success from developing top talents and selling them to Europe's elite for a profit. In England, most Premier League teams have a nice blend of academy players with players bought for a fee, but Arsenal and Arteta have taken that to another pedigree.

Everyone knows Saka's rise and importance to Arsenal. Thirty-eight goals and 40 assists at the age of 21 is 'wonderkid' status all right. But the upcoming season has so much resting on it for Smith Rowe.

After successful loan spells with RB Leipzig and Huddersfield Town, Smith Rowe became an established first team member under Arteta in the 2021/22 season, contributing to 13 goals in 37 games. In fact, for some supporters, the playmaker was on par with Saka.

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However, last season was a torrid one full