Mikel Arteta and Edu risk multi-million transfer mistake if two Arsenal deals are sanctioned
The praise that I have levied at both Mikel Arteta and Edu Gaspar for their work in the past three and a half years regarding the squad-building aspect of their tenure has been frequent and very complimentary. For good reason too considering when the pair first came together Arsenal were in eleventh and since 2019 have taken the side into a position where for much of last season they led the title race, sadly faltering at the end.
The players that the pair have signed have been, overall, very successful. In 2020 Gabriel Magalhaes and Thomas Partey arrived and addressed two positions that had been the bane of transfer debates for years with fans questioning why the club had failed to address two such crucial roles for so long.
The following year 2021 was used to bring the age of the squad down with exciting talent. Aaron Ramsdale, Ben White, Martin Odegaard and Takehiro Tomiyasu have become key parts of the squad since and all played their roles in the title challenge last year.
Without a doubt, and importantly, they’ve all increased their valuation, something the Gunners struggled with in the past and to some degree still need to work on now. Lastly in 2022 the arrival of Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko proved pivotal in taking the side to the next level.
In 2023, the window looked to have begun on the same thread, if not better. A club record spend on Declan Rice, Kai Havertz, Jurrien Timber and David Raya saw huge optimism for the new campaign.
However, as the summer draws to a close, the draw with Fulham combined with rumours of a major double departure have turned the atmosphere somewhat sour. The match against Fulham itself, in my view, has seen something of an overreaction with plenty of evidence to suggest
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