Ranking all 24 Arsenal signings under Mikel Arteta, with Martin Odegaard beaten to top spot
Following the statement signing of Declan Rice, we thought we’d take a look at all 24 transfers brought to Arsenal since Mikel Arteta took over as manager.
It’s fair to say the Spanish tactician has transformed the team since he took over from Unai Emery midway through the 2019/20 season, with big names like Mesut Ozil and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang shown the door, and barely any players left from the squad he first inherited.
Much of Arsenal’s success has been with young players like Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli and William Saliba, who were at the club before Arteta, but he’s also been given a lot of money to spend to change the look of this side.
He hasn’t always got it right, but Rice is the latest exciting addition to a new-look Gunners side, and we tried our best to rank them from worst to best below. Let us know what you think!
24. WillianHe may only have been a free transfer, so hardly the biggest waste of money, but Willian was dreadful in his single season at Arsenal and nothing like the superb talent we saw for so many years at Chelsea. Quite what went wrong for him in Arteta’s team is not really clear, but he surely has to be the worst of these 24 signings given the expectations on him when he arrived.
23. Runar Alex RunarssonNever really intended to be anything more than a backup player, but Runar Alex Runarsson didn’t really look up to the standard required even in that role, prompting Arteta to sign other backup ‘keepers when they became available.
22. Cedric SoaresInitially signed on loan from Southampton, Cedric Soares then made that move permanent on a free transfer. The Portuguese full-back has never really looked good enough for a club like Arsenal, though, which shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise
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