Mikel Arteta has just finished his second full season in charge as Arsenal boss with the Gunners missing out on a Champions League spot again, but have shown clear signs of progression as they ended in fifth place with the youngest squad in the league. Additions to the squad are necessary for the next step.
After a disastrous start to the season which saw Arsenal bottom of the table and winless after three games, Arteta’s side turned it around to push hard for a top-four position but were beaten to the spot at the very end by rivals Tottenham Hotspur.
Nevertheless, fifth spot is an improvement on last season’s eighth-place finish, which saw them fail to qualify for European competition for the first time in over 20 years. Since then, an extensive rebuild has seen a lot of players leave, who were replaced by younger, hungrier stars from the academy and elsewhere.
The future does look bright for Arsenal’s current crop of elite young talent, but they need to elevate their level to take the next step forward. Here’s what Arteta has done so far in the transfer market since his arrival in December 2019, and what he can do next.
January 2020
In: Cedric Soares (loan), Pablo Mari (loan)
Out: Konstantinos Mavropanos (loan)
An uneventful first window of Arteta’s managerial career, but an unsuccessful one, as Cedric arrived injured and Pablo Mari played just two games before the Premier League was suspended as a result of the coronavirus outbreak in March 2020.
Summer 2020
In: Cedric Soares (free), Pablo Mari (£12million), Runar Alex Runarsson (£1.5million), Thomas Partey (£45million), Gabriel Magalhaes (£23million), Willian (free)
Out: Emi Martinez (£20million), Matteo Guendouzi (loan), Konstantinos Mavropanos (loan), Henrikh Mkhitaryan (free).
A mixed first summer transfer window for Arteta, as Thomas Partey and Gabriel have proven themselves to be top players on their day, but the rest, Willian in particular, failed to impress at all.
Martinez departed…
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