Arsenal: Successful summer offers hope for future

Three months after the summer window shut, Arsenal seemingly signed some very good players. Such recruitment success offers great hope for the future.

When Arsenal entered the summer transfer window after Arsene Wenger’s departure, undergoing a major reshuffle of the structure of the club in the process, they had a whole lot of decisions to make. Several players that needed contracts renewing, numerous positions requiring investment, and how this would all fit under the new direction of Unai Emery.

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This was a very experimental summer, to say the least. And so, three months after the window shut, it is most pleasing to see many of the decisions that have been made be positive, productive ones.

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Of the five players that Arsenal signed in the summer, none have disappointed yet. Sokratis has been a reliable option at centre-half, Stephan Lichtsteiner has provided experienced, versatile depth, Bernd Leno has now won the starting job from Petr Cech, and the most exciting two, Lucas Torreira and Matteo Guendouzi, have displayed great talent and potential in the heart of the midfield.

It is the latter two that offer the most hope for the future, and not because of their actual arrivals. Although their presence is extremely beneficial to the team, what is more pleasing for the future is the man behind those signings, Sven Mislintat, has been successful in the work that he has done thus far, and should therefore be successful in the future, which is more consequential than anything that Torreira and Guendouzi can do.

Like with Arsene Wenger and his transfer policies and scouting departments, while having great players is essential for any team to be successful, it is so much more important for a club to have smart, progressive and productive managers behind the scenes, and, at this point, the man in charge of Arsenal’s transfer policy is Mislintat. Bar Emery, there is no more important person at the club.

It is good news, then, that the signings that he has masterminded so far in his short tenure in north London have largely been successful — you can also throw Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Konstantinos Mavropanos into the mix from last January. In fact, of the eight players that have joined Arsenal since Mislintat’s hiring, only Henrikh Mkhitaryan has been a complete flop, and even then, the Armenian has shown signs of promise.

Where Mislintat goes next remains to be seen. What his diamond eye sees in potential around the globe will, I am sure, be hidden from public view for some time. But even if he buys an absolute no-name, because of his record thus far, I will be more than happy to give him the benefit of the doubt. Just look at Guendouzi.

Thus far into the season, the Gunners had a very successful summer transfer window. Much of that is down to Sven Mislintat. He is the reason why there is great hope for the future.