Arsenal: 3 talking points from transfer deadline day

It is now official. The transfer window is firmly slammed shut, for England at least. Arsenal was tipped by many to be one of the big movers during the summer window and they have certainly been that.

The club has brought six new faces into the club (five if you discount the returning Martin Odegaard) and at a cost of just under £150m. Certainly, an impressive amount of money spent to overhaul a squad that was in dire need of a new facelift. A new club record, to boot.

All the talk about Mikel Arteta not being backed by the club’s board can now be firmly put to rest. To fork out that much money, especially with the pandemic still causing serious problems to clubs’ finances as well as back-to-back eighth place finishes, showed that the Gunners flexed their financial muscles.

Having already signed Albert Sambi Lokonga, Ben White, Aaron Ramsdale, Martin Odegaard, and Nuno Tavares before deadline day, Arsenal needed another defender and in particular a right-back. Thankfully they managed to secure the services of Japan international Takehiro Tomiyasu from Italian side Bologna in time for the 11PM cut off.

Arsenal: 3 talking points from transfer deadline day as Mikel Arteta and Edu finish with a total squad spending of £150m in record breaking summer

So, heading into deadline day much of Arsenal’s business was going to be outgoings rather than incomings – and that is largely what happened. On deadline day, Alex Runarsson (OH Leuven), Reiss Nelson (Feyenoord), and Hector Bellerin (Real Beits) all managed to secure loan moves away from the club.

With these players leaving the club, and Willian departing the day before, Arsenal helped cleared the wage bill. Given that there is no European football this campaign, it was paramount to move players on to ease the size of the squad into a more manageable package.

However, while some players managed to move through the exit door, somehow others managed to stay when it looked like they would be following suit. This has led to some serious frustrations among the Arsenal fanbase and certainly raises questions about the club’s dealings.

Here are three talking points from Arsenal’s deadline day.

1. Sead Kolasinac, Alexandre Lacazette, Mohamed Elneny and Cedric Soares All Survive

This will surely irk several Gunners fans. All four players were deemed surplus to requirements yet somehow all managed to stay at the club.

In the case of Kolasinac, his reported suitors Fenerbache, or any club from the Super Lig, will still be able to sign him as the Turkish transfer window has until September 8 to finalise its dealings. Because of this there is still belief that Kolasinac can have his contract cancelled and move on, as it is hard to fathom that he would still be an Arsenal player after the international break.

Cedric wasn’t heavily linked with a move away, however, it is clear that he isn’t up to the standard required, hence Arsenal’s signing of Tomiyasu.

It was hoped a new home could be found for him, especially with Ainsley Maitland-Niles also staying, but with only Russia, Turkey, Mexico, Portugal, and Australia as the countries that still have their windows open, it would be highly unlikely that he’s moved out in some capacity.

As for Elneny, an unnamed Turkish club was monitoring the Egyptian midfielder on deadline day. Much in the same line as Kolasinac, the Turkish window is still open so there is still a chance that he could move on.

However, if he did, that would leave Arsenal even shorter in numbers for midfield positions.

2. Transfer Direction Becomes Clear

For much of Arsenal’s last few years, it felt like the club was purchasing players just for the sake of it, with an eye on immediate, short-term gain. However, now, it finally appears that we have an idea of exactly what Arteta and Arsenal are trying to do.

All signings in Albert Lokonga, Ben White, Aaron Ramsdale, Martin Odegaard, Nuno Tavares, and Takehiro Tomiyasu are 23 years old or under. That tells us that Arteta is looking for younger players who are hungry to learn, have some experience and will make an impact at the for the mid-term onwards. There is always scope for a sooner impact, though.

While none of these signings, Odegaard aside, were met with much fanfare, it could be great business from the club as all of these players have huge upside with Lokonga, Odegaard, and Tavares already showing their promise. The age of the squad needed bringing down for years.

White came in after a superb season with Brighton last year while Ramsdale and Tomiyasu are somewhat unknowns, although Ramsdale has bags of Premier League experience already while Tomiyasu has been a solid and versatile, if unspectacular, defender for Bologna over the last couple of years.

Youth has clearly been a factor when signing players and Arteta and Arsenal have bought them for essentially low risk and huge upside. Collectively though, it’s some spend. It’s a huge risk that we might not see the fruits of for another couple of years.

3. Not Enough Central Midfield Cover

It was widely tipped to be Houssem Aouar from Lyon. It was also Ruben Neves for a while. Yves Bissouma got a few mentions. However, no move materilaised and it now leaves the Gunners a bit short in the middle of the park.

The engine room now consists of Albert Lokonga, Granit Xhaka, Thomas Partey, Ainsley Maitland-Niles, and Mohamed Elneny. What makes this even more precarious is that Arsenal will be without Partey and Elneny as both are representing their countries at the AFCON competition in January.

Depending on how far Egypt (Elneny) and Ghana (Partey) fare, Arsenal will have to make do with Xhaka and Lokonga and if there are any injuries then the Gunners could be in a heap of trouble. Maitland-Niles is staying, but he hasn’t shown himself to be of the standard required to be an Arsenal midfielder.

The summer window is now shut and attention turns to an Arsenal side in serious crisis. With players returning, Arteta could finally have his full squad available for what is arguably his toughest stretch of pressure games since he took over.

Will Arteta guide Arsenal back up the table? Or will he be the first managerial casualty for the 2021/22 season? It’s some turnaround for him to oversee.

The time for excuses is now over. We wait with anticipation.