Arsenal summer transfer window: Best & worst signing

The curtain draws at the end of another eventful summer transfer window with Arsenal bidding farewell to August and hello to September with a very different looking squad to the one that finished last season.

Some may argue the starting lineup doesn’t reflect that. They’re not wrong. But this is about the squad, and in total they’ve made a combined 15 first team transfers in this window.

Six of those come in the form of new signings while the remaining nine are all either permanent or loan departures. Mat Ryan, David Luiz and Dani Ceballos, while not falling into any of those three categories, are also off the books.

It’s been busy, and this carries on from the January transfer window in which there were an even greater number of exits with contracts cancelled and the squad lightened.

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The best and worst signings Arsenal made during the summer transfer window as deadline closes for Mikel Arteta and his side

There are plenty of opinions being flown about regarding Arsenal’s dealings, as well as a few choice words for those in charge of all of them, but Takehiro Tomiyasu wraps up six new additions and there is no denying that Arsenal have at least been active.

Nuno Tavares kicked things off with his arrival shortly before pre-season began and then the wheels began to start turning as the dominoes fell.

Mikel Arteta has wanted to build a side to his liking and the backing of him has been represented in the outlay, with Arsenal breaking their summer transfer window record by forking out around £150m in transfer fees.

With business concluded, who takes top prize for signing of the summer? Well, in truth it’s hard to tell, or indeed predict, given that most of the signings have barely had a kick of the ball yet.

So, naturally, we’re going to do it anyway.

Best Signing of the Summer – Martin Odegaard

If the window was being viewed solely from the gaze of the additions made, Arsenal haven’t completed any signings that outwardly spell ‘mistake’.

The obvious caveats are that it may be that all six bomb dreadfully and turn out to be total wastes of money, and for sure £30m on a backup goalkeeper is incredibly steep, but on the surface, there looks like being solid incoming business.

Perhaps that’s why Martin Odegaard gets the nod just because he’s the one we as supporters know the most about. Equally, in regards to his ceiling, it’s the highest of all.

What he can bring to the team when fully fit and how his presence can help unlock those around him, namely getting Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scoring goals again, is key. Emile Smith Rowe flourished in the side with the Norwegian adding centrality and the creative burden simply had to be shared around.

Odegaard for £30m or James Maddison for £65m? The former. Every day of the week.

But this isn’t about who Arsenal didn’t sign, and instead about who they did. Odegaard brings leadership, vision and flair, and will only get better. Supporters haven’t seen the best of him yet and he’s someone who will continue to improve with every month he dons red and white.

Sambi and White certainly have the potential to get the nod on this, and as with almost all of the additions Arsenal have made this window their respective impacts are more likely to be felt further down the line, thus it’s the 22-year-old who just pips in front.

What about the worst? Well, it’s easily the most contentious, anyway.

Worst Signing of the Summer – Granit Xhaka Contract Extension

A mistake. A fear to delve into the unknown and the risk of stagnating. Indeed, Arsenal not only opting against selling Granit Xhaka but then re-signing him on another year’s worth of contract, goes down as the worst signing of the summer.

Watching on as Arsenal embarked on a total rejigging of the squad with a strong focus on bringing in youth – all signings under the age of 23 – and moving on ageing and inconsistent members of the squad – David Luiz, Willian etc – above all, felt exciting.

Having needed a face lift and a clenched fist punch on the reset button, Xhaka was certainly part of that. His departure, above all, would be the catalyst for a new outlook. Thomas Partey would become the senior midfielder in the squad and adding progression elsewhere in the squad (White, Lokonga) meant that Arsenal could do something new with their midfield. Take the plunge and see what could become of them as a Premier League side.

And it’s not even a great dive into the unknown. Xhaka is a good footballer. He is not a great one.

There is nothing new to find out about Xhaka, either. Everything that he’s done over the past five seasons everyone is well aware of. Every fan could write up an individual thesis on all his strengths and weaknesses.

The last six months of last season were also the best he’s had for Arsenal. It won’t get any better than that.

Yes, £13m for him from Roma was pittance. But it was an opportunity to reshape the dynamic of the engine room, boost tempo and open a space in the squad for a more marquee arrival. A Bissouma, a Neves, whatever.

Instead Arsenal will stagnate. Not only that, they can continue doing so for even longer since the club saw fit to award the man who openly expressed a desire to leave with a new contract. Is that because he’s a leader? One whose head goes when his side are losing a football match?

It was downright stupid. The occasional strong performance won’t mask that. His limitations will still be Arsenal’s limitations. The ceiling of this midfield will still hinge on whether or not he has a good game.

His partnership with Partey can also be a good partnership. But that’s all it can be and what else could be we won’t know since he’s now here to stay until 2024 at the earliest.

Arsenal took the easy route. The wrong route. This is what we reward people for now.

Xhaka may be far from the biggest problem at Arsenal. The question that needed answering, however, was whether he is the solution. The answer to that is clear.