Arsenal transfers raise the floor

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Arsenal complete an exciting haul of six transfer for £150m that raise the floor of the team – but does it raise the ceiling enough for short-term success? (Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images) /

As far as incomings go, Arsenal managed to get six exciting and necessary signings over the line during the summer transfer window. Edu has rightly been called to account for his handlings but when it comes to getting deals completed, he’s filled that remit well this summer.

Richard Garlick will have helped along the way, no doubt, and the end result is a sextet all falling between the ages of 21 and 23. Their rough combined total is a club record £150m.

Despite what Gary Neville might waffle, the strategy over the course of this window was crystal clear. Vinai Venkatesham addressed Arsenal staff in the wake of deadline day stating that ‘our strategy is to fill our squad with some of Europe’s most exciting young talent’.

They’ve done that.

Arsenal complete an exciting haul of six transfer for £150m that raise the floor of the team – but does it raise the ceiling enough for short-term success?

Nuno Tavares, Aaron Ramsdale and Albert Sambi Lokonga add depth in positions previously light. Two of those may be starting regularly under Mikel Arteta this season, even with a fully fit squad.

Ben White comes in as a direct David Luiz replacement in the heart of defence and priority target Martin Odegaard will assume his role in the No. 10 spot to add richly needed creativity and centrality. As for the final of the six, Takehiro Tomiyasu, given how the season has begun his place at right-back feels as close to nailed on as can be. This before kicking a Premier League football.

Bringing in young players with some, but not a lot, of experience on modest wages with development potential and the right attitude constitutes an entirely different approach. Flooding the squad with players embarking on their last ‘big’ moves who were considered to provide the short-term fix to a long-term problem has been banished.

It’s so, so long overdue. Gazing at the Premier League’s landscape, there is no hope of a top four berth this term. Impossible. How and when Arsenal will be able to be challenging for a Champions League spot again was the key question: not this season and likely not the one after, either.

Investing in a youthful side that can grow in unison, learn side by side and ideally peak together was the approach. With the caveat of not knowing whether this talent ID will prove successful yet, first impressions are positive.

The floor of this squad has been raised; Nuno Tavares over Sead Kolasinac; Aaron Ramsdale over Alex Runarsson; and Sambi over Elneny. Some, but not nearly all, of the deadwood has been moved on and this is a key step in the right direction.

Has the ceiling been raised, though? Do these deals lean to imperative success on the horizon? This is the grey zone.

Continued…

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Arsenal transfers raise the floor – but not the ceiling

By Ross Kennerley | Sep 2, 2021

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Arsenal complete an exciting haul of six transfer for £150m that raise the floor of the team – but does it raise the ceiling enough for short-term success?