Every Mikel Arteta signing at Arsenal so far – ranked

3. Ben White (£50m)

Third place features yet another rearguard recruit in the form of Ben White, and the £50m man’s efforts at the club have alleviated reservations regarding the outlay for his services.

White endured a difficult start to his Gunners’ journey at the Brentford Community Stadium back in August – where he was heavily criticised for his inability to contain Ivan Toney – and was later ruled out of clashes with Chelsea and Man City due to a positive Covid test.

However, he soon recovered and demonstrated exactly why we invested in him courtesy of his fearlessness to pass from the back and initiate attacks from deep, while he was a mainstay in the team until injury struck in the final weeks of the campaign.

A very encouraging first season at Arsenal, and more of the same is to be expected in 2022/23.

2. Gabriel (£27m)

We will take a short break from last summer’s activity and return to 2020 when Gabriel completed his protracted move from the Hauts-de-France to the Emirates.

Arteta’s defensive revamp began in earnest with the arrival of the former Lille enforcer two years ago and he later showed why he was in such high demand, producing several outstanding performances which saw him claim consecutive Player of the Month awards at Arsenal in his first three months.

And he has since followed that up by leading the charge at the other end. The 24-year-old scored five goals in the Premier League last season – matching the tally of our most prolific striker – and has been a major beneficiary of Nicolas Jover’s inventive set-piece methods.

Question marks remain about his temperament and he is prone to rash moments when stepping out of the defence. But so far, this appears to be money well spent, and it will be interesting to see if stiffer competition leads to further improvement next term.

1. Martin Odegaard (£29m)

https://twitter.com/Arsenal/status/1534160766449983488

There was quite a battle for the number one spot, but the honour will go to Martin Odegaard as a reflection of a wonderful individual season at his new home.

A few eyebrows were raised when Arsenal opted to complete a permanent move following a mostly unspectacular six-month loan at the club, and those doubts persisted when he was dropped to the bench in the autumn.

But the precocious talent he exhibited at Stromsgodset in Norway and later success in San Sebastian with Real Sociedad suggested it would only be a matter of time before the Norwegian flourished in north London, and so it proved to be.

A talismanic figure with a silky touch and never one to shirk responsibility, Odegaard’s contributions to the team are clear to see every time he steps onto the pitch and he is now an important cog in Arteta’s red and white machine.