Premier League Big Six summer transfer window review

The transfer window slammed shut in England last week and it was quite an eventful few months for the Premier League.

The league as a whole went through a lot of changes, with hundreds of millions of pounds being moved by English clubs. In fact, Premier League clubs were responsible for 49% of collective gross spend across the top five European leagues this summer as they combined to splash a record £1.9bn on transfers.

Premier League Big Six summer transfer window review

There is a lot to cover so I’ve recruited five fantastic writers from across the FanSided network to help us go through each of the ‘Big Six’.

This is Pain in the Arsenal so, of course, we’ll start with the Gunners.

Arsenal

Let’s start with the all-important #9 position. Gabriel Jesus has been a revelation after joining from Manchester City, while Eddie Nkeitah has continued his fantastic form from the end of last season which means Arsenal have two very good options up front. It was Arsenal’s biggest need and to have filled it well is a great thing.

Midfield also needed bolstering despite rumours dating all the way back to January, Arsenal did not make a move for Youri Tielemans this summer, instead opting for Fabio Vieira from Porto in an out-of-nowhere signing. While the Portuguese playmaker could be great, there is still a lot we don’t know as he’s only played 15 minutes for the Gunners thus far. Injuries also meant the club were keen to add another defensive-minded midfielder to their ranks on deadline day, but they had three bids rejected by Aston Villa for Douglas Luiz. Thus, Arsenal are probably a player or two light in midfield.

Full-back was another glaring issue at the beginning of the window with several names linked with a move. Eventually, after Lisandro Martinez joined Manchester United, Oleksandr Zinchenko was signed from City. The Ukrainian has already usurped Kieran Tierney as Mikel Arteta’s starting left-back, and he’s proven to be a level raiser in his short time at the club.

Arsenal did not end up signing a winger other than young Marquinhos, but not for a lack of trying. The club were heavily linked with Raphinha who would instead get his dream move to Barcelona. I think it was a miss to not fill this role because Bukayo Saka badly needs a cover, especially with Nicolas Pepe departing to Nice on loan. Several players can fill in out wide, but Arteta will be fitting square pegs into round holes this season.

The club has brought in some serious talent and the team is way better than it was a year ago. There were some failures, but I’m still going to give this window an 8/10.

Let’s see how the rest of the Big Six fared this summer.

Continued on the next slide…