Story by
Why haven't Arsenal made the most obvious signing in three years?
- Story by
- Why haven't Arsenal made the most obvious signing in three years?
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission.
Arteta has done some good pieces of business this summer. | Credit: Getty Images
It's one thing to take your rivals' players. It's another thing to weaken midtable. Sir Alex Ferguson was a master of it, specifically in attack: in 13 Premier League-winning seasons, Manchester United only dropped below 70 goals four times, as Ferguson crafted a formula to rejuvenate his forward line.
Advertisement
This was pre-xG, and simple enough to do every season: go and buy leading midtable forwards who will want to step up – and overpay if you need to.
Dwight Yorke. Teddy Sheringham. Louis Saha. Dimitar Berbatov . Alan Smith. Robin van Persie , if you want to stretch the parameters. Cristiano Ronaldo left in 2009: he was replaced by Antonio Valencia and Michael Owen. Ferguson still got his 80+ goals.
And sometimes, football really is as straightforward as that. Goals win football matches; the Premier League is a tough league to adapt to. Title rivals won't sell you their best players, but teams a little lower down the table will if you offer what they're worth to them. Taking a punt on a striker from abroad will either result in a Forlan
or a Van Nistelrooy; a Bellion
or a Solskjaer. With all due respect to data nerds, scouts, analysts and numbers guys, we can all look at Eric Cantona and have a reasonable idea of how he will translate an hour down the road.
Arsenal
last made this kind of signing in 2023 – and even then, it wasn't there first-choice. When the Gunners were hijacked in the 11th hour for Mykhailo Mudryk
, they pivoted like never before, bringing in Leandro Trossard
for a fee under £25 million. It was a Sliding Door
for the Ukrainian, if ever there was one: but surely even the world's greatest optimist couldn't have seen that signing panning out as well as Trossard's did.
The Belgian needed no adaptation time. He scored within weeks, rejuvenated Mikel Arteta's attack immediately and went on to become – hopefully it's not soon to say it, given what he did – a club legend. And yet Arsenal
never again went and made the same kind of signing.
Not once in the last three years have Arsenal signed a league-leading attacker from a team outside the so-called 'big six' – and they barely had
done for the decade prior. Jamie Vardy
infamously turned them down after winning a league title with Leicester City
. The Gunners bought Nicolas Pepe
over Wilfried Zaha
. Chelsea
wanted rid of Kai Havertz
(and we can't straightfacedly call them midtable), so it wasn't quite the same thing – the same is true of Noni Madueke
, and anyway, were either of them truly tearing it up prior to joining Arsenal?
Wilfried Zaha: one of many who never joined Arsenal
Not really. Riyad Mahrez
seemingly only had eyes for Manchester City
– but Antoine Semenyo
was there for the taking. A steep fee at the time of around £60m for a player who Arsenal didn't desperately need – but one that they'd love to bring in now. Anthony Gordon
was around £40m when Newcastle United
plucked him from Everton
– and a little under double that this summer. Arsenal had serious interest – but passed both times.
Arsenal weren't seriously in the conversation for Matheus Cunha
or Bryan Mbeumo
. They didn't pull the trigger on Pedro Neto
– despite wanting him at one stage. They didn't sign Ivan Toney
when they had the chance, or even Ollie Watkins
. They didn't want Alexander Isak
last summer. Granted, these kinds of signings aren't guaranteed to be big hits – but they were absent from conversations surrounding Richarlison
and Dominic Solanke
, too.
It's strange, considering that Arsenal will happily "overpay" in midfield. Bidding for Bruno Guimaraes started far below the £75m mark that he eventually cost. There appeared to be hesitation to pay around £60m needed to buy Eberechi Eze
, before Spurs
spurred Arsenal into action. Board member Josh Kroenke has admitted that Declan Rice cost more than he expected
.
The last of which seems like a bargain, surely, even for £105m. Like most clubs, Arsenal have their valuations when it comes to players – but is it really worth holding back the tide of inflation like Cnut, or are you cutting your nose off to spite your face?
Arsenal 'overpaid' for Rice and were rewarded | Credit: Getty Images
There's seemingly a reluctance to buy a Rice or a Bruno or an Eze to improve the attack. Thinking ahead to the rest of the window – and the next couple – are Arsenal going to step up an approach for Junior Kroupi? Morgan Rogers
was supposedly the big summer target, but they were reportedly reluctant to pay over the odds. Rayan
at Bournemouth
could become a top-level attacker. Nick Woltemade would make some sense
. You get the feeling, for whatever reason, that Arsenal would are more likely to sign a 'big six' offcast, like a Cody Gakpo
, an Omar Marmoush
or a Nicolas Jackson
.
With all the Prem-proven attackers they've had in Arteta's time, Arsenal have looked to outsmart the market in attack. Gabriel Jesus
wasn't wanted elsewhere. Gabriel Martinelli
cost relative pennies but could be moulded into what was wanted. Raheem Sterling
was a low-cost loan with only upside. Madueke had potential. Former Brighton
man Viktor Gyokeres
was seen as better value than Benjamin Sesko
.
For all the names mentioned, of course, Christos Tzolis
could well turn out to be the signing of the season. Two assists in the Community Shield for what looks like Trossard regen, signed for under £40m: frankly, no one will care that Arsenal didn't sign Rogers if the Greek continues at even half the pace he's set. Sometimes, it's those
kind of transfers – the gem from abroad that no one was looking at, able to contribute double-figures from the start – who can make all the difference.
And not everyone can sign them. That's no doubt Arsenal's counter to all of this: not everyone can sign a Mohamed Salah
. Otherwise, we'd all have a Mohamed Salah.
But where's their Sadio Mane
?
