If I asked you how much Arsenal have spent on players since the Kroenke family first became involved with a form of stake in the club in 2007, it might be quite the surprise. The figure goes well above the £1 billion mark and yet the club have fallen further from a title challenge in that time.
To make matters worse, Arsenal have spent that money on plenty of questionable players. Ask someone to name successful signings in that billion-pound expenditure and you could probably count them on two hands if you’re being generous.
From a personal perspective, I would argue that Bacary Sagna, Samir Nasri, Aaron Ramsey, Laurent Koscielny, Santi Cazorla, Olivier Giroud, Mesut Ozil, Alexis Sanchez, Kieran Tierney and Gabriel Martinelli have been the genuinely good buys from the summer of 2007 up until the start of Mikel Arteta’s tenure.
READ MORE: Arsenal and Mikel Arteta want Everton failure in relegation decider for Champions League boost
There is a case for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang of course. But having spent over £50m on Alexandre Lacazette half a year prior, to then spend even more on another striker to replace a winger (Alexis) when the club only played with one forward… you can see why there’s an argument it wasn’t overly smart.
The previous ten names, however, according to Transfermarkt, account for a total spend of £178.65 million. From 2007 up until Arteta’s appointment, Arsenal spent £836.26 million. Meaning that less than 22% of the signings made have been a hit.
Since Arteta has taken over, Arsenal have spent £235.28 million. From that, players such as Aaron Ramsdale, Takehiro Tomiyasu, Martin Odegaard, Ben White, Thomas Partey and Gabriel Magalhaes are all seen as additions that have helped turn around the trajectory of the side.
The aforementioned players account for over 82% of the overall spend. What this shows is that the business done during this new period is proving to be greatly more successful than what had gone before. It is likely that Arsenal will now miss out on qualifying for the Champions League. A big disappointment considering that it was in their hands for so much of the season.
However, Arsenal have had successful business in spite of the absence of not only the elite European competition but any form of UEFA’s tournaments this season. With at least the Europa League a guarantee next season, the potential to make better signings is still there.
Arsenal are being linked with some big names such as Gabriel Jesus and Paulo Dybala. However, whoever Arsenal sign, supporters have reason to have faith in the decisions on who should be brought in.
Not to forget that William Saliba also looks set to return and the youth coming through contains some exciting talent. It may be a disappointing way to end a season that offered so much more, but the future is nothing to be down about whatsoever.
