Mikel Arteta was quite brutally slammed for spending £74million on the signings of Aaron Ramsdale and Ben White in the 2021 summer transfer window. Ramsdale arrived off the back of two Premier League relegations, while the £50million fee spent on White was questioned after the former Brighton man had only played one season in England's top flight.
However, both have become a crucial part of the Arsenal team, with Arteta then building on those signings by bringing Martin Odegaard to the club on a permanent deal and acquiring the services of Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko from Manchester City.
£107million was spent on the trio who have played a crucial role in the Gunners' rapid rise to the top of the Premier League. Accompanying those established names are Arsenal's young guns in William Saliba, Gabriel Martinelli and Bukayo Saka, who have also been just as, if not, more important.
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Arsenal paid £27million for Saliba, while Martinelli arrived for just £6million fee from Ituano in 2019 with a view to both being part of the Arsenal squad in the long-term. Saka meanwhile, graduated from the Arsenal academy and his development has been perfect, thus allowing him to thrive in the senior team from a young age.
Arteta has had to be patient to see the true quality from all three, but it appears this season the perfect balance has been struck, justifying key recruitment decisions made by Edu a number of years ago.
Former Liverpool defender Jose Enrique has now posted on Instagram giving his thoughts on Arsenal's recent decisions in the market along with their potential agreement for the transfer of Mykhaylo Mudryk.
In an Instagram post, he said: “I believe this is going to be done soon, this deal. He [Mudryk] is a great player to have a chance to keep fighting for the Premier League.
“They are doing a great job with Arteta and spending the money on the right players. Well done to Arsenal.”
However, that deal for Mudryk is not yet finalised and the Gunners' technical director Edu now faces a key crossroads in the Mudryk transfer saga after seeing his first two offers rejected by Shakhtar Donetsk. The emergence of London rivals Chelsea as a potential suitor for Mudryk will also test Arsenal's resolve in pursuing a move for the 22-year-old.
Shakhtar are known to be tough negotiators and their stance on Mudryk is only proving that fact. As Enrique states, Arsenal have been clever with their recent decisions in the market, but they do not want to be bullied into an unfavourable financial deal by the Ukrainian club who could now use Chelsea's interest and potential offer as leverage.
There could come a point where Edu and Arteta make a hugely important decision on Mudryk, especially if Shakhtar remain firm on their stance. The £86million public valuation of Mudryk is quite lofty and pulling away from the negotiations could happen if there are concerns he cannot live up to that fee.
Mudryk currently is Arsenal's priority but that could swiftly change if a better option becomes available at a lower price that suits the Gunners' needs of acquiring an attacker.
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