Arsenal's transfer business in the last two years has seen the club go from mid-table to Premier League title challengers under Mikel Arteta. The Gunners' development has been remarkable and currently sees them top of the table, five points clear of Manchester City with just 11 games to go.
The arrivals of Ben White, Aaron Ramsdale, Oleksandr Zinchenko, Martin Odegaard, Gabriel Jesus, Leandro Trossard and Jorginho have all made huge impacts at the Emirates Stadium. Arteta has built a young team full of desire and hunger to win, that now has had the time to bond and become a real force in the Premier League.
Sporting director Edu Gaspar has shown that he will go after the players Arteta wants in his team, but will only pursue a deal on Arsenal's terms. The Gunners refuse to be drawn into bidding wars by clubs or pay over the odds for players - highlighted by the club missing out on deals for Mykhailo Mudryk, Lisandro Martinez and Moises Caicedo in recent history.
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PSV Eindhoven chief Marcel Brands has slammed Arsenal's fierce rivals Manchester United for their £86million deal to sign Antony from Ajax last summer. Brands labelled the move to sign the Brazilian winger as 'madness', highlighting similar players who have been signed for far less.
"If you compare it with transfers that were realistic, such as that of Gabriel Jesus from Manchester City to Arsenal: that was also around that rate (£45m). Those are normal amounts," Brands told BNR.
"I think everyone in football knows that Antony was a madness. I think Raphinha is an even better player than Antony, but he left for much less (£55m).
"Of course it was a financial issue. But on the other hand you also have to be realistic.
"If Liverpool come for Gakpo and promises have been made, you can't stop that. Madueke was not planned and not expected, but it came a lot of money on the table and it was Chelsea. That's when we made that choice."
Antony has scored nine goals and provided a further three assists in 32 appearances for United so far this season. His 11 goal contributions are worse than that of Jesus, who has five goals and seven assists in 21 games - along with having missed three months of the season through injury.
Arsenal have shown with Jesus, Zinchenko and Trossard that clubs can still sign players that can have a huge impact on the team's performance for under £50million. It leads towards a sustainable model, and whilst United arguably have more money than most Premier League clubs and were backing new manager Erik ten Hag, it continues the trend of poor investments at Old Trafford - whilst the north Londoners are using the market to develop the squad into title winners.
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