It would be hard to argue that Arsenal made the wrong call in sacking Unai Emery and replacing him with Mikel Arteta.
Whilst Emery had a big task on his hands in succeeding the iconic Arsene Wenger, former midfielder Arteta has taken the Gunners to the next level, establishing them as bona fide challengers for the Premier League crown. Emery is set to be reunited with his former side this weekend as the north Londoners travel to Aston Villa.
A number of players he signed for Arsenal are set to play a role in the game, although a few have long since departed. Arteta’s decision to jettison many of those he inherited at Emirates Stadium speaks volumes about the Gunners’ business under his predecessor.
With that being said, Mirror Sport ranks all of Emery's signings during his spell at Arsenal.
Gabriel Martinelli
There aren't many success stories from the Emery era, but Martinelli is one of them and arguably the best signing of the Spaniard’s stint in charge. The Brazilian joined from Ituano in the manager's final window and scored his first Arsenal goals with the now-Villa boss at the helm.
Still, the 21-year-old has certainly kicked on under Arteta. After a challenging 2020-21 season, he shone last term and has enjoyed the most prolific season of his Gunners career this time round.
Who do you think were Unai Emery's best and worst signings at Arsenal? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
Kieran Tierney
Like Martinelli, Tierney has been a successful acquisition for Arsenal since joining from Celtic in 2019, playing in the 2020 cup final win and remaining a regular when fit. Despite persistent injury issues, the five-time Scottish champion has still managed to accumulate 111 appearances for the north London side.
The 25-year-old has endured another frustrating campaign this time round after losing his spot to summer signing Oleksandr Zinchenko. He hasn’t played a minute of Premier League football in each of the last four matches.
William Saliba
A player who has been forced to bide his time as an Arsenal player, the Frenchman only made his Gunners debut earlier this season following loan spells with Saint-Etienne, Nice and Marseille. Despite that, he has looked like a seasoned veteran at times during his breakout campaign.
Saliba has been a near ever-present for Arsenal this season and the only reason that he is not higher on this list is due to his limited experience at Emirates Stadium compared to some of his colleagues.
Bernd Leno
Leno remained Arsenal's first choice keeper in Arteta's first full season, but that changed after the arrival of Aaron Ramsdale. The former Bayer Leverkusen keeper played 35 league games in 2020-21 but just four last season, leading to a move to London rivals Fulham in the summer.
The German was guilty of a few howlers in his time at an Arsenal player but he has certainly shown that he is a more than capable goalkeeper at Premier League level.
Nicolas Pepe
Still Arsenal’s record signing at £72million, the Ivorian winger remains somewhat of an enigma at Emirates Stadium. Whilst never managing to hit the heights expected of him considering the huge fee spent on his services, Pepe was still one of the Gunners’ best players during the 2020/21 season.
He scored 16 goals throughout the campaign in all competitions, but Pepe wasn’t quite able to sustain that level of performance and now finds himself in the midst of a loan spell with Nice.
Lucas Torreira
Another of Emery’s recruits to have started promisingly only to fade later on, the Uruguayan midfielder was regularly a starter under the former boss. With the Spaniard losing his job, Torreira’s opportunities dried up.
Loan spells with Atletico Madrid and Fiorentina saw him enjoy more regular football but permanent moves to either of the two failed to materialise. Torreira now finds himself with Turkish giants Galatasaray after being allowed to leave for just a portion of the £26m that originally took him to the Emirates.
Dani Ceballos
Ceballos was only on loan under Emery, but Arteta decided to take a closer look by renewing the temporary deal for a second year. The Spain international continued to feature during the 2020/21 season, but the Gunners decided against signing him permanently.
Since returning to the Santiago Bernabeu, the former Real Betis man has forced himself back into contention over the last couple of seasons. He has made 42 appearances for Real Madrid since his stint with the Gunners.
Matteo Guendouzi
Often a combustible figure with the Gunners, Guendouzi had a part to play in the early days under Arteta. That ended in the summer of 2020, though, as events in a league meeting with Brighton led to the young midfielder being frozen out.
After an underwhelming loan at Hertha Berlin in 2020-21, he spent the 2021-22 campaign with Marseille to much more success. At the end of a campaign which saw him make a senior debut for France, the Ligue 1 giants decided to make his move permanent.
Sokratis
A £17.7m buy from Borussia Dortmund, Sokratis was a regular under Emery - and anything but that under Arteta. He did score in a victory over Manchester United just days into the current manager's reign, but disappeared from view not long after.
The veteran Greek defender returned to his home country with Olympiacos back in 2021 following a stint in the Arsenal reserves.
David Luiz
A member of the growing list of players making the switch from Chelsea to Arsenal, David Luiz’s stint with the Gunners was as error-prone as his spell with the Blues. Despite helping Arteta win the FA Cup final against his former side, his deal wasn't renewed and he left Arsenal in 2021.
He returned to Brazil with Flamengo, whom he helped triumph in the Copa Libertadores last year, and remains there to this day.
Stephan Lichtsteiner
Lichtsteiner never looked like being a long-term solution, even in the immediate aftermath of joining under Emery. Indeed, the Swiss veteran was gone even before Arteta arrived in north London.
During his spell with Arsenal, he looked woefully off the pace and swiftly signed for German side Augsburg before hanging up his boots at the end of the 2019/20 season. He is now coaching with Swiss side Basel.
Denis Suarez
Potentially the worst signing of the Emery era, the Spaniard finds himself alongside the likes of Kim Kallstrom in a list of players to barely ever have played for Arsenal. Joining on loan from Barcelona, he made just six outings for the Gunners, earning just 95 minutes of on-pitch action.
