Analysing Arsenal’s summer transfer window thus far

Arsenal’s board haven’t held back on spending over the last couple of seasons, with over £300 million spent on new recruits across the last few transfer windows, and the Kroenke family have forked out a further £210m already this summer as they look to bolster the North London side’s chances in the Premier League winner betting market. 

The Gunners sat pretty at the top of the English top-flight table for the majority of last season but ultimately crumbled under the pressure at the business end of the campaign. Manchester City, who were sitting in the flanks waiting for Mikel Arteta’s capitulation, swept in to retain the Premier League title for a third-straight year by a relatively comfortable five points. 

Finishing a clear second was still a massive improvement for Arsenal, who hadn’t even featured in the top four since the 2015-16 season, and their massive outlay in the early stages of this off-season is a clear indication of the board’s intention to ensure Arteta has a squad capable of challenging Man City for the title again next season. 

That said, let’s take a look at Arsenal’s three blockbuster signings this summer and see if the trio are the missing pieces to the jigsaw as the Gunners look to win their first Premier League since their invincible season in 2002-03. 

Declan Rice

Declan Rice has been subject to transfer speculation for the last couple of years and the England midfielder has finally got his much-anticipated big move, with Arsenal splashing a club record fee of £105m for his services — making the 24-year-old the second most expensive player in Premier League history behind Chelsea’s January recruit and World Cup winner Enzo Fernandez.

Rice was handed the captaincy at West Ham when Mark Noble retired two years ago and he was a key figure in their recent European success, helping the side reach the Europa League semi-finals in 2021-22 before winning the Europa Conference League last season. Arsenal fended off rivals Man City for his signature and he could be an influential player in the middle of the park for Arteta.

Kai Havertz

Clearly, the midfield has been highlighted as an area of importance for Arsenal this summer, with Kai Havertz brought in to help the Gunners’ creative output. It’s a move few might have seen coming, as the German only signed for Chelsea two years ago and was arguably one of the Blues’ better players in what was a dreadful campaign last season. 

But it appears nobody is safe at Stamford Bridge and a bid of £65m was enough for Chelsea to sell Havertz to their local rivals. Havertz might not have lived up to his full potential in West London, but he was perhaps never played in the right position nor able to settle due to a wealth of managerial changes. If Arteta can offer the 24-year-old stability and play to his strengths, then Havertz could prove a very good acquisition. 

Jurrien Timber

One of the highest-regarded young defenders in the world, Arsenal signed Jurrien Timber from Dutch giants Ajax for £40m and, in doing so, they are proving they can compete with Europe’s biggest clubs when it comes to signings again as they beat the likes of Real Madrid and Manchester United to the 22-year-old’s signature. 

Having already made over 200 appearances for Ajax and racked up 15 international caps for the Netherlands, Timber is very experienced for his age and his versatility in defence will be a massive boost for Arteta. He is more accustomed to playing centre-back, but can play right-back and that’s where he’s expected to be used next season.