Hello all, by Nayan
Clarifying upfront, I love Arteta’s project and the revolution he has bought in last season. This article is not to demean what Arteta has achieved last year. This is just a critical evaluation of some of his transfer decisions, which have come back to haunt us in one way or another.
1. Willian – The logic for this was easy to understand – cheap transfer, experienced player who has won it all. However, Arteta was still guilty of over-playing him when he was clearly out of form and touch. Fair play and hats off to Willian, who agreed to terminate his contract early. Great to see him thriving again at Fulham.
2. E. Martinez – This is one of the most perplexing displays of favouritism by Arteta – not giving assurance to a goalie who just won you FA Cup and Community shield, if he will start the first match of season vs the keeper returning from injury, is plain irresponsible. Fire sale to Aston Villa ensued for just 17mn, where we could have easily played him more (Leno had a poor season), and also gotten higher value for him by selling to a bigger club.
3. Maitland-Niles – Arteta chose to not sell him to Wolves despite getting a good 20mn bid for him – fine with me, but only if he considered him an integral part of team and meant to play him. That did not happen, and we were left with a dissatisfied player with low sale value which never recovered. Left for free this window.
4. Emile Smith Rowe – Arteta refused to sell him for 30mn when Villa bid for him – Fair enough, he was a crucial player that season. However, he has returned back from injury towards the end of last season, and still seems to be an outcast in the team. Which begs the question – why is he not being sold this window? Not clear how he fits into the team – he himself is not sure of his best position – he is behind Martinelli, Trossard on LW, Saka and Nelson on RW, Odegaard and Viera for CAM, Rice (hopefully) and Partey, Elneny, and Lavia (possibly) for 2 other midfield spots. I feel the best time to encash on him is now, else we risk repeat of Maitland Niles episode with him.
5. Fabio Vieira – Arsenal were heavily linked with Tielemans and Maddison transfers last year – which was the need of the hour to build depth in midfield. However, they ended up signing Fabio Vieira for 35mn out of the blue. This is similar to the fees Liverpool have paid for Luis Diaz, Cody Gakpo, and MacAllister – however Vieira has had an absolutely underwhelming season, and it remains to be seen if we will ever be able to gain any valuable output from him next season. Other transfers for Lokonga and Tavares were on similar lines – however they were low value gambles and may still fetch in a bit of their outlay in transfer fees.
6. Gabriel Jesus – This is one of the more controversial names on the list, and I am sure many fans may not agree with me. Arsenal overpaid at 45mn for the player who had just 1 year left on contract and wasn’t a regular starter for Manc. Even the wages at 200k were exorbitant – no other club would agree to match his wages if we decided to sell today. He hasn’t had an exceptional season – even though he improves the general play. Arsenal need a poacher striker like Haaland, Osimhen, Lewandowski and Toney are for their respective clubs – and Jesus is not that player despite all the hard work he puts in. Arteta is also guilty of favouritism with him – rushing him back in team after injury derailed the title push – Trossard was playing much better and lost the rhythm.
7. Kieran Tierney – This is the absolute worst decision of the entire list. Why would Arteta decide to downgrade such a key player is beyond me. I like Zinchenko and am aware of the impact he had on the team. But he has his own flaws which have cost us dearly last season. Arteta is fixated on his formation of inverted LB, but needs to have a plan B as teams are easily catching us out. Putting Tierney on the transfer market is ridiculous, as we will not find a better traditional LB than him on the market.
8. KAI HAVERTZ – This is the most outrageous transfer of all time. Chelsea overpaid for him (as they do for many players – e,g Mudryk, Enzo), and now want to recover as much as they can. He has been an absolute disaster at Chelsea, and I see direct comparison between him and Pepe. He is at much higher 250k wages, while Pepe was only at 140k and still got bashed around left right and centre. Arsenal should simply steer clear of him – 60mn + 250k wages will get you most of the best players on market – should definitely not splurge that on a bit part player who doesn’t have a clear position and will not directly improve the team – need to spend that to buy a clinical striker instead!
Let me know what you guys think about this? And how do you rate the other transfer dealings of Arteta at Arsenal?
Cheers
Nayan
Just Arsenal Show – Alfie and Rob are back for the summer! Here they predict every single Arsenal incoming and outgoing this summer, including fees and potential destinations for outgoings.
CALLING ALL ARSENAL FANS! Anyone who would like to contribute an Article or Video opinion piece on JustArsenal, please contact us through this link…
