Though Arsenal have spent more this summer than ever before, it has still been a disappointing window for the Gunners.
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger
After calls from fans to open the chequebook, Arsene Wenger acted early when he made Swiss midfielder Granit Xhaka his second most-expensive player of all time when the ex-Basel player arrived for £38 million from Borussia Monchengladbach in May.
The 23-year-old spent four years playing for the Bundesliga club, scoring nine goals in 140 appearances, and has already won 44 caps for Switzerland.
Since then, Wenger has been involved in the summer-long pursuit of French forward Alexandre Lacazette; however, he was put off by Lyon’s £45 million valuation of the striker.
Lacazette was subject of a £45 million bid from West Ham late in the window, but will remain at Lyon until at least January
Deals for Gonzalo Higuain and Alvaro Morata never materialised and Jamie Vardy rejected a move to the Emirates, instead signing an improved contract with Leicester City.
After those high-profile chases failed, Wenger ultimately had to settle for bringing in Spanish forward Lucas Perez from Deportivo La Coruna for £17 million, whom the French boss likened to Vardy.
Perez has only enjoyed one season of prolific goalscoring at the highest level, netting 17 times in La Liga last season, but is yet to play Champions League football.
With Arsenal in need of a forward, they pipped Everton to his signature after hijacking the the 27-year-old’s move to Goodison Park.
Arriving at the Emirates at a similar time was £35 million German international Shkodran Mustafi. A central defender was a necessity for Wenger after injuries to Gabriel Paulista and Per Mertesacker, and the ex-Everton player has Champions League experience from his time at Valencia.
Mustafi was also part of the Germany squad that won the World Cup in 2014 and scored in their opening game of Euro 2016.
Germany’s Shkodran Mustafi reacts after missing a chance to score
Another defender has joined in 20-year-old Rob Holding from Bolton Wanderers. As a consequence of his £2.5 million move, Callum Chambers fell down the pecking order and was shipped out on loan to Middlesbrough.
The most surprising deal involving Arsenal this summer is the departure of England international Jack Wilshere. The 24-year-old’s career has been ravaged with injury problems and he has moved to Bournemouth to resurrect his career.
It is a far cry from the days that saw Wilshere considered as the best English prospect since Paul Gascoigne.
Wilshere was man of the match against Barcelona in 2011 but his career has stalled dramatically since then
He joins good friend Benik Afobe at the Cherries, with the duo growing up together at Arsenal’s academy. Wilshere was made available for loan late in the transfer window and rejected moves to AC Milan, Roma and Crystal Palace.
Another young midfielder, Isaac Hayden, left earlier in the window when he signed for Newcastle United for £2.5 million. Hayden spent last season on loan at Hull City and has enjoyed a promising start to his St James’ Park career.
Olympic top scorer Serge Gnabry also left Arsenal, joining Werder Bremen for £4.25 million. Wenger had encouraged the 21-year-old to sign a new contract and though Bayern Munich were interested, he chose Bremen in favour of first-team opportunities.
Serge Gnabry played just 10 Premier League games for the Gunners and spent last year on loan at West Bromwich Albion
Despite spending £90 million on three players, there is a wide felt feeling that Arsenal are still a little short of a successful title campaign, and Ruud Gullit has criticised Wenger for doing the bulk of his business so late.
They dithered over a move for Lacazette and were thus forced to sign Perez as an alternative, whilst the fee for Mustafi is certainly inflated due to the timing of the deal.
Xhaka has hardly looked like a world-beater in his early Emirates career, and Wilshere’s shock departure suggests that Wenger has finally lost faith in the player he handed a debut to aged 17.
With rivals Manchester City and Manchester United completing their squads long before the Premier League kicked off, Arsenal have been left well behind in this transfer window.
Though Wenger claimed the signings of Mustafi and Perez were not panic buys, it seems they were bought in to appease the fans and release the pressure on him.
Transfer window grading 6/10
In: Granit Xhaka, £38 million (Borussia Monchengladbach); Shkodran Mustafi, £35 million (Valencia); Lucas Perez, £17 million (Real Sociedad); Takuma Asano, £3.4 million (Sanfrecce Hiroshima); Rob Holding, £2.5 million (Bolton Wanderers).
Out: Serge Gnabry, £4.25 million (Werder Bremen); Isaac Hayden, £2.5 million (Newcastle United); Wellington Silva, £2.5 million (Fluminense); Tomas Rosicky, free (Sparta Prague), Mikel Arteta, retired; Mathieu Flamini, released; Takuma Asano, loan (Stuttgart); Joel Campbell, loan (Sporting CP); Callum Chambers, loan (Middlesbrough); Jack Wilshere, loan (AFC Bournemouth).
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