Arsenal technical director Edu Gaspar has explained to the club’s official website how the club has emerged much stronger following an excellent transfer window.
The Gunners started the window by bringing in experience in the form of Willian from Chelsea on a free. They then secured promising central defender Gabriel Magalhaes from Lille before re-signing Dani Ceballos on another season-long loan.
Emiliano Martinez’s departure forced Mikel Arteta to dive into the market for a goalkeeper. In came Alex Runarsson, from Dijon, while Arsenal fans had to wait until the final few minutes of deadline day to see their fifth –and possibly best – signing of the window.
The Gunners ended the transfer window with a bang as they announced the signing of Thomas Partey from Atletico Madrid. Arsenal have had a very good window and Edu has explained the thought process behind his side’s investments in those four outfield players.
He said: “If you see Willian, he brings us experience and a very special physicality in terms of speed. If you see Gabriel, he gives us a lot of physicality and presence. Dani – quality. Thomas – physicality, quality and mentally he is very strong.
“But, in the end, if you see all these players we brought to the club, they are very good here (points to legs), but they are better here (points to head), which for me is very important because when you talk to the players, they have a lot of ambition, they are excited and they are hungry to win a title again.
“This, for me, is important to have in the players to not only be good here (points to legs), but good here (points to head). And they are.”
Arsenal have often been criticised for a lack of winning mentality, especially against the bigger sides. Arteta has changed that since his arrival, although the defeat against Liverpool in the Premier League last week showed the gap in quality between the sides.
The Gunners need to close the gap and the signing of Partey is certainly a step in the right direction. Arsenal have won all but one of their games so far but their real test will come after the international break.
Arteta’s men face both Manchester sides and Leicester City in the space of two weeks. If they pick up victories over all three rivals, this might be a very different Arsenal side compared with recent versions.
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