Arsenal went into the summer as Premier League champions, but Mikel Arteta and the club's recruitment team were still prepared to make substantial changes to the squad.

Bruno Guimaraes became the headline arrival in a £75 million move from Newcastle United, while Ezri Konsa, Piero Hincapie and Christos Tzolis also joined for significant fees. Whilst Illan Meslier joined on a free transfer.

Not everything Arsenal worked on came off. The club explored ambitious moves for Morgan Rogers and Vinicius Junior at different stages of the window, but neither pursuit resulted in a deal.

There was plenty of movement in the other direction as well. Leandro Trossard left for Besiktas, Christian Norgaard joined Everton and the loan deals involving Jakub Kiwior and Karl Hein became permanent. Gabriel Jesus and Fabio Vieira were among the later departures, while Ethan Nwaneri and Tommy Setford secured season-long loans on deadline day.

The window ended with changes across almost every area of Arteta's squad, but how has it left the Gunners for the 2026/27 season?

Here is the full breakdown of Arsenal's summer 2026 transfer business.

Arsenal completed the biggest deal of their summer when Bruno Guimaraes arrived from Newcastle United for £75 million.

The Brazil midfielder signed a four-year contract with an option for another season after four-and-a-half years at St James' Park. He had joined Newcastle from Lyon in January 2022 and went on to become club captain.

Guimaraes entered an Arsenal midfield which already contained Declan Rice, Martin Zubimendi, Martin Odegaard, Mikel Merino and Myles Lewis-Skelly.

His start was delayed by the problem he picked up in the Community Shield victory over Manchester City, which kept him out of the opening Premier League win against Coventry City.

Guimaraes returned to the squad at Aston Villa and made his Arsenal debut from the bench in the 1-0 victory at Villa Park.

Konsa was another of Arsenal's expensive additions, joining from Aston Villa in a deal reported to be worth £55 million including add-ons.

The England international had spent seven years at Villa after signing from Brentford and made 286 appearances for the club.

His final season included winning the Europa League before he went to the World Cup with England, where he started seven matches.

The Gunnersl moved for Konsa while dealing with injuries to William Saliba and Jurrien Timber, adding another defender capable of playing centrally or at right-back.

He did not start immediately. Konsa was on the bench at Villa Park before Cristhian Mosquera was unable to continue due to injury, handing him his Arsenal debut against his former club in the closing stages.

Hincapie's transfer required considerably less introduction.

The Ecuador international had already spent the 2025/26 season with Arsenal on loan before the option in that agreement was activated.

The permanent deal was worth around £34.5 million, with Hincapie signing until 2031.

He made 39 appearances during his first season in North London, operating at both centre-back and left-back as Arsenal won the Premier League and reached the Champions League final.

Hincapie therefore entered the summer as an established member of Arteta's squad rather than a player needing to settle into a new team.

Arsenal turned to Tzolis after Trossard's departure for Besiktas.

The Greece international joined from Club Brugge for £34 million, a record outgoing transfer for the Belgian Pro League, and signed a five-year contract.

Tzolis arrived after two prolific seasons in Belgium.

He finished his Club Brugge career with 43 goals and 45 assists from 108 appearances, winning the Belgian Cup in 2025 and the league title the following season.

His previous spell in England came with Norwich City, but he returned to the Premier League at 24 having rebuilt his career through Fortuna Düsseldorf and Club Brugge.

Arteta put him straight into the side. Tzolis started the opening league win over Coventry and retained his place for the trip to Aston Villa.

Meslier arrived without Arsenal paying a transfer fee.

The French goalkeeper was available after his Leeds contract expired, ending a seven-year association with the Yorkshire club. He signed for Arsenal as a free agent in July.

Meslier made 215 appearances for Leeds after initially joining from Lorient on loan in 2019.

He was involved in two Championship promotion campaigns and spent several seasons as their Premier League goalkeeper before dropping out of the side.

David Raya remains ahead of him in Arteta's goalkeeping group, with Kepa Arrizabalaga also still at the club.

Trossard was the first major attacking departure.

Besiktas paid £15.3 million up front with a further £1.7 million available in add-ons, taking the package to £17 million.

The Belgium international had joined Arsenal from Brighton in January 2023.

He made 174 appearances during his time at the Gunners, scoring 36 goals and providing 34 assists, and was used in several different attacking roles during his three-and-a-half years with the club.

Trossard scored six Premier League goals during Arsenal's title-winning 2025/26 campaign, including what many will consider his most important goal against West Ham in May. 

Porto exercised the option in Kiwior's loan agreement after his season in Portugal.

The guaranteed fee was €17 million, around £14.7 million, with another €5 million available through performance-related add-ons. That can take Arsenal's return to roughly £19 million.

Porto also agreed that Arsenal would receive a further €2 million in the event of a future transfer involving the defender.

Kiwior had joined Arsenal from Spezia in January 2023 and made 68 appearances before moving to Portugal on loan.

His permanent departure was effectively decided well before the main summer window became busy, with Porto confirming in May that the purchase option had been activated.

Jesus left Arsenal on deadline day to sign a three-year contract with Barcelona.

The fee was officially undisclosed but has been reported at an initial £8.6 million.

He leaves four years after Arsenal paid Manchester City £45 million to bring him to North London.

Jesus made 123 appearances and scored 32 goals for the club. Injuries interrupted several stages of his Arsenal career, including the knee problem suffered with Brazil at the 2022 World Cup and another serious setback later in his time in North London.

He was still part of the squad which won the Premier League last season, but his minutes had reduced as Arteta's attacking options changed.

Barcelona completed the transfer on September 1.

Vieira returned to Hamburg permanently after spending last season there on loan.

Arsenal confirmed his departure on deadline day, with the transfer reported at around £7.7 million.

The Portuguese midfielder initially joined Arsenal from Porto in 2022.

His first two seasons brought opportunities in the Premier League, Europa League and Champions League, but he struggled to establish a regular place before returning to Porto on loan for 2024/25.

Vieira scored seven goals and provided five assists in 29 Bundesliga appearances last season. It was a long dragged out saga, with Hamburg not willing to pay the initial price set for a permanent move as part of his original loan deal. 

Instead, they wore the Gunners down until the very end of the window, closer to the fee they were willing to pay.

Norgaard moved to Everton after only one season with Arsenal.

The Denmark international joined Arteta's squad from Brentford in 2025 and made 20 appearances across all competitions as Arsenal won the Premier League.

Everton paid around £7 million for the 32-year-old, who signed a two-year contract.

Norgaard had largely provided cover in midfield during his only year at Emirates Stadium, but with no clear way into regular first team football for the Gunners, opted for the move to Merseyside.

Hein's loan with Werder Bremen also became permanent this summer.

The Estonia goalkeeper joined the Bundesliga club for around £2.6 million after spending the previous campaign there.

Hein had been with Arsenal since his academy years but made only one senior competitive appearance, starting against Brighton in the Carabao Cup in November 2022.

His experience within Senior football came predominantly through loans, spending time with Reading and Real Valladolid before joining Bremen in 2025, with the German club subsequently keeping him permanently.

Nelson's long association with Arsenal ended after his contract was terminated.

There was no transfer fee, leaving the 26-year-old free to join another club.

Nelson had been with Arsenal since the age of eight and made his senior debut under Arsene Wenger.

Regular first-team football proved difficult to secure, leading to loan spells with Hoffenheim, Feyenoord, Fulham and Brentford.

His most memorable Arsenal moment came against Bournemouth in March 2023, when he scored the 97th-minute winner in a 3-2 comeback at Emirates Stadium, a strike which later won the Premier League's Gamechanger of the Season award.

Nelson returned from his loan at Brentford this summer, making appearances in two of Arsenal's pre-season matches. But with no clear path into the squad, both club and player agreed to mutually terminate his contract.

Ethan Nwaneri joined Borussia Dortmund on a season-long loan on deadline day.

The 19-year-old will spend the 2026/27 campaign in the Bundesliga after also playing away from Arsenal during the second half of last season.

Nwaneri joined Marseille in January and made just 11 appearances in all competitions before returning to North London in the summer. A loan spell that both Nwaneri and Arsenal were disappointed in.

His first loan came after a breakthrough 2024/25 season at Arsenal in which he played 37 times across all competitions. That included 26 Premier League appearances and seven in the Champions League.

The Hale End graduate has been with Arsenal since the age of eight and became the youngest player in Premier League history when he made his debut against Brentford in September 2022, aged 15 years and 181 days.

Dortmund will now have Nwaneri for the new season as he looks to secure more first team football under his belt.

Tommy Setford also left Arsenal on loan on deadline day, joining League One side Stevenage for the 2026/27 season.

The 20-year-old goalkeeper has spent two seasons in North London since arriving from Ajax in July 2024.

Setford has been part of Mikel Arteta's goalkeeping group during Arsenal's Premier League title-winning campaign last season, while playing regularly in Premier League 2 and the UEFA Youth League. Since joining the Gunners, he has only managed two first team appearances.

The Stevenage move is Setford's first loan since joining Arsenal and will see him spend the full campaign in League One.