Despite record spending on midfield reinforcements, a failure to secure a marquee goalscorer threatens to undermine the Gunners’ title defence and European ambitions under Mikel Arteta. Here are my thoughts...
The 2026 summer transfer window is officially CLOSED and although Arsenal have made some superb signings, I cannot help but feel that Mikel Arteta has been severely let down by the board and Andrea Berta over the way the signing of a marquee attacker was approached.
Arsenal’s incomings:
Bruno Guimaraes from Newcastle - £75m
Ezri Konsa from Aston Villa - £55m
Piero Hincapie from Bayer Leverkusen - £34.2m
Christos Tzolis from Club Brugge - £34m
Illan Meslier from Leeds United - Free Transfer
Total Spent: £198.2m
Arsenal’s outgoing:
Gabriel Martinelli to Al Hilal - £60m
Jakub Kiwior to FC Porto - £19m
Leandro Trossard to Besiktas - £17m
Fabio Vieira to Hamburg - £9m
Gabriel Jesus to Barcelona - £8.6m
Christian Norgaard to Everton - £7m
Karl Hein to Werder Bremen - £2.6m
Ethan Nwaneri to Borussia Dortmund - Loan
Reiss Nelson - Contract Terminated
Total Received: £123.2m
Arsenal started the transfer window really nicely in my opinion. The club were entering the summer having just won their first Premier League trophy in 22 years, and having just missed out on a first ever Champions League trophy after an agonising penalty shootout defeat to PSG.
Despite this, Arteta and Arsenal had identified the forward line as somewhere to improve to take that next step and lift European Football’s biggest prize. They started the window by making the deal for Piero Hincapie permanent, a deal which I think made complete sense. I think he came in last season and was superb, a trustworthy, reliable addition at the back that could pop up with a goal or two as well.
A proven winner and having come in, he won the Premier League as part of one of the best defences in world football. A deal for Christos Tzolis soon followed, again, I think this was really good business from the club. A fee of £34m for a man that had some of the best output in European football last season. Albeit in the Belgian League, he did also show his pedigree in the Champions League. Another good addition to rotate on the left hand side.
A deal for Illan Meslier was then confirmed by the club. A slightly bizarre deal in all honesty, but he will provide some good cover and may get a few minutes in some cup competitions or in case of any injuries. Then came the two major signings of the window.
After what seemed like an eternity, Arsenal then completed the signing of the Newcastle United captain Bruno Guimares. A signing that I absolutely loved. He takes our midfield to the next level and playing in a two with Declan Rice, it looks like Arsenal have built one of the best midfields in Europe, let alone in the Premier League. It is definitely a pairing that I CANNOT wait to watch thrive across the next 9 months.
Ezri Konsa was another bit of superb business, coming in from Aston Villa as cover for the injured William Saliba. Konsa was arguably England’s best defender in the World Cup and will play a huge part at the back. I expect him to play a lot of minutes across all competitions. A player that can also play RB! A Mikel Arteta speciality signing who is extremely versatile. Another man who I think will raise the levels of this team in terms of squad depth.
However, what followed in the next weeks to me, was sheer incompetence and poor from the board. The club went ALL OUT to try and sign that marquee signing. Vinicius Jr. was the name. There is no doubt that if we got that deal over the line, we would have been sorted for years to come. He ended up staying at Real Madrid and signing a new deal after being chased by Arsenal for weeks. After being too stubborn with cost and missing out on Arteta’s number one target in Morgan Rogers to Chelsea, the club turned their attention to Julian Alvarez. A player that Mikel Arteta really liked and reportedly had a lot of contact with, but his preference was to move to Barcelona. Atletico Madrid did not want to sell to a direct La Liga rival and were ready to sell to Arsenal but the player made his stance clear. Despite this, Arsenal insisted on waiting right until deadline day in case the player changed his decision, which of course, he did not.
Christos Tzolis pictured here battling with John McGinn in Arsenal's 0-1 victory vs Aston Villa on Monday night is Arsenal's only attacking reinforcement this summer (REUTERS)So here we are. September 2nd and the transfer window is closed and I am struggling to wrap my head around the strategy towards the back end of the window. Some really good business early on, but what followed was appalling. Missing out on some huge names is one thing, but only signing Christos Tzolis whilst letting Martinelli, Trossard, Nwaneri & Nelson all leave is extremely poor from the board and is a baffling one to understand.
In a summer where we were meant to improve after coming so close to the ultimate prize, we have arguably regressed in our attacking options. I hope my words come back to bite me, but I am worried about what Arsenal Football Club are going to be able to conjure up in an attacking sense. Playing in all four competitions with Tzolis and an out of position Eze as our two options out wide on the left.
The board has left Mikel Arteta no options but to work miracles again. If there is ever a man to do it, it is him, but there is no doubt that there will be a sense of disappointment in the head of the Spaniard. Arteta will of course, work with what he has got, and in true Arteta style, he will ‘take each game as it comes.’ That next test comes in the form of Chelsea with Xabi Alonso’s side visiting Emirates Stadium on Sunday.
Overall, I would give Arsenal’s transfer window: 6/10.
