It is obvious Arsene Wenger wanted to make some changes at the end of last season as he bought in a few players over the summer transfer window to try and make them competitive enough to win the title this year. Unfortunately, for Wenger and the rest of the squad, it has not been all rosy as they are now sitting in fourth spot, 12 points behind their local London rivals Chelsea who are at the top of the league. Everyone knows Arsene is reluctant to do any business in the January transfer window and that has been proven by the fact he did not bring in any new faces. Let’s have a look at the individual performances this season so far from the players he bought in last summer, and if you fancy having a bet on the summer transfer rumours make sure you have a look at the top 10 football betting sites to ensure you get the best odds with the best bookies on the market.
Granit Xhaka
Probably one of the more exciting prospects fans were excited about was Granit Xhaka when he joined from Borussia M’gladbach for a reported £38 million. It is certainly a price that raised eyebrows but the defensive midfielder clearly has the potential to be one of the best players Wenger has had in years. He’s already scored a couple of cracking goals for the Gunners this season but due to having a bit of a bad temper he has also been sent off twice too, which isn’t great for a player that has only played half a season for his new club. The Swiss international has a contract at the Gunners until 2021 so Wenger will hope he can improve quickly before the season ends.
Shkodran Mustafi
Arsenal invested a hefty £34 million in Shkodran Mustafi last summer and he is shaping up to be one of the best buys in the transfer window. He has already set a record with Arsenal this season by ensuring Arsenal haven’t lost in the 14 games he has played (click here to buy Gunners tickets), but that unfortunately came to an end against Watford on the 31st of January. If Arsenal can get another defender in the summer, there is no reason why Mustafi won’t be paired with them to make a great centre-back partnership and that could be just what Arsenal have been missing in the last few years. All in all, Mustafi looks like one of the best buys Arsenal have made in years and he will only improve from here on out.
Lucas Perez
Arsene Wenger thought Lucas Perez would be able to make an instant impact when he made the move from Deportivo La Coruna for £17 million last summer and he did just that, but that was about all Arsenal have got from him so far. He has only scored one goal in the Premier League in nine appearances but he did have an ankle ligament injury at the end of last year so it could be some months until we see him get comfortable with the game again. Perez does seem to have a lot of potential though as he has scored five other goals for Arsenal this term but they were in the domestic cups and Champions League.
You have to give Arsene Wenger credit for some of the players he purchased last summer, and if his squad does eventually gel, they would be strong title contenders next season. What are your thoughts on his summer transfer signings? Who would you like Arsene Wenger to buy or offload in the summer? Recent rumours suggest Arsene Wenger has more than £200 million sitting in the bank ready to spend in the summer but will he be stubborn as usual or will we see a change in his footballing philosophy? We will have to wait and see.
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Thank goodness you’re not Arsenal’s chief scout ! On second thoughts perhaps you are !
One of the weakest articles I’ve read on here,
it just lacks substance and it’s a bit nothingy..
Mustafi has done ok but he’s nowhere near worth £35m, Xhaka hasn’t lived up to expectations and Lucas is a good player but rarely plays.
Wenger wasted £90m and shouldn’t be given any more funds to blow.on average players.
Agrre with the comment above, thank God you are not our scout.
Le Fraud is bad enough!!
I think this article is quite unfair on Lucas Perez. AW sees him as only a back-up in my opinion, so he gets very little game time outside of Cup and UCL fixtures.
No mention was made of AW’s poor tactical choices and the very little amount of time given to substitutes, which has contributed to at least one of Xhaka’s red cards, which is also attributable to lack of squad depth able to play with AW’s lack of tactical rigidity, i.e. not enough players available and combinations not working. AW is directly to blame for that as he signed the players.
Also, Arsenal did sign a player – Cohen Bramall, for the development squad.