A closer look at Arsenal’s summer transfer business

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The 2024 summer transfer window is now closed and Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta will have to make-do with his squad until at least January when the winter window opens.

After two years of pushing Manchester City close for the Premier League title, Arteta only tweaked his squad this summer with a few key additions. On the exit side, the Arsenal boss sold some of his English core and lost some academy players who made emotional departures from the club.

Let’s take a closer look at Arsenal’s key transfer business this summer:

New signings

Riccardo Calafiori: The Italian international became Arsenal’s first new addition this summer after making a £42m move from Bologna. The left-footed defender was hugely impressive in Serie A last season and continued his fine form with his country this summer after playing a starring role for Italy at Euro 2024.

Arsenal boasted the strongest defence in the league last season, so some fans were surprised Arteta decided to spend so much on another defender, but the club saw Calafiori as an opportunity too good to refuse given his immense potential.

The 22-year-old has made his name predominantly as a central defender, but he’s also comfortable at left-back so his versatility will be useful for Arteta. Many feel Calafiori will be deployed at left-back by the Spaniard as he’s excellent with the ball at his feet, so he can play in the inverted role with ease while also being more defensively sound compared to Oleksandr Zinchenko.

David Raya: The Spaniard made his loan move from Brentford permanent after Arsenal triggered a £27m buy option in his contract. Raya was excellent last season and fully deserved to keep the No.1 shirt at the Emirates Stadium having kept the most clean sheets in the division. The 28-year-old has already made a couple of outstanding saves to earn Arsenal valuable points this season, providing further evidence that Arteta was right to bring in the former Brentford man to replace Aaron Ramsdale.

Mikel Merino: Arsenal strengthen their engine room with the signing of Mikel Merino from Real Sociedad. After prolonged negotiations, Arsenal finally agreed a deal with the La Liga outfit to sign the midfielder for an initial £27.5m with a further £4m in possible add-ons. Merino had established himself as a key player for Sociedad and was an important part of Spain’s winning team at the Euro’s.

However, once Arsenal made their interest known, he jumped at the chance to join his boyhood club and Merino is expected to become a vital part of Arteta’s midfield alongside Declan Rice and Martin Odegaard. He’s seen as the long-term replacement for Granit Xhaka in the left 8 role – a position Rice took-up at times last season but the Englishman is tipped to drop into the holding role following Merino’s arrival.

Unfortunately, Merino suffered a fractured shoulder during his first training session in North London and has been ruled out until at least mid-October. Therefore, he’ll have to wait a few weeks before making his debut for the club.

Raheem Sterling: With no new attacker signed heading into deadline day, Arsenal fans were understandably frustrated as a lack of depth in the final third was seen as a key reason for the club finishing two points behind City last season.

However, the Gunners managed to sign Raheem Sterling on a season long loan deal from Chelsea during the final hours of the summer window. The experienced attacker was axed from the Chelsea squad last month and Arsenal took full advantage of the situation to agree a very favourable deal, that will see them pay just half of Sterling’s weekly wage and no loan fee was paid to Chelsea.

Sterling can play on either flank or up front if needed, so his versatility will be invaluable for Arteta as he’ll be able to provide competition for Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli, as well as provide another option through the middle. He may not be the 30-goal striker that many Arsenal fans craved this summer, but Sterling could prove to be a shrewd signing by the club.

Neto: After Ramsdale left for Southampton, Arsenal needed a new No.2 goalkeeper and they completed the signing of Neto on loan from Bournemouth. The 35-year-old will be an experienced understudy to Raya and this should be a solid short-term fix.

Departures

Emile Smith Rowe: Once seen as a future star at Arsenal, Smith Rowe’s career stalled as injuries hampered his progress over the last 18 months. Arteta always publicly backed the attacking midfielder, but clearly didn’t trust him enough to be a first team regular as Smith Rowe barely featured even when fit. When Fulham came knocking with an offer worth £30m up front with a further £4m in add-ons, Arsenal opted to cash-in.

It was am emotional sale as Smith Rowe has been at Arsenal his entire career and after being handed the No.10 shirt just two years ago, many had high hopes for him in North London. He clearly has bags of talent, but injuries prevented him from fulfilling his potential at Arsenal.

Aaron Ramsdale: After being ousted by Raya last season, it was no surprise that Ramsdale left the club this summer. Several clubs were linked, but Southampton eventually won the race after sealing a deal worth £17m up front with a further £5m in add-ons for the England stopper. It was a decent deal for Arsenal and everyone connected to the club will wish Ramsdale well on the south coast.

Eddie Nketiah: Another Arsenal academy star who left this summer was Eddie Nketiah. He fell down the pecking order after Kai Havertz established himself as the first choice striker and Nketiah needed regular playing time. A number of clubs showed a keen interest, but the young striker eventually signed for Crystal Palace in a deal worth up to £30m. Nketiah has proven himself to be an excellent finisher during his time at Arsenal so hopefully he can grow into a top striker at Palace.

Fabio Vieira and Reiss Nelson: Fabio Vieira has struggled for form and fitness since arriving in a big money deal from Porto and he was allowed to join his former club on loan to get regular minutes. After Arsenal signed Sterling from Chelsea, Nelson was also granted a loan move to get regular action after joining Fulham on deadline day.

Conclusion

Overall, Arsenal had a solid window. They signed two quality players in Calafiori and Merino, with both expected to be important additions to the squad over the coming years. Sterling could also prove to be an astute short-term option in attack, but it’s clear that Arsenal’s focus next summer will be to sign a young top class attacker. Many fans who buy Arsenal tickets online were disappointed the club failed to bring in a prolific hitman this summer, or sign a long-term option out wide, so expect those positions to be filled in 2025.

It was sad to see lifelong Arsenal fans Nketiah and Smith Rowe depart this summer, but neither player was in Arteta’s first team plans and their £60m combined sales allowed the club to bank pure profit on the books which will free up significant funds next summer.

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