How New Signings Have Influenced Bets Made on Arsenal FC in the 2024/25 Season

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Arsenal’s summer transfer window in 2024 was a much lower-key affair than the previous year—when the club spent the best part of £200 million bringing Declan Rice and Kai Havertz to the club from elsewhere in London.

They helped Mikel Arteta’s team finish just two points off eventual champions Manchester City, but with the league title cruelly within reach, Arsenal strengthened again in the summer of 2024. However, even with the purse strings clearly tightened, it seems the club are ready to splash the cash on an audacious transfer in January.

These signings have also changed the way fans betting on the Gunners have approached their wagers. With North London’s finest now boasting strength in depth and a winning mentality, let’s take a look at how Arsenal’s newest arrivals have changed the approach both on and off the pitch.

David Raya—a Permanent Number 1

David Raya’s arrival from Brentford in 2023 was a controversial one. Plenty of fans supported the established number one Aaron Ramsdale, but it became clear that Arteta wanted a new man between the sticks, so Raya arrived on loan from Brentford. And as it turned out, Arteta was right.

Raya won the Golden Glove with 16 clean sheets and earned himself a place in the Premier League Team of the Season—along with fellow Gunners William Saliba, Gabriel, Martin Ødegaard, and Declan Rice—as a result. It is little wonder then that his move to the Emirates was made permanent in 2024 for £27 million, with most of that money recouped from Aaron Ramsdale heading to Southampton in pursuit of first-team football.

Raya’s signing and performances during his loan spell have the bookies shortening their odds on the Gunner conceding in matches, leading to fewer wagers being made in that market. Although with his last clean sheet coming in back in September against Spurs—of course!—there might be more joy coming for those who fancy a flutter on both teams to score.

Mikel Merino—a Winner If Not a Starter

Mikel Merino is no stranger to the English Premier League after previously enjoying a season on loan at Newcastle. Crucially, Merino is no stranger to winning things either, previously capturing a German Cup with Borussia Dortmund, as well as a Copa del Rey with Real Sociedad and the European Championship with Spain.

Merino was the man who knocked in a last-ditch winner against hosts Germany to see Spain make it through the quarter-finals on their way to winning Euro 2024 in the summer. A summer that saw Merino end his six-year spell at Real Sociedad and make the move to Arsenal.

Merino’s full effect has not yet been realised at the Emirates as his first training session saw him sustain an injury that kept him out of action until October. Now, with five games in the EPL under his belt and a goal against Liverpool, it looks more likely that Merino will feature more, but he might be resigned to starting most games from the bench—with big hitters such as the skipper Ødegaard, Rice, and Thomas Partey ahead of him in the pecking order.

As a player more than capable of getting on the end of something and scoring, however, Merino seems to be a good bet for those who enjoy an in-play wager, with good odds usually accompanying a substitute getting on the score sheet.

Riccardo Calafiori—Il Romano

Riccardo Calafiori was Arsenal’s biggest transfer outlay of the 2024 summer window as the Italian left back arrived from Bologna for almost £40 million.

Injury problems have blighted the 22-year-old’s time at the Emirates so far, with Calafiori only starting six games for the club in the EPL and three in the Champion’s League. A calf problem saw Calafiori miss the North London Derby while a knee injury kept him out of crucial games against Liverpool, Newcastle, Chelsea, and Inter. Of the games he was forced to miss, Arsenal only picked up full points in one—no prizes for guessing which one, mate! But that shows just how valuable the full-back has been in his first season at the club.

You could hear the sighs of relief across North London and beyond when Mikel Arteta confirmed that Calafiori was available for the match against over-achieving Nottingham Forest, especially with the news that Ben White has undergone surgery and will be out of action for months as a result.

Arsenal have only lost one game Riccardo Calafiori has started this season, that coming at Bournemouth. So, his presence is certainly having an effect on the bookies. Calafiori on the left-hand side of defense is surely a key indicator that Arsenal will start as favourites for any match, while his absence could well have contributed to the ongoing leaking of goals at the club. With the Roman General back on the pitch, no goals against the Gunners might be a shrewd wager for canny punters.

Arteta’s Tweaks

Punters who previously backed Arsenal to win matches with a specific type of performance—such as dominating possession or winning by a single goal—have seen the odds shift slightly as Mikel Arteta adapts to the new signings.

With more options in midfield, thanks to Merino’s arrival combined with more stability at the back, when everyone is fit—along with the flexibility in attack through signings made previously, such as Kai Havertz and Leandro Trossard—Arsenal are a more rounded outfit, making them more adaptable to whatever style the gaffer wants.

All of this means that in the betting market, Arsenal are now seen as a side capable of picking up wins in a variety of ways. That means potential profits are up for grabs for those placing a fun wager, and those profits can be increased thanks to many offers on sites such as askgamblers.com/sports-betting/bonuses and countless others. Whether it’s dominant, high-scoring wins or grinding out a 1–0 George Graham would be proud of, where the match-winner markets are concerned, it’s the Gunners being backed to pick up the points week in and week out.

As the rest of the season progresses, it will be interesting to see how these trends evolve. With a strengthened squad and Arteta at the helm, more wins for the Gunners are what the fans want, and they will make a more lucrative day for those placing a wager on the match. Keeping key players fit, however, is clearly going to be crucial, or else fortunes might literally shift.

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