Arsenal: Where Does Their Business Rank In The Premier League?
The summer transfer window is over. How does Arsenal’s business stack up against the rest of their Premier League rivals?
In their quest to reclaim the Premier League title, the first time in 12 years, Arsenal uncharacteristically spent a significant amount of money in the summer transfer window. Throughout the duration, much of the media was focused on Arsene Wenger’s reluctance to spend rearing its ugly head once more, but come 11:00 31st August, Wenger had, in all fairness, spent – at least a reasonable amount of – money
Bringing in Granit Xhaka, Shkodran Mustafi and Lucas Perez for £87 million is very good business. They are all efficient and effective players with Xhaka and Mustafi, in particular possessing the talent to develop into elite level players while with the Gunners. One possible critique that could be made is that Wenger has spent nearly £100 million on players and not bought one world class talent, but that is perhaps a tad harsh on the potential talents of Mustafi and Xhaka.
More from Pain in the Arsenal
The issue for Arsenal’s summer, though, comes in the business their rivals have undertaken. With Jose Mourinho at the helm at Manchester United, the Red Devils were deliberate, decisive and precise in their transfer dealings. They brought in Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Eric Bailly early in the window, while also adding Henrikh Mkhitaryan and world record addition Paul Pogba afterwards.
Moreover, Chelsea under Antonio Conte focused on defensive reinforcements, bringing in cult hero David Luiz on deadline day as well as left-back Marcos Alonso to join defensive shield N’Golo Kante. Add to that the addition of Michy Batshuayi and Chelsea have a rather formidable team once again.
The final big spenders in the Premier League were once again Manchester City who shelled out big money for Leroy Sane, John Stones. Gundogan and Nolito, all of which look to be astute additions as the squad tried to adapt to Pep Guardiola’s unique, demanding but ultimately successful style.
While Arsenal’s business has been good, in comparison to the aforementioned trio who are most likely to challenge for the title this season, it seems panicked and unplanned. The two Manchester clubs undertook the majority of their business early in the window, identifying players and the securing their services with a ruthlessness that does not seem to be emulated by Wenger in the transfer window.
It has been a successful summer window for Arsenal. While the blockbuster signing that many had hoped for never came, many of the additions look as though they will decent acquisitions. Having said that, many of the other Premier League clubs have also added some excellent players, and it will difficult for the Gunners to finally win that ever elusive Premier League trophy due to some of their rivals’ additions this summer.
This article originally appeared on 
