Inside story of Arsenal summer transfer window that was good but should have been great
Arsenal sporting director Andrea Berta is under scrutiny after the club failed in key areas in the transfer window(Image: David Price/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)
In an alternative universe, Arsenal end the summer transfer window having signed Vinicius Junior in one of the greatest moves the sport has ever seen, while in the same window, breaking records for outgoings and setting themselves up perfectly for a title defence. However, this is not that reality, and instead, the mood among supporters is particularly low.
Andrea Berta, Arsenal’s sporting director, helped to improve a squad last year which would go on to win the title. I remember recording a clip of him shortly after he was appointed at an open training session where he strutted down the pathway, putting on his sunglasses.
He was the epitome of cool and collected. More than a year on, and then the credit he earned last summer for many has evaporated; some are calling for even sterner responses from the club.
But to understand how Arsenal operate is to recognise that nothing happens without one key element, alignment. For a player to come in, a move to be made, a contract to be signed, from the manager Mikel Arteta, to the CEO Richard Garlick, to co-chairman and owners Stan and Josh Kroenke and Berta himself, big decisions are not enacted without these key figures at the club agreeing that they happen.
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Take the final 24 hours of the window this year, short in attack, very keen to sign a player, Malick Fofana was offered to Arsenal. They explored the deal, but instead, the Belgian is moving for a fee many would argue is a pittance for a club like Arsenal, and a no-brainer rather than not signing anyone.
But there was no alignment on moving for Fofana, and therefore, they did not proceed. Arsenal will not sign a player for the sake of signing a player.
football.london understands that when the decision was made to sell Gabriel Martinelli to Al Hilal for £60million, it was done so in the knowledge the club may not sign a forward to replace him in the time that remained. Eberechi Eze was considered ahead of Martinelli in the pecking order on the left for this season, irrespective of the Brazilian’s future being in North London or elsewhere; Noni Madueke, too, is considered a viable left-wing option.
Arsenal did genuinely want an elite player this window, hence their chase for Morgan Rogers, Vinicius Junior and Julian Alvarez. And in all honesty, it is this signing which turns a window I perceive as a 5 or 6/10 into potentially an 8/10 or even a 9/10.
I get to that score of slightly above the middle because I think the club has still done more good things than bad. It’s tempting to throw myself into the fire of hysteria you’ve likely seen online, and while I do not think this is a successful transfer window for Arsenal, it’s not a failure, despite the fact that there are objectives that no doubt have been failed on.
Bruno Guimaraes is a world-class addition to the group, not only that, but the club have added him to Declan Rice, Martin Zubimendi, Mikel Merino, Martin Odegaard, Eze and Myles Lewis-Skelly. I have my question marks over Ezri Konsa, but after William Saliba’s injury was better understood, to bring in a Premier League-proven, England international who slots straight into the side, what I do not doubt is that he will benefit the club in the present – for how long, of course, is a broader but less pressing question for the moment.
Christos Tzolis looks like a real find. Yes, he struggled against Aston Villa, but he was excellent against Manchester City and Coventry, too, and I saw enough this summer to know the Gunners have got a real good one there.
After nine long years, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is no longer, or at least when Gabriel Martinelli’s £60million exit to Al Hilal is finally confirmed, will no longer be the Gunners’ record sale. While fees for Gabriel Jesus and Leandro Trossard are nothing to write home about, the club still made money, got huge wages off the club’s books and will be financially free to attack future windows; hopefully, far more successfully than they did this one in terms of a winger.
The ambition to be in the equation for Vinicius Junior, in particular, is the real show of progression. There was a point football.london understands that there was a belief within Arsenal that a deal really was going to happen, but Real Madrid broke and upped their offer despite previously being firm that they wouldn’t, and that scuppered their optimistic hopes of completing the biggest deal this league has ever seen – a deal they were willing to complete.
But they didn’t, and that is what is crucial. In the immediate aftermath, messages of “Well, they must have a backup plan” were sent my way in droves. My only response being that Julian Alvarez is that player, but that the Argentine wants Barcelona, and does not want to return to England.
Alvarez stuck by that to the bitter end and is seemingly willing to endure what will be a torturous process of healing with a passionate and honest fan base this season before an inevitable repeat whenever his next chance to try and make his Barca dream a reality. Arsenal were willing to wait to see if Alvarez’s stance would change because the window has truly lacked world-class quality.
Players that Arteta describes as those that take this team to the ‘next step’, they weren’t there. Or at least, not at the price the club were willing to pay.
Morgan Rogers was seen as one of those potential players, and their keenness for him, particularly from Arteta, was strong. But accusations of being too patient, perhaps even naïve to what the market would become after Elliot Anderson’s £116million sparked the biggest increase in player prices the transfer window has ever experienced. Moving sooner, bigger, before the World Cup, could’ve landed Rogers.
The player was keen, and even when Chelsea stumped up the £117million to get it, football.london understands Arsenal were offered the chance to match it, knowing Rogers would have chosen North instead of West. But their valuation of £80million held firm, and while the club should not be begrudged not going to the frankly ridiculous figures Chelsea did, they can be scrutinised for not acting more like champions and paying to get the deal done early and kick the summer off in the way Arteta said it needed to be.
Other options emerged, such as Mika Godts, who joined Paris Saint-Germain for a very reasonable fee. The argument that the market simply didn’t have any options does not stand up to scrutiny.
“Very, very ambitious, very fast and very smart.” These were the words, part of a longer answer about what would then happen following the Champions League final defeat to Paris Saint-Germain.
As already mentioned, Arsenal showed ambition this summer. But they certainly were not quick, and some of their decisions are arguably very far from smart.
When football.london exclusively broke the story that Chelsea had been approached about their interest in Myles Lewis-Skelly, what followed was seismic. From how the fans responded to learning the news, to the player’s own surprise and how he would respond on the pitch with his goal and celebration against Como and his actions following the FA Community Shield, making it absolutely crystal clear his heart was with Arsenal, and an exit was not what he wanted.
While I understand that a sporting director needs to gauge the market for a club’s players and be across as much as possible, there is a strong argument that a player such as Lewis-Skelly, trusted to start the biggest game in the club’s history at 19-years-old and beloved by supporters… some players, there simply is no justification to even consider a sale, especially to the likes of Chelsea or Manchester United.
Lewis-Skelly is one of those players. And his start to the season has only justified how mad any consideration of a sale would be. Hopefully, lessons have been learned.
His friend, teammate and Hale End graduate partner Ethan Nwaneri has joined Borussia Dortmund on loan. He needs minutes, but this decision without signing a player is what has had one of the biggest impacts on how I have absorbed the end of the window.
Listening to Arteta post-match against Aston Villa, he was asked if he was happy with the variety of attacking options at his disposal. His answer was very telling.
“It depends if everybody's fit or not,” he said. “We can talk about today, but that scenario might change. We knew that with Willy out, we had an injury in the back line; we knew we were in big trouble, so we had to do everything.
“And today, Mosquera, he could not continue. So we know that the depth has to be really big when you're fighting for four competitions, in the manner that we play as well. So we're going to try to do that.”
That scenario might indeed change. Eze, who could now be argued to be one of the team’s most important players, is responsible for the depth to the starters in the left wing and number ten role.
An injury, as the club experienced in the second half of last season, to him could spell real problems, stifle rotation and limit competitiveness and freshness. Nwaneri’s stay would have fixed that, but instead the player’s need for minutes have been prioritised over the club’s own needs.
Ironically, Nwaneri could even come back to haunt Arsenal in their own backyard. UEFA rules prevent the clubs from agreeing a clause to stop Nwaneri playing against The Gunners when they face BVB on November 24 in the Champions League league phase.
On paper, it is not great reading. A window which was supposed to see the club take the team up a level, particularly in attack, instead is weaker than it was at the end of last season.
Trossard, Martinelli and Jesus gone, Tzolis in. Has Arteta been let down again in the market? There is a very good case to be made that the main objective of the summer has not been fulfilled, and therefore, the only answer to that question must be: yes.
It has been a window that was good, when it should have been great. Some might even call that too generous, but I personally think that undermines some work that is genuinely worth appreciating.
Where this leaves Berta, however, is perhaps a more interesting element. January is fast approaching, and remembering the winter window of 2025, when it was plainly evident the club needed to find a solution up top, but didn’t, despite public calls from Arteta and even Declan Rice.
“I think now where we’ve lost Gabi (Gabriel Jesus), he’s probably going to be out for a year with an ACL, that’s really tough,” he said after Arsenal won the North London Derby in January 2025. “I’m sure the manager is probably going to look for something, because tonight we’ve had to bring Tierney on left wing, we’ve had to bring Zin (Oleksandr Zinchenko) in on left wing, so we’re a bit short up there, I’m not surprised if we are going to do something.”
But the club didn’t. A familiar story followed, baulking at an Aston Villa asking price for an England international, Ollie Watkins.
This winter, Arsenal must go big. football.london understands Eli Junior Kroupi is a player the Gunners seriously appreciate, and were it not for his injury this summer, perhaps a stronger play would have been made to sign him.
Attention turns to the pitch, mercifully. Arsenal have enjoyed a perfect start and already hit a net gain on a title-winning points tally in their second game of the season by winning at Villa, a place that saw them lose last time out.
They are champions, they are favourites, but they are not as well-equipped as had been hoped. Arteta has taken this team so far, while his rivals have always spent more. Who’s to say he cannot perform some more miracles, and maybe next time, his dream window will come true.
Tom Canton joined football.london as the Arsenal Fan Brand Writer and Presenter before becoming a permanent Arsenal Reporter in 2025. Tom produces plenty of analytical content in addition to breaking stories and is a regular attendee at matches and press conferences. Can also be found on YouTube @TheGoonerTalkTV
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