Arsenal signing Ezri Konsa shows how much their transfer strategy has evolved under Mikel Arteta
Cast your mind back to the summer of 2021.
Arsenal’s transfer strategy centred around signing players that were 23 and under.
Martin Odegaard, Ben White, Aaron Ramsdale, Takehiro Tomiyasu, Nuno Tavares and Albert Sambi Lokonga all joined the club that window.
Contrary to what Gary Neville thought at the time, there was a clear plan behind it. Arsenal were looking to build something sustainable for the long term.
And although some of those aforementioned signings didn’t work out, the strategy certainly did. Two of them just won the Premier League.
But five years on, the strategy is a whole lot different now. Splashing out £50million on Ezri Konsa is the clearest sign of that.
Arsenal’s transfer strategy has evolved to ‘win now’ mode
Konsa is 28, and theoretically is only coming in as third-choice centre-back.
That’s certainly not the kind of player Arsenal would have — or even, could have — signed five years ago.
Arsenal’s marquee signing this summer, Bruno Guimaraes, is also 28. £75million, they paid for him.
And you can go back further too. Including Konsa, 10 of Arsenal’s last 12 signings have been aged 24 or over. And nine of them had Premier League experience.
It’s clear they are well and truly in ‘win now’ mode, and want to capitalise not only on their position of strength but rival clubs’ uncertainty.
There is a great opportunity for them to go and win back-to-back league titles, something they haven’t achieved since 1935.
Arsenal may have overpaid for Konsa and Guimaraes — £125million on two 28-year-olds isn’t the smartest thing to do on paper.
There’s no resale value with these signings and they are going to be coming in earning hefty wages.
You can spread that sort of outlay on three or four younger players with higher long-term value. But this isn’t what Arsenal intend to do right now.
Mikel Arteta has spoken about widening the margins, and he is now showing an almost Fergie-esque ruthlessness in the market, picking up the best players from other teams in the Premier League.
The club know there is another league title in front of them to be won, and they are showing that they want to go and do it.
In two or three years down the line, they won’t care about ‘resale value’ and things like that if they have another few major trophies in the cabinet.
