Mikel Arteta has turned Arsenal from a team that was struggling under Unai Emery into one that has a great opportunity to win the Premier League this season.
Arteta has moved on from big-name players with big egos, such as Mesut Ozil and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, and made the Gunners into a team. Perhaps the Arsenal manager is too picky when it comes to signings; he took an age to finally sign a striker in Viktor Gyokeres.
Gyokeres is yet to fulfill his potential at Arsenal, but there is still time for the forward. Mostly, Arteta has got it right in the transfer market. However, the Gunners boss has not always got it right.
The Telegraph has ranked Arteta's best and worst signings. Martin Odegaard, Declan Rice, and William Saliba are the top three. The bottom three are Nicolas Pepe, Runar Alex Runarsson, and Willian.
Was Willian really so bad at Arsenal?
It was considered a coup for Arsenal when they signed Willian after he left Chelsea in 2020. They signed him up to a three-year contract, which the Blues were not going to offer him. Willian had scored nine goals with seven assists in 36 Premier League games in his final season at Stamford Bridge.
For Arsenal, he managed just one goal and seven assists in 37 games in all competitions. The Brazilian described his time at Arsenal as "the worst time that he had lived as a professional" in an interview with ESPN.
Following his time at Arsenal, Willian returned to Brazil with his former club, Corinthians. However, his time back in Brazil was short-lived before he returned to the Premier League with Fulham. He had two solid campaigns with the Cottagers before he had a brief stint with Olympiacos. This followed a brief stint with Fulham again, and he is now back in Brazil with Gremio.
Willian is now 37, but is still contracted to Gremio until the end of 2026. It looks like his career is coming to an end. He can be proud of his achievements, particularly at Chelsea, where he won the Premier League twice. However, he will see the move to Arsenal as a turning point in his career.
Before Chelsea, Willian had worked his way up from Corinthians to Shakhtar Donetsk, and then, after a brief spell at Anzhi Makhachkala, he arrived at Stamford Bridge. Willian also gained 76 caps for Brazil and won the Copa America with them in 2019.