Arsenal wanted a top forward in the summer with four names topping the lists but how have the players Andrea Berta didn't sign started their new seasons and did the Gunners dodge any bullets or end up regretting their misses
Morgan Rogers is one signing Arsenal may regret missing out on from their summer targets
Morgan Rogers is one signing Arsenal may regret missing out on from their summer targets(Image: Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)
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Arsenal missed out on the opportunity to deliver an elite forward signing in the summer despite interest in several options. Mikel Arteta was speaking publicly until the penultimate day of the summer window with the hope that the club could indeed bring in some additional quality.
However, the window closed with Gabriel Jesus, Gabriel Martinelli, and Leandro Trossard sold, Ethan Nwaneri loaned out, and only Christos Tzolis signed by Arsenal. football.london asked Arteta whether he believed that the window had ticked the boxes he laid out after the transfer window of being, ‘Very, very ambitious, very fast and very smart.’
“Yeah, 100% ticked,” he said. “The outcome after can be different to what you expect, but the intention is certainly there, which is, in my opinion, what I value the most.”
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It was definitely was the intention of the club to sign a big player, and several moved but that doesn’t mean that mistakes were made. Judgment will come later down the line, especially if no one is signed in January.
But looking at how some of the targets have fared so far will provide some context as to whether the club were right or not in not pulling the trigger on the mega-money moves or in some cases didn’t move sooner.
Such is how the miss of Morgan Rogers is perceived. Despite the £117million price tag paid by Chelsea, there is a sense that had Arsenal moved big before the World Cup, Aston Villa would have sold for less.
He scored against Arsenal at the Emirates, which is one of his three goals in the league this season; he’s also added an assist to his tally. While against Leeds United in the League Cup, he came off the bench and provided an astonishing four assists; at this early stage, therefore, it seems the Gunners might regret this one.
Liverpool went even further with their spending, dropping more than £120million inclusive of add-ons on Bradley Barcola. Arsenal’s interest never progressed with PSG demanding such a big price tag.
Barcola has played five times for Liverpool so far, including three starts and has failed to register a goal or an assist for Andoni Iraola. So it seems, for now, this was something of a bullet dodged.
Vinicius Junior was certainly the most ambitious move by Arsenal this summer, and came very close to securing the Brazilian, only for Real Madrid to change their stance and improve their contract offer. Vini Jr stayed and will face Arsenal later this season at the Emirates in the UEFA Champions League.
So far, however, he has scored just once for Jose Mourinho’s side. He has bagged three assists in his seven La Liga games but has not yet clicked under the Portuguese coach’s rule, being subbed off in four of the games.
Julian Alvarez, meanwhile, remains a substitute outside of his start in the UEFA Champions League defeat to Liverpool. Simeone has used the Argentine sparingly and came on for just 28 minutes of their win over city rivals Real Madrid on the weekend.
While overall the club would have desired to sign a top forward, in truth, the market was thin and only one has truly delivered so far this season. Perhaps other names will instead emerge this winter.
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