Mikel Arteta has established an annoyingly consistent habit of turning doubted signings into smart ones at Arsenal.
It is impossible to please everyone, but the reaction to some of Arsenal’s transfer business has been unhinged, to say the least.
Questionable Chelsea Signings Under Arteta
Arteta’s obsession with signing unwanted Chelsea players is quite bizarre, but it’s only been a complete and utter disaster once: the free signing of Willian. The upside to signing Kepa Arrizabalaga for £5million massively outweighs the cons of the transfer.
There was an incredible headloss from Arsenal fans when they signed Jorginho from Chelsea on deadline day in the 2023 winter transfer window.
Jorginho was the alternative to Brighton midfielder Moises Caicedo, and that made fans very angry indeed. Instead of paying over £100million, as Chelsea did the following summer, the Gunners cheaped out and signed Jorginho for a tenth of that price.
It was an underwhelming signing and Arteta was criticised for it, but the Spaniard promised fans they would soon fall in love with Jorginho. And do you know what? Most Arsenal supporters did. Plus there was money left to sign Declan Rice.
The Kai Havertz Gamble
Madueke still has plenty to prove, but so did Kai Havertz, among others.
More often than not, Arteta has been proven right when making big calls, not just big signings. From ostracising Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to spending big on Havertz, it is clear why he gets paid the big bucks to manage Arsenal while we sit and complain on social media.
Aaron Ramsdale’s Arrival
The Arsenal fan reaction to Aaron Ramsdale’s move from Sheffield United in 2021 was despicable, but looks tame in comparison to the #NoToMadueke nonsense that polluted social media last summer.
The immediate reaction to interest in Ramsdale was centred around the fact he is a relegation merchant; to this day, Arsenal and Newcastle United remain the only Premier League teams he’s played for and not experienced the drop with.
Excluding the Madueke meltdown, it’s hard to remember a signing being written off so fast and as brutally as Ramsdale. He turned out alright in the end – huge in the 2022/23 title push, making some remarkable