The Gunners might be now poised to finally win the title. Arsenal have unquestionably won the summer transfer window thus far as they’ve dramatically improved every aspect of their squad while not losing to many major pieces in return.
I really think next year might be the Gunners season.
Despite coming so close to winning the Premier League title last season, Arsenal have not rested on their laurels and have gone out with massive spends in the transfer window to exponentially improve their squad with masterful signings. And, as you can probably guess, I love the moves Arsenal have made so far.
Now, it does pain me as a Man United fan to watch one of your fiercest and most competitive rivals in Arsenal not only have a phenomenal season last year with a near title victory, but also have sign some of the best names on the summer transfer market to improve their squad. And especially so when Man United are struggling to sign Rasmus Højlund, Andre Onana, Mason Mount, and Sofyan Amrabat at the same time.
Nevertheless, I can’t help but admire how ruthless, calculating, professional, and classy Arsenal have handled their business thus far.
There’s been very little fuss, confusion, disagreements over player wages and/or price tags, the status of the club, or rival bids from other clubs when they went out and signed Declan Rice from West Ham, Kai Havertz from Chelsea, Jurrien Timber from Ajax, and brought back Folarin Balogun from his loan with Stade Reims.
Sure, it’s been a very expensive transfer window for Arsenal as they’ve had to pay a club-record fee of €116.6M for Declan Rice, €75M to prize Kai Havertz out of Chelsea, and a little over €40M for Jurrien Timber’s signature from Ajax for a grand net spend of €231.4M, but these are all signings that MASSIVELY improve the squad.
Kai Havertz, despite being played out of position for his entire tenure with the Blues, was their joint leading scorer last season (9 goals) and scored the Champions League-winning goal for the club against Man City back in 2021, Folarin Balogun was the joint 4th-highest scorer in France last season with 21 goals on a Stade Reims side that could only manage an 11th-place finish, Jurrien Timber has been Ajax’s best center back for the last three seasons and has helped them win 2 Eredivisie titles, and Declan Rice has been one of the Top-10 best midfielders in the Premier League these last couple of years.
Every single one of these players could realistically come into Arsenal’s starting 11 on opening day and cement their place in the side as they’re not only that good, but they also provide a different option than the current iteration of starters possesses.
Oh, and don’t forget, this Arsenal team nearly upset Man City to win the Premier League last year. Saying that these signings are just as good as the current 11 is not an insult to the side, but rather a massive compliment as to how good Arsenal’s recruitment has been thus far.
I really do believe it’ll be another dog fight between them and Man City for the Premier League crown next season as none of the other traditional or rising contenders, such as Man United, Liverpool, Spurs, Chelsea, or Newcastle, have done enough (as of this moment) to compete against City or Arsenal, but I might be placing my bets on Arsenal to win it all this season.
Man City are another year older, they’ve lost İlkay Gundogan (one of their best midfielders and one of the best in the world), they might potentially lose Bernado Silva, Kyle Walker, and Julian Alvarez, and they might suffer from “champions” syndrome after finally getting the Champions League monkey off their backs with their 1-0 victory over Inter in last year’s final.
The City players are top professionals and have not shown any signs of milking in performances in the past after all their domestic success, but that final hurtle has now been completed and the need for more glory might have been sufficed for some guys. And if that kicks in, the whole locker room will be spoiled as you can’t recover from the lack of desire as a professional footballer.
And especially not if your main rivals are hungry, eager, and bitter from narrowly losing out last season.
I guess we’ll have to wait and see, but this summer transfer window has been very promising for Arsenal.
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